8.3b) Employment & Legal Issues in Film and TV

Health and Safety

Where employers have to put in place reasonable protection for the employees from potential harm and danger in the work place.



The Health and Safety act is a legal document in which the employer has to abide by, this is to ensure the well being of all employees. Whilst the act does state that the employer must provide a safe working environment, the employees must also ensure that their actions take into account how they may affect others around them, as they could cause harm or be deemed unsafe.
As TV and film contains harmful jobs such as the camera operator that go to extremes to get the camera shots. They go on cranes to get footage from dangerous heights to get specific shots for the media project. Another point is that some of the locations in the work place are dangerous and could cause them harm what this means is the industry have to put  protection for the camera operator because it's there responsibility. 

The positives for the Employee would be a sense of security within the workplace. The camera operator should feel safe, even in precarious positions and whilst there may be a potential risk, they should feel that there is not an increasing danger which could affect their physical & physiological health. However, a downfall may be that if the employer doesn't abide to the act, and may not put into action the necessary needs to make the place safe for them.


As an employer for example New Regency Productions, whom produced 'The Revenant,' they could potentially gain some good publicity and put themselves in a good light, if they have been able to accommodate and ensure the safety of all crew when in the production stages. Thus making themselves more inviting to many different people that work in the industry and are at the height of their professions. However the act may restrict New Regency Productions when filming as some sets perhaps are too dangerous and when amended perhaps they don't look as real or how the director had in-visioned them to be like.    

Equal Opportunities 

Where any employee is treated fairly without any prejudice in the work place that also has the equal opportunity to the job as well as being able to obtain an upper pay scale or further promotion to heighten their careers. 

Where we could potentially see this in the film and TV industry is for example when a group of people are going for the same job which could be a runner in the media industry. What the industry has to do is fairly treat each candidate the same and without any prejudice and discrimination, this would also apply throughout the duration of employment. Given each candidate met the criteria, all should be able to have an opportunity to present themselves. 

This is particularly important to potential employees applying to become a runner, as it is an entry level job. The job is something that many people will be competing for as it is the starting point to get in to the industry and gain contacts. The downside is that many employers wont stick to it, and perhaps will already have an idea of what they are looking for. 

From an employer point of view equal opportunities gives them an abundance of potential employees which makes it very competitive and allows for a better quality of choice. The downside is that the employer will have so many people applying for the job that it is a long process to find the right person suited for the job.  

Equality Act 2010

A legal document produced by the government that states the laws the employer has to abide by when hiring and through the persons employment.

The equality act 2010 is in place to outline specific characteristics that many people have, it is a law to help protect and fight discrimination & prejudice within the work place. Certain, "protected characteristics" such as, " gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership,  race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation" are believed to be important aspects of peoples lives that should be guarded when applying for work, or when already in employment.
We can see this through the whole of film and TV industry. Where we can see this in a specific job role in TV and film is the news correspondents, eg Mike Wedderburn a sky sports news presenter and the only current male presenter of a different race within sky sport news. Despite this though he has the same opportunities and should receive the same benefits as any of the other presenters.  

For Mike Wedderburn the equality act means that the employer needs sufficient reasoning for firing him, which in turn gives Wedderburn a feel of job safety. The act relieves a great deal of stress for him as it does fully protect him, he would also be allowed to take legal action if he was dismissed which continues to build on a more secure life for him. Of course there is always a risk that Sky may not abide to the act and their legal team may be able to find 'loop holes' in the act which would allow them to fire Wedderburn instantly or for a reason that may not be sufficient but doesnt technically break the law. 

For Sky, it does allow them to be more diverse in their news presentation, it could potentially make them stand out by trying to break stereotypes and conventions, which perhaps the majority of the public would recognise as a good thing, which in turn constantly gives Sky good publicity. However this could equally be a wrong decision, whilst unlikely their may be an argument for some of the public that dont like this change and would perhaps move to a competitor instead of watching sky sports news.  

Employers Liability

The employer has the responsibility for the protection of the employee at the work place as well as the overall business and the financing.

We can see this in the whole film and TV industry. An example the ITV as they have to ensure the safety of employees, otherwise they would be liable to legal action if there is an incident in the work place that was the ITV's fault. Liability is not only about the protection employees, but it can also relate to how liable the company may be in terms of its financing, whether they are making a loss. 

As an employee in an accident at work they have the right to exercise legal action against their company (ITV) so its a relief for the employee to know that the employer will be making the working environment as good as possible. A negative though is that even if ITV were liable and the employee did follow through with a court case, the company will have extremely skilled lawyers, so you might not even find justice.  

For the employer ITV, its very much allowing for a positive, happy work force. If they are feeling relatively safe, then they will be more motivated and get more work done on a day to day basis. Employer liability is a very large spectrum and its not as simple as having insurance among other things. The company can be potentially liable for many things, so good structure within the company is vital.

Employee Rights

There are legal and legitimate entitlements that are wrote in the employees contract which are dependent on their age.

