Wednesday 25 February 2015

Ethical and Legal Constraints in Media

Ethical and legal constraints in media - 2nd Feb

  • Representation of Gender; 
The way that males and female roles are perceived in the media are very different and often times very outdated. Males are often seen as smart, strong and powerful where woman are seen as fragile, pretty and emotional. For a long time, woman have been represented in a way that other woman do not agree with. Females in the media are often stereotyped and even dehumanised and objectified. This happens in television, advertising and film. In a 2011 documentary called Miss Representation, the issues about female representation are raised.
The documentary brings attention to the way that the media effects girls and woman more than the way they are portrayed. Jean Kilbourne, EdD is a film-maker and author and says in the documentary that advertising is based on making people feel anxious and insecure a lot of the time. Men are made to feel anxious about status and power while woman are always being told they are not attractive enough. The way that woman are shown within media have caused young girls to develop low self esteem that can sometimes lead to eating disorders along with boys and men judging and comparing woman against the woman they see in advertisements and films. Another issue raised is that girls are taught from a very young age that their worth is based on looks and no matter what they achieve in life, they will still be judged by how beautiful or in shape they are.



Although there is a need for stereotyping to stop within the media, there have been some serious changes in the last couple of years regarding females and their roles within the media. As the first half of this video shows, there has been multiple television and film releases with strong female leads including 'Frozen' 'Orange is the New Black' and 'Scandal' There have also been other major breakthroughs throughout the media for woman. With more female artists becoming and continuing in being sensations; Lorde, Taylor Swift, Beyonce. And other personalities standing up as feminists; Emma Watson. While the video goes on to explain how these changes have not made enough of an impact, the changes are still happening.
It is often said that males are represented in a much more respected way. Men in the media are represented as sexually dominant, smart and powerful. In a lot of adverts that involve men AND women, the man is likely to be the more dominant one with the woman acting as decoration. If the advert doesn't have a woman in, the man is standing tall and looking powerful.
Like woman, though, men find it hard to live up to the expectations that the media puts on them. Men and woman who appear in adverts and magazines are often photo shopped. This makes it hard for even the models themselves to look the same as in the adverts.



  • Representation of religious beliefs; (A case study to consider) 
There are two ways that religion and religious beliefs are portrayed in the media; through news and factual content and through fictional scripted shows.
There has been a lot of air time for religious extremists on news programs over the years. With terrorist movements like 9/11, the Boston bombings and now British civilians being taken and killed, the media has to take on the challenge of reporting these terrible incidents while treating each religion as equals. This is especially prevalent on news shows.
The recent events in Paris reguarding Charlie Hebdo put a spotlight on religion in the media. Muslim extremists creating a hostage situation that ended with a shoot out did so because of their strong beliefs in their religion and their need to hit back against the magazine that would publish comedic pictures of Muslim figures. The magazine did target politics and police along with religion. 

There is a wide range of Christian TV channels aired in the UK with channels like Open Heaven TV, GOD Channel and Believe TV but there is not as much choice when it comes to other religious channels. There is a channel for Muslims named British Muslim TV and another named the Islam Channel. Some of the channels are obviously very focused on reciting their beliefs although a couple of the channels I have looked at has a very 'Normal' looking schedule with cooking and music shows and events and even morning talk shows.
Although there are a small range of religious channels to chose from, none of them are mainstream channels. This is possibly because there is not a high enough demand for religious channels within mainstream broadcasting.
There was trouble for an Islamic TV Channel in 2012 when a presenter on one of the channels programs stated that they thought it was acceptable for a Muslim to murder another human for disrespecting the Prophet Muhammad while answering questions sent in by viewers. The channel was fined £85,000 by Ofcom for seriously breaching broadcasting codes. Spokespersons for the channel said at the time that the actions of the presenter were completely unexpected and did not reflect the views of the channel as a whole. 



  • accessibility;  
Accessibility in the media is very important. Making sure that every is able to enjoy content in the media is vital for equality. The deaf and hard of hearing and people who have trouble seeing or are blind deserve to be able to enjoy what the media has to offer and with closed captions and audio description, this is very possible.  Accessibility in the media is very important. Making sure that everyone is able to enjoy content in the media is vital for equality. The deaf and hard of hearing and people who have trouble seeing or are blind deserve to be able to enjoy what the media has to offer and with closed captions and audio description, this is very possible. 
Virgin Media is one of the biggest media companies in the UK at the moment and put giving their customers the best experience possible very high on their list of priorities. To help make sure that everyone can use and enjoy their service equally, the company are using alternative techniques such as the use of Braille, large print and audio documents so that customers with little or no sight can use their services with ease as well as creating a playlist of programs that have been modified with sign language so that people who use TiVo, Virgins television service, have a place where they can go knowing they will find signed programs straight away. The company has also included accessibility features within it's mobile/tablet app. The company also works to raise money and support disabled charities and has recently helped a disabled athlete complete 40 marathons in 40 days. Virgin Media works closely with the Digital Accessibility Centre (DAC) a non profit company that works towards making digital media more accessible for everyone. As well as Virgin Media the DAC has worked with the likes of Channel 4 and Nationwide and make sure they work to the highest standards possible taking into account all of the latest guidelines. The company uses a testing team made up of people with disabilities, this helps them make sure what they are producing is suitable for everyone.
As YouTube has become more and more popular in recent years, there has been more and more demand for accessible videos. Anyone who puts a video out on YouTube can chose to have closed captions on their videos so that anybody who is hard of hearing is able to enjoy their content. With over 6.5 million subscribers, Tyler Oakley is the perfect person to have made a video explaining why closed caption videos are so important. In this video he explains how closed captioning can bring a community together and make it easier for viewers to consume content. He says in the video he doesn't want his channel to be a place where people feel only a certain type of person can be involved. Videos like this show the importance of accessibility in the media. 



