Working for the BBC:
Codes and Conventions
The BBC stands for the British Broadcasting Corporation and has been running since 1922. They range in media platforms as they have there own radio station, TV channel and an online service that offers things such as BBC iplayer. It has been funded through the government and paid for by the tax payers. This is very different to many other companies and therefore means they have to be very careful of what they say on air. They have to be careful they don't offend anyone or cause distress to any guests as it could cost the presenters there job. This could also effect the running of the company as a whole as they may have to be closed down.
The BBC has a clear set of codes and conventions to ensure that everything spoken about is appropriate and concise. As the BBC has a duty to the people who pay for there media to produce projects that they will enjoy and that will have meaning to them. For example discuss current debates on radio stations and put documentries and news onto there TV channels. I will discuss 11 of the key codes and conventions that are considered in the BBC and many other companies.
Accuracy
Firstly, accuracy is vital when creating any radio program as you must ensure all your information is true and correct. It involves both getting the verifiable facts right, for example names, dates and quotes. It also means accurately reporting own opinions by those who you report in your program. The BBC suggest there are 2 levels in which accuracy in reporting opinions exists. level one is to ensure that you quote or report the opinion accurately and the second is that you ensure you correctly convey the broader meaning of the quote or information in your report. This means that if a report has a miswritten quote or a quote is incorrect, it will not be liable or useable on there reports. The BBC journaliasts have a reputation to provide the solid objective, verifiable ‘facts’ but accurately reporting opinions expressed by the people whom you report. They distinguish the diffeance between the facts and opiniopns of a certain debate and try to control there presance in broadcats etc so it is not bioast or objective. If it was it could cause major contraversy between the members of the public.(5)
The BBC say that " People wanty the truth when they listen to something, People come to us to find out what things mean, find out the significance of things, and in many cases find out the truth of something". This quote suggests as they know what their audiance wants, they are highly aware of accuracy and consider them in there reports. An example of this is in the London bommings on the morning of 7 July 2005. The suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured 700 more. The authorities initially said the incidents on the London Underground were “thought to be power surges”. The BBC and other news organisation began to report that the incidents were in fact a series of bombs. In relation to accuracty they had to consider whether it was the appropriate time to do so as more information can be discovered later on. They also had to consider the audiences emotions and trust at this time as it was a very important and personal matter to get incorrect data from.
Thirdly, privacy is key when creating a radio program and the BBC ensure they follow these rules. The BBC have to consider the public interest and that they may not want certain information to be leaked over the program. Especially interviewees who will be on the show may want parts cut out or not aired within the broadcast. It is important any radio organisations keeps these. Many could confide in people and it has to be certain it is not exploited. (3) When interviews or reports are live on a radio broadcast it is hard to control the element that certain information is kept private and concealed. If it isn't it could breach against laws and cause major stress to others in the public or an individual either way it is very unprofessional and not good for the reputation of the radio station. The BBC have written on the privacy policy section of there website... "The BBC is committed to protecting your and your families personal information. We want our services to be safe and enjoyable environments for everyone."(4)The BBC has a clear set of codes and conventions to ensure that everything spoken about is appropriate and concise. As the BBC has a duty to the people who pay for there media to produce projects that they will enjoy and that will have meaning to them. For example discuss current debates on radio stations and put documentries and news onto there TV channels. I will discuss 11 of the key codes and conventions that are considered in the BBC and many other companies.
Accuracy
Firstly, accuracy is vital when creating any radio program as you must ensure all your information is true and correct. It involves both getting the verifiable facts right, for example names, dates and quotes. It also means accurately reporting own opinions by those who you report in your program. The BBC suggest there are 2 levels in which accuracy in reporting opinions exists. level one is to ensure that you quote or report the opinion accurately and the second is that you ensure you correctly convey the broader meaning of the quote or information in your report. This means that if a report has a miswritten quote or a quote is incorrect, it will not be liable or useable on there reports. The BBC journaliasts have a reputation to provide the solid objective, verifiable ‘facts’ but accurately reporting opinions expressed by the people whom you report. They distinguish the diffeance between the facts and opiniopns of a certain debate and try to control there presance in broadcats etc so it is not bioast or objective. If it was it could cause major contraversy between the members of the public.(5)
The BBC say that " People wanty the truth when they listen to something, People come to us to find out what things mean, find out the significance of things, and in many cases find out the truth of something". This quote suggests as they know what their audiance wants, they are highly aware of accuracy and consider them in there reports. An example of this is in the London bommings on the morning of 7 July 2005. The suicide bombers killed 52 people and injured 700 more. The authorities initially said the incidents on the London Underground were “thought to be power surges”. The BBC and other news organisation began to report that the incidents were in fact a series of bombs. In relation to accuracty they had to consider whether it was the appropriate time to do so as more information can be discovered later on. They also had to consider the audiences emotions and trust at this time as it was a very important and personal matter to get incorrect data from.
