Unit 7: Creative Media Sector 7:1 Understand the structure and
ownership of the media sector.
Slide 2
In this PowerPoint, I will explain the differences between a
public broadcasting model, BBC, and a commercial broadcasting
model, Sky; I will also look at the positives and negatives of
each. INTRODUCTION
Slide 3
A public broadcasting service is a television, radio, and/or
other electronic media outlet whose main purpose is to serve the
public. Public broadcasters receive funding from multiple sources
including license fees, individual contributions, public financing
and commercial financing. Public broadcasting may be nationally or
locally operated, depending on the country and/or the station. In
some countries, public broadcasting is run by a single
organization. Other countries have multiple public broadcasting
organizations operating regionally or in different languages.
Commercial broadcasting now also exists in most of these countries;
however the number of countries with only public broadcasting
declined substantially during the latter part of the 20th century.
PUBLIC BROADCASTING MODEL - BBC
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Positives of the Public Broadcasting Model The broadcaster is
there to serve the public. The broadcasting channels are used to
promote active citizenship* via information from news and
educational programmes. Channels have a wide variety of diverse and
innovative shows. Broadcasters see regulations as a way to maintain
quality. Negatives of the Public Broadcasting Model Broadcasters
are not always immune from pressure from outside sources such as
government. *Active citizenship refers to a philosophy in which
members of a country have certain rights, roles and
responsibilities to their society. POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES
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Commercial broadcasting (also called private broadcasting) is
when a television, radio, and/or other electronic media outlets(s)
are part of a privately owned corporate media, as opposed to state
sponsored group. The main purpose of commercial broadcasting is to
make money for the owners and stockholders. It was the United
States first model of radio (and later television) during the
1920s, in contrast with the public television model in Europe
during the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s which prevailed worldwide, except
in the United States, until the 1980s. COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING
MODEL SKY
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Positives of the Commercial Broadcasting Model Broadcasters
encourage viewers to enjoy themselves. Broadcasters like Sky have
aired iconic shows such as Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire.
Broadcasters like Sky have a wide range of channels available to
even viewers who arent paying to get the full package. Negatives of
the Commercial Broadcasting Model Innovation is often seen as a
threat to standardized yet profitable tactics. Broadcasters can
sometimes see regulation as an interference. People have to pay
approximately 60 a month to access all the channels Sky endorses.
POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES
Slide 7
A public broadcasting model is more focused on providing the
audience with high quality programmes while a commercial
broadcasting model is more concerned about a large selection of
channels and shows, regardless of quality, and generate profits.
COMPARING MODELS
Slide 8
Public Broadcasting Model A public broadcaster receives their
funding from a television licence fee or in some cases individual
contributions, government funding and/or commercial sources like
merchandise. Public broadcasters do not rely on advertising as much
as commercial broadcasters, or at all; this allows public
broadcasters to air programmes that are not interrupted by
commercials and air shows that may not appeal to the mass market
such as public affairs shows, radio and television documentaries,
and educational programmes. Commercial Broadcasting Model
Commercial broadcasting is primarily funded through the airing
radio advertisements and television advertisements. Other methods
of income generation include subscription-based services which
means that anyone who want access to all (or most) of the channels
a broadcasters has to offer then they would have to pay a monthly
or annual fee. INCOME GENERATION
Slide 9
BBC Doctor Who Doctor Who is a British science-fiction
television programme produced by the BBC. Top Gear Top Gear is a
British television motoring themed entertainment series produced by
the BBC. BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of
the BBC responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and
current affairs. EastEnders EastEnders is a British television soap
opera show produced by the BBC. Newsnight Newsnight is a weekday
BBC Television current affairs programme produced by the BBC. Sky
[Atlantic] Game of Thrones Game of Thrones is an American fantasy
drama television series adapted from George R. R. Martin's A Song
of Ice and Fire for HBO in America. Boardwalk Empire Boardwalk
Empire is an American period drama series from the American cable
channel HBO. The Borgias The Borgias is a historical-fiction drama
television series, it debuted in 2011 and was canceled in 2013.