  • Professional body codes of practise
The BBCs editorial guidelines have a lot of different sections all centred around making sure the company complies with rules and regulations and keeps the audience as happy as possible. Some of the sections within the guidelines include; 'editorial integrity and independence from external interests', 'religion', 'Children and young people as contributors' and 'privacy' among others.
The BBC knows that the public has to be able to trust the company in it's editing and know that they are not going to be exposed to anything that they would find offencive. This boundary changes from channel to channel. For example, someone who is a regular watcher of the BBC1 might flick over to watch something on Channel4 one day and see something that they were not expecting and might find that it upsets them. This is because the BBC's demographic is different to the type of audience Channel4 attracts. For this reason, the guidelines for the BBC have to be specific to their viewers. The Editorial Integrity section of the guidelines addresses the need for editors to make decisions based on the channels views and values and not if their own. Editing cannot and will not be effected by commercial, political or personal interests. 




Language has a lot of power over audiences both young and old. The language that is chosen to put across to these people is very important in the media industry. Advertisers, news producers and even magazine editors chose the type of language and words they are going to use very carefully in order to influence the audiences thoughts and behaviours. Words help audiences to associate what they are hearing to pictures and ideas they have been exposed to. The English vocabulary can carry a number of words that hold the same meaning. Although the over all meaning is the same, the perception of these words might differ very slightly. News reporters understand this and are able to manipulate viewers by using certain words to provoke a reaction. For example, if a couple of teenagers mug an elderly woman of her handbag, reporters are likely to refer to the teenagers as a mob of youths, and will use words like frail and innocent to describe the woman. it is likely that other words such as brutal, violent and horrifying will also be used. This type of language raises a sympathetic response from the audience, who are likely to then associate the words with teenagers they might have seen near where they live who may be unemployed or even homeless.
Linguistics in the media is all just one big word association game and if done right, words can provoke a pre-determined reaction. 
    


  • Obscene Publications Act 1959 (and later amendments) (Including Case Study)
'An Act to amend the law relating to the publication of obscene matter; to provide for the protection of literature; and to strengthen the law concerning pornography.'
The Obscene Publications Act was originally enacted in 1959 but has been revised a few times since then. Within the original enactment there are five sections. These sections comprise of; Test of Obscenity, Prohibition of Publication of Obscene Matter, Powers of Search and Seizure, Defence of Public Good and Citation Commencement and Extent. The amount or names of these sections have not changed but the content within them has.

The obscene publications acts purpose is to prevent the exposure of obscene content. The act aims to protect people, especially those who are vulnerable, children, the elderly etc. 
The act states that anybody who distributes, publishes, sells etc. an article that is seen as obscene in a way that could morally challenge or corrupt the observer is liable to face conviction for up to 2 years after the articles publication as long as it isn't proven that the person was unaware of obscenity within the article. A conviction can include a fine and/or a prison sentence of up to 3 years. The punishment depends on the type of conviction.
In any case concerning the Obscene Publications Act, the jury must decided whether or not an article is likely to corrupt or morally challenge anyone that is likely to observe it.
In 2009 an undercover police officer bought DVD's containing, what was deemed to be, obscene images. Although the acts within the DVD's weren't illegal, Michael Peacock, the man who sold the DVD's was charged with six counts under the obscene publication acts. The DVD's were purchased at Peacocks house on London.
In this case, the jury decided that the material within the article was most likely to be seen by a mature audience looking for specific content that was present within the DVD's in question. Even the jury apparently became desensitised to the images within the DVD's after a short amount of time. This went towards proving that Peacock was unworthy of conviction.
This case became a pivotal moment for the obscene publications act with comments made regarding a need to revise the act and maybe even get rid of it all together considering the digital age and how easy it is for people to get hold of images that may be deemed obscene without corruption or a compromise of morality. 

Others have said that they believe the act should be tightened and made more clear to avoid cases like this. 


  • Race Relations Act 1976 (and later amendments) (Including Case Study)
The race relations act was created to banish direct or indirect racial discrimination and/or victimisation within employment, education, training and provision of goods, facilities and services. The act insists that everyone should be treated equally regardless of their race.
The media fall into the facilities and services part of the act. There have been amendments to the original act. One section of the act that has been emended is the Genuine Occupational Qualification (GOQ) section. It used to be that race was classed as a GOQ for some jobs. This applied to acting jobs amongst others. Now any job can require a GOQ as long as there is valid reason for a GOQ. This change is strict and there has to be strong proof that someone of a certain race is required for a specific job to avoid breaching the act.
An advert that was sent out by the BBC in 2008 caused a stir as it seemed to completely disregard the act. Although the act states that favouring any singular racial background when considering job roles classifies as indirect discrimination unless being of a certain race is absolutely vital to the job roll, the advert called for a zany, Oriental or Asian person. The advert also called for a scientific background but said that this was not vital if the person looked right for the job. The advert was sent to the likes of agents, casting directors and talent scouts. One recipient of the advert was shocked to see something like this coming from the BBC stating that the media industry is always so careful not to breach any laws. The job role that was being advertised did not vitally require a specific racial background as it was set to be a show that put a popular twist on science. There were no characters involved and no reason why an Oriental or Asian person would have to be used. Although there was not a conviction in this particular case. A spokesman for the BBC said that they were taking the incident very seriously and opened an enquiry. 




  •  Copyright and intellectual property law (IP);

Intellectual property is a term used for creative works that can be used as a benefit and treated like physical property and protected by law. This can include books, inventions and ideas.
There are four sections of Intellectual Property Rights. These sections are; copyright, trademarks, design rights and patents. Each of these sections have similar effects when protecting intellectual property.  

Copyright is the protection of something that has been recorded whether that is a video or sound recording or a piece of text. Copyright is used to help protect IP against plagiarism and infraction. 
Trademarks are different to copyright because they are given to non recorded IP such as slogans, names and symbols and are only valid in the country where it originated. However, trademarks are valid throughout the EU and not just one country within it.

