Founded in the 1960s by the late, Mary Whitehouse CBE, when there were just two TV channels and at a time when standards of good taste and decency were being overthrown by some broadcasters, this is a pivotal time for mediawatch-uk.

mediawatch-uk's stated aims include:

Is There Still a Need for a Media Watchdog?

We now have a transformed media landscape with hundreds of digital TV and radio channels, internet content, downloading what you want when you want, and the latest craze, user generated material on social network websites. The vast array of media content, combined with powerful marketing strategies, is bewildering and increasingly beyond effective regulation. 

Many people recognise that television has a global impact on moral, ethical, social and political issues as well as the power to influence our society for good or ill.  Gone are the days when broadcasters can realistically say that they simply reflect society as it is.  More and more society reflects the false attitudes and behaviour portrayed by some parts of the media.

Scandals

Recently scandals have come to light over the misuse premium-rate telephone lines and, more seriously, editing and marketing of programmes that have misled the public, politicians and even some broadcasters!  mediawatch-uk welcomes the publication of the Deloitte report which identified a "serious cultural failure" at ITV. 

Michael Grade, executive chairman of ITV described the findings as "horrible" and "inexcusable".  The company made £7.8million from uncounted votes.  In December 2007 Ofcom fined Channel 4 TV £1.5million for misconduct involving phone-in competitions.  

At the Edinburgh Television Festival in August 2007 Jeremy Paxman, in his MacTaggart Lecture, called into question the whole purpose of television.  This has caused a serious loss of public trust in broadcasting and a number of TV executives have resigned.  The BBC Trust has announced plans to speed up its complaints process and to extend the public's right to appeal and launched a public consultation at the end of October 2007.  

Toxic Media?

Concern is now being expressed by numerous academics, experts and parents groups about the toxic nature of the media and the impact of television viewing on children. 

Media content thought to be unacceptable just a few years ago has become commonplace.  This is not a world in which mediawatch-uk can stand still.

Of course there are many good and praiseworthy programmes but mediawatch-uk, an independent and voluntary organisation, remains concerned about offensive and harmful material that fails to meet the high standards and quality that the viewing and listening public have a right to expect.  We hope our website will help you to understand the important issues involved.

mediawatch-uk is Making a Difference!:

• having achieved effective legislation in 1978 which made all child pornography illegal. 
  
• We apply pressure on the regulator, Ofcom, to ensure TV programmes don't break the rules and wwe publish regular reports on a variety od media issues. 
  
• We are regularly invited to take part in television and radio programmes and offer opinion to national, regional and local newspapers. 
  
• We lobby the Prime Minister and other senior government ministers and
  
• we are pressing for an international agreement on programme standards and media content.

By joining mediawatch-uk you will be joining thousands of other people who want to have a say in what we view on our screens.  You will no longer be a lone voice.  We will have greater authority to represent your views. 

We were delighted when the BBC announced that in future it intends to encourage licence fee payers to submit their views and that the BBC Trust hopes to use trails between programmes to highlight these opportunities.  

mediawatch-uk provides an independent voice for those concerned about issues of taste and decency in the media. We have an established reputation for principled protest, informed comment and reliable research. We publish newsletters, reports on the portrayal of violence, bad language and sexual conduct, briefings on film classification, content regulation and the public interest.  To find out more read our Annual Report for 2006.

Why mediawatch-uk?

Many people seem to believe that broadcasters are permitted to transmit anything they like. Violence, sex and bad language is so common on TV that it is easy to gain this impression. However, Parliament has approved laws which say that programmes must meet with 'generally accepted standards' and that the public should be protected from 'offensive and harmful material'. 

This law is being ignored and viewers' rights are being overridden in the quest for ratings, audience share and controversy. mediawatch-uk believes in freedom of expression and that broadcasters should exercise this with responsibility. We are working to champion the rights of viewers!
Some Questions Answered

How Can You Support this Campaign?

