The Leveson Inquiry

The Leveson inquiry is a judge-lead campaign that was launched by David Cameron in the wake of the phone-hacking scandal at the Murdoch owned News of The World newspaper. The paper was closed down through the harsh criticism and distaste of the ethical misconduct the paper was under. 

In light of this exposed scandal Lord Justice Leveson's inquiry was to  "look into the culture, practices and ethics of the press heard from 184 witnesses and accepted 42 written submissions in more than six months of hearings."

David Cameron was also criticized in the press for his apparent close relationship with chief editor of The News of The World and News International Executive Rebekah Brooks. It has also been revealed as of December 2012 that Brooks has received $11,000,000 in compensation, this is bound to aggravate the British public, there seems to be no punishment for a women who had no standards or morals and acted so unethically it suggests that now is a time for change, but to legislate on free speech could be very dangerous. These investigative journalists already broke the law, why should we legislate another one?

Events leading up to the inquiry...

In January 2011, after allegations of phone hacking from a number of prominent public figures came forward with information. The police launched an investigation named 'Operation Weeting' after actress Sienna Miller, Bob Crow and MP George Galloway claim their phones were hacked by the tabloid. In June of 2011 News Corp enclose a formal apology to Sienna Miller and she receives £100,000 for damages and legal costs, in the same month footballer Andy Pundit also receives £20,000 compensation from the same organisation.

On July the 5th 2011 the Metropolitan Police reveal they have been in touch with the parents of the Soham Murder victims of 2002 following further suspicions that their phones were also hacked. News International confess they have given more information to the police referring these allegations. This information contained payments made to the police by Newscorp which were said to be authorised by the then UK press chief Andy Coulson. The list of victims included those of the 7/7 bombings of 2005 and the family spokeswomen of missing child Madeline McCann. 

But perhaps of all shocking was the hacking of Milly Dowler's phone after she was murdered. Prime Minister David Cameron calls it "a truly dreadful act".

On July 7th of 2011 News Corporation announces it will close fown The News of The World, July 10th 2011 being its last issue.

On July 8th of 2011 David Cameron releases two inquiries one to lead the phone hacking scandal and one to revaluate and introduce new regulations for the British press.

Victims of the Leveson Inquiry…

Anne Diamond

Anne Diamond a british radio/television presenter and journalist had been constantly harassed by journalists from Murdoch’s publications. She was telephoned by journalists asking questions regarding her personal life, pregnancy and even her mortgage.

The Sun ran a front page article exclaiming “Anne Diamond Killed My Father” the publication paid Diamond’s former nanny a substantial sum of £30,000 in exchange for a story that involved her late father and Anne Diamond in a car crash some time ago.The article made Anne Diamond out to cold blooded and evasive. She commented during the Leveson Inquiry’s witness testimonials.

Diamond told the inquiry she put tough questions to Murdoch when she interviewed him in the 1980s. "I did put the point to Mr Murdoch that his newspapers were intent, or seemed to be intent on ruining some people's lives and how did he feel about that, and how could he sleep at night knowing that that was going on," she said. Diamond believes that Murdoch targeted her personally after this particular encounter.

Sienna Miller

Sienna Miller the actress/celebrity was compensated for £100,000 in damages from News International. Miller who lashed out at family and friends and accused them of selling information on her personal life to the press was victim to the phone hacking scandal as investigative journalists from News of The World hacked several of her mobile phones.

She gave evidence at the witness testimonials of journalists following her down dark alley ways and during daylight hours they would deliberately goad her with facts from her personal life prompting for an abusive reaction for photo-journalists. The intrusion of the press into her personal life left Miss Miller startled and very anxious and paranoid. The Mirror once printed a picture of her claiming she was drunk when she was in fact caring for sick children. She said since she has had to "fight tooth and nail" to maintain her privacy and now enjoys her freedom from such berating, antagonising members of the press. She gave evidence saying she was followed almost daily by 10-15 members of the press and was on one occasion spat at.

Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant's personal life was made a skeptical of by publications of News International he himself fronted an investigative documentary into the ethics and morals of Murdoch's press. Which included blackmail, bribery, phone hacking and the attitude of the journalists behind such breaches of the law.

The documentary focuses on his argument for a new regulatory system and his work in support of the campaign named 'Hacked Off'. This particular campaign was created to bring about an independent regulatory system in place of  the self-regulating system the free press of the United Kingdom continue to operate under. Their website http://hackinginquiry.org/ list important facts about the free press there is a £200m annual profit that Murdoch gains from his publications. There representatives argue that newspapers should not be satisfying their shareholders by publishing slanderous articles allowing newspaper proprieters to print and sell whichever stories they wish by whichever illegal means necessary to cover these stories.

JK Rowling

Discovered a letter in her daughter's school bag addressed from a journalist, which is evidence of invasion of privacy and the well-being of her children. Photos of her daughter in her bathing suit were also taken by a photo-journalist during a holiday-trip these were published in a tabloid magazine. Also pictures were published in 2004 of her pushing her son David in a buggy in Edinburgh in 2004. She was granted an appeal at the Court of Appeal in reference to banning the photos from publication Judge Sir Anthony Clarke said of this incident "If a child of parents who are not in the public eye could reasonably expect not to have photographs of him published in the media, so too should the child of a famous parent".

Milly Dowler

Perhaps the most appalling crime of all the phone-hacking scandal was the hacking of Milly Dowler's mobile phone by News of The World journalists days after her murder in 2002.  Journalists listened to atleast four voice mails to extract highly personal information from messages left from her family and close friends pleading for her return. They also paid for and hired a private investigator to gather information on close friends and family of the Dowlers.

 

 

 

Conclusion of inquiry...

 

 

Lord Justice Leveson addressed his reccommendations on the 29th of November closing the inquiry with his belief that there should be an indendent self regulatory body put in place backed up with new legislation.