FLAGSHIP PROGRAMMES
Slide 10
REGULATIONS
Slide 11
The BBC is regulated by two governing bodies, the BBC Trust and
Ofcom. BBC Trust The BBC Trust is one of the governing bodies of
the BBC. The organisation is independent of the BBCs management or
any external bodies. The goals of the trust include: To ensure the
BBC remains independent, resisting pressure and influence from
external sources. To ensure the BBC's management delivers public
value by providing distinctive services of the highest quality to
all the people and all the communities across the United Kingdom.
PUBLIC BROADCASTING MODEL GOVERNING BODIES
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Ofcom (Office of Communications) is a government-approved
regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting,
telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Unlike the BBC Trust, Ofcom has the ability to regulate all UK
Television and radio channels like Channel 4, ITV, etc. Ofcom has
the power to regulate the BBC's television and radio services aimed
at audiences in the UK, but not the World Service which is
grant-in-aid funded. Ofcom's Broadcasting Code applies in the
following areas: Protection of under 18s Harm and Offence Avoidance
of inciting crime or disorder Responsible approach to religious
content Prohibition of use of images of very brief duration
Fairness Privacy OFCOM
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Sky is regulated by Ofcom, although Ofcom can only regulate Sky
channels that are aired in the UK. Sky additionally regulates
itself and allows customers to send in complaints to its website.
COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING MODEL
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ETHICAL AND LEGAL CONSTRAINTS
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Throughout the BBCs long history there have been MANY
controversies, these have ranged from political to cultural. Here
are some of the most notable incidents: Top gear The popular
motoring-themed show, Top Gear has become somewhat infamous for
igniting controversy, one of the most notable being: Mexican
Mockery During the second episode of series sixteen, the presenters
mocked the Mexican sports car on justification of it being designed
in Mexico, during this the presenters made several jokes about
Mexican stereotypes, Clarkson ended the conversation by saying that
the Mexican ambassador to Britain would be too lazy to make any
kind of complaint, this prompted the Mexican ambassador, Eduardo
Medina Mora, to write to the BBC. News Report on the controversy:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0jv15XKToVI HISTORY OF CONTROVERSIES
TOP GEAR
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The CBBC children's television show, Blue Peter, has had quite
a few controversies in its recent history. Here are a few: Richard
Bacon Fired In October 1998, Richard Bacon had his contract
terminated mid-run, after he admitted to taking cocaine, Lorraine
Heggessey, the Head of BBC Children's programmes at the time,
apologised on air for the incident. Fake Phone Competition Winner
It was revealed by the BBC that a phone-in competition supporting
the UNICEF "Shoe Biz Appeal", held on 27 November 2006, was rigged.
The competition was rigged due to a technical error with receiving
the calls. A child visiting the studio pretended to be the winning
caller who had won the phone-in. She also went on to say that the
programme would not feature premium rate telephone competitions in
the future. This resulted in Blue Peter being fined 50,000 by
Ofcom. Socksgate Blue Peter hit the headlines again in September
2007 when an online vote on Blue Peter website took place to choose
the name of the new Blue Peter kitten in January but due to
problems with the voting system the staff overruled the decision to
call the cat Cookie, the name chosen by the voters, and the kitten
was instead Socks. As a result of the negative media coverage the
original cat, Socks, was joined by another kitten named Cookie.
BLUE PETER
Slide 17
On 18 October 2008, BBC Radio 2 broadcasted a pre-recorded
episode of The Russell Brand Show which featured the host Russell
Brand and his guest Jonathan Ross leaving several messages on
Andrew Sachs answering machine, including explicit comments about
Brand's relationship with Sachs's granddaughter, Georgina Baillie.
