ETHICS, TV REGULATION AND MEDIA & INFORMATION LITERACY

ILANA ELEÁ Scientific Coordinator Ilana.elea@gu.se

© NORDICOM

 

§  Anthologies, reports and cooperation for raising awareness

§  Children, youth and media

§  Media & Information Literacy and Intercultural Dialogue

The is the precious starting point: the importance of mediations. Between the TV programs and the children there is always a dialogue, not direct effects. The child itself, his or her family opinions, school, peer groups, community, what he or she watch, read, listen to contribute for the way children deal and interpret the vast amount of information they receive and produce daily.

ü  Introduction Children and TV

More about the concept of mediations: Martín-Barbero, J. (1993). Communication, culture and hegemony : from the media to mediations. London: Sage Publications.

§ Implications for behavior

§ Cultivation of worldview and learning

§ Potential for learning

§ Centrality in family and social life

ü  Introduction Children and TV

§ Global media conglomerates

§ The McBride report (UNESCO,1980)

§ How to promote information, dialogue and plurality if TV is in the hands of people whose ultimate goal is profit?

§ Children’s rights, freedom of expression and protection from harm can be combined!  

ü  Introduction Freedom of expression vs. TV regulation?

Freedom of press

§ Part 1, Ethics: children's rights, discourage potentially harmful content and encourage particular types of quality content in TV for children.

§ Part 2, TV regulation: public regulation, self regulation and co-regulation.

§ Part 3, Media &Information Literacy (MIL).

ü  Introduction Presentation´s structure

§ Article 13: every child “shall have the right to freedom of expression, (…) freedom to seek, receive and impart information (…)”

§ Article 17: “(…) access to info and material from a diversity of national and international sources, especially those aimed at the promotion of his or her social, spiritual and moral well being, and physical and mental health.”

§ “creation of appropriate guidelines to protect children from information and material that is injurious to their well being.”

ü  Ethics Children’s Rights UN Convention

“TV content should not include programs which might seriously damage the physical, mental and moral development of minors”.

Article 16 provides that TV advertising shall not directly:

§  (a) exhort minors to buy a product or a service by exploiting their inexperience;

§  (b) encourage minors to persuade their parents or others to purchase the goods or services being advertised;

§  (c) exploit the special trust minors place in parents, teachers or others to purchase the goods or services being advertised.

ü  Ethics European Union Television Without Frontiers Directive

European Union / Television Without Frontiers, 1989, article 22

“TV content should not include programs which might seriously damage the physical, mental and moral development of minors, in particular programs that involve pornography or gratuitous violence”.

Acoustic warning / Visual symbol.

ü  Ethics Potential harmful content Violence, Pornography

§ Advertising "unhealthy" food and drinks in children's programs

Governments and the Commission must encourage media service providers to develop codes of conduct curtailing such advertising.

ü  Ethics European Union Audiovisual Media Services Directive (AMSD)

ü  Ethics Potential harmful content Advertising

§ TV viewing and obesity

§ Is it ethical to target children in TV ads, especially when the goal is to sell products that compromises children’s health?

drama / fiction fairytales

documentaries

Music poetry

Entertainment

Science education

Sports News

ü  Ethics Quality content for children Diversity

§ If you never see anyone that you can really identify with you might want to be someone else.

§ To be seen is one of the most fundamental needs – and to be seen on TV is to be seen in the world.

§ When you read a script or watch a program ask yourself: Is the child in focus?

§ Is it about, or with, children?

§ Can I identify?

ü  Ethics Quality content for children Domestic content

AMSD: requires all TV channels to devote a at least 50% of transmission time of European works to reflect linguistic or cultural specificities in each Member State.

ü  Ethics Quality content Domestic content quotas

§ Diversity

§ Complexity

§ Similarity

§ Unity

§ Family

§ Authenticity

§ Voicing

Lemish, D. (2010). Eight Working Principles for Change in Children’s Television. The Views of Producers Around The World.

ü  Ethics Quality content for children 8 working principles

§ High quality

§ Children should hear, see and express themselves, their culture, their language and their life experiences

§ Appreciation of other cultures in parallel with the child’s own cultural background.

