Unit 8: 8:3 Understanding the Television and Film Industries – (Year 1)

Unit 7: 7.2 / 7.3 UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES –

(CROSS REF. UNIT 8)

Contractual Legal and Ethical issues to illustrate this section and examples
from my own work

3 Understand contractual, legal and ethical obligations in the

television and film
industries

Contracts: types of contract; confidentiality; exclusivity

Employment legislation: health and safety; equal opportunities; Employment

Equality (Age) Regulations (2006)

Employer’s liability; employee rights; belonging to a trade union; intellectual

property: copyright;

trademarks; other forms of intellectual property; passing of

Ethical: codes of practice; policies and procedures; emerging social concerns

and expectations; representation, eg individuals, groups, religions, issues

Legal: Race Relations Act 1976 (and later amendments); Broadcasting Act
1990 (and later amendments); Obscene Publications Act 1959 (and later
amendments); British Board of Film Classification (BBFC); Ofcom

7.2 / 7.3 UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES –

(CROSS REF. UNIT 8)
7.2
Select and illustrate ethical and legal issues to illustrate this section with
examples from own work
2 Understand ethical and legal constraints within the media sector
Ethical: social issues and sensitivities, representation of gender, representation of
religious beliefs, professional body codes of practice, e.g. BBC producers’ guidelines,
Legal: content, interpretation and application of laws relating to media, e.g.
Broadcasting Act 1990(and later amendments),Obscene Publications Act 1959 (and later
amendments),Films Act 1985, Video Recordings Act 1984, Race Relations Act 1976 (and
later amendments), Human Rights Act 1998, privacy law; copyright and intellectual
property law; libel law

Representation of gender
Equal Opportunities:
This means that equal opportunities should be promoted to all employees regardless of
gender, race, religious or political beliefs, disability or age group. An example of this would
be if someone from a different racial background applied for a job which involved managing
or directing people from the ‘white’ racial background they cannot be refused solely based
on race.
Unit 8: 8:3 Understanding the Television and Film Industries – (Year 1)
Unit 7: 7.2 / 7.3 UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES –
(CROSS REF. UNIT 8)
Examples
Equal Pay Campaign - https://www.slideshare.net/natashalcd/gender-wage-
gap-presentation
‘Me too’ Campaign - https://caitlinjoness.weebly.com/assignments.html
Representation of religious beliefs
Is New BBC Hit TV Show 'McMafia' anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli? Its Writer Fights Back
Is New BBC Hit TV Show 'McMafia' anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli? Its Writer
Fights Back

Professional body codes of practice, BBC producers’ guidelines

ALL OF ABOVE ARE BEST REFERENCED IN BBC PRODUCER GUIDELINES
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/Legacy_Guidelines/2000-producers-
guidelines.pdf

“Our audiences rightly expect the highest editorial and ethical standards from the BBC. These
Guidelines are a public statement of those values and standards and how we expect our
Programme-makers to achieve them. They detail the BBC's approach to the most difficult
Editorial issues and provide guidance which programme makers at all levels need to be aware
Of and to follow.” (Greg Dyke Statement on ethical standards explained and illustrated in
document)

Legal: content, interpretation and application of laws relating to media, e.g.

Employees rights:
All employees by law have various rights that ensures they are treated fairly in the
workplace. They can vary depending on the type of job and the arrangement made between
the employer and employee.

Belonging to a trade union:

If employees are a member of a trade union they would be able to discuss a variety of things
as a group including agreements, changes that need to be made or any concerns they may
have.

https://www.bectu.org.uk/home

https://www.bectu.org.uk/news/2824 - New tool to help tackle gender pay gap

Health and Safety:

This piece of legislation enables all workers to be kept safe and secure in the workplace. It
covers many aspects such as materials used, how hazards are prevented and the proper use
of risk assessments in order to maintain levels of safety. The Health and Safety at Work Act
1974 is the main piece of legislation used in the UK and suggests that all employees are
required to ensure they work safely and do not put other employees or members of the
public at risk of harm.
Unit 8: 8:3 Understanding the Television and Film Industries – (Year 1)
Unit 7: 7.2 / 7.3 UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES –
(CROSS REF. UNIT 8)
Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006:
These regulations were introduced in October 2006 and states that it is unfair and against
the law to discriminate against an employee on the grounds of age. They were replaced in
2010 by the Equality Act.