After the show aired, the BBC received over a 1,000 complaints over
the offensive material and the fact that it was allowed to be
broadcasted, by October 30th the number of complaints had reached
30,000. Aftermath The BBC apologised to license fee payers
specifically to Sachs and Baillie. Jonathan Ross was suspended
without pay for 12 weeks on 30th October and Russell Brand and
Lesley Douglas, Controller of Radio 2, resigned from the BBC. Ofcom
fined the BBC 150,000 of breaking the Ofcom Broadcasting Code.
Ofcoms Full Adjudication
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/enforcement/content-sanctions-
adjudications/BBCRadio2TheRussellBrandShow.pdf SACHSGATE
Slide 18
The News International phone-hacking scandal otherwise known as
"Hackgate" is a controversy involving the now defunct News of the
World and other British newspapers published by News International,
a subsidiary of the then-News Corporation. Employees of the
newspapers were accused of hacking the phones of murdered
schoolgirl Milly Dowler, relatives of deceased British soldiers,
and victims of the 7/7 London bombings and bribing police officers.
The scandal resulted in the News of the World being closed down and
an ongoing inquiry. COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING MODEL
Slide 19
After comparing a public model (BBC) to a commercial model it
is clear that the commercial model is designed to be run like a
business with the goal being profits rather than public service. A
public model on the other hand is more focused informing and
entertaining the public. While the BBC has a small amount of
channels compered to Sky, it aims to have quality over quantity and
as seen with the flagship programmes above, the BBC has a more
diverse range of shows compared to Sky. CONCLUSION
Slide 20
Slide 21
Bethesda Softworks is an American video game publisher company
and is a subsidiary of ZeniMax Media. The company was founded in by
Christopher Weaver and was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland,
and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville,
Maryland. In 2001, Bethesda Softworks became a publisher and the
newly created Bethesda Game Studios became the developer of their
games. INFORMATION
Slide 22
Todd Howard Todd Howard is the Creative Director and Executive
Producer at Bethesda Softworks. He has been involved on the
development with the critical acclaim The Elder Scrolls series and
Fallout 3. KEY INDIVIDUALS
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Pete Hines Pete Hines is the vice president of Bethesda
Softworks and is in charge of public relations (PR) and marketing
of games published by Bethesda. KEY INDIVIDUALS
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The main sources of income for Bethesda Softworks are: ~Games
~Downloadable Content (DLC) ~Merchandise SOURCES OF INCOME
Slide 25
The Elder Scrolls Series Fallout 3 and New Vegas Wolfenstein:
The New Order The Evil Within Dishonored And many more
PRODUCTS
Slide 26
I would like to work with Bethesda Softworks because: They give
their game a long production time, quality matters to them. They
publish a diversity of games. They have a substantial workforce and
regularly post job opportunities. >Link to Job openings:
http://jobs.zenimax.com/locations/view/5 WHY I WANT TO WORK WITH
THEM
Slide 27
Regulatory bodies in gaming include The Independent Games
Developers Association (TIGA). While TIGA does not directly impact
on the Bethesda Softworks, there have been issues relating to
censorship, taste and decency. Release in India On October 22,
2008, Microsoft announced that the game would not be released in
India on the Xbox 360 platform due to Religious and cultural
reasons. While the specific reason was not revealed, it is believed
that it is because the game contains mutated cows called brahmin;
Brahmin is the name of an ancient, powerful hereditary caste of
Hindu priests and religious scholars in India. Sensitivity in Japan
Bethesda Softworks changed the side quest "The Power of the Atom"
in the Japanese version of Fallout 3 due to concerns about
depictions of atomic detonation in inhabited areas. In non-Japanese
versions, players are given the option of either defusing,
ignoring, or detonating the dormant atomic bomb in the town of
Megaton. In the Japanese version, the character Mr. Burke has been
taken out of this side quest, making it impossible to detonate the
bomb. This is implemented due to the nuclear attacks in Hiroshima
and Nagasaki in 1945, that killed over 150,000 people. Also in the
Japanese release, the "Fat Man" nuclear catapult weapon was renamed
"Nuka Launcher", as the original name was a reference to the bomb
used on Nagasaki. REGULATORY ISSUES