‘Understanding the ethical and legal considerations when working in the creative media sector’
Workers involved in the creative media sector need to understand in detail the laws that are made to protect their work. Media is made to be consumed be people. This could be either to entertain, to inform or to educate. It is important that producers in the industry follow the laws that are provided because people are influenced by what they see and hear in the media. Following the laws stops the producers being sued.
Laws- These are written, approved and enforced by a particular government. If you break a law you could face police investigation court appearance.
Ethics- Ethics are rules of conducts, responsibility (not the law). If you break an ethical code you may be forced to act with ethical disapproval from your peers or professional body.
Legal and Ethical constraints.
Legal constraints.
Legalization that controls the creative media sector-- covered by law. It is something that is restricted because of the law. In everyday life, you are legally constrained from making libelous claims about another individual. However, this depends on what area of the law you are talking about. There are some main legal constraints and these mainly apply to business. http://www.answers.com/article/680054/legal-constraints-definition use this website to help you.
Ethical constraints.
working within accepted norms of society. Ethics are what define the way a person or group acts. They are the moral principles. These are some of the things that TV producers have to be careful with and are effected by: Trust, Liability, Truth, Privacy and Serving the public's interest. (Slideshare.net, 2012)
Privacy law (Human rights law)
The privacy law is a regulation that protects a persons right to be left alone always. This means people are allowed to lead their own lives without public scrutiny. 'The right to privacy' and 'The right to be left alone' (harassment and data protection). Underneath are links to some examples of these which should help you to understand in maybe more detail.
This example is about a Facebook message that broke the privacy law of people using it. This is basically saying that Facebook private messages are now being opened onto the news feed for everyone to see.
Copyright and intellectual property law.
Intellectual property is something that is unique to you if physically created. i.e. an idea is not your intellectual property but the words you write are. Copyright applies to any work that has been recorder in some way. This could even be YouTube video. This could be artistic work, literary or even dramatic work. (Slideshare.net, 2012) Copyright is a type of intellectual law that protects your work. By knowing your rights and having the right type of protection you can stop people stealing or copying:
- the names of your products or brands.
- your inventions.
- the design or look of your products.
- things your write, make or produce.
Example: Amazons 1-click patent. https://www.legalzoom.com/articles/top-5-intellectual-property-disputes
Libel law.
To publish in print something which is not true or may harm that persons reputation and may bring hate or scorn towards them.It must be a statement which claims to be fact and is not clearly identified as an opinion. Libel laws are used to balance the right of free speech. Their aim is to protect the reputation of individuals from unjustified attacks. (Sturcke, 2006). Underneath are some examples.
- Example: http://marketingland.com/uk-court-finds-tweet-libelous-because-of-implied-meaning-46724
- Example: Tweet is found libelous because of implied meaning by UK law.
Why do we have legal acts?
Legal acts are used to keep us safe. They also protect us and the work that we produce. They help a lot with stopping damaging lies from spreading. Additionally they stop obscene acts of behaviour and help to guard the state.
Who do they affect?
Libel laws can affect anyone. For example the public or the government. They are very important as they [protect everyone and the things they produce.
—Official
Secrets Act?
The Official Secrets Act is a term
used in Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom, and
formerly in Canada and New Zealand for legislation that provides for the
protection of state secrets and official information, mainly related to national
security.
—Obscene
Publications Act?
The Obscene Publications Act 1959
(c. 66) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that
significantly reformed the law related to obscenity in England and Wales. This act is to stop any content from getting on any media sites etc. which may cause corrupt to anyone or thing. These would be things such as publishing things on the media that are extreme sexual images etc.
Why is it important for producers to understand the ethical considerations when working in the creative sectors?
It is important that producers understand the considerations because they are laws that are made for a reason to protect them and their work. Also if any of these laws are broken they could be fined or investigated by the police. A constraint is a restriction on something. They are made to prevent something else from happening.
