Broadcast/Media Writing Ethics

Television commercials TV Commercial 1 One of the things people seem to either Really enjoy or really hate How many of you skip through commercials? How many of you watch them? Identify TV ads that stood out to you Good ones why Bad/Poor ones Why

What makes an effective TV Commercial 2 What makes an effective TV/Ad commercial How is that effective TV Commercial 3 Radio ad/Commercial Radio Spot

If the information given is retained along with the name of the sponsor A commercial is very successful If a TV commercial gets the attention of the target market and holds it for 30 seconds Whether they hate it or like it, it is an effective commercial

Are ethics important Many ethical issues are discussed and addressed In developing broadcast commercials/psa’s? Why/Why not What do you think are ethical issues Within broadcast writing? Many ethical issues are discussed and addressed By the National Association of Broadcasters www.nab.org

“Guidelines” “What guidelines?”

I’m a commercial & announcement writer, I’m good at it, I’m creative, I push the envelope I have a portfolio that is out of this world What do you mean you have guidelines to work here Guidelines stifle the creative mind Should there be guidelines for writers to follow? Specifically commercial & announcement writers Why/Why not

Group Activity Developing Groups determined by attendance Commercial/announcement guidelines Groups determined by attendance Pay attention I am going to tell you the rules for this exercise

The Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters A set of ethical standards adopted by the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) for television It prohibited The use of profanity, The negative portrayal of family life, Irreverence for God and religion, Illicit sex, drunkenness and addiction, Presentation of cruelty, Detailed techniques of crime, The use of horror for its own sake, The negative portrayal of law enforcement officials, among others

Code of Practices for Television Broadcasters News reporting was to be "factual, fair and without bias" Commentary & analysis should be "clearly defined as such“ Under pressure from broadcasters The code was suspended in 1983

For eight years, from 1982 to 1990 During that time Both radio & television had no code of professional ethics. During that time Research showed that Networks and some large corporate broadcasters had their own codes, or standards and practices, Yet there still seemed to be no universal guidance

In 1990, the NAB issued a new "Statement of Principles of Radio & Television Broadcasting," General document intended to reflect the generally accepted standards of American's broadcasting Encouraged broadcasters to write their own specific policies. Encouraged responsible and careful judgment in the selection of material for broadcast vs forming a list of prohibition as was the case with the old Code

Caution was advised in dealing with Violence, drugs and substance abuse, Sexually oriented materials Positive encouragement for Responsible artistic freedom Responsibility in children's programming.

Statement of Principles of Radio & Television Broadcasting Made it clear these principles are advisory, not restrictive. Mentioned First Amendment rights Encouraged broadcasters to align themselves with the audiences expectations and the public interest.

The new philosophy concerning ethics in broadcasting reveals that: They are advisory rather than prohibitive they should be centered in individual stations or corporations Rather than a national organization like NAB

Since there is no provision for monitoring and enforcement on the national level, Concerns about ethics should come from individual stations and listeners/viewers The decentralization of ethics may be indicative of a pluralistic society, Where values and mores reflect distinct group perspectives, rather than a national standard

Since the broadcast industry itself The question that remains is Has been largely deregulated The question that remains is Whether this means there is now room for more self regulation Or whether self regulation itself should also be deregulated.