Law & the Media Industry

In this session we spoke of 3 major concepts.  That

1.  the media is governed by law and  exists under legislation
2.  there are 2 basic types of Broadcaster: The Commercial Broadcaster & the Public Service Broadcaster
3.  the media is regulated.

At the end of this session you had notes on the following

ü      the main provisions of the principal law that governs broadcasting in the UK

ü     the ways are does the principal law organise broadcasting

ü      the name & role of the Brodacasting regulator

Some Basic Ideas

Before we can get down to the “nitty gritty” about broadcasting we need to sort out some basic terms.  First what is law?

All the rules of conduct established and enforced by the authority, legislation, or custom of a given community, state, or other group

Law is created by an authority-in Britain this is the Houses of Parliament.  Law is created by an Act of Parliament.  In the UK 2 Acts of Parliament concern us.  The Communications Act 2003 & the BBC Charter

The Communications Act 2003

The Communications Act according to the handout aims to sort out 3 big areas of interest for broadcasters

ü      It sets up OFCOM to regulate or administer broadcasting and the Media

ü      It establishes rules for the ownership of Broadcasters

ü      It sets up regulations that broadcasters have to meet.
The link below provides a summary of the main provisions of the 2003 Act

http://www.northallertoncoll.org.uk/media/media%20web/ofcom.doc