 

He went on to comment: "In any event the power of laws enforcement are significantly limited because of the priviledges the law provides to the press including the protection of its sources, that is specifically in order that it can provide its role in the public interest. What is needed therefore is a genuinely independent and effective sytem of self regulation of standards, with obligations to the public interest. At the very start of the inquiry and throughout I have encouraged the industry to work out a method of independent self regulation that would work for them and that would work for the public" -  Lord Justice Leveson

 

The key points in his letter of reccomendation to the PM were as follows:

An independent regulatory body for the press should be established.

It should take an active role in promoting high standards, including having the power to investigate serious breaches and sanction newspapers.

The new body should be backed by legislation designed to assess whether it is doing its job properly.

The legislation would enshrine, for the first time, a legal duty on the government to protect the freedom of the press.

An arbitration system should be created through which people who say they have been victims of the press can seek redress without having to go through the courts.

The body should be independent of current journalists, the government and commercial concerns, and not include any serving editors, government members or MPs.

The body should consider encouraging the press to be as transparent as possible in relation to sources for its stories, if the information is in the public domain.

A whistle-blowing hotline should be established for journalists who feel under pressure to do unethical things in order to write a story.

British Prime Minister David Cameron opposes the idea backed by his cabinet and even the mayor of London Boris Johnson. However Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Leader of the opposition Ed Miliband backs the idea of a new independent regulatory press.

It seems without more successful campaigning and support from important public figures and politicians no such legislation will be introduced or practised in this particular industry.

  

 

 

Legal and Ethical Constraints

LEGAL CONSTRAINTS

Government legislations are put into place to help control the creative media sector, ethical constraints also apply. A question of ethics can get difficult when It is important to maintain responsibility while having the power to influence public opinion. The following are laws that promote order in the media industry and have otherwise changed broadcasting and publishing permanently. The following legislations are:

· Broadcasting Act of 1990*

· Official Secrets Act 1989*

· Obscene Publications Act (Est) 1959

· Race Relations Act (Est) 1976

· Human Rights Act 1998*

· Privacy Law*

· Copywright and Intellectual Property Law*
and last but not least...

· Libel Law*

Each one of these legislations was created to regulate or deregulate in order to bring about a change in approach and discourage unlawful practises in the media industry.

Breaches of this legislation will usually lead to an inquest or subsequential trial and/or fine as a penalty for such ethical misconduct. Victims of such libel misconduct will usually be entitled to some sort of compensation for any upset/damage caused by the media. This usually is either an agreed legal settlement i.e. penalty/fine or a out of court settlement that both parties will agree on, if the sum is sufficient compensation.

 

The Broadcasting Act of 1990

The broadcasting act of 1990 was a reformation of television and radio licensing which led to the reinstatement of two regulatory bodies. The act is seen as a key factor of Thatcherism as the legislation incorporated market ideology into British broadcasting. This has effected television production permanently. The two reinstated regulatory bodies are The Independent Television Committee and the Radio Authority. This act required all ITV franchises to be put up for sale and to be awarded partly on financial grounds. The Independent Television Commission set up to regulate all TV services in the UK, with the exception of the BBC and eventually Channel Four.

Also introduction of programme sponsorship was established and continental companies were allowed to bid for licenses or take over license-holders. Companies were allowed to own more than own license.

Some rules in the act were introduced on cross-media holdings to prevent ownership being concentrated in too few hands. The main downfall with cross-media ownership is objectivity journalists and their publications are supposed to counteract corruption and deceit that could pollute our basic rights and freedom. However this is difficult to regulate when the same publications are owned by media conglomerates who are causing such devastation to people's lives, this is a controversial subject as they have objected and covered up such unlawful practises especially those surrounding the phone hacking scandal at the News of The World. A new independent free press would probably be the only solution to avoid such unethical practises again.

National newspaper owners were prevented from holding more than a 20% stake in TV companies, with similar restrictions on cross-ownership between commercial TV satellite TV and national radio stations. A loophole in this section of the act controversially protected Rupert Murdoch on the basis that Sky was defined as a non-UK service.

The Official Secrets Act of 1989

The Official Secrets Act of 1989 was first introduced to ensure people who are or had been enlisted to work in security or intelligence agencies don't mishandle or leak any disclosed information to the public, such failure to adhere to the act would result in a fixed jail sentence no longer than six months or a fine not exceeding Level 5 on the standard scale. In section 8 of the act it identifies safeguarding obligations

"Section 8 - Safeguarding of information

This section makes it a crime for a crown servant or government contractor to retain information beyond their official need for it, and obligates them to properly protect secret information from accidental disclosure."

In section 15 it also includes any provisions abroad

"Section 15(1)(a) provides that any act done by a British citizens or crown servant, which would be an offence under any provision of the Act other than sections 8(1) or 8(4) or 8(5) if done by him in the United Kingdom, is an offence under that provision.

This is intended to cover espionage (where someone travels to a foreign country and discloses secret information to a foreign power) and cases where someone travels to a foreign country and discloses secret information, perhaps to a newspaper.

Section 15(1)(b) provides that any act done by any person in any of the Channel Islands, or in the Isle of Man, or in any colony, which would be an offence under any provision of the Act other than sections 8(1) or 8(4) or 8(5) if done by him in the United Kingdom, is an offence under that provision. Section 15(3) confers a power on the Queen to extend, by Order in Council, any provision of the Act, subject to any exceptions, adaptations or modifications specified in the Order, to any of the Channel Islands, or to the Isle of Man, or to any colony."

This ensures no breach of such legislation such as leaks to foreign publications or organisations that could endanger our national security.

This law mostly applies to secret serviceman or figures of authority who are aware of highly confidential information. A famous case of a breach in the law regarding the Official Secrets Act of 1989 was the trial and arrest of Richard Tomlinson the New Zealand born former British Secret Intelligence Service agent (MI6) in 1997. His book revelling secret information during his service at MI6 'The Big Breach' was published in Moscow in 2001. The chief prosecution witness John Scarlett claimed that Richard Tomlinson "had put agents’ lives at risk" and had "gravely damaged national security". Tomlinson also revealed that MI6 did previously plot to assassinate Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic by using a powerful strobe light to blind the driver; he suggested that MI6 could have used this plot to kill Diana Princess of Wales and Dodi in 1997.