Employment Legalization
Employment legalization is a law that protects employers and employees from unhealthy situations and working conditions. All health and safety regulations must be properly assessed.
Social issues and sensitivity
There are a number of areas in social issues and sensitivity. These include; representation in gender, representation of religious beliefs, linguistic usages and accessibility.
Representation of gender
This means, the relationship between genders and the media and how they are represented through mass media such as radio and TV etc. For examples TV adverts are most commonly known for bad gender representation. Take the Iceland advert, they used to talk about 'mums going to Iceland' but nothing about the men or 'fathers'. This advert was basically saying that only the woman do the food shopping, like it was their job and theirs only and that the men did not do that type of thing. However this isn't true in equal cases, men and woman do the food shopping equally in most families. Representation of gender is the way that men and woman thought of due top the mass media. If the media say something bad about woman or men, they influence the public to believe this, which is not fair on neither the woman or men. Other examples of this would be how men are thought of as 'sex objects' in woman's magazines, and are genuinely associated with sports cars etc. The mass media may make men feel like they are wrong and should be like what the media say they are like. It influences audiences to change who they are because they do not feel they are 'right' or 'fit in'. (Wikipedia, 2016)
Media typically stereotype men and woman. For example, the 'typical' characteristics of men are; Strong, tough and brave. Whereas the woman are known as; Fragile, soft and fragrant. We all know that media shapes our conceptions and the way we think about men and woman. Role models are another thing included in gender representation. We encounter different male and female role models everyday when watching or listening to the media.
Feminism has been a recognised social philosophy for more than 40 years. In the media, representation of woman remain worrying. These are some of the things that represent woman across all media;
- Beauty
- Size
- Sexuality
- emotional
- relationships
- Strength
- Power
- Sexual attractiveness
- Physique
- Independence
Representation of religious beliefs
For some reason, it is hard for people to talk about 'media' and 'religion' in the same sentence without bringing into minds the thought of 'terrorism' or any other 'bad' story. For example, the collapse of the world trade centers in 2001. (Sagepublications.com, 2016) The way in which religions are depicted in the media is vital because it influences the way the public think and feel towards other religions. Ultimately this determines how religious groups are treated and perceived. Professionals are often hired to by faith groups to prevent any misunderstandings. The media and religions relationship twenty years ago was a growing topic of interest, however it is now used as a field of study. Religion in the media is commonly exaggerated, making the public believe things that sometimes are not completely true.
Two key developments in religion and media:
Organised religion is found in different types of media such as, spiritual websites or church magazines.
The elements of religion such as belief and deep feeling are experienced throughout the different media sectors. (Stout, 2011)
Recent studies show that the discussion of religious beliefs in the media has increased over the last few years. The main religion that has grown in interest is Islam and all the negatives. Through the media, Islam is known as a 'problem'. Kim knott and her team found that most of the media references including the Islam religion referred to them as extremists, terrorists and radicals in media such as newspapers and TV.
Representation of linguistic usages.
