Media Law and Ethics - Report Example

Media Law and Ethics Name Date Course Media Law and Ethics Introduction Convergence report was prepared for the purposes of looking into the current practices in the media industry and relates it to the exiting laws and regulation. This was for the purposes of making recommendations on the best approach to be taken going forward. The changing media landscape is also a factor that was of concern to the government and stakeholders and hence the importance of the review (Convergence Review, 2012). The enhancement in technology has influenced the operations of the media. The way people receive the news has also changed due to the presence of the internet which is popular among most of the Australians. This therefore raises the challenges with regards to the roles of the current laws with regards to the media. The concerns of the stakeholders have also been growing with regards to the way media should be operated under the current situation. The paper thus discusses the findings of the convergence report and views of stakeholders with regards to the report. Discussion Inquiry The convergence committee was established for the purposes of reviewing the current policy framework for the production and delivery of the media content and communication. This was for the purposes of obtaining information and advising the government with regards to the policies that should be developed in order to meet the needs of the stakeholders (Pearson, 2012). The committee was also tasked with making inquiries with regards to the current framework concerning local contents and its coverage in the media. This was also for the purposes of advising the government on the framework that should be put in place to promote the local contents. This is considering that the changes in the production and delivery of the media contents has undergone a lot of changes and hence impacting negatively on the local contents. The committee actively involved in the process of obtaining information from the stakeholders. It was able to come up with 10 principles with regards to the media and communication issues. It also made some recommendations with regards to how the industry should be regulated in the face of the digital era. Findings The committee was able to make several findings from the respondents who were involved in the review process. The committee was able to establish that the citizens should be able to communicate freely and with minimum regulations. On the other hand, unnecessary regulations should be removed in order to promote the access of information by the citizens and organizations. Diversity in terms of mix of services is also important. The people should be able to obtain different types of media content. Media ownership rules should be put in place for the purposes of encouraging competition in the industry (Given, 2012). The community standards are also important and should be reflected in the media content. This should include the contents that promote the national and cultural diversity. The local contents should also be sourced from a dynamic domestic content as the number of local contents is on the decrease. The digital era has also posed a lot of challenges with regards to the regulation of some contents including the contents that can be accessed by the children. The children require protection from inappropriate content and the community standards should be maintained at all times by the media. There is also need for abolishing the need for holding a license in order to provide broadcasting services. The media houses are also expected to control their contents to ensure that the standards are met and the children are protected. This is despite the wide spread use of the internet as a means of delivering the media contents. A uniform scheme is also required for the purposes of ensuring that the Australian contents continue to feature in the media despite the digitalization (Gerrand, 2012). A new regulator is also required for the purposes of replacing the existing regulator. This is for the purpose of meeting the current needs in the industry. Two separate independent bodies need to be established in order to regulate the industry. Transparency is also required on the part of the providers for the purpose of ensuring that the consumers are fully aware of the contents. Overall public benefits should also be obtained when using the different media forms. Continued support is also required for the community broadcasters for the purposes of ensuring that the community issues and standards are raised (Daly, 2014). It is possible for the enterprise owners to control their contents when using the online means and this should be carried out. Content service enterprise regulatory framework is also required for the purposes of meeting the new challenges with regards to the digital issues. Public Debate Generated by the Report The Australian Press Council is a body that monitors the standards for good practice for publication of news and comments in different media channels. The council made a submission in relation to the convergent report. The council is in support of an independent regulator but it is concerned that there are no indications that it will be independent as it will be fully funded and appointed by the government (Australian Press Council, 2012). The report also lacks clear information with regards to the regulation of the regulation of news and comments in the print and online media. The council also feels that the independent body should be responsible setting and monitoring standards of news and comments. The body should be independent from the government and the stakeholders. A unified system should also be in place for the purposes of promoting the interest of the consumers. The independent council must also be independent and it should be able to strike a balance between different elements. The council agrees with the recommendation that the news and comments should be recommended by the same body. The convergence report however indicates that the body should be a statutory authority and hence giving it the powers to control most of the aspects of the media. The council disagrees with this view from the convergence report and it instead supports the need for an independent council. The council is also with the view that the independent council should be comprised of people who have not worked in the media industry. This is mainly for the purposes of ensuring that it is fully independent. A statutory agency will therefore not be fully impartial and hence affecting its independence. FOXTEL is also an organization that made a submission with regards convergence review. FOXTEL is of the opinion that the overall recommendations favor the free to air networks and hence impacting negatively on the spirit of neutrality and competition. In the submission, the organization also noted that the methodology that was used was flawed and it offers no cost benefit analysis. The convergence report does not make recommendations with regards to the copyright regulation. The key broadcasting implications have also been ignored by the report according to the submission. It argues that the report does not address the policy implications for free to air networks. Although the report was also for the purposes of analyzing the concepts of technology, the organization feels that the digital economy has not been adequately addressed. The policies are flawed according to the organization as most of the sensitive issues have been ignored. FOXTEL also believes that the report is not clear in most of its key recommendations and hence impacting negative on the implementation. FOXTEL however supports some aspects of the report which includes the standardized treatment of broadcasting spectrum, content obligation on national broadcaster and increase of the producer offset. The submission also recommends that there should be one media regulator with a broad mandate. FOXTEL also feels that all the broadcasters should be provided with a fair competitive ground incase the broadcaster license is to be removed. The organization also feels that the report has failed to address other important key issues like the copyright Act Reforms, Anti-siphoning, Fourth commercial network and retransmission rules (FOXTEL, 2014). The submission therefore disagrees with a wide range of recommendations that has bee made in the report. Conclusion In conclusion, it is evident that the convergence report intends to address various issues that are facing the media industry in the face of the digital era. It also intends to ensure that the media contents are monitored in order to ensure that it is in line with the needs of the community. The recommendations also intend to protect the children from inappropriate content. The concepts of the local content have also been addressed for the purposes of promoting the Australian culture and identity. The formation of an independent regulator is also one of the recommendations of the report. The report has led to support as well are condemnation from different organizations. The Australian Press Council disagrees on the report in terms of the independent regulator that should be formed. FOXTEL on the other hand disagrees with the report in terms of competition and ignorance with regards to some of the key issues. However, it does not disagree entirely with the full report. List of References FOXTEL, 2012, FOXTEL submission in response to interim report released on 15 December 2011, retrieved on 3 October 2014 from, . Australian Press Council, 2012, Submission to the convergence review in response to its Interim report, retrieved on 3 October 2014 from, . Convergence Review, 2012, Convergence Review final Report, Australian government. Pearson, M, 2012, The media regulation debate in a democracy lacking a free expression guarantee, Pacific Journalism Review, 18(2), 89. Given, J, 2012, Australia’s ‘Convergence Review’, International Journal of Digital Television, 3(3), 293-300. Gerrand, P, 2012, Serving the public interest in regulating media convergence, Telecommunications Journal of Australia, 62(3). Daly, A, 2014, Net Neutrality in Australia: An Emerging Debate, 2nd Report of the UN IGF Dynamic Coalition on Network Neutrality (2014), edited by Luca Belli and Primavera De Filippi, 43-58. Read More