Obscene Publications Act (Est) 1959

The Obscene Publications Act of 1959 was first established in 1959 further legislation was added in 1964 to strengthen obscenity laws prohibiting obscene material to appear in articles and programming. Obscenity laws were originally governed by the Hicklin test, which had a zero tolerance on obscenity and would authorize the destruction of obscene books regardless of its artistic or literary merit. The act was introduced to parliament after being made viable by Roy Jenkins and was given the Royal Assent in July of 1959. New legislations gave police powers to obtain material from the offender and act further where necessary. The legislation was to protect the public from any immoral pollution the act would allow banning any texts, programmes or films that had the "tendency to deprave and corrupt those whose minds are open to such immoral influences"

In 1960 Penguin books were taken to trial in the United Kingdom for its publication of DH Lawrence's novel 'Lady Chatterley's Lover' the trial was a milestone in censorship law and was a major public event receiving mass press coverage. The term "there is no such thing as bad publicity" did apply to this trial, even if most press reports were condemning the book, over a period of three months the novel sold 3 million copies proving that such controversy in the public sphere only leads to interest within the public sphere. The trial held witness to E.M. Forster, Richard Hoggart, Helen Gardner and Raymond Williams the prosecution called for Rudyard Kipling in the event that the magistrate would need an expert to persuade him to "keep the empire" pure. The prosecution were ridiculed in the press for being too subjective and extreme moralists and were ridiculed in the press for being "out of touch". Whereas the defence had a more logical and liberal outlook the verdict the literary English scholars refuted the prosecution's suggestion that the work was no more than a string of sexual encounters and defended Lawrence's use of four letter words, adding that it was integral to the novel's literary effect. On November 2nd 1960 after a period of three hours the jurors returned with a verdict of 'not guilty' leading the way to legalising the distribution of the novel, claiming the book was in the 'public good'. This has become a staple point in British Society ending the taboo on sexual displays where art and entertainment is concerned.

Provisions in the Obscene Publications act of 1959 detail:

Subject as hereinafter provided, any person who, whether for gain or not, publishes an obscene article or who has an obscene article for publication for gain (whether gain to himself or gain to another)] shall be liable—

(a)on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds or to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months;

on conviction on indictment to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.

(b)

Police Powers legislation included n the Obscene Publications act of 1959:

Powers of search and seizure.

(1) If a justice of the peace is satisfied by information on oath that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that, in any premises in the petty sessions area for which he acts, or on any stall or vehicle in that area, being premises or a stall or vehicle specified in the information, obscene articles are, or are from time to time, kept for publication for gain, the justice may issue a warrant under his hand empowering any constable to enter (if need be by force) and search the premises, or to search the stall or vehicle and to seize and remove any articles found therein or thereon which the constable has reason to believe to be obscene articles and to be kept for publication for gain.

(2) A warrant under the foregoing subsection shall, if any obscene articles are seized under the warrant, also empower the seizure and removal of any documents found in the premises or, as the case may be, on the stall or vehicle which relate to a trade or business carried on at the premises or from the stall or vehicle.

Race Relations Act 1976

The Race Relations Act of 1976 was an act established in the United Kingdom under James Callaghan's Labour government. The act was originally established as The Race Relations Act of 1965. However the original bill did not include provisions on healthcare, education and social security on the grounds for discrimination. The new act was introduced to re-establish and enforce further legislation. And encourage equal opportunities and tackle discrimination. These acts also lead to establish the non-departmental affiliated body, the Commission for Racial Equality. Its purpose was to promote better inter-ethnic relations and racial equality in Great Britain. They also obtained legal powers from the relations act using them to combat further discrimination in a court of law. Its first chairman was Conservative MP David Lane who fronted the organisation from 1977-1982. Consequences for breaching this law where employment is concerned could result in an employment tribunal after any unsuccessful mediation in the victim's workplace. The act has helped promote good ethics and morals for culture and the community this has been recognised through film, radio and television. As a result of police brutality at the Brixton 1981 riots, after alot of bad publicity and a long inquiry, the police complaints committee was formed.

More recently on August 4th 2009 an article was published on the BBC's website http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8181486.stm the tagline for the article was 'Migrant Workers Face Rental Block'. The story uncovered a disturbing level of discrimination against migrant workers from letting agency representatives and private landlords in the UK. It gained it sources and information using methods of investigative journalism. The article even includes a short excerpt of undercover footage cementing their judgements furthering provisions to house migrants.

The Human Rights Act 1998

The Human Rights Act of 1998 first derived from the European Convention of Human Rights which was first established in 1953. However amendments needed to be made due to the fact that a victim breached of their human rights waited on average of five years for a trial to commence. And it cost on average £30,000 of the tax payers money to trial these cases.

In 1997 Labour home secretary Jack Straw put forward a draft on a bill "The Rights Brought Home: The Human Rights Bill". The bill was successfully negotiated at both the Commons and the Lords as The Human Rights Act 1998 and was enforced legally on the 2nd of August 2000.

The bill makes it illegal for any public body to act on anything that is incompatible with the Convention. Some articles in the bill include: the right to education, torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, monitoring and surveillance (privacy laws) freedom of right, freedom of expression, free assembly and association, freedom of thought conscience and religion.

The act has since become controversial and has been criticized by senior Labour politicians as well as due to its incompatibility for the fight against terrorism a key factor to such criticism of the bill would be the '2006 Afghan hijackers' case. On the 6th of February 2000 nine members of the Taliban hijacked an Arianha Afghan Airlines plane that contained 180 passengers and seven crew members. After making various stops one of which was in Moscow. The hijackers scheduled their destination by landing the plane at Stansted Airport in Essex, United Kingdom. The hijacking lasted a period of four days with the siege ending on the 10th of February 2000.

The nine hijackers were originally charged with false imprisonment and hijacking in 2001 and were sentenced to five years imprisonment but such convictions were overturned when the court of appeal worked in their favour in 2003. This was due to breaches in The Human Rights act of 1998, the judge was said to have misled the jury, acting under duress.

