Broadcasting, Cable, the Internet and Beyond
Chapter 11
Quick Facts
 Date of first National Association of Broadcasters code for
broadcasting: 1929
 Date code abolished: 1983
 Most influential citizens’ group in TV history: Action for
Children’s Television
 Number of sexual references in prime time TV, 1989: 36
 Number of sexual references in prime time TV, 2003: 342
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Chapter 11
Self-Regulation in Broadcasting and Cable
Codes: written statements of principle guiding behavior
Eg. “Thou shalt not bear false witnesses against…”
Codes are common in all professions: medicine, law,
journalism
The NAB Code: National Association of Broadcasters
Established radio code in 1929, included TV in 1952
Covered both programming and advertising
After anti-trust suit, NAB code was revoked
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Chapter 11
Self-Regulation in Broadcasting and Cable
NAB: National Association of Broadcasters
1990 - Voluntary programming principles adopted
Radio & Television News Directors Association
(RTNDA)
Code of Broadcast News Ethics
Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ)
Code for objectivity and press responsibility
American Advertising Federation (part of Better Business
Bureau)
Code for truthfulness in advertising
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Chapter 11
Self-Regulation in Broadcasting and Cable
Recent government pressure to create code of behavior
1997: Congress introduces bill to allow industry to
create new code (did not pass)
1998: NAB was asked to draft an updated voluntary
code of conduct for broadcasters.
2000: Senate asks FCC asked to examine if current
programming was serving the public interest
NAB has resisted all efforts to resurrect its code,
citing First Amendment concerns
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Other Codes and Policies
 Without Codes:
Management must be sensitive to political, social and
economic sensibilities of community
Stations develop own policy guidelines
 Advantages to codes
Public & employees are made aware of specific policies
 Disadvantages to codes
Codes could be used in court against a station
Need to be worded vaguely to reflect an entire
organization and thus are not useful day-to-day
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Departments of Standards and Practices
Standards and Practices Departments have been cut
back, reflecting a more liberal, viewing public
Societal standards more tolerant
Success of “The Sopranos” & “Sex and the City” has
encouraged programmers to “push the envelope”
The V-Chip passes some responsibility on the public
Network’s competitive position influences its standards
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Chapter 11
Department of Standards and Practices
 Network’s competitive position influences standards
Fox Network: introduced controversial shows like
“Married With Children,” “The Simpsons”
 Cable has more leeway in following standards
“South Park” runs in the late evening
MTV runs ‘The Osbornes’ at night
 Premium Cable channels, HBO & Showtime have
greatest latitude when it comes to mature and sexual
content
‘Sex and the City’ would never be aired by a
broadcast network without editing content
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Chapter 11
Departments of Standards and Practices

Acceptability of TV/radio messages depends on:
 Size of the market
 The time period
 The station’s audience
 The type of content involved
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Chapter 11
The V-Chip
 Intriguing blend of legal regulation and self-regulation
 Is coordinated with voluntary ratings scheme
Section 551, Telecommunications Act of 1996
TV-Y – programs suitable to “all children”
TV-Y7 – programs “directed to older children”, aged 7
and above
TV-G – general audience
TV-14 – Parents strongly cautioned for children under
14
TV-M – mature audience only
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Chapter 11
Professional Groups
 Industry/Trade organizations offering research, technical
advice
Best known: National Association of Broadcasters
(NAB)
National Cable Television Association (NCTA)
National Advertising Division (NAD)
National Advertising Review Board (NARB)
 Scholarly and Academic Organizations: Working with
students
Broadcast Education Association
Association for Education in Journalism
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Citizens’ Groups
 Exerting a force: Three Prime Areas of Concern
Concern over portrayal of minorities
Presentation of sex and violence - concerned groups
Center for Media Education
Center for Communication Policy
Parents Media Council
Children’s Programming
Parent Teacher Association
National Education Association
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Children’s Programming
 Major Focus: Enforcement of the provisions found in
Children’s Television Act of 1990
 Center for Media Education maintains Web Site with
description of the legal regulations
 Web Site shows listing of what programs are meeting 3hour requirement
 Web site shows if station is in compliance with law
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Effects of Citizen’s Groups on Children’s TV
 Increase sensitivity of programmers towards offensive
material
 Restrict creative freedom of writers
 Producers have to walk thin line between alternatives
Giving into one group’s demands offends everyone
else
Satisfying everyone is not an easy task
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Chapter 11
Ethics
Crucial to self-regulation in broadcasting industry
 Broadcasters make decisions open to public scrutiny
 From “ethos”: a dwelling place in which we fell
comfortable
 Which human actions are morally permissable?