Employers’ liability:
This is more focused on ensuring younger employees know the potential risks in the
workplace and know how to implement risk assessments. It requires the employees to have
insurance to cover them against accidents.

Intellectual Property

Copyright:
In relation to the media industry, copyright is a federal law that provides producers of
original pieces with exclusive rights and ownership for a limited period of time depending on
the type of work. If someone else wishes to use the copyrighted work, permission will need
to be granted from the owner and usually involves paying a fee.

Trademarks:
These include words, phrases, symbols and designs that identify and are legally established
by a particular company. Trademarks can include brand names or logos.

Passing Off:
This piece of legislation prevents a trader from misrepresenting goods or services of one
company as being the goods and services of another. It is a common law which provides for
the enforcement of a company’s trademarks through infringement proceedings.

Ethical

Codes of practice:
These have quite a significant role in the television and film industry and exist to protect
consumers. They are guidelines that ensure fair practice between the employer and the
consumers and fully complies with the ethical standards of the company.

Policies and procedures:

These are put in place to influence decisions and actions that occur in the workplace. They
ensure that the opinions of the government are put in place within a company and that
compatible steps and implementations are put in place.

Emerging social concerns and expectations:

These require companies to ensure they are aware of how to deal with a range of social
issues, such as race and disability. They also require them to know about the changes taking
place and the impact the changes have on the company.
Unit 8: 8:3 Understanding the Television and Film Industries – (Year 1)
Unit 7: 7.2 / 7.3 UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES –
(CROSS REF. UNIT 8)

Representations:
In regards to the media industry, representations are the ways in which the media portrays
particular groups, experiences, ideas or topics from an ideology or perspective.
Representations are very dependable on the viewpoints of the consumer and are usually
given when these viewpoints are manipulated.

2 Understand ethical and legal constraints within the media sector

ALL OF ABOVE ARE BEST REFERENCED IN BBC PRODUCER GUIDELINES
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/Legacy_Guidelines/2000-
producers-guidelines.pdf

“Our audiences rightly expect the highest editorial and ethical standards from the BBC.
These
Guidelines are a public statement of those values and standards and how we expect our
Programme-makers to achieve them. They detail the BBC's approach to the most difficult
Editorial issues and provide guidance which programme makers at all levels need to be
aware
Of and to follow.” (Greg Dyke Statement on ethical standards explained and illustrated in
document)

7.3
I have selected some examples of regulatory bodies and statutory laws to
illustrate this section and examples from my own work

Legal

3 Understand the regulation of the media sector

Regulatory and professional bodies: e.g. British Board of Film Classification (BBFC),
British Video Association, Film Distributors Association, Video Standards Council (VSC),
Television, Radio and Telecommunications Office for Communication (Ofcom), Press
Complaints Commission (PCC), Advertising Standards Authority(ASA), The Mobile
Entertainment Forum (MEF),British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), The
International Visual Communication Association (IVCA), , British Interactive Multimedia
Association (BIMA) Regulatory issues: e.g. ownership, monopoly, access, consumer
choice, freedom of information, censorship, taste and decency

The Race Relations Act 1976:

Unit 8: 8:3 Understanding the Television and Film Industries – (Year 1)
Unit 7: 7.2 / 7.3 UNDERSTANDING THE CREATIVE MEDIA INDUSTRIES –
(CROSS REF. UNIT 8)
This Act was introduced to prevent the occurrence of discrimination or unfair treatment on
the grounds of race. It placed a legal obligation on all public bodies to promote racial
equality and show evidence of effective procedures that are put in place to prevent all forms
of racial discrimination.

The Broadcasting Act 1990 and 1996:

This Act was put in place to reform the whole structure of British broadcasting. It introduced
modern provision regarding the broadcasting of digital television and radio services. The Act
was introduced as a result of the Peacock Committee, or in other words the review of the
financial areas of the BBC.

The Obscene Publications Act 1959 and 1964:

This makes it an offence to publish any content which is branded harmful or unsuitable to
the audience. The content may include images of extreme sexual activity or violence.

British Board of Film Classifications (BBFC):

This organisation is responsible for the classification and censorship of productions that are
to be exhibited at cinemas and video works including trailers and advertisements on
mediums within the UK. It has an obligation to classify videos, DVD’s and some video games.

OFCOM:
They are responsible for regulating all forms of communication within the UK. They make
sure the audience members get the very best from media services and are protected from
all kinds of harm and scams and anything of an offensive nature.