Employee rights stem from legislation's produced by the government, that are seemingly trying to help improve the life of an employee in their place of work. Rights are in place to help the employee manage their work life and personal life at one time.
Where we could see this being used in the film and TV industry is the actors in the which are seen in the film industry they have the right to do what they feel is safe and say no to the things that the industry is telling them to do that may harm them in the production stage. If it is something that they feel uncomfortable doing they could get rights to disclaim it.

As an actor employee rights mean that they can feel more comfortable with work, whilst they are normally only on a fixed term contract, the rights still allow them to not be over worked and forced in to things. The downside to employee rights much like the equality act etc. the employer may find certain situations they can manipulate to dismiss the employee. 

As an employer though, employee rights allow for a much happier work force, which in turn would give some extra motivation and focus on the project. The problem though is perhaps some employees may use the rights too much an exploit them, which the employer may not be able to do anything about the situation.

Belonging to a trade union

Trade Unions are to defend the employees rights and physical and psychological harm in the work place.

Belonging to a trade union means that many employees are allowed to voice their opinion on pressing issues and they are allowed to safely say what needs to change within the industry they may also fight individual cases too. A trade union may do more, which would include training courses for its members and will also offer a large amount of information about ways into specific jobs.
An example of a trade union in Britain specifically for TV and Film would be BECTU. The main aims of BECTU are too protect the jobs of their members, offer advice and representation for the employees rights and equal fair treatment in the work place. They work hard to ensure that all employees that also are members of this union are not receiving any discrimination, prejudice and have a safe & healthy working environment. 

A member of BECTU is able to express themselves more, they arent as worried about being dismissed because of the legal acts etc. But the employees are able to voice their opinion if they feel unfairly treated or felt that they haven't had an equal chance to gain a promotion/ higher pay. The downside to a trade union, is perhaps sometimes you dont always agree with the union. It may be that the employee is very happy in their job and BECTU are campaigning for something which could affect them.

For the employer in this case BECTU they are helping to create a better, healthier working environment for everyone. They aren't working for profits so their main aims, when they are achieved become the benefits of this company. When they have fought long and hard for something and won, thats the benefit for them, its almost a personal gain.
A negative would be the power struggle, as the government has brought in many legislation's against trade unions BECTU are now very limited in their campaigning and their actions, in comparison to 20 years ago.

Intellectual Property

To shelter their assets, original and creative ideas and to prohibit the imitation of any work.

Intellectual property is the contents of an idea/ multiple ideas that have potential to be produced into blockbuster Films/ Tv series. 
They can be seen in TV and Film through an institution such as Walt Disney pictures as their creators may have fresh, unique ideas that can potentially be turned into very profitable films. These ideas would be intellectual property and would be in Disney's best interests to protect them to stop the other big Hollywood Institutions from copying them.

From an employee perspective if the idea is exclusive to their crew, along with Contract exclusivity, means they have 1 project to work on. If they only have one main focus to produce then they wouldn't be at risk of being 'burnt out' as they can focus much of their energies on one project as opposed to multiple which may stress them. The problem for the employee/ creator of the idea, is that if the company (Walt Disney) then they cant sell it to various companies and cant make as much money.    

For Walt Disney Pictures the protection of their intellectual property means they can produce exclusive content that none of the other big Hollywood production companies will have. Thus making more profit and continuously growing bigger. The downside is that some employees may leak the full idea or aspects of the idea, which potentially other companies may try to produce something very similar first.

Copyright, Trademarks 

It is a physical, legal document that can be purchased to stop any replication of the original idea.

Copyright and trademark, are used in all content produced for TV and Film, it is a document that is used for legal reasons to stop other companies from stealing creative ideas & concepts. It is used to protect the intellectual property of production companies/ creative ideas possessed by any one person.
Copyright can be seen in the film industry through the production companies obtaining copyright and trademark on their new films and new ideas which are in the production stages. An example would be Dreamworks animation producing a new film 'Trolls' which already a release date of November 4th 2016, as this animated film was going through the stages of production, Dreamworks would have been trying to secure copyright so no other institution could try and copy it and claim it as their own film.

As the person with the creative idea/concept, trademark is a major positive for them as they would be able to go and sell their idea to various production companies around the world, and make a lot of money. An example would be John de Mol who had the original concept of  'The Voice' was a big success back in The Netherlands to which he was able to sell the idea globally. But no one was fully able to own the concept as he has put copyright on it.

As an employer/ Production company, (Dreamworks) copyright does allow them to keep their films and creative ideas mutually exclusive from any other company, they are able to produce films that are very fresh and new which again relates back to Dreamworks making more profit. The downside which is hard to track, is that copyright can not stop a leak, which would lead to copying the idea.

Other forms of intellectual Property 

A physical product or aesthetics that any other person or institution that can not copy when a patent has been placed.

This differs from intellectual property as it is more to do with the legal issues and a more physical product as opposed to a creative idea. The patent is much like copyright/trademark however it is used for my visual items.
This could be seen in the Star Wars font, which is something that perhaps could have easily been copied by other institutions during the time of creation. However as Walt Disney were able to put a patent on the text, that therefore legally stopped any others trying to steal the idea.   

An advantage for the employee/creator is much like copyright they would potentially be able to protect their own product and sell it on to make a lot of money. This could however reverse and become a negative if the creator is an employee at a production company. Walt Disney has taken the product and placed a patent on it for themselves which meant the creator couldn't sell it to anyone and couldn't make any extra money.