 Ethics and law are related: both limit human activities
 Law is enforced by sanctions/consequences
 Ethics are enforced by one’s moral sense of what’s
proper
 Law and ethics often can and often overlap
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Ethical Theories
Teleological Theory (Greek for “teleos”; end or result)
 Measures rightness/wrongness of actions in terms of
consequences
E.G.: Is it wrong to show violence on TV during the
time when children are watching because it will
persuade children to hurt other people?
E.G.: Is it wrong for journalists to accept gifts from
their sources because it hurts journalists’ credibility?
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Chapter 11
Ethical Theories
Deontological Theory (Greek for “deon”; duty):
 Not concerned with consequences
 Deals with those duties that are morally required of all
 Source of these duties: reason, society, supernatural, the
human conscience
E. G.: A journalist may not assume another identity
when covering a story because it constitutes lying, an
action forbidden by one of the Ten Commandments
 Does not matter if the consequences of lying are beneficial
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Utilitarianism
 Most popular teleological theory
 A person should act such that it produces the greatest
possible ratio of good over evil
 One makes the decision that yields the most good
and/or the least harm for the fewest number
E.G.: Restaurant that sponsors station is violating
health code. Does one run or kill the story? Tally the
negative and positive consequences and make the
decision
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Egoism
 Teleological principle
 Premise: Act in a way that is best for you
 Do not sacrifice ‘self’ to others
 Blueprint: Ayn Rand’s novel, ‘The Fountainhead’
 Requires thoughtful analysis of each choice to find what
is best for an individual: does not preclude kindness to
others or concern for others welfare
 Subject of much criticism: paradoxical and inconsistent
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Categorical Imperative
 Deontological in nature
 Developed by Immanuel Kant
 Premise: Duty governs decisions – not consequences
 One’s duty is recognized via ‘Categorical Imperative’
 Act only on principles you’d want to be universal law
 What’s right for one is right for all
E.G.: Should you run the restaurant health violation
story?
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The Golden Mean
 Deontological in nature
 Developed by writings of Aristotle
 Ethics theory grounded in natural law
 Moderation, temperance & equilibrium and harmony
 Search for the extremes – Find the ‘golden mean’ within
E.G.: Health-violating restaurant is taken to task, but
the story notes that it is only the first such violation.
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Cultural Ethics
 Grounded in society – not nature
 An individual is shaped by culture – not nature
 An individual adjusts, to a society of no universals
 Problems solved contextually, with regard to ‘norms’
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Situational Ethics
 Cultural Ethics argues that societal norms are
inadequate due to uniqueness of all situations and
problems
 Decisions are founded upon unique details of situation
E.G.: Health-violating restaurant: Was the Board of
Health acting upon a vendetta against this restaurant
or was the restaurant really in violation? Whole
situation must be studied.
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Chapter 11
“Doing Ethics”
 Broadcasters must have some predefined standard in
place in order to be able to respond quickly-and ethicallyin situations
 Personal ethics assures broadcaster of some consistency
in decisions
 Techniques of moral reasoning needed to rationally
explain decisions
 Companies ranking high in ethics generally ranked high in
grow and earnings per share
Broadcasting, Cable, the Internet and Beyond
Chapter 11
“Doing Ethics” (continued)
Some suggestions
Tell the Truth
Behave Justly
Act Humanely
Behave responsibly
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Chapter 11
“Doing Ethics” (continued)
Blueprint for solving a problem in an ethical manner
Stage One
 Determine the situation
 Compile all the facts
 Learn all the circumstances
Stage Two
 Examine and clarify all possible alternatives
 Be aware of your own loyalties
 Determine what ethical theories/principles you will follow
Stage Three
 Decide and act accordingly
Broadcasting, Cable, the Internet and Beyond
Chapter 11
Ethics in The Real World
 Do professionals have time to reflect on their decisions?
 Many broadcasters enter the field without a personal
code of ethics
 Many current media execs lack training in ethical
standards
 Presently, codes of conduct are written in broad, general
terms with little relevance to the individual
Broadcasting, Cable, the Internet and Beyond
Chapter 11
Ethics in The Real World
 Companies rarely conduct ethics training
 Number 1 ethical problem: balancing profits against
public service
 Theoretical knowledge of ethics helpful but must be
weighed by an awareness of the nature of the day-today pressures in TV & radio