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 LATEST MEDIA NEWS...
Yes, BBC was biased: Director General Mark Thompson admits a 'massive' lean to Left
Channel 4 in storm over its 'Beauty and the Beast' reality show
Channel 4 is creating a reality show that will see two people, one attractive and the other physically disfigured, share a house.
Beauty and the Beast intends to expose the different ways in which they are treated because of their appearance. But yesterday critics condemned it as a ‘freak show'. In each episode a different pair will be followed by the cameras. The show will follow them at home and when they are out and about.
It is understood people with a range of physical disfigurements will feature and that the house they share will have wall-to-wall mirrors to highlight the contrast in their appearances. Details of Beauty and the Beast emerged just as Big Brother ends its ten-year run on Channel 4. Yesterday, critics warned that the new show risks making light of the serious problems faced by those with disfigurements.
Vivienne Pattison, the director of the lobby group MediaWatch, said: ‘It sounds like an extraordinary freak show and Channel 4 pledged an end to this kind of voyeuristic programming when they announced the end of Big Brother.' She said putting a disfigured person in a mirrored house ‘in the name of entertainment' was not ‘healthy'.
MailOnline 23/8/2010
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Channel 4 criticised for new reality 'freak show'
 Beauty and the Beast will record the real-life experiences of the pair as they live together for several weeks at a property in central London. The house will be decorated with wall-to-wall mirrors to emphasise the contrast in the pair's physical appearances, both to themselves and the viewers.
As well as being recorded living in the house, the pair will also be followed by a film crew on excursions around the capital. The programme makers have described the show as "an immersive lifestyle experience that uncovers attitudes to looks and beauty".
But the concept of a reality show comparing the life of an attractive participant with one who is afflicted with disfigurement has raised concerns. Vivienne Pattison, the director of the campaign group MediaWatch, described the new programme as a "freak show".
She said: "It sounds like an extraordinary freak show and Channel 4 pledged an end to this kind of voyeuristic programming when they announced the end of Big Brother. Putting a disfigured person in a mirrored house in the name of entertainment is neither a healthy nor an appropriate subject for a television programme. If Channel 4 is seriously committed to exploring issues of physical appearance, this is not the way to do it."
Telegraph 22/8/2010
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Media 'not to blame for sexualising teenagers'
Young people seek out racy programmes and magazines to satisfy pre-existing appetites, which are determined in large part by how they are brought up.
.jpg "Image") While campaigners have long blamed the media for forcing sexualised imagery on children and teens, the study found that those teenagers with an interest actively seek it out. Psychologist Laurence Steinberg, from Temple University, Philadelphia, analysed data from 2006 claiming that children between the ages of 12 and 14 who consumed a large amount of sexualised media including films, television, music and magazines were more likely to have sex by age 16.
Various aspects of the teenagers' lives were studied, including school performance, religiousness, parental relationships, and perceptions of friends' attitudes about sex. Dr Steinberg claims his findings, published in the online journal Developmental Psychology, gives the mass media a strong defence over accusations of sexualising young children.
"It may look like media exposure leads to sexual activity, but the relation between the two is artificial," he said. "If a child reports being very religious, he or she will be less likely to have sex at a younger age, but will also be less likely to consume sexualised media. Instead of pointing a collective finger at the entertainment industry, the most important influences on adolescents' sexual behaviour are probably closer to home."
However, Vivienne Pattison, directory of decency watchdog Mediawatch UK voiced concern over the findings. She said: "The findings of these surveys tend to be very contradictory. It is very hard for anyone to avoid being exposed to sexual material these days.
"On my way to work this morning I went past a billboard with a semi-naked woman on it, even thought it had nothing to do with what it was advertising. Exposure to sexually explicit media at a young age can lead to a range of problems, including low self-esteem, eating disorders and sexually transmitted diseases.
"While these problems are difficult for teenagers to cope with, we are particularly concerned by their impact on young children, who are becoming increasingly sexualised by the miasma of explicit material that they are surrounded by."
Telegraph 20/8/2010
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The repeat offenders: TV attacked for old shows, swearing and violence
More than half of older viewers believe television has deteriorated in the past year because of the soaring number of repeats, bad language and violence. Media regulator Ofcom found that 53 per cent of over-65s believe standards have fallen and the quality and range of programmes have worsened.
Almost two thirds of those surveyed said part of their dissatisfaction was down to the increased number of repeats on screens, while a quarter were unhappy with the level of bad language and the variety of shows available.
Vivienne Pattison, director of lobby group MediaWatch UK, said: 'There has been an erosion of the watershed in recent years, with people seeing more and more inappropriate scenes before 9pm.'
The Daily Mail 19/8/2010
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Families Hit by BBC 'Filth'
 Children as young as five are watching horrific post-watershed TV scenes of sex and violence at the click of a button. An investigation has revealed millions of children are bypassing strict guidelines and parental controls and watching shows meant for adults by using popular TV internet services such as BBC iPlayer.
The result is that highly impressionable children are becoming hooked on TV programmes which have unsuitable images and dialogue, leading to long-term concerns for their mental health.
Most TV catch-up websites, like iPlayer, ITV Player, and Channel 4's 4oD, operate a voluntary system which makes parents responsible for setting up a PIN or password to block access by children if they wish. Channel Five's web player Demand Five requires a log in and email address to access content which cannot be broadcast on TV until after 9pm when young children are in bed.
But TV regulator, Ofcom, found that 3% of children from five to seven have internet in their own bedrooms, which they can use to watch the TV-on-demand websites. It also discovered that only 12% of parents with children aged five to 15 had bothered to set up a PIN or password, and almost 40% of parents had "no idea" the safeguards even existed.
There are 19 million households with an internet connection in Britain, so this means that millions of children are downloading post-watershed adult material every day, sometimes without their parents' knowledge.
The Sunday Express watched an episode of the adult crime drama Wallander on the BBC iPlayer by simply confirming, with one click, that we were over 16.The episode showed a jogger in the woods pursued by a hooded man who strangles him. There were also graphic, bloody images of a man's corpse with cane spears poking through his chest.
From the ITVplayer, the Sunday Express downloaded an episode of Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, featuring adult sexual content. Again it took one click.
The Sunday Express has been shown exclusively a document on catch-up websites from the TV watchdog, Mediawatch. It details how easy it is for young children to access post-watershed shows featuring sex and violence and gives a comprehensive list of programmes they could access without a PIN or password.
.jpg "Image") These include documentaries on sex and violence, dramas like Being Human, Misfits and Wallander and controversial comedy such as Live At The Apollo. "I'm very disturbed by what I was able to access," said Vivienne Pattison, director of Mediawatch. "I don't want these shows banned, just access to them restricted. It makes a mockery of the watershed."
Asked whether children were influenced by watching violent images, she said: "Clearly it affects children, and they are particularly vulnerable." Ms Pattison has written to the Government, broadcasters and Ofcom urging that the Digital Economy Bill is amended to force catch-up sites to install compulsory PIN or password access.
The Sunday Express 28/3/2010
Read More... IF YOU FIND ANYTHING ON TV HARMFUL OR OFFENSIVE, TELL OFCOM AT: contact@ofcom.org.uk On Line Complaints Form here
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