Design rights are essentially the copyright or patent of a design. This could be a pattern, colour, shapes etc. used to make up a new design. 
Patents are used for inventions. A patent on a product gives the creator the right to manufacture and sell the invention.
Copyright is used most often in the media as it is for the protection of recordings. Once something has been copyrighted, anyone who wishes to re use it must ask the copyright holders permission. Well known YouTubers will often use rights free music in their videos as they are unable to play copyrighted songs as it would class as an infringement. With social media taking off in the last few years, copyright is something that not many people take notice of. People are publishing photos videos and tweets without really knowing who owns them from then on. Other issues with copyright and the social media is the confusion over what does and does not count as infringement. Just because the original creator of something being used is credited does not mean that the copyright is void. It is mandatory to obtain the permission of the copyright holder in order to reuse their work. This kind of confusion can lead to claims made by the copyright owner and if a social media website has not covered itself sufficiently, they could be the ones taking the blame. To avoid this, companies like Pinterest utilise their user agreement to explain that users are responsible for any material they post or re post on the site. The user must agree to this along with other terms of service before they are able to use the sight and by doing so, you are then responsible for any infringement claim that might be made against you. The sight will still be involved in the claim but using the agreement that a user has signed helps keep their toes out of hot water.
While some people use the copyright law to protect their content and material, others are happy to let people use and share their work and adopt it as a kind of publicity technique. The more people that use/post a certain piece of work, the more people are likely to see/hear it. This can be good for the copyright holder in the long run. 



http://www.piperpat.com/page/branding-trademarks#.VNM9bmisVWI












Employment opportunities and job roles in the media industry - 23rd March

Employment opportunities and job roles in the media industry - 23rd March


explain why the things listed below are very important in any career
Explain what the following terms mean and what that might mean in your career :-
full-time;
 Generally full time workers within the UK work an average of around 35 hours a week and are not allowed to work any more than an average amount of 48 hours a week. This rule does not apply to all worker in the UK though. If you are employed by the armed forces or emergency services, are a privately employed house servant or work in security or if you work somewhere such as a nursing home where employees are required to be present round the clock, you may be asked to work hours that exceed 48 hours a week. People who are able to decide what hours they work are also exempt from this rule. Employees can decide to opt-out of the 48 hour rule if they are over 18 and are willing to work more hours. People might do this if they are trying to earn more money for example.