§ Wide-ranging in genre and content, but should not include gratuitous scenes of violence and sex.

§ Regular slots at times when children are available to view.

ü  Ethics Quality content for children The Children’s Television Charter (1995)

§ Public regulation – the public authority is the regulator. In democratic societies it is independent, non-profit.

§ Self regulation – TV producers make up their own regulations and take full responsibility for monitoring them. Codes of conduct and guidelines.

§ Co-regulation – the public authority, the broadcasters and the civil society cooperate. Compulsory age classification, content description.

ü  TV Regulation Main systems

§ Protection harmful content

Laws, Prohibitions, Watershed, Warnings, Ratings

§ Quality content

Media conducts, Quotas, Supporting, Funding

ü  TV Regulation Solutions

§ Commercial ads in TV broadcasts may not be designed to attract the attention of children less than 12.

§ May not appear immediately before or after children’s programs

§ Individuals or characters who play a prominent role in programs that are primarily aimed at children may not appear in commercial advertising.

ü Public Regulation Protection from harmful content Advertising (Sweden)

§  In Sweden: “Programs containing portrayals of violence of a realistic nature or pornographic images which are broadcast on TV must either be preceded by a verbal warning or contain a warning text continuously displayed on the screen throughout the broadcast. The 9pm to 5.30am watershed is used.

ü Public Regulation Protection from harmful content Watershed

Article 5

(…) To protect consumers from incitement to discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation and of combating any such discrimination.

Such action should strike a balance between the protection of individual rights on the one hand and freedom of expression on the other.

ü  Introduction European Union (Recommendation 2006)

Swedish case

§  Arouses fantasy, curiosity, empathy & eagerness to learn.

§  Supports the child’s positive image of itself and its environment

§  Shows human beings equal value but different living-conditions

§  Look upon the audience as our employer and gives space for opinions, experiences and participation

§  Give the audience understanding & knowledge about social & cultural differences.

ü Public Regulation Quality content Media conducts

§ Commercial broadcasters in Sweden > seven hours of children’s (below 12) programming, half should be programs in Swedish or other Nordic languages.

§ In Canada, public broadcasters need to air at least 60% of Canadian content daily, while commercial broadcasters at least 50%. 35% of music on Canadian radio must be Canadian.

§ In Australia, a broadcaster must screen a combined total of at least 260 hours of C programs (for children other than preschoolers) and at least 130 hours of P programs (for preschool children) per year.

ü Public Regulation Quality content Quotas

§ Public grants and tax benefits in Sweden are targeted at film production.

§ In Australia, government sources accounted for about one-third of the total financing for Australian children’s television drama production.

ü Public Regulation Quality content Supporting home-grown content

§ The Danish Film Institute (DFI) receives 25% of the annual government subsidies to produce stories from Danish children´s perspectives.

ü Public Regulation Quality content Funding

USA: Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative

ü  Self-regulation Protection from harmful content Advertising

Spain has opted for the self-regulation formula in 2004 (Self-regulation Code on Television Contents and Children).

Watershed: 8pm to 6 am.

Compromises:

avoiding the inclusion of indecent and insulting language, behavior that is prejudicial to health,

the use of personal and family conflicts as spectacle, messages or scenes with explicit violence or sex.

ü  Self-regulation Protection from harmful content General content

ü Co-regulation Protection from harmful content General content

The Netherlands Institute for the Classification of Audiovisual Media (NICAM).

Kijkwijzer (watch wiser or viewing guide): an age classification and content descriptors.

Content descriptors: violence, sex, fear, drug and alcohol abuse, discrimination and coarse language.

Age bands AL, 6, 12 and 16.

ü Co-regulation Protection from harmful content General content

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-zLrjDpH34&list=PL7F70415D6A865B9C

ü Co-regulation Protection from harmful content General content

Member States should consider:

actions to enable minors' responsible use of audiovisual and on-line information services, in particular through media literacy.

