Bias
The first term that I am going to cover is Bias. So what is bias? Bias is when something is viewed from one side, rather than having a fair neutral opinion on the topic.
For instance one example of when bias has been a problem for producers would be with the programme "My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding."The main reason why many viewers seen this programme as being bias was because they felt that it was misrepresenting them as it only highlighted the negative sides of the travelling community and this gave the community an overall negative look because of this. "It's posing as a documentary, the voiceover is saying we're going to let you into the secrets of the traveller community – and it is just not true. It might be true of the particular families in front of the camera, but it's not generally true." If a show is very bias it can be a major problem for producers and there can be severe consequences. If a show was bias enough to encourage negative views such as discrimination or racism it could be pulled off the air.
Balance
Balance is massively important to be aware of when creating programmes in the media industry. Balance is making sure to try and have a fair netural view on the topic(s) that you are covering. Balance affects producers in a good way, as it ensures that they do not offend any of their viewers with one sided opinions and a good balance of views in a programme can also help make it feel a lot more professional aswell.
An example of when balance has been an issue in television would have to be with the Big Brother show. This show can be very unbalanced as it is commonly heavily edited down to show all the negative behavior of the housemates rather than the good, for example there was a lot of controversy with Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty on the show as it focused a lot on them two arguing among each other and a lot of these arguments were seen as having racism involved in them which resulted in a lot of public outrage. If a producer does not try and make their programme balanced there can also be severe consequences. For instance as I was saying there was a lot of public outrage with Jade Goody and Shilpa Shetty on the Big Brother show and the publics negative responce resulted in Jade being evicted from the show and it heavily affected her image and career after the show ended.
Accuracy
When creating a factual programme it is vitally important that you have accuracy. Accuracy is when you try your best to ensure that everything you state in your programme is 100% truthful and reliable. Accuracy affects producers as it makes them ensure that they take extensive research into the topic their covering before they state anything as fact.
Commericals on television can very often have a lot of problems with accuracy, for instance there was an Optical Express advert that featured Padraig Harrington and claimed that he used there service even though he never did and when this was discovered there was severe consequences and the advert resulted in being pulled off the air completely.
Another example of inaccuracy would be with David Attenborough when he faked filming a polar bear giving birth in the wild when it was in fact a fake set setup in a zoo.If producers do not take the time to ensure what they are saying is accurate in their programs there is a lot of severe consequences they can face. For instance gossip channels very often broadcast rumours on celebrities that later turn out to be completely untrue and depending on how damaging this information can be to their career they are liable to take legal action against these channels. Being inaccurate can also be damaging for producers as it can make their programmes lose credibility and in turn lose viewers.
Representation
Represenatation is a word that is used to describe an idea of life (how people view things.) For instance may people may be representated as dangerous because of the clothes they wear or the places they live. Representation affects producers by making them think about what is and is not offensive when representating how a particular character looks or behaves.
For instance fictional progammes very commonly have characters who fit stereotypes, one example of this would be Mickey o'Neil in Snatch. This character fits the stereotype of travellers being the aggressive fighters. It is not just people that are often negatively representated however; things such as religions and locations are also very commonly stereotyped, i.e. London being dirty and hostile and muslims all being potrayed as dangerous or terroists. In my opinion I believe that representation is very important in factual programmes as fictional programmes such as comedies use stereotypes in a humourish way and they can be exaggerated for comedic value and it is usually not offensive to the audience. However when factual programmes represent a particular group in a negative way it becomes much more offensive as it is being shown as factual and this can greatly offend people. Factual programmes may also be taken off the air if their views encourage racism.
Impartiality
Impartiality is very similar to balance in that it is about being neutral and not favouriting one side. Impariality can be very important for news stations as there are always two sides to a story and it is very important for them to be fair and as impartial as possible.
Many people criticize Fox News and believe it has done a grave disservice to democracy, by presenting only one side (the Republican side) and stereotyping or demonizing all other points of view. Impartiality is very important especially for news stations as one sided opinions on news stations can cause the station to face a lot of criticism and lose viewership.
Privacy
It is incredibly important to respect privacy when working in the media industry. Privacy means to respect peoples personal space and private information. There are privacy laws set up that can affect producers from using giving out certain information about people or using unethical means to gain information from people i.e. phone hacking. It is very common for privacy to be an issue when it comes to the news, for instance the news oftenly has to withhold certain information such as names of victims of crime or faces of certain people. For example Irelands first ever legal abortion had a lot of controversy as it was seen as having 'unethical' media coverage , the most controversial coverage was when private details such as the womans name was released to the public. This caused a lot of outrage and the woman threatend to sue for her details being leaked to the media. If a person does not want their face or voice shown/heard on television then it is up to the producers to censor their image, in order to showcase anyones face on television you have to ensure you ask for their permission otherwise they are liable to sue you for breaking the privacy.
Subjectivity
Subjectivity is “Judgment based on individual personal impressions and feelings and opinions rather than external facts". I feel subjectivity is important for producers to include as it makes their program more personal as they are giving feelings and opinions rather than hard facts. Subjectivity can be an issue when it comes to interviews in documentaries as the interviewee may not be 100% honest or accurate with the information he gives.
Opinion
Opinion is very similar to subjectivity, opinion is “A view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge”. I feel that it can be very effective for producers to share opinions on their programmes as it can make the programme feel more personal and can give more sides to the content being covered. However I feel that it can become a major issue if a producer shares their opinion too much as it can make the programme biased and one sided.
Conclusion
In conclusion I have learnt a lot about the different issues that producers in the media industry can face and how they can affect them both negatively and postively. For instance some issues such as balance can ensure they are not biased and this can affect their program postively as it makes it less one sided, whereas issues such as privacy can stop certain programmes from giving out certain information or images.
Sources
Gypsy Wedding image- http://www.zodiakrights.com/Content/Images/Brand/my-big-fat-gypsy-wedding-4278.JPG
Bias quote- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Fat_Gypsy_Weddings
Balance image- http://www.telecoms.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2013/04/scales.jpg
Big Brother eye- http://www.eatock.com/files/11787815820.gif
Jade Goody eviction- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB4QYtoQp28
Optical express advert - http://vimeo.com/37229306
Sir David Attenborough fake polo bear - http://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/frozen-planet-scandal-sir-david-96593
Mickey O'Neil Snatch- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFgL2_eAlcA
Ireland abortion coverage- http://www.christianpost.com/news/irelands-first-ever-legal-abortion-case-becomes-shrouded-in-controversy-amid-unethical-media-coverage-102922/
No comments:
Post a Comment