Balance
Secondly, balance has to considered when making a radio program. It is important to have an equal level of evidence and points to opposing sides of a debate. However, more specifically to radio, it can mean balance in song choice as it is important not to play the same genres or songs. If a number of genres are played then more people will be interested, and more listeners will tune in. Many radio stations only report very negative news and lack in emphasis on more positive news, where as others do it vice versa. It is important to have an equal balance in what you write about your reports to discuss over the radio and make sure that it is appropriate, and not to graphic for younger listeners. The BBC are sure to create balance, but mainly do it through having a number of radio stations that cater for different listeners. For example there is the Asian network that is based for religion which means they consider the best option for there program to suit the audience.
Privacy
Privacy
Access
Another code and convention used when making a radio program is access. Within relevance to the media industry, access means that the public should have the opportunity to participate in the broadcast and voice opinions such as phoning in. (2) This is mainly seen apparent on radio stations as they allow call ins and read out tweets and Facebook comments. This means they have access to the radio from other media platforms and gives the presenters points they may not have thought about in a particular debate. (11) It also allows a diverse range in topics to be discussed with no judgment of the callers opinions or thoughts. For example many radio shows have a specific show where they allow people to call in tweet and message the presenter about there ideas on topics discussed. For example, On radio four Anita Anand she has a show called any answers where you can discuss your thoughts on any topics discussed in terms of politics. This allows access from a number of different media platforms to show personal feelings towards cases that will give a good debate radio show.
Representation
Using information from the book, A - Z of Media and communication representation is described as "showing something in a specific context". (1) For example an area where this is seen is in radio where the text is interpreted in different ways depending on what type of show it is. By representing the information in a certain manner, you will have the specific audience you aim at listening intensely. Depending on the text given each radio presenter will represent it and interpret it in a different manner. Specifically to the BBC radio, they represent many news stories, varying in representation as some may be very sensitive and should be interpreted carefully. For example, news stories can range from stories about murder cases like the Phillpot trial, to stories about celebrities such as Kate Middleton being pregnant. However, it doesn't have to be something in relation to general knowledge such as they examples given. In other words many presenters use genres of personal interest that they feel strongly about to discuss. If the presenter doesn't have any passion for what they are discussing, it will most likely be inaccurate and therefore unrepresentative.
An example of a radio show is Anita Anand on radio four who talks about politics, and represents it based on her own way through her passion for the topic .In relation to the project i have been set, it is important i represent the school, students and teachers in a positive light and ensure that they are respected within my radio show. Especially as my piece will be on teacher profiling, it is important the teachers are represented well and not pointed out for possible flaws they may have.
Impartiality
Impartiality means an inclination to weigh both views or opinions equally according to wordwebnet.com(6). The BBC says that " Charter and Agreement requires BBC journalism to be impartial and the way the BBC does the differentiates it from other news sources. It is also part of the BBC's contract with its audience". (7) With this, impartiality is vital in a journalists script when preparing for radio shows as it is important to provide a breadth of views without favoring one in-particular which would then take us on to the subject of bias and subjectivity. For example shows under the science and nature genre of radio four are debates where a lot of different views can be discussed and it is important for the presenter to equal the opinions out to get a number of diverse opinions heard. The codes and conventions Access and representation come into this specific element as you have to be passionate in the area your representing in order to have a flowing and interesting debate. It involves access as it is usually from either the listeners view or someone of higher authority in the studio with them. If it is the audience they will have to use media platforms in order to say what they feel on the matter.
In my own project, it is tricky to make my topic impartial as it is on teacher profiling, and is not necessarily a debate topic. However to get both sides of views of teachers i will talk about how teachers feel on themselves and others as well as the students opinions. I will do this using a vox to get answers to questions that are both interesting yet appropriate. This will make an equal view of both sides and have a number of different views of each.