In a career, working full time means that an employee would possibly be able to work their way up the career ladder faster than a part-time employee. Working full time gains more experience than working part time.
part-time; Part-time workers work less hours than full time workers. What makes a worker part-time depends entirely on a persons employers. For example, one employer might employ someone full time on 30 hours a week meaning that if someone else in the company is working 20 hours a week, it would make that person a part-timer. On the other hand another company might employ someone full-time on 47 hours a week which would make someone else at the same company working 30 hours a week a part-timer even though they're working the same hours as a full-timer from the other company.
Working part-time is helpful if you are a student or parent. Being able to work fewer hours means more flexibility for both you and your employers. Some employers give 0 hour contracts to students at university who will work during holidays but have no obligation to carry out a certain amount of hours week to week. Working part time in a new career can make it harder to get to grips with your job roll though and can mean that it takes longer to make your way up the company ladder.
freelance; Freelance workers are people who essentially work as their own agent and are able to find and chose whom they would like to work for. In order to make sure a work flow is continuous though, freelance workers have to make sure that they remain noticeable and relevant.
Building a career as a freelancer is challenging and there may be times when there is absolutely no work going for you. It is very important that when a freelancer is given work, they perform to the best of their ability. This is because companies that employ freelancers are often connected and if one company has a bad experience with an individual, they are likely to spread the word that that person is not worth employing.
shift work; Traditionally shift work is carried out by manufacturing workers, people who work in factories or even mining jobs, within these jobs, workers would carry out a job in shifts. These shift can often be very unusual hours. Some shift workers will work through the night and and have time in the day to get some sleep. An example of this kind of work is a production line in a factory. Someone might carry out one part of the production for 8 hours and then the same job is taken over by someone else. Although shift work is associated with factory workers and lorry drivers etc. a lot of careers require shift work, these careers can include nursing and hospital work, emergency services, hospitality work along with others.
Working shift-work can be good for child care, if you have a child and your partner works during the day, being able to work unusual night hours can be a good thing. Shift work and overnight shifts also tend to pay more which is an advantage. A disadvantage of shift work is that it can cause tiredness during the day and can even encourage an infliction called Shift Work Disorder which can lead to restlessness while trying to sleep and tiredness while at work
permanent; When a person is routinely given work that is on going. When advertising a job, the employer will make it clear if the job roll is permanent or temporary should reiterate this during any interviews and when hiring the chosen employee. The terms of employment will also be in the contract. It should be clear whether the position is permanent or temporary.
Permanent employment means that work is guaranteed for an employee for the foreseeable future. Unlike temporary or freelance work, the employer is offering the employee a permanent place within the company.
temporary; Temporary employment is the opposite of permanent employment. A worker who is employed temporarily is only offered work for a certain amount of time, at the end of this time the employees contract runs out and they are no longer employed by the company. A workers employment can be reviewed at the end of their contract and a permanent contract may be offered to the employee. Examples of temporary work include maternity or sick cover where a person would fill in for someone who is away from work for a set amount of time. Another example is Christmas temp work in retail. A lot of retail companies will hire employees to work over the busy Christmas period. If these employees perform well, they might be offered a permanent contract at the end of the period.
Another type of  temporary employment is seasonal employment. This is when a 0 hour contract is offered to someone, usually students, so that they can work through holidays but are not committed to carrying out regular work.
Some temporary employees will belong to a temping agency. These types of agencies usually work with health care, schools/colleges and other professions whereas retail companies will advertise publicly without using an agency.
multi-skilled; Multi-skilled workers are people who have been trained in more than one area within their job. This helps companies save time and money as they are able to employ people who are able to do multiple jobs.
voluntary; People offer to carry out unpaid work in order to help out and give back by delivering a service or to gain experience for themselves. Within the media industry, people often take on unpaid volunteer work in order to experience the job and to obtain some knowledge. This will then help towards securing paid jobs in the future.
casual; If someone is employed casually it means that they will be asked to work when they are needed, if they are needed but the employer holds no responsibility in giving the employee hours if they are not necessary, Because of the nature of the employment neither parties hold any kind of duty to the other while they are not engaged in a working relationship.
hourly paid; As the title might suggest, hourly paid work pays by the hour. An hourly paid employee will have a rate of pay for every hour worked. This varies from job to job. An example of an hourly wage would be £6.50 per hour worked. This type of wage is different to a salary. with a job that pays a salary wage, the employee has an annual pay that they are given monthly. Often with salary work, employees are expected to work a set amount of hours over the year but their hours aren't usually tracked week to week. An hourly pay is dependant on time worked hour to hour. There is a national minimum wage for hourly paid employees, this rate fluctuates from year to year. At the moment the national minimum wage stands at; £2.73 per hour (ph) for apprentices under the age of 19 or over the age of 19 but still in their first year of work as an apprentice, £3.79ph for employees under the age of 18, £5.13ph for employees between the ages of 18 and 20 and £6.50ph for employees over the age of 21. Some companies chose to pay their employees above these brackets.
piecework; Piecework employees are paid according to the amount they produce. An example of a role that would pay piecework is factory work where employees might be asked to produce items of clothing or ad a piece onto a product as part of a production line. Employees who do piecework are usually allowed to decide when they start and finish work, but the more hours works, the more items are produced and the more they will get paid. If an employee is working during times that have been decided by their boss/manager they are most likely engaged in time work and not piece work. There are rules that ensure that pieceworkers are guaranteed to earn at least national minimum wage equivalent even if they are new to the job and slightly slower at completing pieces.
recruitment 
The national careers service is a good place to go for careers advice. The website offers advice on how to decide upon and start the right career for you. The website also offers help with creating a CV, assessing your skills in order to suggest the best job for you and providing a list of job profiles that explain what jobs involve, how much you can earn from it and what qualifications or experience you would need in order to apply for it.
Personal contacts and networking Having a group of personal contacts that you have obtained through networking can be a good way to get ahead in the career you chose.
Keeping your ears open for any information that might help you to get friendly with another person is essential when networking. If you are at an event with the CEO of a company that you would really like to work for, listening out for anything that person mentions in a conversation and being able to engage with them over it at a later point is helpful. If you remember things about people they are more likely to take a shine to you and remember you.
Word Of Mouth Word of mouth is very important especially in the media as a lot of people who work in the industry are free lance and rely on positive feedback from former employers in order to secure their next job. 
Job roles: identify one role in each of the following describe the sort of skills or qualifications that would be expected -
creative; Creative jobs are based around the media sector a lot. The kinds of sectors that fit into this category are film, radio and publishing along with others. They can include jobs like performing, camera work, presenting, production, advertising and design.
If you were to go into film as a performer, the kind of skills that would be required of you include being able to prepare for auditions, rehearsals and filming. Be self aware as well as be aware of the space around you, be able to project your voice clearly and with good diction and being able to memorise lines and directions given to you.
Some people chose to go to drama school or to study for a drama degree but, like may creative jobs, the best way to get work as a performer is experience. Most creative jibs rely on experience more than they do qualifications. This is because a lot of creative work is practical rather than theory.
The best education to have for this kind of job though is probably an internship.
technical; Technical jobs are similar to creative jobs. An example of a technical job is camera operator. This job requires good hand eye coordination, vision and attention to detail as well as extensive knowledge in how cameras work and are operated as well as being technically minded in other areas. If there are any problems with the cameras, the operators should know how to fix them. Camera operators are expected to be able to take direction well and communicate with anyone on set easily as well as working well in a team. It is also good for camera operators and anyone else working in a technical job to be able to withstand the amount of work they will be expected to do, such as rigging, moving and setting up equipment. This means that good health and stamina are important.