As an employer/ production company in this case Walt Disney Pictures, they have been able to use a patent on the 'Star Wars' typography which keeps it very exclusive to them. As it was very desirable and unique the patent stopped  any other company from using it.

Passing Off

It's when a person or institution attempts to emulate a product when truly it is another's.

Effectively Passing off is to copy, its not necessarily about a leak which is then stolen, Passing off can also be about one production company content has many similar elements that another has and its who tries to say the original idea was theres. 
As an example Passing off was hard to find, many TV programs e.g. sitcoms and animated sitcoms are very similar and many seem to copy each other. However it seems that the same production company copy their own work in  a slightly different style as it was a success the first time. An example would be 'friends' and then some years later 'the big bang theory.' Perhaps that can't be described as passing off because it is the same company trying to rebrand the same idea slightly to gain more profit. 

A plus for the employee is they get many tv programs and films that they enjoy. Whilst many are very similar they were all previously loved, and now the slightly newer versions will also be dearly loved. The obvious negative to this though, is the repetition. For some people it is easier to spot the repetition and its easier to get bored quickly as it feels like your constantly re watching something. 

From a production company perspective, they know that the film/tv program will be successful, they know that the audience will love it, so they will continuously get more money. Not for doing anything new or creative but just by re-selling an idea, just slightly updated. The one negative though,is the people that comprehended the repletion will stop watching and that will decrease profit which is something none of the companies want to see.  

Race Relations Act 1976

It is an act that protects the public against prejudice on racial grounds and the communication between the public of other racial groups. Racial grounds is seen as race, ethics, colours and nationality.

The race relations act is in place to stop racism and racial abuse, this works closely with the sex discrimination act 1975.
This would relate back to TV & film much like the equality act, in the sense that both try to give fair and equal opportunities to everyone when all are applying for the same job. As well as trying to protect employees in the work place from any racial abuse. An example would be Kate abdo a sky sports presenter news presenter, who is the only presenter that is not belongs to a different race. However under the race relations act it protects her in the work place from any discrimination in perhaps an unfair dismissal or comments of prejudice.

A positive for Kate would be how the protection of the act does allow her to feel safe and allow for legal action to take place if she was ever fired for an insufficient reason. Of course like other acts the negative is that the employer Sky may not abide by the act and fire her nevertheless.

For the sky much like the equality act, to have more diversity in the presenters, which essentially are the face of sky sports news, means they can be seen in a better light as they try to break stereotypes. The negative is also this sense that some of the public perhaps are not ready for change and sky would lose viewership.  

Broadcasting Act 1990

A government produced document that allowed to loosen regulations, which in turn helped to create a healthy competition. Thus allowing for consumers to have a much broad choice.

The broadcasting act was something that allowed production companies to expand, whilst still abiding to the act they were able to produce more content and allowed for more people to start new companies. This in turn allowed for the consumer to have a variety, and choice what what entertained them.
BBC films was founded in 1990 after the act was released, the act allowed the BBC to create a new branch and produce more entertainment based films such as 'Salmon Fishing in the Yemen' although a more recent film, BBC films were able to continuously produce content, and continuously better themselves in which this particular film was nominated and won many awards.

As a consumer the act perhaps was revolutionary, in the sense that so many options have become available. Much of the the film and TV industry have been able to build and grow by this act being introduced. Which can only be good for the consumer to constantly be given more and more choice. Perhaps one downfall to such a vast expansion of the industry are consumers in the present. We are increasingly dependent on visuals, as we have a need to see what should happen. Every film will manipulate the audience into feeling certain emotions and today that's something we criticise when its not done well.

In terms of a Production company, BBC films, the company itself have been able to constantly grow and expand, whilst they were exciting times to be able to produce such different content, ultimately its about how much profit they can make. Specifically for the BBC whilst they are government funded its not something that drives them particularly, but it is the main benefit that drives every other company. 

Obscene Publications Act 1959

A law which strives to protect consumers from obscene and derogatory media texts and institutions that will otherwise cause a great ordeal to those who exhibit content made by the institution. The content may be deemed as 'obscene' if in any shape has degraded those who have worked in the production of the content.   

The document states how there should be no content exhibited which would be, "deprave and corrupt" meaning many films, may have too many explicit or horrific scenes which are too graphic to be exhibited by any one.

An example of a film that broke this act was 'The Human Centipede' a film in which was originally banned for being to graphic, much of the content had to be deleted and re-worked in order for it to be accepted. Even now it is still a big debate on whether it should have been released, due to some of the scenes the film features.  

A plus for the the public, is a protection, the act guards us against many things are unnecessarily graphic. Whilst we continuously push extremities, this act allows for a boundary which is needed especially for the protection of children. A down side to the act is What really classifies a breach in the act, 'The Human Centipede' was eventually allowed to be shown. Yet it still was perhaps to intense, imagining what the original cut was like, there is perhaps an uncertainty for how graphic a film can get before it is banned. 

For a production company, the act does restrict what they can produce. Whilst films are not typically so graphic, their is the restriction for how expressive the production company can be as they cant breach the act. Perhaps though the act does make the production companies explore other ways in which they can still evoke the same emotion. 