In July of 2004 adjudicators claim that returning the nine men to Afghanistan as they risk being attacked or even killed by the Taliban. David Blunkett MP was quoted on this instance calling the division "mind boggling". This allows them certain British freedoms such as short-term employment and maybe even benefits under the 1971 immigration act. In 2006 Labour home secretary John Reid goes to the court of appeal to fight the ruling but the home office's appeal is dismissed.

This has been seen as a key flaw in the human rights act where terrorism or any future threats are concerned in the UK. However further legislation has been published such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005, which was ousted by a number of Human Rights advocate groups. The act restricts any terrorism involved individual the use of their mobile phone(s), restriction of internet access, detaining the individual's passport and more prohibitions are included.  It’s also believed that the Identity Cards Act of 2006 in the United Kingdom may contradict article 8 of the Convention in regards to respecting privacy of the individual.

Other suspected breaches of this act feature in high profile court cases with public figures like Naomi Campbell Sienna Miller, the murder of Phillip Lawrence and independently regulated journalism (Murdoch's press, not complying with article 8 of the Convention).

In November of 2011 the BBC investigated claims that carers for the elderly from both public and private agencies had been breaching the human rights act. These issues were brought forward after the home care review stated around 50% of the people who had given evidence had been satisfied with their care however a substantial ammount of complaints were becoming increasingly common. These complaints featured cases of neglect, financial abuse (money taken over a period of time) disregard for privacy or dignity, patronising behaviour, verbal and violent physical abuse towards elderly individuals. The problem seemed to be a lack of common sense from some carers and compassion to. Although local councils are covered under the human rights act, it is unclear how efficient care is to the elderly, one in three councils at this point had already cut back on care for the elderly a further one in five are planning to. The solution would be to invest more money in care for the elderly and provide better training for care agency staff.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15836500

Privacy Law

Privacy Law is legislated to protect the informal privacy of citizens in the United Kingdom and the unauthorized disclosure of any such information belongs to the individual. Privacy law has been criticized in the UK, leader of the opposition Ed Milliband MP had called for tighter restraints on Britain's free press, and the introduction for a new regulatory, independent press regulation. There are many notable supporters of a new independent press regulator, after the News of the World phone hacking scandal Hugh Grant launched the 'Hacked Off' campaign this is to protest the unethical practises of investigative journalists and a press medium that continues to regulate itself so freely.  However Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten defended the right to a free press "I concluded that however awful it may be, it's better to have a press which can expose MPs' private lives because it means we have a free press… it means we can expose corruption." EU bosses are also set to crackdown on Google since they are failing to comply with privacy laws; they were warned in October of 2012 to revise their new confidentiality policy, after a year of investigation no action has been taken by the internet firm.

Nick Pickles the director of privacy and civil liberties group Big Brother Watch quoted "'After a year of investigation it seems consumers are no closer to seeing any action taken against Google, despite regulators deeming its privacy policy to undermine their rights".

Copyright and Intellectual Property Law

The Statute of Anne was the world's first step in copyright law, an act passed by British parliament in 1710, the Statute of Anne laid the foundations for the United States Copyright Act of 1790. Amendments were made so universities could copyright their books for educational purposes. However the Statute only concerned the publication of books, and no other forms of intellectual property. Intellectual property law gives the rights to an individual or group or organisation (brand names, original designs) they secure the rights to the owner and any unlawful and unauthorised use of copyright such materials are lawfully prohibited.

The IPR work as a legal monopoly any patents that register will be backed for a period of 20 years these are most common with technological inventions and innovations. The PRS are a regulatory that works in the interests of musicians and performers obtaining and enforcing any royalties for the use of their material. The intellectual property office is the official government body who examine, issuing or rejecting patens including those in business, media and sport in the UK. In the event rights to a patent are infringed the IPO can take action alongside the patent which could result in penalties. Copyright infringement is also covered as well as original designs and trademarks. They do advise mediation this is where both parties come to a verbal agreement or an out of court settlement, if an agreement is not met by either party the case will often be taken to trial.

There are many famous cases of copyright infringement such dating back to the case of Isaac Newton v Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz did Newton really create the mathematical science of fluxions? Or was this a coincidence? Nowadays with copyright infringement the penalties are costly with damaged reputations in music there was the case of A & M Records v Napster (2001) Mattel Inc. v MGM Entertainment Inc. (2008) Dowling v United States (1985) and Adidas America Inc. v Payless Shoesource Inc (1994) the latter of which concluded in Addidas being awarded a multi-million dollar pay-out from Payless Shoesource Inc.

Libel Law

Libel Law or English defamation law was first founded by the British it is stipulated legislated action for damages date back to as early as Edward the I's reign (1272-1307) was the law has now been adapted into the Commonwealth nations including the republic of Ireland and the United States of America. This law ensures no one can print or publish statements that defames or discredits an individual often in the event of this the defendant could lose their trade and could damage their personal lives and cause a reasonable person to think less of him or her. Journalists in particular need to make precautions as it could cost them their career, when an unjustified article or broadcast is made public, their would be serious consequences that would follow. In October 2012 controversial comedian Frankie Boyle was compensated £54,650 in damages after the high court found The Daily Mail had libeled his act by brandishing him a "racist comedian". It has since become a taboo subject in our society, but if a joke is told correctly and has the ability to entertain its not malicious. In 2008 The Sunday Mirror awarded damages of an undisclosed five figure sum to Kerry Katona, after printing a libel article claiming she worked as a prostitute before she found success in Atomic Kitten the Sunday Mirror went on to print an apology after the incident.