Being able to multitask is crucial considering everything that the job role asks of a camera operator.
There is no qualification that is needed specifically for a job like this. The  best way to achieve this role is by compiling lots of experience in the field. The best way to start doing this is to offer yourself for unpaid work experience doing anything that is needed on set. There is no guarantee that a job like this will come to someone straight away and some of the best camera operators start off making tea and coffee for free.
editorial, There are a lot of opportunities to get into an editorial job roll. All media outlets need editing in some way. This includes; books, magazines, films, television and radio among others. An example of an editorial job is Editorial Assistant. This job role requires someone to support senior editors through every stage of the production process. Editorial assistants are expected to keep in contact with the necessary people. This might include photographers, of they are providing pictures for an article or writers to negotiate deadlines and schedules. Being able to work well under pressure and produce good work even on a strict deadline is critical in this job role as well as being able to proof read work with ease and spot any mistakes other people may have missed. With the rise of online data, there are a lot of job roles requiring editors to work on editing articles on websites.
Some
The best way to enter a job like this is to have studied something along the lines of English, journalism or media communications studies. This will help you to acquire the skills needed to work in such a competitive industry. Unlike previous jobs I have mentioned, editorial jobs are easier to get into with some sort of higher education degree, that's not to say that work experience and practise wont get you anywhere though. Either way, experience in writing and editing is extremely useful when applying for an editorial job. This is because there are a lot of people trying to get into the industry and competition is strong and by demonstrating that you are devoted to this specific career path, it can make you stand out more to employers. Much like most other jobs in the media, it is likely that starting out as an editorial assistant will lead up to securing a job higher up after a few years and a lot of experience.
Marketing, Marketing Executives spend their time planning marketing champagnes that work towards advertising a product of service. The job role can include all types of sub roles including; public relations, product development, distribution and research. A lot of companies are likely to have a marketing department whether it's financial, media, retail etc. Marketing jobs are all about networking and getting yourself and the product out there. There more people who know you and what you're about, the more people will trust in your product. Networking includes communicating with the target audience and making sure that the product or service reflects their needs as well as spotting any opportunity to market your product. This could be via adverts, press releases or radio plugs.
A degree in marketing, communications, advertising or even psychology will help you to get into a marketing career. For this particular job role, the higher the level of your qualifications, the more likely you are to secure a job. Holding a masters degree in a specific field of marketing will help you to achieve a career within that field. Experience, once again, would be even more helpful on top of a degree. As I explained earlier, the best way to acquire this experience is by carrying out unpaid work experience.
managerial, An example of a managerial job role is retail manager. Retail managers are in charge of running stores. They are in charge of the tam working that day and are aiming towards making as much money for the store as possible. They achieve this by marketing products in a way that makes them look the most desirable and also ensure that any deals or offers are prominent and easily detectable for customers. Managers will deal with customer services and are usually in charge of banking and cashing up tills. They are responsible for motivating the team. Staying on top of stock levels and dealing with staffing e.g; Interviews, dismissals etc.
There are no specific qualifications for the role as retail manager. If you have worked at a store for a few years and you posses skills such as people skills, communication skills, enthusiasm and good customer service and you are eager to become a manager it is possible to do so. A degree in retail management, marketing or something similar would help though.
administrative, An example of an administrative job is to be a secretary. This job would require the employee to be computer savvy and be able to use programmes like Microsoft word, PowerPoint, excel etc. It would also need for the the employee to have good telephone, people and communication skills as they are likely to be answering phones quite a lot while they are at work. They will also need to be able to take notes well and have the ability to record minutes during meetings. Secretaries are often asked to carry out a lot of paper and administration work and should be able to stay motivated to do so for long periods of time. Some secretaries are sometimes put on charge of junior members of staff. This helps the running of a business go smoothly without the senior members of staff having to cut back on their work schedule.
Whether a person aspiring to become a secretary needs to attend university or not depends on the company that is hiring. Like most other jobs, some companies are more interested in someone who has experience in the field, but, on the other hand, some companies wish for their employees to hold some sort of degree. Some examples of degrees that are useful when trying to get into this line of work include law, business or secretarial studies.
legal; The job title of Barrister comes under the category of a legal job profile. Barristers work towards handing out advice to clients, both professional and non-professional. They can also represent their clients in court and other places. There are skills needed to be a good barrister, these skills include good people and communication skills, the ability to read and understand a brief quickly and clearly and posses good research skills in order to give accurate and adequate advice to their clients. Barristers are expected to be good at paper work and be able to put a case together effectively as well as being able to provide written advice for clients. Unlike most of the other jobs I have already mentioned, to become a barrister, you must first complete academic training. This includes a high grade law degree, usually applicants who have achieved 2:1 or above are considered for this type of job role. Some companies offer to pay for aspiring lawyers and barristers to attend law school provided that they agree to work for the company after they have completed their qualification for a set amount of time. People who are offered this opportunity are asked to sign a contract stating that they are happy to work for the company for X amount of years after their graduation.
financial; Financial advisers work for with their clients towards making the right financial decisions to suit their personal needs. This advice can cover savings, investments, mortgagees and insurance along with many other areas. Like a lot of jobs, this one calls for good people and communication skills. As an adviser, you are going to be meeting with lots of different types of clients with individual and unique needs. This means that as well as interpersonal skills, financial advisers must posses the ability to present diverse ideas and advice. Staying organised is also very important for financial advisers. Clients trust people like this with personal details and it is up to the adviser to keep these details safe and in one place.
Holding a financial advise qualification that The Financial Conduct Authority recognises is usually desired in this line of work. Much like with legal jobs, employers are often more than happy to help employees achieve this qualification. Unlike in legal jobs, though, it is not vital to have a degree to achieve this type of job role.  
What is Professional development:
education (levels),
Professional development in education starts at secondary school. This is where students go from being children, to young adults and are starting their journey towards higher education. Most secondary schools start their students studying towards GCSE's in year 9. At the end of year 8, students are asked to chose 4 subjects that they would like to study along side core subjects which include English, maths and science. throughout years 9, 10 and 11, students carryout coursework and exams in order to acquire the qualifications needed to attend college. If a student doesn't achieve their maths and/or English GSCE's at school, they will be asked to retake them at college.
At college level, students can either chose to attend a college or start an apprenticeship. If they decide to attend college, they can chose to take A-levels or a BTEC. A-levels consist of 4 different subjects that are studied by the student over the course of 2 years. BTECS are one subject split into units. There are usually 18 units to complete over the 2 year course.
If a student decides to undergo an apprenticeship, they will most likely be asked to attend college for one day a week and spend the rest if their weekdays working at a job placement. There are a lot of professions that can be entered through an apprenticeship but some job roles such as lawyers, doctors and vets require students to take A-levels and then attend university.