British Board Of film Classification

It is a non government management that controls and labels films into seven classification section include U, PG , 12 , 12A, 15, 18 and R18.

The BBFC helps to rightly classify films, they are a non profit driven organisation, which would imply that they wish to do their job correctly as opposed to quickly to gain more money.
An example of the BBFC in relation to a specific film would be 'The dark Knight rises' which originally was given a higher rating, however upon another reviewing it was brought down to the 12A rating.The fact that the film doesn't, "dwell on detail" and can only contain "occasional gory moment" meant that the rating was able to be brought down.

From an audience perspective to have a rating system much like the obscene act, is a safe guard for children. It is in the essence to keep a childs innocence and not expose them to such graphic scenes that films can contain, which they are not ready for. It perhaps though does cause an upheaval, For instance 'the dark Knight rises'" rating under scrutiny, perhaps in some eyes it was wrongly classified, so the guidelines aren't black and white.  

From a production company perspective in this case Warner Brothers they will want to push for the lower ratings to gain more viewers and make more profit. However they have to find ways in which they can portray the same emotion and atmosphere but with less graphic scenes. If a film can do that then the rating goes down but the money increases. So there is a constant battle between the production company and the BBBFC on their review.  

Ofcom

It is a corporation that helps the UK population to get the best out of their communication services as their control the TV, mobile, radio services line telecom, postal services and wireless device services.
Effectively of com are a third party organisation which helps other companies e.g. Sky to deal with their customer services. They help to deal with any customer complaints or directory help etc. 

As the public Ofcom is good as it does provide us with a good service all of the time. Whilst we still complain about having to wait the speed at which we are answered and dealt with is constantly getting faster and faster. The negative towards ofcom is they may not treat some people in the best possible way. They are a profit driven company so for them as long as they are getting a big deal they don't care if a minute amount of people aren't dealt with greatly.

For Sky they can delegate work to of com and not have to employ people to do the same job, they get the job done and less hassle. However moving back to the point about of com not treating customers correctly, that in turn negatively affects Sky and so more people may be inclined to not renew their subscription and instead move to a rival like Virgin. 

8.3 a) Contractual & Ethical Issues

Contractual Issues 

Full time Contracts

Full time contracts are typically 35 - 40 hours per week minimum, as they are also considered a career pathway full time jobs are also payed better then part time contracts. Full time contracts also come with added benefits such as sick pay and annual holiday leave which other contracts will not receive.

An example of a Full time contract in TV and Film may be in the financial sector such as an Accountant, this is because they do not need any specific experience in Tv and Film, all they have to do is manage the budget and they can do this across multiple projects. Mike Aichholz who has been an accountant for the 'planet of the apes' series films, as well as the TV series 'Alcatraz' has been able to work across multiple projects with a constant line of work on his contract.

For Mike Aichholz he has been able to have a sense of security with his job, he hasn't had to worry about finding new contracts much like fixed terms. As a first assistant accountant on many of the projects he has worked he will also be building a good portfolio of his work and soon be able to become a head accountant as opposed to an assistant. There is though a risk that the job may become boring as it is easy to be on a full time contract and be comfortable in his current job role as he has that added security, and it may become apparent that he hasn't furthered his career as he would have liked too.
From an institutional point of view there is also a security as they do not need to advertise and hire someone for each project, as they will always have an accountant to do the task. What perhaps is a little more frustrating for the institution is the fact that they have to continuously pay them even if there are no current projects for Mike Aichholz to work on. Also because of the type of contract he is on it makes it harder for the institution to fire him, as they need sufficient reasoning behind it.

Part time contract

Part time contracts are normally jobs that are less then 30 hours per week. however Teachers who will work under that are still on full time contracts as they work a scheduled Monday to Friday. Part time contracts will normally work on a rota system with shift work, to continuously fulfill the job role.

A runner would be considered a part time job, as they often do little odd jobs for different sections of the crew. The producers/director will need you for only a certain amount of time each day or may only need you to work for a couple of days per week. The job of a runner is considered as an entry level job and the employee is only needed as and when required.

Working on a part time job means that the employee is entitled to all of the benefits that full time workers get. Employees are on a Pro Rata which means the amount of hours the employee works will relate to the amount of benefits they receive. The difficulties for the runner on part time contracts are that they may not get many, if any, hours a week which means they wont get paid. Also part time employees, (runners especially) perhaps may be seen as lower down the hierarchy and will receive jobs that no one else wants to do, which cane make work very frustrating at times.
For the institution, runners are a way of employing someone as and when needed to do jobs that no one else wants to do and can be used fairly extensively for the little pay they receive. However there is a reliability issue with employees on part time contracts, people are able to leave fairly easily which generates a high turnover of employees. Whilst its easier to fire them, institutions may find that people on part time contracts perhaps may do the bear minimum as the pay i not particularly good.

