Andrew Sach Prank Call

In 2008 Russel Brand and Johnathan Ross made a prank call to Andrew Sach and left three answer phone messages containing inapropiate content.  This prank call was made during a BBC radio broadcast.  In my opinion the Brand and Ross went too far with what they left on his answer phone.  One inparticualar was when Ross said "He fucked your granddaughter... I'm sorry I apologise. Andrew, I apologise, I got excited, what can I say - it just came out."  This cotains inapropiate language which people find a offensive to Andrew Sach. 

Ofcom fined Brand and Ross £150,000 for broadcasting this this prank call.  They fined them under the code of explicit, intimate and confidential" information about Sach's Granddaughter and Sachs in both programmes without their consent.  the BBC was fined £70,000 for breaching generally accepted standards and £80,000 for breaking rules surrounding the adequate protection for members of the public from unwarranted infringements of privacy.In my opinion I think the Ofcom was right to fine them that much.  I think this because they broke many of their rules (code), also the things they said was innapropiate towards Andrew Sach.  I think this case does highlight that media does need to be regualated because it will have an effect in the long term because other radio hosts will watch what they say whist on air because they wont want to get fined. 

Advertising Standards Authority

The ASA regulates UK ads to ensure they are truthful and socially responsible. A crucial part of that process is putting the protection of children at the heart of our work. In November 2004 control of the regulation of broadcast advertising, formerly undertaken by state bodies, was handed over to the ASA on a provisional two-year contract. Sponsorship credits are considered to be part of programming content and therefore fall outside the ASA's remit. Claims on shopping channels can generally be considered by the ASA, but complaints about non-delivery of items are unlikely to be taken up by the ASA unless there is evidence that the shopping channel has misled people or that the non-delivery is a widespread problem.  Before this they had previously regualated Print Media.

Noteworthy Rulings:

Apple has been involved in two major rulings by the ASA; its claim to be selling "the world's fastest personal computer" in 2004, its Power Mac G5 system, were judged to be unsubstantiated. The complaints against two other claims made in advertising for the product were not upheld. Later in August 2008, an advertisement for the company's iPhone was banned because of false claims that it could access "all of the Internet"—due to its lack of support of major plug-ins such as Flash.

In July 2009 the ASA banned an Israeli tourism poster following complaints. Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Jews for Justice for Palestinians and 442 members of the public complained about how the map on the poster displayed the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights as part of Israel. The Israeli tourism ministry responded to the criticism, saying the map was a "general, schematic tourism and travel information map" and was not meant to be a political statement.

Press Complaints Commission (PCC)

The PPC's code was created by the Members of the Commission.  They justify their self regulation of their industry with the aim of maintaining high standards of ethics in journalism.  The PCC is funded by the newspaper and magazine industry but operates independently of it. Newspapers and magazines pay an annual levy to the Press Standards Board of Finance, an organisation modelled on the self-regulatory system established by the advertising industry in 1974. This arrangement ensures secure financial support for the PCC, while its complete independence is at the same time guaranteed by a majority of lay members. A list of members of Press of is available here. The PCC receives no government funding and is free from statutory control.  The sixteen code of practise are; accuracy, Oppotunity to reply, Privacy, Harassment, Instrusion into grief or shock, Children, Children in sex cases, Hospitals, Reporting of Crime, Clandestine devices and subterfuge, Victims of sexual assault, Discrimination, Financial journalism, Confidential sources, Witness payments in criminal trials and Payment to criminals. 

Ofcom Research

Ofcom is the complaints commission that handles broad casting, telecommunications  and postal industries. 
the UK has a wide range of electronic communications services, including high-speed services such as broadband.  a wide range of high-quality television and radio programmes are provided, appealing to a range of tastes and interests;television and radio services are provided by a range of different organisations; people who watch television and listen to the radio are protected from harmful or offensive material. 
Ofcom has certain powers to regulate the BBC's licence fee funded television and radio services aimed at audiences in the UK, but not the World Service which is grant-in-aid funded.  Ofcom's Broadcasting Code applies in the following areas: Protection of under-18s, Harm and Offence, Avoidance of inciting crime or disorder, Responsible approach to religious content, Prohibition of use of images of very brief duration, Fairness and Privacy.  To ensure that the unsuitable sponsorship of programmes on radio and television is prevented, with particular reference to: transparency – to ensure sponsorship arrangements are transparent; separation – to ensure that sponsorship messages are separate from programmes and to maintain a distinction between advertising and sponsorship; and editorial independence – to ensure that the broadcaster maintains editorial control over sponsored content and that programmes are not distorted for commercial purposes.