MEDIA REGULATIONS

LO1

Biased Opinion – This is when somebody is for one side to an argument or story without any valid reason why. We didn’t use a biased opinion throughout our documentary as our aim was to give a balanced and fair view on the topic.

Accuracy - Portraying real events which the viewer is entitled to take at face value and must respect truth and accuracy. Accuracy was vital for our documentary as it was based on one of the most talked about topics today and the truth has to be told as we could miss guide many people.

Balance – You must give both sides to the story and equal information to both sides in order for the audience to know everything rather than just one side to the event. Much like many other documentaries we used balanced opinions throughout our documentary and gave both sides to the story.

Impartiality - Presenting it in an appropriately balanced and fair way. Our documentary was presented in an appropriate and fair way in order for the viewer to get a fair understanding rather than believe a biased opinion.

Objectivity – The state or quality of being objective.

Subjectivity – Judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts. We got the views of Catholics and Christians who share different opinions on sex and older people so we received varied opinions and views.

Opinion – A personal point of view towards a specific event or story. Despite involving many views and opinions we did include several personal opinions to create a more general view on sex.

Bias – Showing prejudice for or against someone or something. We weren’t biased at any stage through out this documentary.

Representation – The action of speaking or acting on behalf of someone or the state of being so represented. We didn’t need to use any representations as we used interviews and wasn’t necessary.

Access – A means of approaching or entering a place or having access to a person. We had access to several students and a teacher as well as college grounds and rooms to film in. We also shot footage in Reading Town centre.

Privacy – The state of being free from public attention. We were open to having privacy.

GLOSSARY

DIFFICULTY GETTING INTERVIEWS

• You’ve got to find people who will know about the topic you will be interviewing them about.• They have to be talkative and give an answer which will be appropriate for TV.• You will need to be prepared to receive any kind of answer or response.• It’s important to have all the questions and responses planned before the interview.

• Nick Broomfield occasionally had difficulty getting interviews with Aileen because she was enclosed and busy a lot of the time.

BIASED OPINION

• By having a biased opinion on a topic, you can portray it to be one sided and lead the viewers to believing your personal opinions which may not be correct answer. •

Ofcom rules and regulations

• Ofcom is the communications regulator. They regulatethe TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms and mobiles,plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.• Ofcom is funded by fees from industry for regulating broadcasting and communications networks, and grant-in-aid from the Government.• We make sure that people in the UK get the best fromtheir communications services and are protected from scams and sharp practices, while ensuring that competition can thrive

TRUTH AND ACCURACY

• Channel 4 and 5 both expect the viewers to trust the Information given and that it will be accurate to the actual event or story.

• Both Channel 4 and Channel 5 state; ‘Programmes mustBe honest, fair and accurate and mustnot mislead viewers.’

• Aileen’s documentary was one sided as Nick Broomfield was against Aileen and tried to persuade the viewers to be on his die which is unfair.

SECRET FILMING• You can’t secretly film a person or thing unless it’s

been approved off.• Programme makes must have permission in writing

in order to perform covert filming/recording. • Before doing under cover filming, there are many

guidelines in which you must follow. These rules are specific for Channel 4 and 5.

• Aileen didn’t involve any secret filming, but there was some filming done which Aileen didn’t know about but was agreed and aloud to go through with it.

PAYMENTS• They state very clearly that you must not make payments to

sources or contributors without reference to and the approval of the broadcaster.

• You must not make any payment or promise to make any payment to any witness or defendant involved in any kind of legal proceedings without the consent of the commissioning editor and programme lawyer.

• You must seek advice from the programme lawyer before making or promising to make any payment to a

convicted or confessed criminal.

RECONSTRUCTIONS• All reconstructions must be fair and accurate.

• If there is a risk that viewers might bemisled, reconstructions should be labelled as such to avoid confusion.

• There wasn’t any reconstructions used in the documentary about Aileen, it was mainly interviews.

DEALING WITH CONTRIBUTORS

• Any ‘set-ups’ or use of deception must be justified by the public interest and this must always be agreed in advance by the broadcaster, unless it is intended to seek consent of those filmed before broadcast.

• Interviews must be fairly edited, Programme-makers must comply with the rules on payments.

• Contributors should take part in programmes on the basis of their informed consent.

PEOPLE UNDER 18

• Parental consent will be required for individuals under 16 appearing in programmes.

• Due care must be taken with regard to the physical and emotional welfare and the dignity of people under 18 years who are involved in programmes. Further, unnecessary distress or anxiety must not be caused.

CRIMINALITY• Programmes involving criminals or about criminality require special care and are likely to be legally contentious.

• The documentary on Aileen involved interviews and footage of Aileen. All of this was legal and involved many police videos.

POTENTIALLY OFFENSIVE MATERIAL

• The commissioning editor, on the advice of the programme lawyer, will ensure that an on-air warning is given to viewers, where appropriate.• Material with the potential to cause offence e.g. strong language, violence, sexual violence, explicit sexual portrayal etc. must always be justifiable by the context.• Aileen contained a lot of offensive material such as swearing, speaking of the victim’s families in an unappreciative manor.

IMPARTIALITY

• Programmes dealing with matters of political or industrial controversy or matters relating to current public policy should be duly impartial.

• There was no worries about being impartial through out this documentary.

COMMERCIAL REFERENCES

• Product placement is prohibited, Programmes should not give undue prominence to commercial products or services.

• There was no commercial references used during the Documentary about Aileen.