Unit 7 guide

Here is the unit content for the Unit 7: Understanding the Creative Media Sector that we have looked at so far. This is to help you understand the three topics we have covered and how they have been broken up for your assignments. 

1)Understand the structure and ownership of the media sector

Sector: television, radio; film; animation; interactive media; computer games; publishing; press; photo-imaging; advertising and marketing Structure and ownership: private ownership; public service media; multinationals; independents; conglomerates; voluntary; cross-media; diversification; vertical and horizontal integration; share of ownership; mergers and takeovers; cross-media regulation; sources of income; product diversity; profitability of product range; performance against financial concerns; organisational objectives; licenses and franchises; competitors; customers; national and global competition and trends.

2)Understand ethical and legal constraints within the media sector 

Ethical: social issues and sensitivities, eg representation of gender, representation of religious beliefs, linguistic usages, accessibility; professional body codes of practice, eg BBC producers’ guidelines, Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C) accessibility standards 

Legal: content, interpretation and application of laws relating to media, eg Broadcasting Act 1990 (and later amendments), Official Secrets Act 1989, Obscene Publications Act 1959 (and later amendments), Films Act 1985, Video Recordings Act 1984, Race Relations Act 1976 (and later amendments), Human Rights Act 1998, Licensing Act 2003 (and later amendments); privacy law; copyright and intellectual property law; libel law.

3)Understand the regulation of the media sector Regulatory and professional bodies: 

eg:British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), British Video Association, Film Distributors Association, Video Standards Council (VSC), Television, Radio and Telecommunications Office for Communication (Ofcom), Trading Standards Central, Trading Standards Nets, Press Complaints Commission (PCC), Advertising Standards Authority(ASA), The Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF), The Independent Games Developers Association (IGDA), British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA), The International Visual Communication Association (IVCA), Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C), British Web Design and Marketing Association, British Interactive Multimedia Association (BIMA) Regulatory issues: eg ownership, monopoly, access, consumer choice, freedom of information, censorship, taste and decency.