2) If you would like a speaker from mediawatch-uk
for your event, please contact 01233 633936

3) Ring mediawatch-uk on 01233 633936 and request a quantity of our ready printed postcards addressed to the media regulator Ofcom. These allow you to easily submit your complaint about a TV or radio programme that has offended you.

Disclaimer

Please note that links to other web sites are provided in this site so that additional information on media, and related matters, can be easily accessed.  This should not be taken as an indication that mediawatch-uk endorses the opinions expressed therein.

Wikipedia

This free online encyclopaedia is undeniably a magnificent, wide-ranging and valuable resource.  However, its detractors argue with justification, that some parts of it have become a "pranksters' target" and "the online equivalent of throwing eggs" open to vandalism and sabotage (Sunday Times 12/2/2006).  Wikipedia itself recognises this as a problem that undermines its credibility.

For these reasons we cannot guarantee that the entries for mediawatch-uk, its director John Beyer and its founder, the late Mary Whitehouse CBE, are reliable and objective sources of information.  These entries have been written and published without prior consultation or approval.

From its beginning in 1965 under the leadership of the late, great Mary Whitehouse CBE, the organisation has kept pressure on the Broadcasting Authorities to improve their public accountability and to explain their policies on standards of taste and decency. This objective is as relevant today as it was in the 1960s.

A Nationwide Petition for Public Decency was launched in 1972 which attracted 1.5 million signatures from people all over the country.   After a protracted campaign, this led to the enactment of the Indecent Displays Act in 1981.

Establishing an Indepdendent Broadcasting Council

The Association made out a substantial case for an Independent Broadcasting Council, made up of people from around the country, and in 1973 plans were submitted to the Government.   These far reaching proposals to provide the public with an independent voice had to wait until 1989 to come to fruition when the Government established the Broadcasting Standards Council.  The BSC, which is only an advisory body, has had very little impact on standards and remains a disappointment to many people who had high hopes that programmes would begin to improve as a result of its work.

Outlawing 'Video Nasties'

After an intensive campaign in 1984 to outlaw "video nasties" a Private Members' Bill was introduced in Parliament requiring videos to be classified by age suitability in a similar way to films shown at the cinema. The decisions of the British Board of Film Classification have been the subject of much criticism as public attention has been focused on some of the violent and sexually explicit films that have been classified as suitable for public exhibition.

In 1981 evidence was submitted to the Council of Europe's Hearing on Violence at Assisi as well as publishing recommendations to the Government on Cable TV and Direct Broadcasting by Satellite. In 1983 the Council of Europe recommended accountability on programme standards and closer consultation between public and programme makers.

Support of Government

The then Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Margaret Thatcher MP, identified herself with the stand against the decline in moral standards and in 1984 she presented the Association's Annual Award to the popular political comedy series 'Yes Minister'. On this occasion Mrs Thatcher performed the famous sketch with the late Nigel Hawthorne and the late Paul Eddington cleverly ending with the words "Yes, Prime Minister!" The text of this sketch is published in the autobiography of Sir Bernard Ingham entitled ‘Kill the Messenger'.

In 1987 the Conservative Election Manifesto included proposals for stronger and more effective arrangements to curb sex and violence on television.

Over the years the Association presented Awards to a broad range of programmes including, among others, 'Dixon of Dock Green', 'Jim'll Fix It', 'Tomorrow's World', 'Songs of Praise', 'Blue Peter' and 'Holiday'. It has always been aimed to praise good programmes and encourage those who make them.

Establishment of the Protection of Children Act

The most important success by far, in terms of legislation, was the enactment of the Protection of Children Act in 1978 that very effectively made child pornography illegal.  This Act enables police action to be taken against those who use the Internet to publish and make available indecent images of children.

During her campaigning years Mary Whitehouse worked hard to counter the immorality and exploitation of pornography and obscenity by consistently calling for effective amendment to the Obscene Publications Act 1959.  However, because of political and judicial indifference, this objective remains to be realised but mediawatch-uk continues, along with others, to press the Government at every opportunity on this important issue.