Fixed term contract 

A fixed term contract is typically the duration of the contract in which it will end upon completion of a specific task or a certain date. Moreover, when working with fixed term contracts it means that the person is self-employed and can chose when they want to sign a new contract of work. Fixed term contracts are usually more frequent in the film industry, sectors such as editorial or management etc. The majority will all work on fixed term contracts as certain people work on certain stages of production. Furthermore, there's not a constant flow of films being produced, so people are hired when a film starts and will leave when the end product has been completed or their contract has just run out.

brent white, editior of Anchorman 2

Editors who will work on fixed term contracts, will be able to fit work around their personal life. The amount of time that they work in a calendar year is very flexible, also they have a sense of security as they know they have a stable flow of work for certain periods of time. But, work is not always guaranteed as films are not constantly being made.  Brent white, is an example of working on fixed term contracts as he edited 'Anchorman 2' for 'Dreamworks Pictures' then moved on to edit the '40 year old virgin' for 'Universal.' This shows that he had a continuous stream of work, editing films every year.

Furthermore, for the institution (Dreamworks) they were able to hire Brent for the time it took to edit the film and then could release him. They only had to pay him for the time needed and don't have to continuously pay people when they aren't even needed. Although flexibility in the work force

can be seen as a major positive it does cause a concern during the near completion of a film. If the contract has run out and the employee moves on, the institution are left with a incomplete film and will need to hire another person which potentially might not be as good.

Agency Contracts

Agency work is a contract that you have with the agency in which they will find you work with a separate institution that is suitable for your specific requirements. This would connote that as the employee they have no rights, however the employee is entitled to the benefits after 3 months of work. Also if the employee has done an exemplary job then the employer has to pay a fee to the agency to secure the services and almost the rights to keep the person on a permanent basis, which would then release the employee from the agency.  

Agency contracts are something that aren't particularly used in the media industry, many institutions will employ different people on different contracts directly not through an agency. An Agency that does specialise in employing people for the media sector is Aspire, perhaps not specifically in TV/Film but are one of very few that are for the media sector. However Agency contracts can be seen mainly through the administrative jobs. Where people will work for the agency but perhaps used in the more business sectors as they can do the day to do work to keep the business running smoothly, (taking calls etc.) and they don't have to be paid that much. 

For people that do work through Agencies, they do perhaps have a feeling of no stress. They have the reassurance that the agency will find them work and will be a continuous stream of work. The negatives to Agency work is the fact the the employees rights are very limited, the most the agency has to provide is a safe working environment, also the employees benefits are limited to non existent. Which perhaps is taking advantage for the employee, of course is the major downfall to this issue.
For an institution such as BluePrint pictures as an example of a small production company, if they did use an agency it is easier for them as they will always be able to find an employee. However there is a big risk that that the candidates given to BluePrint may be very poor and disinterested in the project, which is something that no institution will want to have in their crew.

Contract Confidentially 

Contract Confidentiality is a clause in an employees contract that entails the privacy of the project that is being produced. Until the release date of the film/tv program the employee is strictly not allowed to give details about any aspect of the project. The employee may still be under this clause even though their contract may have expired because the project has not been released. If caught leaking information about the project, the institution have the right to sue as you have breached the clause in you're contract.

Nearly everyone that works in the TV and Film sector will all have this clause in their contracts, this clause would perhaps effect everyone equally, director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu would have had this clause in his contract when producing 'The Revenant' a film that was supposed to be very big. He would have had to be careful about what things he could say when being a guest on talk shows much like Leonardo DiCaprio would have only been allowed to say certain things, (which would be very few) before the film was released.

For Alejandro Inarritu of course to even his friends he couldn't tell them anything about the film, so being very secretive can be very hard at times, it perhaps can 'spill' into his personal life which would become very difficult. However on a personal level perhaps it does allow for great success, as when the film is finally released the public & critics will be very amazed by the worked he has produced.
For the institution in this case New Regency Pictures (production company) & 20th Century Fox (distribution company), confidentiality does mean that none of the other big 6 Hollywood companies may steal their idea, and allows for legal backup if someone in the production crew was leaking information and breaching their contract. The difficulties with this issue is it would be hard for the institution to find the culprit that leaked the information, and in general people aren't reliable/trustworthy to keep the secret.

    

Contract Exclusivity

Contract Exclusivity is an agreement that ensures that the employee strictly works for one institution and can not sign a contract to also work for another rival institution. A non compete clause may also be added into the employees contract, where the person is not allowed to work for any rival institution for a 90 day period after their contract has already expired.

Much of the employees that work in the TV and Film industry will work on an exclusive fixed term contract. Stephen Mirrione an editor who has worked on 'The Revenant(2015)' also 'Birdman(2014)' both have been produced by New Regency Pictures, which would illustrate how he has constantly had contracts with this specific institution, showing his exclusivity with New Regency Pictures.

A positive for Stephen Mirrione would be that it does show complete dedication and focus on the projects, perhaps something that the institution may recognise and continue to offer him contracts to continuously work on projects. However it does restrict his work, he is not able to work on multiple projects even though he may be capable, which in turn would restrict the amount he potentially could be paid, if this clause was not in place.
However for New Regency Pictures it does allow them to have fully focused and energised employees, as opposed to employees that may be tired from the workload of too projects or perhaps they arent putting in the effort or meeting a sufficient standard that is acceptable. Perhaps this clause does make it harder to recruit, but it does allow for better working environment as perhaps the employees want to work for them and are more humble to have the opportunity, which others that are working on many different projects wont have.