Objectivity
"Objectivity means the pursuit of a balanced, fair and rational perspective on events, especially where controversial issues are debated..." (1) This again links in with some of the above codes and conventions as it consists of giving a reliable and truthful account of information and quotes from individuals. It is important that the presenter doesn't get involved in the argument as they can be seen to be more objective over one side than the other. This could result in loosing members of the audience and even offending them. It is important to remember in subjectivity, all the key topics discussed in a debate will be facts and factual opinions. Again shows like the Anita Anand show on radio 4 politics has to ensure that when she is listening to the views of the public that she doesn't support one side over the other and ask questions that will favour one view. In my own project, objectivity wouldn't be so relevant as i am not doing a debate or factual piece of work as such. However, it can be seen in my own personal feelings towards the teachers through the questions i ask. In order to make sure that it is objective, i will have to consider my questions and ensure they wont be favorable or offensive to one teacher about another etc.
Subjectivity
"subjectivity and objectivity are huge themes in journalism ethics.". (9) This is because the subjectivity of an issue contrasts with the objectivity of it. As objectivity is the facts of a matter, the subjectivity will be more based on the opinions of these facts. For example on BBC radio Nottingham, there is a discussion category where presenters like Amanda Bowman discuss matters such as doctors and articles in newspapers.These allow the public to enter in their opinion on a subject and the presenter has to ensure they don't favor it over another. These opinions can be both factual and not from the members of society as they add a variety to the discussion. The BBC have many discussion opportunities for the listeners to get involved from shows such as the one above to more light hearted ones like about music and entertainment on radio 1. In my own project this is something i will have as i am getting more opinion based answers instead of factual opinions. This is very valued in my topic which is teacher profiling. This is because it simply requires the views of the teachers and students of Bluecoat, and isn't such a vital and debate-full subject.
Bias
A journalist and radio presenter has to be very cautious that they are not bias towards one view that oneself personally prefers. However you can either be bias yourself on others opinions, or you can support one side of an argument and not fairly balance it due to this. The definition of Google for bias is... " Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person or group compared to another. Usually in a way considered to be unfair.".With this being present in a radio show, it could cause upset to the audience and encourage listeners to tune out and no longer listen to the show. The BBC ensure that this is never the case in there shows by influencing the conventions of balance, objectivity and subjectivity. These all require a number of views that will be balanced out fairly, with no personal input of the presenters feelings or thoughts. I have to ensure in my own project that i am not personally bias towards certain teachers by asking incorrect questions. This could mean my feelings could also influence the participants views through my choice of questions. This will get the answers i want that may favor a certain opinion, which will be unreliable and unfair. Thus meaning i must choose my questions for interviews wisely.
Contract with the listener
The BBC create their own contract with the listener to provide them with fair, educational, reliable and entertaining radio shows as well as TV programs and news updates. They also have many different promises to the listener such as if there is a competition on radio one for example to win concert tickets, the BBC vow that the winner chosen will be genuine and not pre-determined This means that they are remaining ethical for the best interests of the listener into consideration. (12) They also say that their task is " ensuring that the complaints are properly handled and acting as a final arbiter on complaints previously handled by the editorial complaints unit and divisional director.". This means that if a show has offended or upset a listener or viewer, there comments will be taken into account and investigated immediately. These are examples of how serious the BBC considers their audience and does their best to ensure they are provided with a variety of entertainment that they want to hear.
In conclusion, we have to ensure all these codes and conventions are considered into each of our radio sections. Some of these may not be necessary to some depending on the topics the others in the class have, but they should all be thought about and analysed towards each of our topics. This will not only make our 60 minute show proffesional, but also reliable and fair to all listeners, regardless of the topic of the section.
Bibliography
1) Title: The Complete A-Z Media And Communication Handbook
Published by: GreenGate Publishing Services
Author: Stuart Price, 1997
Pages: 198, 3, 25
2) http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-fairness-contributors-access-agreements/#access-agreements-and-indemnity-forms
3) http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/collegeofjournalism/law/privacy/law-privacy
5) http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/collegeofjournalism/standards/truth-and-accuracy/truth-and-accuracy
6) http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=impartiality
7) http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/collegeofjournalism/standards/impartiality/impartiality
8) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objectivity_(journalism)
9) http://newmediashift.wordpress.com/category/subjectivity/
10) https://www.google.co.uk/#hl=en&q=bias&tbs=dfn:1&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=hJRhUY_QOsfD0QXSvIGIBg&ved=0CC4QkQ4&bav=on.2,or.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=c2398d0a0171ceea&biw=1366&bih=667
11) http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-interacting-phone-in/
12) http://www.bbc.co.uk/guidelines/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-interacting-principles/
