Regulation and self-regulation of the media
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Broadcast journalism
The Office of Communications (Ofcom) controls the statutory regulation of commercial television and radio stations in the UK. It is the regulating body which deals with who owns these organisations, how the programmes are transmitted and also programme content (including journalism).
Ofcom’s powers include fining media organisations for breaching regulations and closing down illegal ‘pirate’ broadcasters (and even commercial broadcasters).
The Ofcom Broadcasting Code provides ethical rules which broadcast journalists must adhere to or face sanctions from their employers. The BBC is amongst those media organisations that are subject to Ofcom’s regulations but its BBC Trust also sets out an ethical code for BBC journalists in their BBC Editorial Guidelines.
One crucial requirement of both Ofcom and the BBC’s ethical code is that all broadcast journalists must produce politically impartial content although, of course, does not require them to be politically impartial...
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