At the start of a students second year at college, they must make the decision as to whether they want to continue on to higher education or not. A lot of students take a year out between college and university to work or travel. This is good for personal development before they continue on their journey of professional development. If a student decides they would not like to attend college, it is then up to them to find a full time job and start their career in a field of work that suits them. If a student decides they would like to attend university straight after college, they will need to apply to their 5 universities of choice by the January of their second year at college. There are a lot of courses and universities to chose from so this process can be quite long and thought provoking. University is the first level of education where students are expected to pay for their tuition (unless they have attended a private school in the past) and it is important for people to make the right decision  regarding where and what they want to study. As well as professional development in terms of education, university helps to improve professional skills such as inter-personal and communication skills, time management and personal responsibility. Being away from home for the first time, in most cases, forces people to develop skills in their every day life that will go on to help them through their professional careers.
After completing their degree, students do have the option to go on and study for a masters degree and then a doctorate. Doctorates can be achieved in many subjects other than medical and a lot of people do chose to go on and achieve this. Masters degrees and doctorates offer less financial support than a standard university degree so a lot of the time, people will work full time for a period of time and go on to study a masters and doctorate if they feel they are financially stable enough.
training,
Training is different to education as you do not get a qualification at the end, but you do learn new things in an educational way, which is what makes it different to work experience. Training is a good way to get started at a new job or to top up your knowledge of a job you have been doing for a while. Teachers have trainings days every year to catch up with how kids are learning and how methods of teaching may have changed. Training before you start a job is helpful because it means that you are not thrown in the deep end and you can learn the roped before you start. For example, in a retail job, you are likely to go through training regarding how to work the tills. This means that you will be asked to serve some people using the till, but you will have someone beside you to help if you get stuck. This type of training helps with confidence and makes it easier to progress quicker.
work experience;
Work experience is always useful no matter what field of work you are going into. It can sometimes be hard to gain work experience as a lot of competitive industries are unwilling to hire someone with little to no experience even if you are holding a higher education qualification. A way to get around this is to offer your services, whether it's just making tea and coffee, for free. Being able to use work experience to your advantage is good. If you are able to spare as little as 2 hours a week to work for free for an employer in the field of work you are trying to make it into, it gives you the opportunity to prove how well you can work and how dedicated you are to the job as well as allowing you to have a paid job on the days that you are not at work experience. Another way of gaining work experience is to apply for summer intern-ships if you are studying towards a degree. You will have a lot of time on your hands over the summer and a good way to get ahead of the flock is to gain some experience over this time. 
Continuing personal professional development; sources of information, 
Sector Skills Councils are institutions who are in charge of making sure that all staff training is completed and up to date and how it is delivered. They are responsible for the development of employees skills in whichever division they are working in. These organisations work with all kinds of employees, including professionals, trades people and sales staff and range from smaller employers to large businesses. 
trade unions are organisations that represent employees working in different industries. They do so by protecting their rights, including pay, health and safety and the conditions that they work in, and offering legal protection if necessary. The word 'Represent' is very important when talking about trade unions. These organisations are on the employees side and can stand up for and talk on behalf of employees within their union. It can be very helpful for workers who may be experiencing a problem at work to have somebody who knows all of their rights and has dealt with similar situations before. Trade unions also provide a united front. Having a group of people who all feel the same way towards a problem like pay rate of hours etc. can mean things change quicker than if just a few people speak ou about an issue. 
Curriculum vitae (CV),
references: Using references helps to ensure a potential new employer that you are, in fact, capable of what you claim to be. To avoid any unnecessary upsets that can sometimes lead to lawsuits, it is not advised that references are included in a CV or resume. Instead, references are often given out at the request of a potential employer. This request can either be made as part of the application process or after a meeting or interview when the potential employer has decided that they are interested in hearing a little more about the potential employee. If someone wants to include references on their CV however, it is important to have the permission of the referee. This is important to avoid confusion on both the referee and the potential employers parts and also gives the referee some time to think about what they would like to say. It is always a good idea to mention in a CV that references can and will be given upon request.
portfolio and/or personal website: Having a portfolio or personal website is important as it helps you to showcase your strengths easily. Portfolios contain actual work that you have completed and is a good way of convincing an employer that you are able to do what you have claimed on your CV. The most recognised form of portfolio is the kind that models, photographers or artists use to put their work in. This comes in the form of a physical album of someones compiled works, e.g; photo shoots and modelling work that a model has done in the past, a photographers best pictures or an artists favourite pieces. This is also useful for artists if they have any pieces that are better appreciated in physical form. Another way that a portfolio can be put together is online, this can be known as a personal website. Creating a website or blog that features some of your best work makes it easy for potential employers to see how good your work is, what you are capable of and whether you are right for the job they are advertising. Having a portfolio online makes this a quick and easy experience for both you and the potential employer. It saves having to mail your physical portfolio to them and wait for possibly weeks to hear a reply if a potential employer can simply visit your website and see your work. Another good thing about having a portfolio online is the ability to add they address into the bottom of your CV. A potential employer is likely to click this link to see what you are capable of and it could be what makes your CV stand out more than others, especially if your website reflects a piece of your character. Online portfolios or personal websites are easy to adjust depending on the job that you are applying for. A website can be edited with a few clicks. This also means that it can be updated easily as you progress in your field.
show reel: A show reel is like a portfolio but is mainly used by actors, producers, directors and graphic designers. It is important that a show reel is not long and showy as this will most likely put off any potential employers. The contents should be some of your best work, including short, to the point clips. If a graphic designer has worked on a film that includes a big special effects explosion, the show reel needs to show the explosion and only the explosion, employers won't be interested in watching the scene that leads up to the action if it is irrelevant to the job they are hiring for. Make sure it is obvious who you are and what you're about in your show reel. Add a slide that has your name at the start and end of the reel to make it clear that it is yours, at the end, add your contact details so that it is easy for the employer to get hold of you.
Within an show reel, it is a good idea to add a mix of different styles of work, for example, if you're an actor, include a few clips of you playing contrasting characters. This will show any potential employers that you are capable of adapting to a role. The same goes for producers and directors. If you have worked on any different genres, include a few clips from each genre to show that you are diverse. The idea of a show reel is to show your talent and while it is important to show you can be diverse, it is a good idea to add a few extra clips of something you are particularly talented at. If an actor performs particularly well in a serious, dramatic role and can do humour, although it's not their strong point, adding a few clips of comedy characters they have played is important but adding more clips of dramatic roles and focusing on their performance in these clips is also important. 
Career development (training on the job, self-training)
Training On The Job offers a lot of opportunities for employees, including the chance to work on any flaws and building their confidence in their job role. Training on the job also helps with closing gaps in employees skill sets and avoiding shortages in skilled workers. Sector Skills Councils are put into place to ensure this along with helping increase productivity in the work place. The more skilled employees are, the more advantageous they can be.   Most workers have an area of their job that they may feel they aren't as good at or as qualified for as they need to be in order to work effectively. Being able to participate in further training once in a job helps employees to improve in these areas. Working on individual weaknesses can ensure that the whole team goes on to work at the same level and can even boost a teams performance on a whole. With the whole team working at the same level, finding cover within the company becomes easier and is time and cost effective.
Being fully aware of what a job role involves along with the strengthening of any weaknesses builds confidence within the workplace, meaning better performances from employees.
Training on the job gives employees the chance to keep up to date with their job roles as they change. We live in a world where things are always changing due to technology and society and training on the job allows workers to stay on top of their game. 

