Regulators

Press Complaints Commission

o   Regulates the press: newspapers & Magazines

o   Founded in 1953 as the Press Council though many companies breached their standards in the 1980s and in 1990 a report was made by the Home Office which led to the creation of the PCC by the press, to avoid external regulation. Though it has no legal powers, all press fund and adhere to its rules – making the press self-regulating. In 2011, the organisation was nearly replaced due to its lack of action in the Phone Hacking Scandal; instead, the company changed its guidelines though it is since being replaced with the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

o   Its rules are generally followed by the press; though if broken, any member of the public can report a publication which has volunteered itself to follow the rules of the PCC.  They can complain if the publication breaks any of the 16 parts of the PCC code of practice.

o   If any part of the code is broken, the PCC can force the publication company to correct an incorrectly printed fact, whether intended or not; they can make the publisher write an apology or provide a letter from the complainant. They cannot impose financial penalties on publishers.

BBFC

o   Regulates films and home releases like DVD or Blu-Ray.

o   Founded in 1912 as the British Board of Film Censors, the company reviewed cinemas to deem them fit for practice as shops and fairground huts had hastily been converted into cinemas at the time which caused a number of Nitrate fires. The BBFC also censored films and had the power to ban them if appropriate – in 1928, the Seashell and the Clergyman was deemed ‘too meaningless’ to be shown in cinemas. The name was changed in 1984 to the British Board of Film Classification as it did more at the time than censor films. As of 1984, they can censor home release like Video (at the time) and DVD and they also have the power to censor some games though this was passed to the Video Standards Council and PEGI.

o   It provides certificates for films, preventing audiences younger than the movies’ intended audience from watching – though many cinemas follow the guidelines set by the BBFC, they do not have to follow them and can choose not to showcase the film if cinemas think it should not be shown.

Ofcom

o   Regulates broadcasting (TV, Radio)

o   Founded in 2001 (announced by the Queen in her parliament speech) and launched in 2003 to replace the previous authority.  They license all UK TV and radio services in the UK. Broadcasters must comply with their terms and they must also follow their Broadcasting code – a list of rules which all TV and radio companies must apply to all their broadcast content. Following the phone-hacking scandal, an investigation was launched to find out if Sky Broadcasting was fit to broadcast as it was owned by the News Corporation; the investigation has still not been closed.

o   They have the power to ban and raid pirate radio stations in the UK and can prevent the broadcasting of shows if they do not adhere to their rules.

ASA

o   Regulates advertising in the UK

o   Partly founded in 1961 by the Advertising Association.  It was officially set up as the Advertising Standards Authority in 1962 to review complaints sent to them which about advertisements which breached the code set the year prior. The ASA has since remained the only advertising regulatory body in the UK.

o   They enforce rules which apply to Print, TV, Radio, the Internet. In print; news companies must have an advertorial – giving them permission to publish adverts, though if the editor decides to change the ad; it can be considered as an editorial. The ASA gained control over broadcast advertising in 2004; they can enforce rules for shopping channels, though only if they mislead customers or cause widespread problems. The company does have difficulty with ads on the internet due to its non-geographical nature.