ETHICAL CONSTRAINTS

The media are responsible for maintaining a reputation to the public and such reputations may be tarnished if a producer fails to comply to the code of practise.
It is also important in news coverage to report the journalistic truth as anything other than the journalistic truth is largely considered deceptive and unsavoury and could break libel laws.  When working within the TV industry it is essential that you have a good understanding of the ethical and legal issues surrounding your programme. If your programme touches on sensitive issues such as race discrimination, discrimination against those with physical and/or mental disabilities and homophobia in a negative context or in a distasteful fashion, it can not only cause social uproar but could cost you your career. This is due to the fact that the public are a broad spectrum, full of differing cultures and personalities although marketing departments will generalise the target audience as a disparate group of people, it is important to consider the sensitive nature of these issues and avoid such consequences by using a correct code of ethics.  Public figures and celebrities can face scandal when faced with such misconduct. An example of this would be the Robert Kilroy-Silk scandal. Kilroy-Silk quit after 17 years of presenting his talk show at the BBC after an article of his slating "Arabs" simply entitled "We Owe Arabs Nothing" was published in the Sunday Express in January 2004. This resulted in the BBC pulling the plug on his show and from that day forward Kilroy-Silk was no longer a representative of the BBC.

 

Picture of Richard Kilroy Silk after 'Islamic' attack for his convictions on Islam

His article condemned "Arabs" and other ethnicities in the Middle East for their hatred towards white British members of the public. And furthermore the article seemed to be motivated by anger, convicting Islam, such strong statements can be misunderstood and do appear to intentionally whip up racial tensions whether Kilroy-Silk realised this or not, it was completely unethical for a man of his stature. Faisal Bodi a columnist for The Guardian called for him to be prosecuted for incitement to racial hatred. A bucket of manure was also emptied on Kilroy-Silk in December 2004 when he was slated to appear on BBC Four's radio programme 'Any Questions?' such public uproar is apparent and now he works mainly as a novelist enjoying little Television or Radio airtime.

Other notable incidents are Ron Atkinson a sports commentator for ITV after a racial slur referring to footballer Marcel Desailly was broadcast on air resulting in his media career coming to an abrupt end. Andy Gray yet again another sports commentator fraught with controversy after his sexist comments criticising female football official Sian Massey during a Wolverhampton Wanderers' match. And also Richard Bacon's contract being terminated by Lorraine Heggessey (head of BBC Children's programming) after News of The World published a report detailing Bacon's cocaine and cannabis use (at the time he was 22 years old). However Bacon did make a comeback and as a result retained his media career as a broadcaster he currently presents his own show on BBC Radio Five Live.

The depiction of violent and sexual acts is often regulated and under persistent scrutiny and any such materials in entertainment media are subject to rating systems and supervision from institutions and agencies. In the press room it’s more likely to discuss whether something is legal rather than ethical, but there are standards to follow to remain a dependable source for reading, watching or listening.

Racial discrimination is protected under the Race Relations Act it is important however to realise that stereotypes in the media industry are of constant debate. It can be a highly sensitive subject however in the entertainment industry satirical comedy can sometimes play on otherwise controversial subject matter such as racism, homophobia, paedophilia and drug use by parodying this in a questionably amusing tongue-in-cheek fashion. Brass Eye, Chris Morris's satirical comedy series for Channel Four, received a number of complaints from viewers during its television debut due to its direct satirical humour and its bizarre dramatizations on what some would consider sensitive topics. Although I am a big fan of Chris Morris I can realise how some people may feel estranged or even offended when watching programmes like The Day Today, Brass Eye and Jam.

However he is praised by his peers, Charlie Brooker and Steve Coogan in particular and comic critics alike for his brilliant satirical style, and his parodies on media and political personalities. One occasion that fuelled moral outrage in middle England was Brass Eye's 'Paedogeddon' special, the feature was blatantly a parody on paedophilia in Britain, during and after its broadcast more than 1,500 complaints were made by members of the public thereafter the Independent Television Committee (ITC) took action and ordered Channel 4 to make a public apology. Despite such an apology Channel Four stood by its decision to screen the programme, and said it raised some "valuable points around the sensationalism surrounding the issue of paedophilia in Great Britain". Channel Four had to set up a special complaints line to cope with the inundation of caller complaints to the institution.

Photo of Phil Collins from the programme who was "tricked" into believing the programme was in fact factual

Ricky Gervais also garnered controversy from his latest solo effort writing/directing producing and starring in his own comedy Channel Four comedy Derek. The character Gervais plays appears to be learning disabled and works as a care home assistant. His candid use of words like "retard" "spaz" and "mong" via twitter has cemented this and Nicola Clark a disability rights campaigner called for Ricky to stop using these slang words on Twitter and wrote an article explaining her dissapointment for The Gaurdian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2011/oct/19/ricky-gervais-mong-twitter

Another example of ethical misconduct in the media would be the prank calls made by Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross on BBC Radio 2 following the pre-recorded Russell Brand Show on the 18th of October 2008. The incident is alternatively reffered to as 'Sachsgate' Andrew Sachs was victim of the incident, Sachs is probably best known as Manuel from classic British sitcom 'Faulty Towers'. Russell Brand was previously dating Sachs granddaughter Georgina Baillie which the messages were concerning. The duo left a total of four inappropriate messages on Sachs personal mobile phone, while Brand was reminding Sachs about the time he and Brand appeared in an episode of The Bill, Jonathan Ross shouted obscenely "he f*cked your granddaughter!" the pair continued to make calls trying to apologise for Ross's outburst but then only went back on it by singing mischievous jabs at his granddaughter. A large number of complaints followed from the general public and members of parliament including Prime Minister Gordon Brown. The media's reaction was a negative one, in a letter to The Chairman of the Lords Select Comittee on Communication, Lord Fowler stated "there were fundamental flaws in the ways the BBC were regulating and governing the situation" at time the time both the BBC Trust and Ofcom were dealing with a number of complaints, but the public were unsure who to detial their complaints to and which regulatory body had precedence over the other. As a result of the incident Jonathan Ross was suspended for a total of 12 weeks without pay The Daily Mail estimated that Ross lost around £1,344,000 in wages during this period. Although many agreed that the incident was unecessary they thought that members of parliament were being too critical of the scandal and at that time there were far more important political matters to address. The BBC were fined a total of £150,000 by Ofcom as result of the material being aired to the public.

