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FACTUAL PROGRAMME REGULATIONS
GURDEEP SHERI
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MEDIA LAW GOVERNING FACTUAL PROGRAMMING
OFCOM
What is it?
How has it been
broken in the
past?
Give example
How will it specifically
affect your work?
Reconstructions When a programme re-enacts a event
that has already happened. All
proceedings must be accurate and
clearly state that the clip is a
reconstruction to avoid misleading the
audience. A great example of where this
is used is Crimewatch.
Iran’s Press TV
reconstructed a wife
committing the murder of
her husband when in
actual fact she was
innocent.
I personally do not have a
reconstruction in my documentary but
I feel for the scene where a student is
waiting for a job response, I will have
to portray it genuinely to not mislead
young people on how they may get a
reply for a job.
Dealing with
Contributors
When involving contributors in your
programme, they should give their
relevant consent. They must not be
deceived into being involved, and their
involvement in the clip must be edited
fairly.
ITV were fined £5.67
million for phone rigging
charges where they would
charge people after lines
were closed for some
reality shows.
All my interviewees must give their full
consent to be involved in my
documentary. I must also make sure
they are edited to be portrayed as
they would feel comfortable to endure
there are no misconceptions.
Potentially Offensive
Material
Material that has the potential to cause
offence e.g. strong language, violence,
sexual violence, explicit sexual portrayal
etc. must always be justifiable by the
context. Commissioning editor is
responsible to ensure relevant warnings
are given to the viewers.
Ofcom charged Channel
4 for not filtering
potentially offensive
remarks which lead to
44,500 complaints to
Ofcom.
I will look to have no offensive
material in my documentary to make it
viable to all age ranges. This way I
feel it can be received by a lot more
people to extend the target market.
Criminality
Programmes must not encourage any
crime or lead to any public disorders.
They must not give a specific
understanding of how certain crime are
conducted as they may influence the
public.
Npower faced £2m fine
after after sending silent
and abandoned calls
expecting customers.
I will not be portraying any crimes
apart from my archive footage of the
student protests. When doing this I
will need to pick footage which does
not show any violent conduct to
ensure the material is still viable to
the younger audience.