Linguistic usages in media is a study of media speech. This means the way in which people are represented, by the way they speak. This could be meaning either the language they speak or the accent in which they speak in. For example, people from different countries speak in different languages, such as Spanish or French. Whereas accents could be from different places in one country. An example would be that people from Newcastle speak in a different accent than people in Liverpool. However, linguistic usages could also be what you are allowed and are not allowed to say in or on the media. For example, TV programmes that are published before the watershed are not allowed to use offensive words/ swear words. This would be programmes such as children or family TV that is published before 9:30pm. (Kiefer, 2016)
Health and safety act
The health and safety act is a piece of primary legalisation covering health and safety in Great Britain. These could be risk assessments. These are carried out a number of times in plenty of jobs. In the media, this could be included when filming. For example when a producer is filming, they will have to carry out a risk assessment to make sure the peoples health safety isn't at risk. Things such as wires lying around on the floor or low hanging lights etc, would all be health and safety regulations. All cameras and lights etc have to be checked to make sure they aren't going to break/fall etc. The health and safety act was made to reduce any hazards that are going to hurt members of the public. The health and safety executive as well as local authorities are responsible for enforcing the act. He is also responsible for a number of other acts that have been produced in the working environment. These risk assessments could be used in any working environment, especially places such as building sites. (Hse.gov.uk, 2016)
Linguistic usages in media is a study of media speech. This means the way in which people are represented, by the way they speak. This could be meaning either the language they speak or the accent in which they speak in. For example, people from different countries speak in different languages, such as Spanish or French. Whereas accents could be from different places in one country. An example would be that people from Newcastle speak in a different accent than people in Liverpool. However, linguistic usages could also be what you are allowed and are not allowed to say in or on the media. For example, TV programmes that are published before the watershed are not allowed to use offensive words/ swear words. This would be programmes such as children or family TV that is published before 9:30pm. (Kiefer, 2016)
Health and safety act
The health and safety act is a piece of primary legalisation covering health and safety in Great Britain. These could be risk assessments. These are carried out a number of times in plenty of jobs. In the media, this could be included when filming. For example when a producer is filming, they will have to carry out a risk assessment to make sure the peoples health safety isn't at risk. Things such as wires lying around on the floor or low hanging lights etc, would all be health and safety regulations. All cameras and lights etc have to be checked to make sure they aren't going to break/fall etc. The health and safety act was made to reduce any hazards that are going to hurt members of the public. The health and safety executive as well as local authorities are responsible for enforcing the act. He is also responsible for a number of other acts that have been produced in the working environment. These risk assessments could be used in any working environment, especially places such as building sites. (Hse.gov.uk, 2016)
Codes of practice
Codes of practice have a number of categories. workers that fall into one of these categories are known to be making additional contributions to UK film and TV industry and not displacing resident labour force, are exempt from completing the resident labour market test. (Anon, 2016) In media a lot of pre-production work is done, by all companies, this is to make sure that what they are planning to make agrees with the codes of practice, laws and regulations that are in control of that society. Codes of practice include things like; obtaining permission to use copyright material, health and safety considerations that must take place before any production begins and gaining permission from people who you may use in some of your work. Things such as, certain words or phrases you can or cannot use during any of your produced work and any work that may have been made to harm or offence another person. There are loads of codes of practice, many of which are also included in the law and like any other member of the public, if you do not abide by the law or rules, then you suffer with the consequences. (Mr Edwards: Media Studies, 2013)
Bibliography
Anon, (2016). [podcast] Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/350320/T25_CoP_workers_film__tv_01-2014.pdf [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
Hse.gov.uk. (2016). Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 – legislation explained. [online] Available at: http://www.hse.gov.uk/legislation/hswa.htm [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
Kiefer, P. (2016). Media Linguistics. [online] Aila.info. Available at: http://www.aila.info/en/research/list-of-rens/media-linguistics.html [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
(Slideshare.net, 2012). (2016). [online] Available at: http://(Slideshare.net, 2012) [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
(Sturcke, 2006). (2016). [online] Available at: http://(Sturcke, 2006) [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
(Wikipedia, 2016). (2016). [online] Available at: http://(Wikipedia, 2016) [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
(Wilson, 2016). (2016). [online] Available at: http://(Wilson, 2016) [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
(Sagepublications.com, 2016). (2016). [online] Available at: http://(Sagepublications.com, 2016) [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
(Stout, 2011). (2016). [online] Available at: http://(Stout, 2011) [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
Stout, D. (2011). Media and religion. New York: Routledge.
Mr Edwards: Media Studies. (2013). Unit 1.18 Codes of Practice and Regulation. [online] Available at: https://mrdedwards.wordpress.com/about/unit-1-9-codes-of-practice-and-regulation/ [Accessed 15 Apr. 2016].
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