ü Media and Information Literacy EU Recommendation (2006)

Media & Information Literacy is a field defined by UNESCO, promoting the capabilities of being able to:

-  Access

-  Use

-  Understand

-  Critically Analyze, and

-  Produce Media and Information.

© NORDICOM

ü Media & Information Literacy Definition

ü Media and Information Literacy UNESCO curriculum

© NORDICOM

§ Media & Information Literacy has been promoted by UNESCO since 1982.

§ The European Commission since 2009 calls on EU member states and industry to promote Media Literacy in Europe.

§ United Nations/Alliance of Civilizations aims to include Media Literacy in educational curricula across the world.

© NORDICOM

ü Media & Information Literacy Who is promoting MIL?

Australia: ATOM

Canada: Media Smarts

USA: NAMLE; Media Education Foundation

France: Le Clemi

Sweden: Statens Medieråd

UK: British Film Institute

Spain: Media and Information Literacy Observatory

© NORDICOM

ü Media & Information Literacy National Associations

§  UNICEF

§  UNESCO

§  Associazione Culturale Camaleonte

§  Maria Faria Filmes: Paulo Sayas - Documentary “Way beyoind weight”

§  Nordicom and The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media: Ulla Carlsson, Catharina Bucht, Cecilia von Feilitzen

§  Public services in Sweden (UR): Cecilia Boreson, Jannike Qvarnsköld, Ragna Wallmark

§  Authors: Dafna Lemish, Jeanete Steemers, Alessandro D´Armi

ü  Thank you! Hvala ti!

Children Now. (2009). The Impact of Industry Self-Regulation on the Nutritional Quality of Foods Advertised on Television to Children. http://www.childrennow.org/uploads/documents/adstudy_2009.pdf

Viñes, V.T; Oyola, M.L. & Landa, L.B.R. (2008). Contenidos programáticos audiovisuales: experiencias internacionales en regulación. Sphera Pública. Revista de ciencias sociales y de la comunicación. 8, 41-50.

Fernández-Martínez, A. & López-de-Ayala-López, M. C., (2011). "Television and Children: five years after the Self-regulation Code", at Revista Latina de Comunicación Social, 66, 31-62.

D'Arma, A. & Steemers, J. (2012). Localisation Strategies of US- owned Children's Television Networks in Five European Markets, Journal of Children and Media, 6 (2), 147-163 .

D’Arma, A.; Sara, G. & Steemers, J. (2010). Serving Children in Public Service Media. In Lowe, Gregory Ferrell, (ed.) The public in public service media, (pp. 227-242). Gothenburg University: Nordicom.

Steemers, J. & D'Arma, A. Evaluating and regulating the role of public broadcasters in the children’s media ecology: the case of home-grown television content. International Journal of Media & Cultural Politics 8 (1), 65-85.

REFERENCES

Reeve, B. (2013). Private Governance, Public Purpose? Assessing Transparency and Accountability in Self-Regulation of Food Advertising to Children. Bioethical Inquiry , 10, pp.149–163.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2013). Marketing of foods high in fat, salt and sugar to children: update 2012–2013. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/191125/e96859.pdf

Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) (2002). CAB Code of Ethics. http://www.cbsc.ca/english/codes/cabethics.php#Clause2

Mendel, T. & Salomon, E. (2011). The Regulatory Environment for Broadcasting: An International Best Practice Survey for Brazilian Stakeholders. Brasilia: UNESCO.

Nordicity Group Ltd. (2007). The Case for Kids Programming: Children’s and Youth Audio-Visual Production in Canada

REFERENCES

World Summit on Television and Children in Melbourne, Australia (1995).The Children's Television Charter. http://www.nordicom.gu.se/en/clearinghouse/childrens-television-charter

Bond, B.J., Richards, M.N., Calvert, S.L. (2013) Media and obesity. In Lemish, D. (Ed.)The Routledge International Handbook of Children, Adolescents and Media. (pp.232-239).. USA and Canada: Routledge.

Lustyik, K. (2013) Media regulation: the protection and promotion of home-grown children-s television. . In Lemish, D. (Ed.) The Routledge International Handbook of Children, Adolescents and Media. (pp.378-385). USA and Canada: Routledge.