Having employees who are able to keep up with changing standards within the industry can be the difference between falling behind the competition and creating an advantage to maintaining credibility as a competitor.
As well as job specific training, employers will often put all employees through some kind of health and safety and administrative training. It is important for employees to be knowledgeable about these basic skills so that work hours can run smoothly and consistently.
Self training is a way of training on the job that an employee an work on every day. When a company sets out to train one of their employees, it can take up a lot of time for the company but by self training at work, employees can make sure that they stay up to date with skills they need to fulfil their job role without costing the company any time of money.
Most retail companies will send store managers on training days or weekends and expect them to then pass on what they have learnt to their staff in store. They may be given hand outs with information about new products or fact sheets talking about figures for the quarter/year. They may even send managers back with incentives. If employees are able to train themselves to sell more product or better themselves in a certain area of the store, they may win a prize. Self training happens in work places on a daily basis, sometimes without anyone really noticing. People can come out of work having learnt something new every day. Having employees who able to take this knowledge and make themselves a better employee is valuable to companies.
Professional behaviour
reliability; attendance and punctuality; 
Reliability is probably one of the most important traits to have in the work place. If your boss knows that they can rely on you to be present, on time, committed and responsible, they are more than likely to favour you over employees who turn up late or don't get their work done. This could mean that, if in need of someone to fill in for a senior member of staff who's off sick for example, an employer is much more likely to choose the more reliable employee. This is then a great opportunity for said employee to demonstrate what they are capable of and could lead to a promotion. The same goes for attendance and punctuality. If, as an employer, you are noticing that one of your employee's is consistently late, or absent, you will be less than likely to trust in them to help you out if needed.
Punctuality is also important for the sake of your colleagues. If you are late for work a lot, they will end up having to pick up the slack of the work you don't get done during the time you are not at work which will effect your relationship with them.
commitment;
Commitment is essential because it shows employers that you are serious about your job. Not a lot of jobs are secure these days and nobody is safe from redundancies. Staying committed to your job and proving that you are good at what you do can help to avoid this. Commitment is also important for yourself. Being committed to the job you are in and making everything that you do the best it possibly could be can be a good way of making sure you enjoy your career. If you arrive at work feeling uninspired, remembering to try and be as committed as possible can help you feel better and keep pushing forward.
efficiency;
Being efficient in the work place means being able to make the most of what you've got. This could mean that you are pushed for time on a deadline. Being an efficient worker would mean that you work through your lunch break to try and hit the deadline on time.
self-presentation;
The way that you carry yourself while ate work says a lot about you to your employer. If you are working for a law firm, you would be expected to represent the company well by making professional clothing choices. Self-presentation isn't just about clothing choices. Professionals are often clean shaven, with tidy hair and make-up. If you are working as a professional, you need to make sure you show people you are a professional.
communication skills;
Unless you are working from home, it is likely that you will be working within a team at work. This means that you will need good communication skills. The reason for this ranges from being able to build a relationship with your colleagues to communicating important information within the work place. You may be required to lease with people outside of your work place as part of your job description. In this case, communication skills are absolutely crucial.
contribution to team projects;
Coming up with ideas and making sure they are heard can come under communication skills as well as the overall idea of contributing to team projects. This revolves around an employees ability to communicate their ideas to everyone else. This means that they need to be strong minded and confidant. It is important to be able to communicate your ideas because you are being paid to provide an input and showing that you can do this effectively could lead to more opportunities in the future.
time management;
Time management, like reliability, is one of the most important traits to master. If you are able to manage your time in and out of work effectively, you are a valuable member of staff to have because it means employers can always rely on you to hit any deadlines given to you with ease.
Time management is also a good thing to master because it means that you are able to have your down time from work and not have to worry about deadlines or what you have to finish doing the next day.
personal responsibility
Being able to take responsibility for what you need to get done in a day without interference from you bosses means that you become a valuable member of staff. In most companies, bosses have a lot to think about and worry about and want employees who are capable of monitoring themselves. This saves time and money for the company. 

