Institutions: Part The First

Ok folks… the slides are the full set including some rather important things we haven’t covered yet but need to for the product (so feel free to read through them and be ready with questions)…

Click on the clown to download them..

Don’t get too worried about memorising the various Laws at the moment, the key thing at this stage is to be aware that there are Acts and organisations that influence media production and products… We’ll be covering them in a case study later in the course. 🙂

One thing I do recommend you do is familiarise yourselves with the very excellent BBFC website… and possibly get the free BBFC app (iOS or Android). The BBFC have a very pragmatic and honest approach to film classification and you will learn a LOT simply by taking some time to look through the site. If you’re looking for a way to get started, try picking a film you know and see what the BBFC have said about it. The BBFC Insight is an excellent overview of the thinking behind a particular film’s rating… though be warned: SPOILER ALERTS AHOY!

To be fair, the BBFC will warn you when you’re headed into spoiler territory, but still…

Finally, if you didn’t get the chance in class, do have a go at trying to Rate A Trailer yourself. 🙂

Down With This Sort Of Thing…

Some really interesting and insightful discussions going on today so thanks for that. The whole question of Press Regulation in the UK is filled with unanswered questions, and when we talk about news about a ‘celebrity case’ such as we did today, it is sometimes easier to find arguments. However, when it is a ‘local’ story, it is not as clear cut… or perhaps it is easier?

If we don’t know the people involved, one could argue that there is less temptation for a salacious interest in the story. With that in mind, we will be looking at a couple of more down-to-earth or even mundane news stories that IPSO or Ofcom ruled on.

Finally: make life easier for yourself and read the guidelines in advance! 🙂

Monday Monday…

Your preparation for Monday’s return to (semi-)normality is to read two documents. 🙂 They are:

1) The IPSO Editor’s Code of Practice (Click the icon to download it),

 

and

2) The Sky News Editorial Guidelines 2014/2015

It is important that you read through both and consider how they may (or may not) keep newspapers or news channels on the right side of the law.

In particular, I’d like you to consider how legally binding you think these documents are. Would they still allow a journalist to break the law in an attempt to get a story?

I’ll be checking comments and email between 7pm and 10pm tomorrow (Sunday) if you want to run any ideas by me, or if you are struggling with your Report.

🙂