Multi-million dollar american comedian and actor Charlie Sheen probably best known as Charlie in hit televiison sitcom Two and A Half Men underwent a heavily publicised meltdown in 2011. After a series of violent incidents involving his ex wife and current wife with the authorities and several health scares, Charlie Sheen enrolled into a substance rehabilitation programme in an attempt to curb his addiction to crack cocaine. His afflictions for drugs and alcohol had previously been reported in the tabloid press. This was his third attempt at rehabilitation in a year. A month later american television network CBS announced its cancellation of the four remaining episodes of the eight series of Two and Half Men,  after a number of derogatory comments were made by Sheen concerning writer/director and creator of the show Chuck Lorre. This is due to a case of bad ethics and bad publicity, if it wasn't for Sheen's aggressive, egotistical and erratic behaviour he may still star in the show today. There are consequences no matter what fame or sallary you gain, the executive directors and producers hate a 'loose cannon' and deter from any involvement with anyone who reputes to be a liability.

Charlie Sheen retaliated calling his co-stars and producer 'trolls' he later uploaded video rants on youtube and claimed he was intent on suing both CBS and Warnerbros. The media continued to cover stories on Sheen's meltdown daily, he did make a comeback after starring in 'Anger Management' a TV series based on the 2003 film of the same name starring Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler. It gained a mixed reception but its television debut holds the record for the most watched television series debut in american history.

One could argue that these characteristics prove entertaining to consumers, but also tragic, as there is a underlining truth to most of the statements Sheen made to the media, concerning personal life struggles, alcoholism, drugs and infidelity. The american media is so saturated, some network television is bias and unforgiving upholding middle class morality and scaremongering with anything that continues to threaten american civil liberties or pollute america's youth. Meanwhhile other networks or community/independent programmes objectify Sheen as a entertainer and a free-thinker.

 

Good Ethics...

Good ethics will always be detrimental to any part of creative media production, failing to follow the code of practise would only hamper an institutions potential and would fail to produce anything the public would deem reliable and worth subscribing to. The BBC are an open and honest medium often publishing all their terms and conditions that apply with programming online, via the BBC's website under the commissioning tab the following ethical guidelines read as follows...

Professional Body Codes of Practise - The BBC's Commissioning Guidelines

12.1 The BBC is an equal opportunity employer and seeks to ensure that all the independent producers we work with take seriously their responsibilities with regard to Equal Opportunities and in addition Health and Safety during the course of commissions. The BBC therefore requires that all independent producers comply with all current anti-discrimination legislation, and Health and Safety legislation and the respective Codes of Practice related to such legislation. The BBC may request a written statement of the independent producers own equal opportunities and Health and Safety policies and relevant details of how the policy is implemented in practice.

This is an agreement that an independent producer must adhere to in order for the programming to be established and produced successfully. By doing so commissioning will pose no significant problems, it also agrees that if any objections should be made within reason, so there will be.

12.2 We expect independent producers to apply the highest professional and ethical standards in their dealings with BBC staff. In return, BBC staff will apply the same ethical standards of objectivity, integrity, confidentiality, fairness and honesty in dealing with independent producers.

12.3 Alliance for the Protection of Copyright Code - the BBC is a signatory to the APC Code and all independent producers commissioned to make programmes for the BBC need to abide by the principles set out in that code for as long as the BBC remains a signatory.

12.4 The BBC supports comprehensive training across the industry.

This statement to the public referring to the BBC's code of practise reads as follows:

'Our Code of Practice sets out our principles as Trustees. We are committed to the highest standards of integrity, impartiality and objectivity. We promise to be open, responsive and accountable to licence fee payers.'

This is an agreement that assures the BBC's devotion to remaining objective and existing as a truthful source.

Different Types of Ownership

Globalisation

Globalisation is the process in which the world is becoming far more interconnected and as a result companies expand and are recognised globally for their services. This type of ownership was first established when given a name in the 1960's, absoloute advantage also occurs when the company generates less costs per unit produced than its trading partner. This means importing, exporting and distributing their product becomes less expensive because of the turnover per annum.  When a media institution gains multi-national status, the company will be linked with other co-producers internationally. This can make the company harder to regulate, more difficult to tax and even more difficult to challenge in the national and cultural interest.

In order for these global giants to succed they need to regulate correctly in approach to supply-chaining goods, services and labour whilst outsourcing.

Some business experts believe that globalization has changed the world for good, and that globalization is growing at such a fast rate and it appears as though it only will continue to both economically, culturally and politically. Although most of its critisim lied with the middle classes, the middle class communities are growing rapidly in the Third World as industrialisation takes root in those countries. Some believe globalization profits to make the rich richer and the poor poorer. Homogenization is another bad factor, which is the result of taking away a places unique indentity that sets them apart from one another for example having a string of Mcdonalds restaurants situated in ancient homelands and a Starbucks coffee shop on every corner this does make nations more asimilar to one another no matter where you travel to. A regulation in Paris was agreed when McDonald's wanted to purchase a plot and open another franchise restaurant there, the condition was that the sign would glow white the only sign of its kind in the world. This was maybe to show they could bend the rules and retain some identity.

Merger

A Merger is where two companies are fused to make one entity. The most common reason for two companies to merge is usually due to a financial crisis or a downfall in logistics, distribution and failing technologies. By merging, the two companies' can benefit in a number of ways usually from more successful marketing. 

British Sky Broadcasting is a result of two companies merging to succeed together; those companies were Rupert Murdoch’s Sky Television and the once independently ran British Satellite Broadcasting. Both companies were suffering from continuous financial loss but the merger of both companies contributed to the now successful BskyB. Sky Television had limited advertisers but British Satellite Broadcasting were linked with a better advertising sources which solved the companies’ issues to produce funding. Another example of a merger the failing French global media corporation Vivendi which at one point owned Universal Pictures, Vivendi came to an understanding by negotiating a merger deal with General Electric. This method of integration will ultimately mean that the company would only need half of the workforce. Employee dissolusionment is a common trait when two companies merge as some benefits may be pulled from pension schemes and rendundancies will be made where due, awarding one company and failing another is also common. Another disadvantage would be that two companies cannot merge without the permission of its shareholders, usually it takes a majority opinion of atleast two thirds of their shareholders before a merger can be finalized.