Regulatory and professional bodies what they do and why they exist - 23rd Feb

Regulatory and professional bodies what they do and why they exist - 23rd Feb

A web post about Regulatory and professional bodies what do they do why do they exist

  • British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)The BBFC is an independent, UK based, non-profit, self funding organisation that exists to regulate classification of media content such as films, DVDs and videos. Their main goal is to provide security to the public surrounding media content by informing consumers of the information they need to decipher whether the media they are choosing is right for them. They Take pride in protecting younger audiences from content that might be inappropriate and try to keep up with societies ideals.
    Focusing on sexual content, drugs, nudity, horror, discrimination, language and violence among other things, the BBFC rates media according to their guidelines. Depending on where the media is going to be shown, there will be a certain amount of people involved. If a film is due for cinema release, it will be viewed by at least 2 examiners, it is the examiners who will usually make the final decision towards what rating the content should be given but sometimes if a film is sitting between two categories, the decision will be made by someone higher up in the BBFC.
    If a film is coming out on DVD and has already been given a certificate, it will usually only require one examiner to watch it.
  • Office for Communication (Ofcom),
    Ofcom is another UK based organisation partly funded by the government that works to regulate and provide a number of communication based platforms from TV and Radio (Making sure there is a wide range of programmes, both TV and Radio, provided in a high quality, by different organisations, for all audience types) to Postal services and wireless devices (Airwaves that are used by the likes of boat owners, mobile company's and taxi drivers) . The company makes sure to provide a spectrum of electronic communications including broadband. The organisation operates under the Communications Act, 2003 along with others and abide by the rules and regulations within these acts. The main duty of Ofcom, according to the the Communications Act is to 'further the interests of citizens and of consumers, where appropriate by promoting competition' The organisation has made this their main priority. While keeping within the expectations of the Communications Act, Ofcom is allowed to set regulations and rules for sectors they are responsible for, this includes competition law.
    Ofcom also works to make sure that any persons who
     consume or are involved with radio and television are protected from content that might be seen as offensive or harmful. This includes making sure nobodies privacy is compromised and there is no unfair treatment.
    A six day postal service throughout the UK is provided by Ofcom.
    In 2008 Ofcom fined the BBC £400,000 for falsifying competition results on a number of television and radio shows, including Comic Relief and Russell Brands show on BBC6. In an investigation run by Ofcom, it was found that, in these cases, there was no way that viewers and listeners could have won the competitions as the winners names had either been made up or members of the production team had posed as winners. Viewers and listeners were encouraged to enter. According to the article by The Telegraph, Ofcom expressed that they "Considered that these breaches of the [broadcasting] code were very serious. In each of these cases the BBC deceived its audience by faking winners of competitions and deliberately conducting competitions unfairly." The Telegraph also states that Ofcom communicated that they "Found that the BBC failed to have adequate management oversights of its compliance and training procedures to ensure that the audience were not mislead" 
    This deception went as far as targeting younger viewers on shows like TMi aired on CBBC. The BBC Trust said that they regretted these actions and the consequential loss of license payers money as they had to pay such a heavy fine. This fine was decided by Ofcom to show the severity of the breach, and although the size of the fine should prevent this kind of thing happening again, a smaller fine of £50,000 a year prior to this case for a similar but less serious breach did't seem to deter the channel from repeating their actions.
  • Press Complaints Commission (PCC),
    What used to be called the Press Complaints Commission has now changed to be named the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)
    The IPSO works in monitoring written media like magazines and newspapers. The organisation works closely with the public in a professional manner to make sure that any rules or regulations that are violated can be amended. The IPSO website is a free service where any member of the public can go to express their concerns regarding written media. Any complaints that are made are investigated by the organisation.  IPSO manages the Editors Code of Practise to make sure there are as little breaches and complaints as possible. 
  • Advertising Standards Authority(ASA),
    The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is an independent organisation that deals with advertising across all media platforms in the UK. The organisation works pro-actively to make sure that the hundreds of adverts we are exposed to every day follow rules and regulations and are as accurate and responsible as possible. This helps to protect audiences, including children, against inaccurate, misleading information and offensive content etc. They do this by monitoring adverts and complaints made by the public. Any adverts that doesn't obey the ASAs standards can be removed by the organisation and further action can and will be taken if the advertising company continues to produce unacceptable content. To avoid continued misconduct, the ASA offers support and advise to advertisers.The panel of people who determine whether or not an advert has infringes guidelines is diverse and made up of people from all walks of life. This is because the ASA recognises that there are a lot of different types of people in the UK and they want an accurate assessment of how an audience is likely to react to an advert. As well as using this panel the organisation takes not of what parents and young people have to say regarding protecting children from harmful content.The ASA is planning on raising awareness of the organisation so that the advertisers and audiences know where to go if they have any issues or enquiries regarding any adverts. 
  • The Independent Games Developers Association (IGDA)
    The Independent Games Developers Association (IGDA) is a international, non-profit institution that works with anyone who's involved in the production of games. This includes programmers, graphic designers and script writers. The association works towards making the best life for game developers ad encouraging a new generation of game makers. They do this by introducing people within the game developers industry and creating awareness of the problems and issues that developers face within the community. The IGDA also works hard to promote the industry both to help improve the art of game development and to broaden the population of game developers. 
  • British Academy of Film and Television Arts(BAFTA),
    The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a UK based charity that relies on funding from members (6,500 approx.), partnerships and donations etc. BAFTA rewards greatness in the moving image sector of the arts. Awards can be given to people who inspire, excel and benefit the community. There is a BAFTA award ceremony every year where these awards are handed out, but this is not the only BAFTA event that takes place. The charity runs over 250 events each year which promote the educational side of the charity as well as the charity itself.
    The charity has an educational field and runs classes, scholarships, workshops and lectures for people of all ages i the UK as well as in New York and LA in America as well as offering on-line resources. These educational opportunities promote the arts by showing how gratifying it is to be a part of it and encourage new talent by giving people the opportunity to learn from some of the best and most inspiring people in the industry.
    The charity believes strongly in celebrating existing talent while encouraging new talent. 
  • Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA),
    The Commercial Radio Companies Association (CRCA) is an association that represents both national and local radio stations around the UK to bodies like the government, copyright societies and the Radio Authority. The association partly owns Radio Joint Audience Research Ltd (RAJAR) and deals mostly with advertising on the radio. The association is an advocate for commercial radio stations and works towards promoting surroundings and circumstances that will help radio to prosper in years to come.
    Regulatory issues
  • why is ownership controlled?
    If one company had a monopoly over all media outlets, whether he company had good intentions or not, the public's right to freedom and independent thinking would be jeopardised. Making choices, political or not, requires exposure to contrasting and varied ideas and information within the news, popular culture and all other media outlets. If the public are not exposed to this kind of diversified media, there is no way of them being able to make educated and personal decisions, every choice that is made will, essentially, be the choice of the media company.
    The article that I got this information from was published in 1987, nearly 30 years ago. In this article the writer explains that if the rate of monopolisation did not change, the disturbing vision of one corporation owning every media outlet would become a reality, yet, even with the ate that the media industry is growing, we still haven't got there yet. I think that this is because, as a society, we want to protect our right to freedom of speech and self-sufficient thinking, so we strive to control the media in order to preserve this.   
  • What does a monopoly mean for the audience?
    There are only six corporations that dominate the media industry in the whole of America. This has not always been the case though. In the early 80's there were 50 businesses that shared the monopoly over the media. Not only has the number dropped so dramatically, the companies that still hold a percentage of ownership are extremely powerful. These companies include Time Warner, CBS and Walt Disney. Each of these companies own sub companies, Walt Disney's 'Pixar Animation Studios' for example. They control all sorts of media outlets from movie studios to newspapers. This means that these six companies can control almost everything that Americans see and hear day in, day out. Although these six companies do not own all fields of the media, companies like Google, and Microsoft are starting to dominate the internet and there is one company that owns over 1000 of the US' radio stations. When so few companies have such large monopolies over the media industry it means that each corporation can display their personal views over many media platforms and millions of people are guaranteed to see it. In tern, these companies can control what the audience thinks, feels and does and although, as human beings, we would all like to think that we are more intelligent than to fall for the medias tricks, these companies are so powerful and creative that most of us don't even realise we are being controlled. For these companies, it's not about being moral and ethical. It's about making money and they will do whatever they need to do to gain interest from big advertisers. With a combination of personal opinion and the thirst for money, it's hard to tell if any of what the media informs us of is true.
    Companies that can make the biggest impact are the companies that control the news that is seen repeatedly every day. These companies will use their power over news broadcasting to create a story to suit their beliefs. For example. If a media company is going to benefit from a certain party coming into power, they are able to create good news stories for that party and will use anything bad about the opposing parties to urge the public to favour their party. 
  • In censorship what is meant by taste and decency?
    In the media taste and decency mean to stay away from anything that might upset or offend an audience and to make sure that nothing is aired that might lead to crime or disorder. There is a rule in place that states that no material that is deemed unsuitable for children is to be shown before the watershed time of 9PM. This covers the showing of programs but does not cover advertising.
    The BBC has its own editorial guidelines which the company used to make sure they follow the rules. Within the guidelines there is a section named 'Harm and Offence' this section is there so that the company can exercise their right to air programs that are contemporary and challenging while still taking into consideration the more vulnerable among the population i.e; children, the elderly and people suffering with mental health. BBC is very careful to keep these types of people in mind always but more so if they are working on something that is a bit risky.
    The BBC classes offensive content as; bad language, sex, violence, distress and discrimination among other things that are all listed in the 'Harm and Offence' section of the guidelines.