LO3 WB

1. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Unit 7: Understanding the Creative
Media Sector
Learning outcome 3:
Understand the regulation of the media
sector
Name: Ellie Dawson

2. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Understand the regulation of the media sector
Use this workbook to help you with this learning outcome. There is some guidance
and further notes, which you should read and then remove, replacing it with your
own answers.
Which regulatory body did you research?
IPSO
What are they in charge of regulating?
Over 1500 print titles and over 1100 online titles are regulated by the
Independent Press Standards Organisation, a few examples of these print titles
are 110% Gaming, 220 Triathlon, 25 Beautiful Homes and 365 Cross-stitch
designs. Some examples of online titles are: www.110gaming.com/,
www.allanwaterherald.co.uk, www.alloaadvertiser.com and
www.amateurphotographer.co.uk/.
When was the body set up? Why was it set up?
IPSO was established on Monday 8 September 2014 following the windup of the
Press Complaints Commission, which had been the main industry regulator of
the press in the United Kingdom since 1990. The PCC received extensive
criticism for its lack of action in the News International phone hacking scandal,
including from MPs and Prime Minister David Cameron, who called for it to be
replaced with a new system in July 2011. The Leveson Inquiry was set up and
reported in November 2012, recommending in favour of the establishment of a
new independent body.
How is this organisation funded? Why is it funded that way? Are there any
benefits or drawbacks to being funded this way?
(Considering how the funding might affect impartiality and interference from
other bodies would help you give more detailed, higher level answers here. The
'About' section of most bodies website is a good place to start)
The Regulatory Funding Company is charged with raising a levy on the news
media and magazine industries to finance the Independent Press Standards
Organisation. This arrangement ensures secure financial support for IPSO.
The advantage of it being funded by the RFC is that they have ‘increased
security’.
What powers does the regulatory body have? What can they do if
someone breaks their rules? Who gives these powers to the body?

3. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
(Making references to specific cases could help you create a more detailed
answer. Finding specific information on when the body was set up and who
helped create it will allow you to find out who gives the body any powers.)
IPSO handles complaints, and conducts its own investigations into editorial
standards and compliance. It also undertakes monitoring work, including by
requiring publications to submit annual compliance reports. IPSO has the
power, where necessary, to require the publication of prominent corrections and
critical adjudications, and may ultimately fine publications in cases where
failings are particularly serious.
The Government and the Queen are the people who give IPSO the power and
let it happen.
How does the industry use it?
(Different bodies will require the industry to work with it in different ways. Some
require you to submit your work before publication whilst others work
retrospectively, only reviewing your work if there is a complaint made. Some
simply provide guidelines whilst other work to create laws, monitor companies
and issue fines where required.)
Unless a complaint is made, IPSO will not review stories. This is because the
whole purpose of their job is they will look into complaints and if the inquirer is
correct and the story is not appropriate or is somewhat untrue, the story will be
upheld.
How can the public use it?
(Regulatory bodies often have customer or public facing arm, which allows the
public to interact with it. This might be in the form of providing advice and
guidance or it could involve being able to make complaints directly to the body.
Sometimes they might intervene in a dispute between a member of the public
and the industry. Find some specific details about how the public can use this
body.)
The public uses the IPSO in the way which if something is wrote about
someone in the paper or it’s reported on TV and the information given or the
things said about that person is wrong the IPSO will look into it to check whether
the content is appropriate. If it is not and the victim is right then the story will be
upheld, meaning that whoever reported it was in fact wrong.
What kinds of regulatory issues does your body deal with the most?

4. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
IPSO deals with censorship, balancing privacy and freedom of information the
most as they are the ones receiving complaints from the public who have issues
with a story that has been published, IPSO decides whether the story should be
upheld or not.
Case Studies:
Find a case study which demonstrates the regulatory body working in practice.
(you should explain the issue they were working on and how it was drawn to
their attention. You should explain the outcome and how that decision was
reached. Regulatory bodies often need to be publically accountable and as such
they usually have a good and often very up to date list of the cases they have
worked on.)
As a destination retailer – where customers make a point of visiting a store
because they wish to view, research or purchase products – customer sales
conversion rates were deemed to be falling short of potential. A key driver of
this was colleague hours not being focussed on the right customer-centric
activities. As a result, a review of in-store operations and the customer
experience was launched with the help at the outset of management
consulting partner, Capgemini Consulting, and later Ipso’s Retail
Performance as subject matter experts.
Key to success was accurate measurement of the effectiveness of the trials.
Ipso’s Retail Performance was already working closely with key members of
the Homebase team in selected stores, providing footfall analysis and
insights. It wasn’t simply the footfall metrics that Homebase were impressed
with; Ipso’s Retail Performance was fully engaged with the new wider
project, tailoring their solutions to meet the needs at hand as well as
providing assistance, training and consultancy to fully support and utilise the
metrics provided
Find a second case study which demonstrates the regulatory body working in
practice.
(you should explain the issue they were working on and how it was drawn to
their attention. You should explain the outcome and how that decision was
reached. Regulatory bodies often need to be publically accountable and as such
they usually have a good and often very up to date list of the cases they have
worked on.)
Mothercare’s UK business had been hit by a combination of external
economic factors, weaker footfall through the stores and increasingly tight

5. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
margins, leading the retailer to embark on a major turnaround action plan.
Key to their strategy was a better understanding of store productivity,
including the way in which staff deployment, tasking and shop floor
management affected store sales performance. The reduced footfall made
Mothercare acutely aware of the need to maximise every customer
opportunity and improve conversion rate; in some stores up to half of all
customers left without purchasing. The review also presented an opportunity
to reduce the substantial wages bill through smarter deployment of store
staff.
Ipso’s Retail Performance’s Shopper Count provided the ideal solution; by
monitoring footfall and conversion rates it could provide Mothercare with the
insights needed to improve performance. To maximise staff effectiveness,
Retail Productivity Manager, Mick Follett, also elected to deploy their online
staff scheduling solution, Staff Review.
Regulation:
You should answer the following questions using the information you have
gained so far in the unit to help you provide examples to support your opinions.
You may also wish to undertake further research to help you produce detailed
answers.
Should there be regulation of the media?
Yes, I think regulations of the media definitely need to be in place because it
prevents inappropriate or untrue stories being published, or at least if they are
they are upheld. Also it allows for censorship and balance of privacy and
protection for the public.
If there wasn’t any regulation of the media I think many more people would be at
risk of exposure and lack of privacy.
Should regulators be independent?
Yes, as long as they still abide by the rules, because their duty of care is to get
the best for the communication services and to protect the public from scams
and sharp practices whilst ensuring competition can thrive. They also protect
the public from being harmed by things on the TV or radio. Another reason is
also because they ensuring the public are not being treated unfairly in television
and radio programmes and having their privacy invaded. If they are independent
it means that they can do things their way, and do things the way they think is
right. Whereas if they were not independent they would be told what to do all
the time and they may not have always agreed with what they were told to do.

6. BTEC ExtendedDiplomainCreativeMediaProduction
Extension tasks
Answer just one of the following questions with a long form answer using
specific examples to help support your opinions.
Why do we allow regulatory bodies to censor media products like films
and video games?
We allow this because it is protection for mainly children but also protection for
everyone who is considering purchasing the game or film from harm or offense
from any of the contents included. Another reason is because we can then feel
confident that the age restriction on the film or video game is appropriate. Also
there are warnings on the back of both which gives you an idea of what
violent/offensive scenes are included. For example, if there were no age
restrictions a young child could play a game or watch a film and be extremely
affected by it in a bad way. Or even in some cases could be badly influenced by
the violence in a game or a film.
or
Is it important to regulate adverts?
or
Is people’s privacy or freedom of information more important?