Mac201 impartiality regulation 2015
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Transcript of Mac201 impartiality regulation 2015
Handy background reading
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Which? Report (2012) Professions by percentage of people
who said they are trustworthy:
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1. Politicians 7%2. Journalists 7%3. Bankers 11%4. Estate agents 11%5. Builders 19%6. Civil servants 25%7. Accountants 29%8. Lawyers 35%9. Engineers 56%10. Teachers 69%
Objective reporting
1. What?
2. Who?
3. When?
4. Where?
5. How?
And if possible….
6. Why?
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Objectivity = verifiable facts (not interpretation)
The rise of The rise of ““impartialityimpartiality””??
Defined as:• A “sound practice [that] makes clear distinction
between news reports and expressions of opinion. News reports should be free of opinion or bias of any kind” • American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1923 in Allan,
2004: 22
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Canada, 2013
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)
Discovered Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) was hiring junior employees to train temp staff to replace themselves
Canadaland blog discovered the follow-up story was dropped in dubious circumstances
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Canada, 2013
CBC’s senior business correspondent and star presenter, Amanda Lang, invited journalists into a conference call dismissing the story. Lang paid C$15,000 for public speaking events, one of
which sponsored by RBC Lang booked to speak for the outsourcing company
hired by RBC Lang’s partner is board member at RBC
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Canada, 2013
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Canada, 2013
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Canada, 2015
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Biased towards the Right?
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• Eurosceptic• Pro-business• Anti-immigration
“On BBC News at Six, business representatives outnumbered trade union spokespersons by more than five to one (11 vs 2) in 2007 and by 19 to one in 2012”
“To ensure that news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartial ity” http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/broadcasting/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code/impartiality/
BBC have extra guidelines http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/our_work/other/century21.shtml
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Accusations of bias BBC Trust
6 impartiality reviews since 2007: 2014: Rural affairs 2013: religion and
ethics, UK/EU relationship, immigration
2012: “Arab spring” 2012: science coverage 2008: 4 nations 2007: business coverage
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OFCOM guidance notes
Section 5 - Due Impartiality and Due Accuracy and Undue Prominence of Views and Opinions
‘“Due” is an important qualification to the concept of impartiality. Impartiality itself means not favouring one side over another. “Due” means adequate or appropriate to the subject and nature of the programme.
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OFCOM guidance notes
Section 5 - Due Impartiality and Due Accuracy and Undue Prominence of Views and Opinions
So “due impartiality” does not mean an equal division of time has to be given to every view, or that every argument and every facet of every argument has to be represented. The approach to due impartiality may vary according to the nature of the subject, the type of programme and channel, the likely expectation of the audience as to content, and the extent to which the content and approach is signalled to the audience.
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv/ifi/codes/bcode/undue/
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Regulation of the BBC
Abides by terms set out via: BBC Charter (BBC Trust) Department for Culture, Media and Sport agreement (‘the
Agreement’) The Communications Act 2003 (“the Act”) The Broadcasting Act 1996 Terms agreed by OFCOM and the BBC
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Regulation of the BBC
‘Ofcom’s published procedures for handling standards complaints will not apply in cases relating to accuracy and impartiality in BBC programmes on UK Public Services.’ Ofcom, 8/3/2007, Memorandum of Understanding,
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/csg/ofcombbc/
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Addition to the MoU
5. No difficulty arises when a service/programme gives rise to an issue of accuracy or impartiality alone: the Trust has sole jurisdiction. But sometimes a single service/programme gives rise to an issue both of offence and/or harm, and accuracy http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/how-ofcom-is-run/committees/ofcom-bbc-joint-steering-group/addition-to-the-mou
/
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Addition to the MoU
6. In such a situation, Ofcom and the Trust have agreed that the following approach will apply: both organisations have jurisdiction only if the fundamental issue satisfies three conditions:
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Addition to the MoU
6. In such a situation, Ofcom and the Trust have agreed that the following approach will apply: both organisations have jurisdiction only if the fundamental issue satisfies three conditions: 1. It is not an issue arising from News/news headlines or
Current Affairs content as defined in the Memorandum of Understanding; and
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Addition to the MoU
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Addition to the MoU
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http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/csg/ofcombbc/mou_addition/
Subsections of note
5.7 Views and facts must not be misrepresented. Views must also be presented with due weight over appropriate timeframes.
