Regulation of Media

1. Regulation of Media If media is influential then what do we do? Do people need protection from this? Who needs protection? How do we protect? How effective are these measures?

2. Regulation of Media What are these types of regulation? Government Regulation Self Regulation Code of Practice Who is in charge of the policing of each? What consequences exist for a breach of these different types of regulation?

3. Media Regulation in Australia • The Office of Film and Literature Classification (OFLC) is an independent statutory body which makes classification decisions about films, computer games and publications. Principles for decision making are set out in the National Classification Code, agreed by the Australian Government and the States and Territories.

4. Media Regulation in Australia • ACMA(Australian Communications and Media Authority) ACMA is responsible for regulating online content, including internet and mobile phone content, and enforcing Australia's anti-spam law. ACMA's responsibilities include: • promoting self-regulation and competition in the communications industry, while protecting consumers and other users • fostering an environment in which electronic media respect community standards and respond to audience and user needs • managing access to the radiofrequency spectrum • representing Australia 's communications interests internationally. Broadcasting regulation ACMA plans the channels that radio and television services use, issues and renews licences, regulates the content of radio and television services and administers the ownership and control rules for broadcasting services. Online content regulation ACMA is responsible for regulating online content (including internet and mobile content) and enforcing Australia's anti-spam law. Telecommunications regulation  ACMA licenses Australia's telecommunications carriers and regulates fixed line and mobile telecommunications. Radiofrequency spectrum management regulation  ACMA plans and manages the radiofrequency spectrum in Australia. It is responsible for compliance with licensing requirements and investigating complaints of interference to services.

5. Media Regulation in Australia • Free TV Australia The content of free-to-air commercial television is regulated under the Commercial Television Industry Code of Practice which has been developed by Free TV Australia and registered with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).The Code covers the matters prescribed in section 123 of the Broadcasting Services Act and other matters relating to program content that are of concern to the community including:•    program classifications;•    accuracy, fairness and respect for privacy in news and current affairs;•    advertising time on television; and•    placement of commercials and program promotions and complaints handling.The Code operates alongside the ACMA Standards which regulate children's programs and the Australian content of programs and advertisements.The Code attempts to balance and provide for the various and often conflicting interests of our diverse society in the delivery of commercial television services. It is the result of extensive consultation with Government advisory bodies, community interest groups and the public generally. The Code is reviewed every 3 years.

6. Media Regulation in Australia • Self regulation Many media organisations have their own set of self-regulatory codes. One such example is the Media Alliance Code of Ethics. Below is the introduction to the Code: “Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism. Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work in private enterprise, but all have these public responsibilities. They scrutinise power, but also exercise it, and should be accountable. Accountability engenders trust. Without trust, journalists do not fulfil their public responsibilities. Alliance members engaged in journalism commit themselves to • Honesty Fairness Independence Respect for the rights of others “

7. Recent Case Studies • Underbelly Nine to appeal Underbelly ban Posted Tue Feb 12, posted on www.abc.net.au Channel Nine says it will appeal against the Supreme Court's decision to prohibit it from showing Underbelly in Victoria. The TV series - based on Melbourne's gangland killings - was due to premiere on Channel Nine on Wednesday night, but its debut has been put off in the state indefinitely. The Supreme Court has issued a suppression order on the grounds of prejudice, saying the series would jeopardise a forthcoming murder trial. Justice Betty King has also ordered the removal of all excerpts from Underbelly from the internet. A Channel Nine spokeswoman says the network will not broadcast the show in Victoria, but will instead show an alternative program titled Underbelly: A Special Announcement. The show will still be screened in the rest of the country. The web Meanwhile, John Sylvester, author of the Underbelly book series, says the court's decision may not be very effective. "I guarantee you will be able to watch it for free from midnight on the internet," he told Fairfax News. "The web changes the rules totally. "I don't know where they want to go from here, but if Victorians want to see it they will."

8. Underbelly • This action taken by the courts suggests that the text (in this case, Underbelly, would influence audience’s who may be called for Jury Duty for upcoming underworld trials. This is despite the fact that stories of the figures in the show have been splashed over newspapers, books, websites, magazines and television shows for decades. • What might the courts be suggesting about the portrayal of dramatised, or even glamourised violence in this case? • What communication model might this decision be influenced by?

9. Junk Food Advertising • Junk food ads to stay: regulator • Kelly Burke Consumer Affairs ReporterAugust 28, 2008(from www.smh.com.au) THE government communications regulator has delivered a victory to the junk food industry by deciding not to impose further restrictions on advertising during children's television hours. The decision has prompted an avalanche of criticism from health and community groups, which have been lobbying the Australian Communications and Media Authority for more than two years to ban the promotion of junk food to children on television. The new draft of the Children's Television Standards, which is more than a year overdue, was released yesterday, revealing minimal proposed changes to existing regulations put in place 18 years ago. More than half of the 76 submissions had argued for tighter restrictions or an outright ban on junk food advertising to children. But the authority's chairman, Chris Chapman, said the regulator was not a health advisory body, and after commissioning an independent review to assess whether a ban on food and beverage advertising would have an effect on childhood obesity, had concluded there was insufficient consensus. "The research does indicate that there is a relationship between advertising and children's food and beverage preferences and requests," Mr Chapman said in a prepared statement. "It also indicates a relationship between television viewing - as distinct from television advertising specifically - and obesity in children. However existing research does not clearly demonstrate a causal relationship between any of these factors and obesity and indeed only a modest association is apparent." The Coalition on Food Advertising to Children, which represents more than a dozen medical and nutritional authorities including the Australian Medical Association, Cancer Council Australia, the Public Health Association of Australia and the main bodies representing dentists and GPs, has slammed the draft report as a major setback in the battle against childhood obesity. Its chairwoman, Kathy Chapman, said the code failed to protect children from junk food commercials that promote fatty and unhealthy foods which fuel increasing obesity levels. "In spite of ACMA's claims, there is little doubt that junk food commercials are contributing to the obesity epidemic by encouraging pester power," Ms Chapman said. Nutrition expert Dr Rosemary Stanton said she was angry and disappointed over the report. "It's plain common sense … the manufacturers wouldn't spend millions of dollars every year advertising to children if it didn't work," she said.

10. Junk Food Advertising • Why were some disappointed by the decision? • Why are children seen as particularly powerless? • What communication model/s does this case study adhere to?