Center for Law and Democracy. (2012). Freedom of expression and the regulation of television to protect children: comparative study of Brazil and other countries. Canada: CLD.

Reeve, B. (2013). Private Governance, Public Purpose? Assessing Transparency and Accountability in Self-Regulation of Food Advertising to Children. Bioethical Inquiry , 10, pp.149–163.

World Health Organization (WHO). (2013). Marketing of foods high in fat, salt and sugar to children: update 2012–2013. http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/191125/e96859.pdf

.

REFERENCES

European Union. (1998) (2006). European Union Recommendation on the Protection of Minors. http://ec.europa.eu/avpolicy/reg/minors/rec/index_en.htm

Moe, H. & Mjos, O.J. (2013). The Arm´s Length Principle in Nordic Public Broadcasting Regulation (pp. 85-92). In Carlsson, U. (Ed.) Public service media from a nordic horizon. Gothenburg University: Nordicom.

Enli, S.E. & Staksrud, E. (2013). PSB serving children: past, present and future (pp.117-130). In Carlsson, U. (Ed.) Public service media from a nordic horizon. Gothenburg University: Nordicom.

Lemish, D. (2007). Children and television: a global perspective. USA, UK, Australia: Blackwell Publishing.

Palzer, C. & Scheuer, A. (2003). Self-regulation, co-regulation & public regulation. In Carlsson, U. & Feilitzen, C. )Eds). Promote or protect: perspectives on Media Literacy and Media regulations. (Yearbook 2003) (pp.165-177). Gothenburg University: Nordicom.

REFERENCES

European Broadcasting Union (EBU)(2013). Media freedom and pluralism. http://www3.ebu.ch/files/live/sites/ebu/files/Knowledge/Publication%20Library/EBU-Viewpoint-MediaFreedom_EN.pdf

Martín-Barbero, J. (1993). Communication, culture and hegemony : from the media to mediations. London: Sage Publications.

EU Kids Online. Reports and Findings. http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20Online%20reports.aspx

Fedorov, A. (2008). Media Education around the world. Acta didaticta naposensia, 1(2), 57-68.

European Comission. Media Programe. http://ec.europa.eu/culture/media/media-literacy/index_en.htm

Haoechsmann, M.; Poyntz, S. (2012). Media literacies: a critical introduction. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.

Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and Media Literacy: connecting culture and classroom. London: Corwin.

Kupiainen, R. (2013). Media and digital literacies in secondary school. New York: Peter Lang.

Lanksher, C. & Knobel, M. (2013). A new literacies reader: educational perspectives. New York: Peter Lang Publishing.

REFERENCES

Lee, A., So, C. (2014) Media literacy and information literacy differences and similarities. Comunicar, 42. The Journal of Media Literacy (2013). 60 years of contemporary literacy in action. 60, 1&2. UNESCO (2013). Conceptual relationship of information literacy and media literacy in knowledge societies. World Summit in the Information Society. Comunicar (2012). Teachers training in Media Literacy: the UNESCO curriculum. Comunicar, 39, vol. X. Wilson, C., Grizzle A. & al. (2011). Media and Information Curriculum for Teachers. Paris: UNESCO. Steemers, J. Children’s culture television (2013). In Lemish, D. (ed.) The Routledge International Handbook of Choldren, Adolescents and Media, (pp.103-110). USA and Canada: Routledge. Lemish, D. (2010). Eight Working Principles for Change in Children’s Television. The Views of Producers Around The World. In Bucht, C., Carlsson, U., & Feilitzen, C.v. (Eds.) New Questions, New Insights, New Approaches. Yearbook 2010. Gothenburg University: The International Clearinghouse on Children, Youth and Media. European Union. List of EU Audiovisual Regulators. http://ec.europa.eu/digital-agenda/en/list-eu-audiovisual-regulators

REFERENCES

Matthews, A. E. (2008). Children and obesity: a pan-European project examining the role of food marketing. European Journal of Public Health, 18 (1), 7-11.

REFERENCES