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Subsections of note
5.8 Any personal interest of a reporter or presenter, which would call into question the due impartiality of the programme, must be made clear to the audience
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Subsections of note
5.9 Presenters and reporters (with the exception of news presenters and reporters in news programmes) […] may express their own views on matters of political or industrial controversy or matters relating to current public policy. However alternative viewpoints must be adequately represented either in the programme, or in a series of programmes taken as a whole.
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What does this mean?
Criticism + praise (separate stories) = balance overall?
Strict rules governing regulation = professionalism is always achieved?
Difficult to detect linguistic bias = overall structure of news may be indicative?
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Impartiality = counter-productive?
Traditionally, impartiality was thought to be achieved by balancing the views of the main parties on the issues of the day as perceived by Westminster. Today, however, for many people, for example those concerned with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, animal rights, climate change and so on, the play of forces within parliament no longer constitutes what they regard as politics. Petley in Allen, 2010: 603
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Chomsky (2002) The Common Good
“The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum - even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there's free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.”
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Far right?Far left?
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“This goes to the heart of science reporting – you wouldn't have a homeopath speaking alongside a brain surgeon for balance, as that would be absurd.
It's just as absurd to have a climate sceptic for balance against the work of the overwhelming majority of climate scientists.”- Steve Jones, biologist
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Conclusion
Objectivity can never be satisfied due to the structural limitations of strict deadlines for news and the consequences of routinising the unexpected.
News aims for impartial ity which is problematic given that news selection and posit ioning means subjective value decisions sti l l have to be made
The ‘truth’ of news is that it is ideological
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Points to consider:
Objectivity (is it possible?)
Impartiality (is it necessary?)
Balance (is it a compromise?)
What are the techniques by which the news makes itself credible?
How easy/difficult is it to spot our biases?
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Beneficial bias?
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Sources
S. Allan, 2004, News Culture 2nd Edition, Berkshire: Open University Press A. Bell, 1991, The Language of the New Media, Oxford: Blackwell. N. Davies, 2008, Flat Earth News, London: Chatto & Windus Stuart Hall, ‘The Whites of Their Eyes: Racist Ideologies and the Media’ in Paul Marris and Sue Thornham (eds.)
1997, Media Studies: A Reader, Dundee: Edinburgh University Press S. Hall, C. Critcher, Jefferson, Clarke, Roberts, 1978, Policing the Crisis: Mugging, the State, Law and Order, D. Hallin, 1986, The Uncensored War: The Media and Vietnam, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Justin Lewis, Andrew Williams and Bob Franklin, 2008, ‘Four Rumours and an Explanation: A political economic
account of journalists’ changing newsgathering and reporting practices’ in Journalism Practice, Vol 2, No 1, pp 25-45.
M. Leapman, 1992, Treacherous Estate, London: Hodder & Stoughton. R. K. Manoff and M. Shudson (eds.), 1986, Reading the News, New York: Pantheon. J. Palmer, 1998, ‘News production: news values’ in A. Briggs and P. Cobley, The Media: An Introduction, Harlow:
Longman. R. McChesney, 2001, ‘Global Media, Neoliberalism, and Imperialism’ at
http://www.monthlyreview.org/301rwm.htm P. Schlesinger, 1987, Putting Reality Together 2nd edition, London: Methuen. L. V. Sigal, 1973, Reporters and Officials, Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath. M. Shudson, 1991, ‘The sociology of news production revisited’ in J. Curran and M. Gurevitch (eds.), Mass Media
and Society, Arnold: London. G. Tuchman, 1978, Making News, New York: Free Press.
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