Work Book 2

1. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
Unit 7: Understanding the Creative
Media Sector
Learning outcome 2:
Understand ethical and legal constraints
within the media sector
Name: Chris Bailey

2. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
Understand legal constraints in the creative 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.
Are representations ever realistic?
Representations are very rarely realistic, as they always follow an un-personal
stereotype. Representations aren’t always just the central stereotype, but can be
moulded to suit a particular view, opinion or occasion. Such as the representation of a
benefit/job seeker allowance claiming family are almost always represented as horrid,
cheating lazy liars, and are called all sorts of insulting names such as “Benefits
scroungers”, as written in this Daily Express Headline -“BRITAIN’S top benefits
scroungers were £300 a week better off on the dole than the average working family
before welfare reforms, it has emerged.” A very clear example of when a leading
newspaper insults a vulnerable and easily targetable group of people.
What sort of things can influence the representations that we see?
Opinion and occasion appear to be the most influential factor when it comes to
representations in the media. Certain media companies have different opinions upon
all sorts, although most opinions and views fall heaviest upon politics and modern
society matters. For example a recent Daily Mail headline reads “Teenage Muslim
convert who had hoped to marry her Asian boyfriend but argued over her tight clothing
is cleared of manslaughter after insisting HE stabbed himself to death”. The direct
quote shows how the Daily Mail emphasise the fact that her boyfriend stabbed
himself. The court likely had substantial evidence to suggest her story was legit to
clear her of manslaughter, yet the Daily Mail are still making it out to sound like an
illegitimate story and failure of the courts. They also make it clear that she is a
Teenage Muslim convert, and that her boyfriend was Asian, in what seems to be an
attempt to provoke the reader to mentally link the bloody news story to a particular
religion or race. This sort of occurrence happens often in media, from single viewed
media companies, although just because it’s frequent doesn’t mean it’s right, although
a lot of people will have similar views to particular media companies.

3. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
Find an example of representation and explain what you are seeing:
This clearly shows a very rude, and very bad
representation of benefit claimants. The headline
instantly insults benefit claimants, even though it is
declaring that the “Benefits system is broken!” So
they should surely be targeting those who
administrate the benefit distribution system They
represent the claimants in a terrible light by using the
common nickname for the claimants “Scroungers”
that has become the ‘Go-to’ nickname for anyone
claiming any kind of financial benefit from the
governement.
How many categories of word do Ofcom have? Explain each one.
Ofcom have 3 categories of word:
Category A: Not before the watershed (9pm) and often come with editorial
restrictions.
These are words that will definitely not be allowed to be said before watershed as they
are not to be heard by children.
Category B: Generally not before 9pm, with exceptions.
These are words that are not a great risk to children but still can’t be used excessively
before watershed.
Category B: Pre 9pm but some restrictions still apply.
Words that can be said before watershed but restrictions of quantity and context still
apply.
Why does Ofcom have this list of words? Do you think there should be
restrictions on when certain words can be used?

4. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
The categories exist in order to make sure inappropriate words are not spoken when
children may be watching the TV. Ofcom estimate that children will be in bed at 9, or
at least the parents will be aware of potential swearing and offensive language after
watershed. This means that children are much less likely to be exposed to rude
language than if it was said during the day. I think it is a good idea to have restrictions
on the words used during different times of the day, as it means that children are not
going to learn and repeat the new words they are hearing.
Why does the NUJ produce language guidelines?
The guidelines that are in place make sure that reporters and journalists do not say
anything that would be considered offensive. The guidelines are based around mostly
how things are worded, giving the journalists freedom to right what they want, the
guidelines just make sure it doesn’t come across offensively, or at least try to dilute
the offense. For example, a headline that would be challenged by the NUJ is
“Recently released psychiatric patient suspected of murdering sister”.
Ignoring the fact that this man has been accused of murdering his sister, the
headline uses the word “Released” as though he was being held against his will
in a prison or jail. When in fact he was in a psychiatric ward being treated. The
headline would only need one word change, being the word “released” to a
more suitable one such as “discharged” as it doesn’t give the criminal
impression that the word “released” does.
Should we protect groups of people by putting in place guidelines on how we
talk about them?
I don’t believe guidelines should be in place for the journalism of particular groups of
people, as this denies the right to freedom of speech. I think that there should be
universal guidelines against the use of journalism that may provoke acts of terrorism
or hate crimes, rather than personalised guidelines that could easily outbalance one
another. Such as one group of people becoming more easily targeted in the media
than another.
There are 3 ways in which a broadcaster can make it easier for people with a
disability to access its programmes. What are they?
Broadcasters can include audio description, subtitles/sign language, and the ability to
record and view programmes at a later time. The audio description is for people with
severely bad sight or blindness. It allows them to listen and hear what is happening
with descriptions of the events, similar to listening to an audio book, as it allows the
listener to create a visual image in their mind.

5. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
The subtitles and sign language are for people that are hard of hearing or deaf. This
allows the person to read what is being said, or to read what noises have been made
such as “Static noise” or “Train approaching”. A very small amount of television
programmes have audio description, as they often have a commentary anyway, or
can be easily deciphered as to what is visually shown using only aural senses.
The ability to record programmes and what them later comes in handy for those in
need of signers in the corner of television programmes, as they are often shown very
early in the morning, soon after midnight. Obviously people don’t usually want to be up
watching television at that time, there for the record ability is really useful as it allows
the programme to be watched with sign language during the day or in the evening.
Broadcasters such as the BBC and ITV also give people the ability to have subtitles or
view the signed versions of programmes on their online platforms such as iPlayer.
Who ensures that broadcasters are making their programmes accessible? What
are the consequences for broadcasters if they do not meet their accessibility
requirements?
Ofcom are in charge of making sure broadcasters make their programmes available to
those with hearing and sight disabilities. Broadcasters such as the BBC are committed
to subtitling 100% of their programmes, whereas others are sometimes less
committed and can face charges if their accessibility rating is not up to the
requirements.
Why do we have codes of practice?
The codes of practice give media companies a reference as to what to what they can
include and what they can’t, in their broadcasted media. These codes of practice
include categories including; accuracy, impartiality, harm and offence and religion.
These are the most important categories as they are very sensitive areas in the
media, as they are in society. They are the sections that if ignored, can leave a
company in a lot of trouble if their media is in contrast to the codes of practice.
An example of the codes of practice being broken was a Morrison’s advert aired in
May 2014. The advert shows a mother preparing a burger for her daughter, when
served, the young girl quickly removes all the vegetables from the burger, and eating
only the meat and bread. It received many complaints and was then banned as it
appeared to condone unhealthy eating in children.
Use one code of practice and investigate it in detail:

6. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
The “Harm and Offence” code of practice by Ofcom is made up of most of the
categories, as it is the likely outcome if the practices are ignored by a media
creator/distributor. Harm and offence are the outcomes of media that is politically,
religiously, factually or morally incorrect. These sub-categories of “Harm and Offence”
are sensitive parts of people’s life that can easily be wrongly or inaccurately
represented by the media. Examples of Harmful and Offensive material in the media
include; suicide, violence, occults, exorcisms, the paranormal, simulated news and
more. These all have the potential to be harmful and offensive to people. For example
the use of suicide in television programmes can be offensive to those who have or are
experiencing suicidal thoughts, or those who know someone that has or is considering
suicide. The simulated news in television programmes and films can be risky as it
often appears very realistically. For example the movie “Shaun Of The Dead” shows
full screen shots of news clips showing a zombie apocalypse, it is a fake BBC news
report but shows no obvious signs of being fake, as it’s all the same set out and
presenters. This could be particularly harmful or offensive to those unaware that it is
part of a movie, as it appears very realistic and potentially misleading.
What is the Broadcasting Act and what did it do?
The broadcasting act is the act which is in place to ensure that no media companies
own too many platforms of media, as it could produce bias and corrupt media outlets,
such as television channels or newspapers that are one sided. For example,
Newspapers are not allowed to own more than 20% of a television company as it
could be dangerous creating a widespread media sources all supporting a particular
belief, such as far right wing or left wing companies having too much media power.
What is the Official Secrets Act?
The official secrets act is an agreement upon not revealing state secrets and national
security. Documents regarding the Official Secrets Act often have to be signed once
certain employment has reached the stage of giving the employee access to secrets.
Ignoring this act can lead to imprisonment.
Find an example of when it has been used and explain why it was used and
what the outcome was.
An example of ignoring the official secrets act was the very popular case of Edward
Snowden, A CIA whistle-blower who’s taken asylum in Russia. He leaked government
secrets online, which is against the Official Secrets Act Of America. These secrets
were all based around the global surveillance conducted by the CIA and NSA
achieved through monitoring internet searches, telephone calls, emails and
predominantly any form of wired or wireless interceptable transmissions such as
cellular, wifi, satellite, radio and more.
Should we have an Official Secrets Act?
I believe the Official secrets act is rightful as it allows key information to be kept from
opposing governments and people. The problem is that is it also kept from the public
of the country, as they can’t be trusted to keep quiet obviously. I believe the
government should choose more wisely what is hidden, and what is not. I believe the
consequences of releasing the information should purely be based on the potential
consequences of the information being released. Such as Edward Snowdens case,
the U.S government monitoring global communications, this will not provoke any harm
against the U.S or its citizens, there for should have smaller jail time, where as if

7. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
someone leaked a border security loophole to a deadly terrorist organisation, that in
my eyes should be punishable by life imprisonment or worse.
What is the Obscene Publications 1959 and what is its definition of obscenity?
The definition of obscene publications is: A publication that "tends to deprave and
corrupt,"
Obscene publications include pornographic and morally wrong events and matters,
either published in text or imagery. In modern media the Obscene Publications act
usually revolves around sexual matters.
Give an example of a recent case involving the act (1990 onwards). What
happened, who was involved and what was the outcome?
Darryn Walker was accused of creating and publishing an obscene fictional writing
called “Girls (Scream) Aloud. The story was published to an online erotic literature
website. The story consisted of the kidnap, rape and murder of popular girl group
“Girls Aloud”. The story raised many concerns, as it isn’t uncommon for sexual
predators to be influenced by erotic sexual stories. Darryn Walker was found not guilty
after the trial, which was described as a “threat to freedom”. The case was also
described as "baseless" to suggest that reading such material could turn other
people into sexual predators” By a psychiatric consultant.
What is the Video Recordings Act? Why was the Video Recordings Act
introduced?
The video recordings act was brought into action upon the growing popularity of home
video and DVD. Filmography known as “Video Nasties” were becoming common and
more easily available. This created many concerns leading to the erection of the
BBFC age certification of films. It also controlled where certain films were sold, such
as sexual films to be sold only in licensed sex shops, rather than in easy access film
shops such as blockbuster.
What were some of the films that were prosecuted by the Director of Public
Prosecution?
One of the films prosecuted by the director of public prosecution was “Cannibal
Holocaust, an 1980 Italian cannibal film directed by Ruggero Deodato from a
screenplay by Gianfranco Clerici,” The film included scenes of animal abuse,
that don’t simply condone it, but used real animals. The animal cruelty included a
“large turtle, decapitated and its limbs, shell, and entrails removed”,
“A squirrel monkey, decapitated with a machete”,” A pig, shot in the head

8. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
with a shotgun at close range” and more. These scenes, including multiple rape
scenes, were removed for its release in 2001. With altogether 5 minutes and 44
seconds cut to make it viewable, and another 15 seconds removed from another
animal cruelty scene in 2011.
What is the equality act?
The equality act includes the equalisation of the genders, ages, races, sexualities,
religions and more. The act is in place to govern the equal rights of people in the work
place, daily life, and media in order to create equality between the people. The act
aims to rid of any discrimination towards particular ‘groups’ of people and to
encourage the creation and acceptance of equal opportunities for different people.
What are the 9 protected characteristics?
The 9 protected characteristics are; age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage
and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.
Can you find an example of a case involving the equality act? What happened
and what was the outcome?
A case where the client was victim of inequality is “Achim Beck, an investment
banker, successfully sued his employer for sacking him because the company
wanted a "younger" person to do his job.” Achim Beck, 42, lost his job due to the
employer wanting a younger member of staff to do his job. His court case was successful
and he was awarded the damages, and his role was replaced by a younger employee,
who was 38 years old.
What protects people from journalists invading their privacy?

9. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
People are protected from journalists invading their privacy with the basic human right
of privacy. Although journalists often ignore this human right because a news story
may be in the peoples interest. People of media significance such as actors and
sports persons have been known to have super injunctions put in place to stop any
media outlet reporting on them, and if they do so, they will face fines. The super-
injunctions also restrict the public from publishing information about them, including
publishing on social media websites and the rest of the internet.
Find a privacy case and explain who was involved, what happened and what the
outcome was.
A popular case of privacy invasion in the media was the photographic intrusion
against Kate Middleton during her stay in France. The case involved a photographer
using a telephoto lens to photograph topless Kate Middleton whilst she was on private
property. Without Kates consent (Obviously) the image was published in a French
newspaper and quickly hit the headlines across the world. 2 people have been
charged for the photos that became a very hot topic.
What areas does the Copyright and Intellectual Property law cover?
There are 4 areas covered by the Copyright and Intellectual property law; Patents,
Trademarks, Designs, and Copyright. These are areas that include and show a form
of time consuming labour, judgment and skill from original idea holder/ creator.
Why is copyright important to the creative media sector?
Copyright is very important to the creative media sector as the creativity comes from a
person’s personal hard work, ideas, creativity and intellect. Without the copyright laws
available the inventor of certain media creations would lose ownership of their own
ideas very quickly as others would adopt the ideas and potentially have more success
with them. An example of copyright breach in the creative media sector is the recent
copyright infringement case surrounding Buzzfeed, the online media outlet. A
professional photographer is attempting to sue Buzzfeed for $3.6Million as he claims
they have used one of his images in an article, breaching his copyright.
What is libel? What must you be able to prove to win a libel case?
Libel is the act of something damaging or untrue being written about someone and
published, such as untrue stories about a particular celebrity being untrue. In order to
prove you have been libelled, you must provide evidence that the accused were the
first to claim the lies, and secondly they must prove that what has been said is in fact
untrue and damaging to the potential victim’s reputation.
Find an example (not the one you were given in the lecture) of a libel case.

10. BTEC Extended Diploma in Creative Media Production
AnexampleofaLibelcaseiswhenthe“McCannslaunch£1mlibelcaseagainstPortuguese
ex-detective”.Thestoryrevolves aroundthewritingofabook basedontheideathattheMcCanns
killedtheirdaughter.TheMcCannsclaimthattheybelievethebook wouldlowertheamountof
people coming forward with information about their daughters disappearance.
The ex-detective was sued by the McCanns in the end for creating large damages.