Censorship and Regulation

Media content has a massive effect on its audience – people’s values, opinions and assumptions are mostly made up of information in the media. A look into censorship, effects and moral panic as well as a focus on the hypodermic needle theory enables a more focused exploration into the ways in which television impacts its viewers.

Television without regulation with impact viewers greatly, and this leads to the fear of television having a negative effect on its audience. Long suggests this would lead ‘to the imitation of violent acts, mainly by younger, impressionable children but also affecting other ‘vulnerable’ adults’ (Long, 2012). This emphasises that if media texts are not regulated they can impact those who are innocent in society, such as young children, who in example of the hypodermic needle theory, may view scenes of extreme violence on TV positively and imitate this in reality. Also implying that it is crucial that the media set regulations and are under some sort of authority so that audiences don’t subconsciously consume negative or offensive information.

To illuminate Long’s ideas, Bignell believes that regulation as a positive impact on society. ‘Cutting out an image is motivated by a concern about how the image might provoke a response in the viewer who sees it’ (Bignell, 2004). This displays that the aim of regulating TV images is to protect audiences from programmes that could offend or encourage negative actions. The two regulating systems in Britain are the ITC and the BSC, who have created rules to define what should and shouldn’t be show on TV.

In difference, Nelmes’ discusses contemporary censorship in regard to film. The reading indicates that ‘those who argue in favour of censorship claim that it reflects and protects standards of morality generally held in society’ (Nelmes, 1999). Highlighting that film certificates determine what can be seen what cannot be seen dependent upon the age of the viewer and this protects different groups within society from messages expressed in films.

The way in which this is done is through the BBFC who operate the classification for films- they decide what is appropriate and not appropriate, especially for audiences of a young age. In a journal article by Clara she addresses the topic of television regulation. OfCom reinforces that ‘advertisers are restricted in promoting the use of celebrities or cartoon characters in using free gifts as incentives to children when advertising foods that are high in fat, sugar, or salt’ (Clara, 2013). This highlights that if the rules of OfCom are broken, advertisers will face consequences.

References

Bignell, J (2004) An Introduction to Television Studies, London: Routledge. pp 229-252

Long, P and Wall, T (2012) ‘Producing audiences: what do media do to people?’ IN Media Studies: Texts, Production, Context (2^nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 274-299

Nelmes, J (1999) An Introduction to Film Studies, 2^nd Edition, London: Routledge. pp. 48-53

Clara, S (2013) A Reflection on European Regulation of Television Advertising to Children. Available at: http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.bcu.ac.uk/docview/1416175188?pq-origsite=summon [Accessed 26 February].