ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONSTRAINTS IN THE MEDIA

SECTOR

The video recordings act was introduced in 1984 to decide whether a

video is suitable to be released for public viewings this would be to decide
if it could be viewed by all ages specifically those under a particular age
usually 12 however this can differ between many countries. It states that
all videos should be labelled with their certificate explaining what the
video contains this became a standard requirement by 1988.
The copyright, designs and patents act was introduced properly in 1911
but was the current act was updated in 1988, the law gives the creators of
any media production the rights to control the ways in which their
material may be used the rights cover broadcast and public performance,
copying, adapting, issuing, renting and lending copies to the public it also
offers protection of the creators work overseas in most countries. To gain
the protection of this act the work should be considered original and show
examples of skill being used throughout the piece, someone else is still
entitled to write/create their own version around the same idea of
someone elses work, provided they do not directly copy or adapt theirs to
resemble the original piece. It is an offence to break the act and you can
be taken to court to decide whether it
has been broken, if this is proven to be
true you can face a fine both from the original
owners of
the idea and the court system for taking their
time.
Ethical issues are normally covered by the
equal opportunities act which was created in
2011
The characteristics that are protected
by the Equality Act 2010 are:

age
disability
gender reassignment
marriage or civil partnership (in
employment only)
pregnancy and maternity
race
religion or belief
sex

Sexual orientation

All television companies are expected to have a diverse work force with
equal opportunities such as having an equal amount of women within the
work place , they also have to take into consideration their audience
making sure that they minimalize causing offence to any viewer. To
elaborate on gender within the work force companies such as the bbc or
sky are expected to show the value female employees equally to men
even though this has been improved in recent years the bbc have a larger
amount of male employees it is important to notice that this has
dramatically improved since the begging of the 21st century.
Nearly two-thirds of full-time staff at the BBCs employees are male
research btained by the bbcs watchdog reveal that only 380 of 1,108 fulltime workers at the site - or 34 per cent - are women in the one of bbcs
largest sites flagship Quay House building in Salford. Religion also has to
be a factor the bbc have to show they do not discriminate as just like
other major television companies they have to show they try to employ
people not based on their religions.
Television as a sector is known for being mainly diverseand appealing to
all audiences, they have to maintain this idea as their products are shown
to the public 24/7.
Ofcom is the communications regulator of the UK, they make sure that the
British public are protected from their communication services which
include TV, radio, mobile phones and wireless devices they operate on the
behalf of the government under the communication act of 2003 which
states their main duty is to protect the interests of citizens and
consumers.
The ASA is responsible for controlling the content of advertisements, sales
promotions and direct marketing in the UK. They were started up to make
sure advertising standards are kept high.
The BAFTA was founded in 1947 it was created to identify and promote all
types of media which showed certain skills to be known as a good piece, it
also offers mentoring programs to those who are inexperienced in
creating new successful media .