Penguin/Random House publication merger

Perhaps one of the most shocking developments in the publication industry is that of the merger between Penguin publications and Random House publications. Both Bertelsmann and Pearson signed a deal that will merge both companies assets together but have instilled that their independent approach will remain intact. The companies said 53 per cent of Penguin Random House would be owned by Bertelsmann, and the other 47 per cent would be owned by Pearson.  

Takeover

This occurs when one company purchases another company’s rights ultimately assuming control over another one. Many of the big six conglomerates have taken over a series of companies over the past three decades. A new example of this would be the new ‘hip’photography application Instagram.  The company was first backed by iPhone, iPad and iTouch all subsidiaries of Apple Mac, the company was also supported by android camera phones. 

Instagram were taken over by Facebook with plans to keep the program independently managed. Facebook made an offer (with all 13 of its employees) for $1billion in cash. The office of fair trading give the deal the green light on August 14 2012. This is attributed to a key investment by adding this to their product line the social network will only continue to find new ways of maintaining its popularity.

Vertical Integration

Vertical integration refers to the direction of business ownership, in which a company launches other companies which relate to the core business for example telecommunications.  This is because these corporations want to assume as much control as they feasibly can over their production, distribution, exhibition and market retailing.  News international own 33 TV stations in major cities in the US which gaurantees some exhibition of its products. Rupert Murdoch's Newscorp bought 21st Century Fox to gain control over film production and distribution.  Another example of vertical integration would be Richard Branson's multi-national conglomerate Virgin Group which provides services for transportation (aeroplanes, trains) Virgin media (cable satellite TV) Virgin Radio, Virgin Records, Vfestival (UK festival) Virgin Mobile USA, Virgin Active (a UK fitness franchise)  as of 2008 Richard Branson's Virgin Group was estimated a net worth of £5.01 billion.

Horizontal Integration

Horizontal Integration is where a company moves across by buying different media, for example moving from television, into radio into interactive online media services. A good example of horizontal integration would be the Walt Disney Company, with its interest in film production owns Miramax and Touchstone pictures aswell as its original Walt Disney Pictures. In regards to television in the US the company owns the ABC network, Touchstone and Buena Vista Television aswell as other additional cable channels.  Furthermore the Walt Disney Company also owns ABC radio networks and music labels Disney and Hollywood Records. This shows that the company not only wants to control the services the company provides but what is advertised to its audience, regulating product placement (paid for by advertisers) and expanding on the power of distribution.

Media Ownership

Public V Private 

Broadcasting

There are two types of broadcast media, media funded by the national public and media funded by big business and investors; I will use the BBC and Sky as both public and private examples…



PUBLIC BROADCASTING

In the United Kingdom, the British Broadcasting Corporation supports multiculturalism and serves to everyone’s best interests with different radio stations and television programmes for all ethnicities and cultures.  This has contributed to the corporation’s notoriety, the BBC are praised internationally for its services.  The BBC employ roughly around 23,000 people, it also has a subsidiary BBC Worldwide, which has turned over successfully. The subsidiary reached a net profit of £160.2m in the year to 31^st March 2011.  These BBC funded worldwide domestic networks operate in various parts of the world, sealing their recognition as a longstanding, democratic source for imparting information:

·         BBC America

·         BBC Canada

·         BBC Entertainment

·         BBC Lifestyle

·         UKTV in New Zealand and Australia

·         BBC Worldwide (contributed £182million from the year 2010/2011 returned from
          investment in programming)

There are many advantages to this form of broadcasting

• The BBC provide a truthful and impartial service their journalists work in the best interests of the public always acquiring their information fairly and legally.
• They offer a wide spectrum of broadcast entertainment catering for people of different cultures with different interests.
• There is also a forum for their audience and it’s not infrequent for the public to post responses via The BBC’s webpage, or share opinions through the BBC's broadcast radio stations or post via Facebook and Twitter.
• The BBC cover everything from your local news, to national news and world news, always operating inside the journalistic truth.

But with advantages also comes disadvantages… with the BBC being publically funded in times of austerity and financial crisis, the institution has made cutbacks in order to fund and produce programming practically.


In 2010 there was an online networking campaign via Facebook and Twitter in the duty to fight against the scrapping of BBC Radio 6 which eventually proved successful the radio station is currently operating and is something of a cult phenomenon, catering to a more alternative target audience.


It was also reported in the fall of 2011 that the BBC were expecting a potential 2,000 job cuts by 2017. Overall the expenditure runs as follows TV broadcasting covers 66% of the BBC’s budget, Radio covering 17% other costs covering 11% and finally online funding costing 6%. This means that it is essential for the corporation to monitor its income and expenditure in order for the machine to keep turning. This would of course mean the BBC would have a much smaller estate by 2017.



In 2012 the board of directors were planning to cut spending for local radio stations, the cuts were expected be a total £15m that year and 280 job cuts in broadcasting for radio at the BBC. Thousands of listeners, authorities and MPs complained about the cuts claiming these stations played a vital role for the public.  It was also reported in fall 2011 that the BBC is expecting a potential 2,000 job cuts by 2017. Overall the expenditure runs as follows TV broadcasting covers 66% of the BBC’s budget, Radio covering 17% other costs covering 11% and finally online funding costing 6%. This means that it is essential for the corporation to monitor its income and expenditure in order for the success of its programming and service to the public.





PRIVATE BROADCASTING

Private broadcasting assumes a different agenda to that of public broadcasting, private broadcasting is driven by profit and a lot of up-to-date market research on what is chic and most loved for example ‘structured reality television’ it is integral that viewing figures meet their criteria, if not advertisers may lose interest and programs are usually scrapped. Rupert Murdoch's BskyB regulates worldwide media in the UK and Ireland. Rupert Murdoch (BskyB's creator) is essentially the kingpin of British media. His father was a regional newspaper magnate, after some shadowing of his father's efforts and with encouragement to carry on the family business; Murdoch went on to succeed his father. He bought off the struggling 'Sunday Times' newspaper (in Australia) and soon after other tabloids in order to improve their services in order to make their revenue grow. In 1968 Murdoch entered the United Kingdom with the aim to expand there. He bought the struggling daily broadcast 'The Sun' from IPC he turned it into a tabloid featuring scantily clad women on almost every page, important foreign issues often ridiculed and celebrities uncovered, usually accused of something profane and illegal.