Ethical Issues

Codes of Practice

This is a law that clearly outlines rules that employers must follow when in the process of hiring, as well as abiding to it through the entirety of the employees stay.

The equality act 2010 is in place to outline specific characteristics that many people have, it is a law to help protect and fight discrimination & prejudice within the work place. Certain, "protected characteristics" such as, " gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership,  race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation" are believed to be important aspects of peoples lives that should be guarded when applying for work, or when already in employment.

An example would be news presenters, there is a stereotypical view point, where by it is common to see a younger, attractive women alongside a white middle aged man. The Equality act has been able to stop this stereotype and allow for all females/ males to become presenters and have a fair chance of employment.

As an employee the act allows for them to have a sense of security and protection in their job, now that the employer must have sufficient reasoning for firing. It also allows for the employee to have the right of fair and equal opportunities perhaps in trying to achieve a promotion, now any one has the chance to gain it. The downfall though is that there are 'loop holes' within specific parts of the act that the employer can use to their advantage, whether that's on a hiring & firing basis or in treatment of the employees within the work place.
For the employer the act means that there is more of a happier mood in the work force. If everyone knows they are being treated equally then they are all much happier in their job role. It does mean though that the decisions the employer makes have to be very precise as if they aren't careful then they are liable to a lawsuit.

Agency policies & procedures

This is a series of documents that are produced by the institution to clearly outline their code of ethics, much like The Equality Act 2010, but it has been produced by the company instead of the government.

The BBC's Code of Ethical Policy is a document that is used as explicit framework in how the BBC conducts its self for workers to have, "safe working conditions" as well as "protection of workers right" which spans from the whole of the BBC as a business and their, "suppliers" which are in turn other institutions/ any other that the BBC has purchased from or uses their services.

Anybody who works for the BBC would come under this policy, as it deals with every employees safety and wellbeing, an example would be James Harding, a director of news and current affairs at the BBC. He would be ensured that his environment was safe and that he his protected against any discrimination, however this would all be the same for any of the employees at the BBC

James Harding is able to be protected by both the BBC's policy and the equality act 2010, perhaps what is a big positive for him is the fact that he has much legal documentation that he could potentially use if he was every wrongly dismissed. A major down point would be that the BBC would indefinitely created this document with 'loop holes' to ensure they could manipulate it and whilst legally abiding by their policies they are still able to do what they want.
For the BBC thought they perhaps are able to gauge some very good publicity by having this legal policy in place. This policy may bring them into a good light with in the media which would make them seem like a better company, rather then their rivals such was ITV etc. A negative for the BBC is now they have to follow at the policy says, perhaps before this document was created it was very easy for them to do what they wanted with their work force. Now they have to have many sufficient reasons behind every decision they make. 

Emerging social concerns & expectations

These are concerns that the public have which are now more pressing in today's society, as opposed to the society of 30 years ago. They are emerging social concerns such as disabilities, psychological health & gender orientations. 

Social concerns which the public are now becoming increasingly apprehensive about would be things such as, gender orientation, various disabilities and others. What the act does entail would be how many of these pressing issues are in fact already, "protected characteristics" that the act has accommodated for. The act is very extensive as to who qualifies under the acts, "definitions," however many people will qualify as the act is very broad asit tries to accomodate everybody. 

An example of this issue could be seen in the tv program 'The Last Leg' exhibited on channel 4. this program consists of the presenter, Adam Hills who does not have a right foot and Alex Brooker who also has various disabilities. The program can bee seen as an example of  social concerns as now people with disabilities are now being hired and shown more on TV which would imply that the Equality Act is doing its job.

For the employee whilst social concerns are constantly changing and as the public will always have high expectations, under the act the employee, much like codes of practice has this sense of job safety and security. Employers are now being forced to treat employees with disabilities equally and not to abuse this is something that employees never had a decade ago. However the employees do find them selves at risk, some employers may simply choose to just not abide by the act and in some cases there is no evidence etc, and so the employee finds themselves with no job and no case to sue.
From an employer side though, as they are now forced to look at everyone, perhaps they have found that people with these disabilities are very capable and good at the job they do. Certainly through 'The Last Leg' the public almost loved the fact that Adam & Alex were able to run the show which can have only improved channel 4's viewer rating and brought in more profit. 

Representation. 

Representations of social backgrounds that employees have are protected from prejudice and discrimination. Employers have to abide by the legal documents to consider everyone whatever their background may be. 

The act broadly covers many different social backgrounds which again are protected by the act from any discrimination and prejudice. Many things like religion, race ethnicity are all, "protected characteristics" the act covered the fact that any one no matter where they originated from has the, "guarantee of freedom of thought, conscience and religion." The act largely covered many different social backgrounds, it was not all about race & religion but also about sexual orientation and gender reassignment. 

Within TV an example could be seen in Kristin Digby a presenter and director for the BBC who was open about being homosexual. The BBC seemed to support him and  allowed him to present the program , "to buy or not to buy" (his most famous work) whilst dieing at a young age, Digby was able to influence much of the media industry by being open about his sexuality and encourage more people to continue their pathways into media despite their sexuality. His work has been recognised, thus allowing for the equality act to recognise this concern and add it to one of the protected characteristics. 

