Mass Media in England
The media
play a central role in Britain’s daily life, informing and educating,
questioning and challenging – and of course – entertaining. In recent years the
availability of more radio frequencies, together with satellite, cable and
microwave transmissions, has already made a greater number of local, national
and international services possible. The transition from analogue to digital
transmission technology is now expanding this capacity enormously. The Internet
is providing, increasingly, an additional medium for information, entertainment
and communication.
Television and Radio
Broadcasting
in Britain has traditionally been based on the principle that it is a public
service accountable to people. While retaining the essential public service
element, it now also embraces the principles of competition and choice:
·
the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation),
which broadcasts television and radio programmes;
·
the ITC (Independent Television Commission), which licenses and regulates commercial
television services, including cable and satellite services.
·
the Radio
Authority, which
licenses and regulates commercial radio services, including cable and
satellite.
The three bodies work to broad
requirements and objectives defined and endorsed by Parliament, but are
otherwise independent in their daily conduct of business.
Television
viewing is by far Britain’s most popular leisure pastime: over 97 per cent of
households have at least one TV set. British television productions are sold
world – wide.
BBC
The BBC
provides two complementary national terrestrial television networks: BBC 1 and
BBC 2, which transmit 24 hours a day. It also provides a range of digital
channels, including BBC News 24 and BBC Choice. BBC Network Radio serves an
audience of 29 each week, transmitting 24 hours a day on its five national
networks. BBC has 39 local radio stations serving England and the Channel Islands, and regional and community radio services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. BBC World Service broadcasts by radio
in English and 42 other languages world – wide. It has a global weekly audience
of at least 140 million listeners. BBC Worldwide Television is responsible for
the BBC’s commercial television activity. It is one of Europe’s largest
exporters of television programmes. It also runs an advertiser – funded, 24 – hour
international news and information channel; and an entertainment and drama
channel broadcast to subscribers in continental Europe and Africa.
The BBC’s
domestic services are financed predominantly from the sale of annual television
licences; there are no paid advertisements. BBC World Service radio is funded
by a government grant, while BBC Worldwide Television is self – financing.
Independent Television
The
ITC licenses and regulates three commercial television services – Channel 3 and
Channel 4 (in Wales the corresponding service is S4C), which complement each
other, and Channel 5 – all financed by advertising and sponsorship. Channel 3
programmes are supplied by 15 regionally based licensees and an additional licensee
providing a national breakfast – time service. Licences for Channel 3 and 5 are
awarded for a ten – year period by competitive tender to the highest bidder who
has passed a quality threshold.
Independent Radio
Independent radio programme
companies operate under licence to the Radio Authority and are financed mainly
by advertising revenue. There are three independent national services: Classic
FM, broadcasting mainly classical music; Virgin 1215, playing broad – based
rock music; and Talk Radio UK, speech – based service. About 200 independent
local radio services are also in operation. Stations supply local news and
information, sport, music and other entertainment, education and consumer
advice.
Teletext, Cable and Satellite Services
The
BBC and independent television both operate a Teletext service, under which
information is displayed as “pages” of text and graphics on receivers equipped
with the necessary decoders.
Many British – based
satellite television channels have been set up to supply programmes to cable
operators and viewers with satellite dishes. Some offer general entertainment,
while others concentrate on specific areas of interest, such as sport, music,
children’s programmes and feature films. The largest satellite programmer is
BSkyB (British Sky Broadcasting) which, with around 7 million subscribers,
dominates paid – for television in Britain. It launched its digital satellite
service in 1998, carrying more than 140 channels.
Satellite television and
cable services are funded mainly by subscription income.
The Press
National
newspapers have an average total circulation of over 13 million on weekdays and
about 14 million on Sundays, although the total readership is considerably
greater. There are 10 national morning daily papers and 10 national Sundays –
five “qualities”, two “mid – market” and three “populars”. There are about
1,350 regional and local newspapers, and over 7,000 periodical publications.
There is no
state control or censorship of the newspaper and periodical press, which caters
for a range of political views, interests and level of education. Where they
express pronounced views and show obvious political leanings in their editorial
comments, these may derive from proprietorial and other non – party influences.
A non –
statutory Press Complaints Commission deals with complaints by members of the
public about the content and conduct of newspapers and magazines, and advises
editors and journalists. In 1995, the Government rejected proposals for
statutory regulation of the press and for legislation to give protection to
privacy. Instead, it endorsed self – regulation under the Commission and
recommended tougher measures to make self – regulation more effective.
Working
practices throughout the newspaper industry have become more efficient with the
widespread used of advanced computer – based technology. Publishers have been
able to reduce production costs by using computer systems for editing and
production processes.