In 1997 The Sun had a reported 10 million readers, making the newspaper immensely popular. Exercising his belief that profit comes first his aim once was to force the BBC to cut their licensing fee and charge for its content. While some people may argue that they could do without their TV Licensing Fee the BBC regulate well and act impartially cementing their humanitarian values. In regards to world news you can update and share news interactively in the UK and overseas via the BBC News home page.


BskyB was logged at a net worth of £11.47 billion on the London Stock Exchange as of 2011. However Murdoch’s enterprise has since come under legal scrutiny through the ‘News of the World phone hacking Scandal’ a trial followed and James Murdoch (Rupert’s son and successor) stepped down as a result. It was reported that News of the World journalists had been hacking worldwide recognised celebrities.

Another resurgence of cultural significance this year was the Hillsborough disaster of 1989 where 96 Liverpool fans were crushed to death it was estimated that 41 out of the 96 victims could have been saved if the failings had been addressed correctly. New inquests were launched in 2009, never before seen documents were released to the Hillsborough Independent Panel this could lead to the original verdict of 'accidental death' being overturned in light of new evidence. The inquest found that police reports were altered and evidence was manipulated by a number of police officers and constables. The Sun, Murdoch's tabloid newspaper printed a front page headline 'The Truth' four weeks after the massacre in April 1989. The tabloid went on to state Liverpool football fans "viciously attacked rescue workers as they tried to revive victims" this was of course a slight, Liverpool fans were said to have stretchered many of the victims to safety and them themselves gave first aid to many of the injured. Kelvin McKenzie went ahead with the article which also stated a dead girl was abused during the disaster. Much controversy has followed as McKenzie was one of Murdoch's closest editorials at The Sun newspaper during the 1990s.

Kelvin McKenzie later confessed that his BBC Radio 4 apology was a "hollow apology" forced upon him by Rupert Murdoch. The Sun did release a new front page edition called "The Real Truth" (published 13/09/12) which detailed the truth about the disaster the article featured photos of family victims as the inquest concluded that '41 of those who died could have been saved if emergency services had not been guilty of a series of tragic mistakes'.

THE BIG 6

The big six are six conglomerate organisations that own all of world’s internationally recognized media. In 1983 90% of the media spectrum were regulated by around 50 corporations but since companies have been subsidized and liquidized or have merged or failed, due to mass consumption and the rise of media monopolies. As of 2011 the same 90% of companies are ran by only six media conglomerates. These conglomerates own, air and control the content consumers are received they control radio, cable television, wireless and telecommunications, film and print publications worldwide. The majority of these companies are vertically integrated they will constantly find new ways to appeal to their target audience to increase their profits and turnover usually favouring synergy producing a line of products and/or services that are interlaced with one another, this happens with many mergers. After a takeover takes place both horizontal and vertical integration maximises a media conglomerates’ profits and stimulates control over labour, goods and services.

·            General Electric (GE) ($230b)

·           NEWSCORP ($5b)

·           DISNEY ($31b)

·           VIACOM ($5b)

·           TIME WARNER ($13b)

·           CBS ($190m-$250m)

            GENERAL ELECTRIC

     

     The multi-national conglomerate General Electric (GE) established in 1890 by Thomas Alva Edison the inventor of the light bulb it is now the only standing company from the 12 listed business corporations on Dow Jones's industrial average of 1896. Some of General Electrics subsidiaries are Concast, NBC, Universal Pictures and Focus Features.



NEWSCORP

Newscorp was founded in 1979 by Rupert Murdoch In terms of revenue Newscorp are the world's second largest media group as of 2011. This company is controlled by Rupert Murdoch and some members of his family. Some of the subsidiaries ran by Newscorp are Fox, Wall Street Journal and the New York Post.

    

 DISNEY

      

The Walt Disney Company, founded in 1926 is the hallmark of childhood memoriesfor most, but unfortunately Disney's dream wasn't just making children smile with sublime emotions but was to make money. In 2004 the company made $5.8bn in retail sales worldwide. Subsidiaries of the Walt Disney Company are ABC, ESPN, Pixar, Miramax and Marvel Studios.

     

     VIACOM

     

      Viacom were established in 1971 the company were originally titled CBS Films inc. The company operate mainly in television some of its subsidiaries are Paramount Pictures, MTV, Nick Jr, BET and CMT.

    

     TIME WARNER

    

      Time Warner was founded in 1972 originally entitled in the mid to late 1970's the spin-off company made alot of money from Atari's gaming industry. As a result the company expanded over the decades investing in entertainment productions and as of May 2012 there was a reported profit of $583 million for the yearly quarter. Subsidiaries of Time Warner include CNN, HBO, Time and Warner Bros.

    

      CBS

  

      CBS were founded in 1927 as a radio broadcasting station, as the decades passed CBS made a conscious effort to offer a level of diversity to their programming. Leo Fender sold his company to CBS in the 1960s due to health issues. The company went on to invest in musical instruments further and even formed their own record label Columbia Records. CBS's subsidiaries are Showtime, Smithsonian Channel, NFL.com, Jeopardy, 60 Minutes.

The Disadvantages...

The disadvantages of media ownership are becoming more prevalent and its negative effects on the industry are often debated by social commentators and intellects across the globe. Media mergers have become an increasing concern as they become more concentrated and eradicate competition in the industry. This stabilizes their state control over what media is shared and consumed with usually bias interpretation, imposing political, economic and moral beliefs and sometimes skewed point of views which will affect how their audience react especially in the news and publishing industry, this will usually accommodate the interests of those who exist in the financial sector and not general people.

 

The Advantages...

The advantages to media ownership would be access to pooled resources, connectivity, forging new markets which would stimulate growth in the economy and create job opportunities.