For employees being able to have a sense of freedom in the work place and feel comfortable means a great deal as only a few years ago being open about sexuality would not have been an option. A downside though is perhaps there is still not enough being done, perhaps people are still being discriminated against in the work place as well as employee's feeling they can't be open as they might attract prejudice.
From an employers point of view to have a more diverse cultural work force may be a real positive. Perhaps it allows for a more focused and comfortable working environment as everyone feels safe, and if the work force is happy then more work will actually get done. However if an institution is employing some people that are different perhaps existing employees may not like this and it could create massive amounts of tension leading to potential risks of abuse which is an issue no employer wants to deal with.  

8.4 Developing Technologies

Digital TV

Digital tv is where many channels have been transmitted digitally moving through the same band width. This differs to the old use of analogue signals which were slower and used up more data for less, however now that the channels have added more to themselves they have created a more expanded service tho their audiences.  

Channel 4 would be an example of a digital broadcaster, as they used to only have 1 channel, which would have made them analogue. However now that they have many others such as Film 4, E4 etc. they are now all digital.

From an audience perspective digital tv means a better quality in video and audio which leads on to HD tv. It also allows for more interactive services such as the red button, box office and many more. However digital tv does cost a lot to install and sometimes there are many repeats which of course are boring, for instance E4 will exhibit episodes from the big bang theory, from season 8, which have been repeated numerous times, as well as the series being in season 9. 

For channel 4 it meant that they could expand and offer more channels, which can bring in a more diverse audience. But as they are a profit driven institution they cover more entertainment rather then informative programs, so their audience may grow but it would be with age and not what different people are interested in.  However they (channel 4) would of course had to make their money stretch further as they had more channels to fund. but would gain their investment back very quickly as they exhibit programs that are very successful which would generate a greater profit, e.g. 'The Big Bang Theory' on E4 and then 'Big Brother' on Channel 4. 

Satellite TV

Satellite tv works on the basis of delivering tv programs from the broadcaster with sending signals up into space and then relayed back to your home.

The biggest example of satellite tv in the uk would be sky, they are the only broadcaster to use satellite tv in the uk. Virgin and other companies such as talk talk will use cable tv.

Satellite tv does offer 100’s of channels and can be viewed in very remote areas, both of which are very positive for the audience. However satellite tv is very tricky to install and requires a trained technician, as well as being very expensive. to have Sky, the audience, need to have a date for a technician to come install all cables and then the box, which takes up a whole day and carries and added charge.  

Sky though, through the many channels they have, are able to have many different audiences, for example, a male audience for the sky sports channels, as well as targeting at niche audiences with sky arts. Which would relate back to a bigger profit as more people would pay the subscription fee. There was though a huge gamble on whether spending a lot of money on creating this new technology would even catch on.

Cable TV

Cable tv essentially are cables that run underground, feeding in to the box at home, as well as various other systems such as the broadband and landline. Recently we have switched to fibre optic cables instead of the old regular ones as they are much faster.

Virgin is the biggest cable provider in the uk, its used for tv and also virgins broadband, however it does have a minimum contract which is now 12-24 months.

For the audience cable is more reliable then satellite, Virgin have recently introduced their new fibre optic cables, which are more reliable and faster then any one else. Whereas satellite can often lose connection, it also has a good variety of channels to chose from, as Virgin is becoming increasingly popular more channels wish to use them. But a major negative is the fact that its hard to install and set-up, much like sky where a technician from virgin still has to come to your house to set everything up. 

For Virgin they have to pay a lot if cables underground are broke and needed repairing, and if one cable is broken that may effect many users not just one person. Moreover, it cost a lot for Virgin to even fit the cables in the first place. 

Interactive TV

This platform is an add on for the channels, an extra service that the broadcaster provides, it allows the audience to explore extra things. It gives the audience a little more freedom in what they watch.

An example would be the BBC red button, for instance when broadcasting Wimbledon the red button service allows the audience to choose a variety of matches instead of the main one that the channel is exhibiting.

The interactive service does allow for more choice, and more freedom, which we prefer. As well as being at no extra cost the audience like it even more.  But the red button service is particularly slow and can be frustrating which means the audience lose patients and just watch what the main channel is exhibiting. The BBC's red button service for the olympics was particularly good as it offered the audience a range of different sports to watch, but sometimes it was slow and the audience would rather just watch what sport was already showing as that could be the biggest event on the day anyway. 

For the BBC they have to decide whether or not the red button is even working. Although it is offering wider range, is anyone actually watching it or are people just sticking to what the main channel is broadcasting. Whilst they aren't a profit driven institution, the government will ultimately decide whether to cut the funding for the service or not. 

Internet TV

Internet tv is content exclusive online, and can not be seen on actual tv. It will have original content that would have never been seen before.

An example on internet tv would be Amazon Prime, this is where amazon have produced their own content and have created their own platform to exhibit it on, some of their original content will not be available anywhere else.

For the audience they are able to watch on demand whether that’s an episode a night or a complete binge watch. Amazon prime especially will release the whole series as oppose to channels that will release one per week.  Amazon prime allows the audience a wider range of choice on what they want to watch and when they want to watch it, ultimately that pleases the audience. However if you wanted to watch a series on Netflix and a separate series on amazon prime then you would have to subscribe to both as the content is mutually exclusive.

Amazon prime don’t have to worry about a schedule or slots for channels they can upload the content altogether and let the audience watch freely. Of course there is still is age old problem of needing an internet connection in order to access amazon prime.  

High definition

High definition makes the image clearer on screen. It uses more pixels as opposed to regular definition allowing for the more crisp looking image on your tv or pc monitior etc.

BBC hd is a channel that broadcasts its content in hd for the audience, they offer extra channels and more services for the audience to use. As the BBC are a PSB they don't charge more money as an extra package for the HD channels, they continue to pay the standard licence fee, which would be good for the audience. 

For the audience the the hd quality means that they receive a better looking picture as well as a better quality of audio. However not everyone is aware of the certain cables you need in order to get the hd on screen (HDMI cable) Of course the audience will feel like they are getting something extra for their money by the BBC allowing for HD channels to be no extra cost, which will leave them with good publicity. 

For BBC they can use it as a chance to re-brand themselves, they are able to market themselves as more of a new and improved broadcaster, trying to add more appeal to the public and constantly gain a bigger audience. However they can only provide some of the channels in hd format and does cost more to produce and provide it the the public.  

Streaming content

Streaming content is simply broadcasting live over the Internet. It can be done personally using apps and websites or it can be professionally done with institutions exhibiting special events.

Younow would be an example of a more personal broadcasting platform, anyone can download the app and start to live stream what they are doing at any time, using the Internet. However UFC fight pass would be an online website created by UFC to exhibit their special events to their audience.

Younow has a live messaging system whilst a broadcast is happening, which means that you are able to interact with others from the audience and directly to the broadcaster. This gives the audience a really welcoming and warm environment to watch with others that have similar interests. But you do need that internet connection to join the broadcast, which is the same with UFC fight pass in the sense that you need the internet connection.

For UFC they are able to see the viewer ratings from a special event and really understand what was done well and what needs to be improved on. Younow is also very cheap to run and set up not much has to be set up and they don’t have to charge a subscription fee because they can make money from advertisement.

 

On demand-viewing

On demand viewing means that people are able to watch programs/film whenever they want to. They can catch up if they missed an episode or they may be some original content that cant be viewed anywhere else.

BBC iplayer is an on demand viewing platform as people can watch past episodes or a documentary that aired up to 7 days ago, but people are still able to go back and watch it.

BBC iplayer allows for the audience to be able to watch what they want when they want, but more importantly they can watch on any device. BBC iplayer is also free to anybody, however in theory you should be paying a TV licence to be able to watch BBC iplayer. But for elder people they are closed out as they don’t have the education in what different technologies they need to have in order to watch it. Which is another point is the fact that the audience need the right technologies which some people just cant afford to buy.

But for BBC they are able to see viewer ratings on particular programs, which can indicate to them what’s popular and what’s not on their channel. Although it doesn’t apply to the BBC as they don’t work for profit but for other institutions they could lose money if their app/website is free.

Digital recorders

Digital recorders are a physical piece of hardware that has the ability to play, pause, record, rewind and fast-forward and tv program/film.  They also contain a hard-drive which stores all of the recordings.

Sky +HD is a box which contains a sky planner, this stores all of your recording, the actual box does allow for 2 recordings to happen but you have to be watching one of them.

Being able to use Sky and record a program/film does means that you are free to watch it on demand, and whenever you want. You can also skip through the annoying adverts and continue to watch rather then the program/film constantly being broken up by the adverts. Sky allows the recording to be fast forwarded, paused and rewinded whenever and how ever many times you want.  However interruptions can happen thus leaving you with a part recorded program/film, which is never a good thing, e.g. he sky box may automatically turn off if there is a timer set, or someone else in the house may turn the box off if no one is using it. 

For sky it does mean that they can charge more subscription money for this package as they can class it as more off a ‘premium package.’ But by sky having this package as well as a basic one, they now have to produce 2 different types of boxes & controllers which could be costly, if a package isn’t particularly popular.

Pay per view

Pay per view is a platform in which it is rapidly becoming redundant. It allows people to purchase and then view special events that are usually live that cant be seen any where else.

An example of pay per view would be sky box office, they allow people who already have a subscription with sky, to be able to buy special events such as, a boxing fight and watch it live exclusive to them only.

The audience, watching through Sky Box Office, are able to watch it live, and really feel like they are apart of the event. However, the audience does have to pay on top of their subscription, a boxing fight on Sky typically will cost £19.99, and there is no guarantee that the fight will even be good plus it is already very expensive. As Sky box office is dyeing out the variety of what is shown is very miniscule for the audience.

For sky though it does mean that they are able to have another platform to bring in more money, people may have to pay and watch the event on sky or people have stumbled on the event and bought it. By exhibiting the event sky are able to have exclusivity to the event, which means none of their rivals will be competing to exhibit the show.

However more and more companies are moving away from sky box office and are starting to set up their own online websites for their audiences, which of course would lose money for sky.