REGULATING IN THE DIGITAL AGE. CARIMAC October 10, 2011 Cordel Green Executive Director Broadcasting Commission

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1 REGULATING IN THE DIGITAL AGE CARIMAC October 10, 2011 Cordel Green Executive Director Broadcasting Commission 1

2 Who are we?

3 What do we do? Monitor and regulate broadcast radio,television and subscriber television 27 Free-to-air radio stations eg. RJR, Zip FM, Mello FM, Bess FM 3 Free-to-air television stations eg. TVJ, CVM, Love TV 41 Subscriber Television Operators (Cable) eg. Flow, Cornwall Communications, Telstar, Logic One 1 Mobile TV Operator: LIME TV

4 We will soon regulate: Electronic Billboards Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) Music on buses and taxis Newspapers Satellite TV

5 What is the law on regulating the Electronic Media The Broadcasting and Radio Re-diffusion Act The Television and Sound Broadcasting Regulations The Children s Code for Programming Directives issued by the Commission

6 Responsibility of Broadcasters & Cable Operators Evaluate Programmes/Channels Rate Programmes/Channels (G,PG,A,X) Schedule Programmes/Package Channels Provide Advisories to viewers/listeners

7 RATING BROADCAST CONTENT VIOLENCE LANGUAGE SEX No Violence Mild Violence Medium Level Violence Graphic Violence Excessive Violence No offensive language Mildly offensive language Graphic Language Excessive language No sexual content Mild sexual content Graphic sexual content Excessive sexual content

8 Types of Harmful Programming Identify harmful programming by following the 3 categories, VIOLENCE, SEX AND LANGUAGE Portrayals of violence that: encourage dangerous imitation are shown as the preferred way of solving problems do not accurately portray the physical, psychological and economic consequences of violence are linked to sexual intercourse are shown as glamorous

9 Types of Harmful Programming Portrayals of sexual activity that: are used purely for titillation do not accurately portray the physical, psychological and economic consequences of sexual intercourse do not demonstrate a need for maturity and responsible behaviour by sexually active people show persons as objects whose main purpose is the sexual gratification of others

10 Types of Harmful Programming Use of language that is: profane (tending to corrupt/offend against community accepted standards) racist obscene sexist

11 SCHEDULING BROADCASTS Programmes are scheduled to prevent exposure of children to harmful content Watershed established at 9:00 p.m. daily A watershed is a time each day after which programming may become increasingly adult oriented.

12 Importance of Scheduling

13 SCHEDULING FOR CABLE Channels are rated and filtered through cable boxes. Channels rated A and X will only be available to subscribers who specifically request them.

14 BCJ Decisions SEXUAL CONTENT RADIO: DATE /TIME TRANSMITTED Saturday, 9:00 9: 30 a.m. MATERIAL REVIEWED (SONG) Firs Mi tease up Nicky titty suh mi nuh pity dem. Put ar pan the edge, mek shi climb pan di stem. Get up. Shi a wine a brace pan di turn. Shi get tenda an fragile like a bird. Shi nah run fram it because shi ave di nerve fi climb pan di sitten. Shi get wah shi deserve. Come yah gal, tun it roun an gimme gal. Fling it up an bubble yah. FINDINGS: There is sexual dialogue, discussion or description of sexual activity and some sexual innuendo.

15 FINDINGS- Breach Regulation (30) (b): prohibits the transmission of derogatory statements about any person s race, colour, creed, religion or sex. LANGUAGE BCJ Decisions cont d. RADIO : DATE/TIME TRANSMITTED Monday, 9:00 10: 30 a.m. MATERIAL REVIEWED Host- Mi waan unu call an tell mi wha unu know bout Indian people, or wha many a we refer to as coolie people. When a use de term coolie fi dis week is not meant to be a derogatory term. Is no disrespect or nottin ok so we waan unu call and tell me whe unu know bout coolie people. Tell unu from now when unoo a talk bout the alleged white liva ting, careful choose unoo words carefully. An den there is dis ting bout coolie nasty, why dem have dis ting say coolie people, Indian people by definition nasty? Caller- Dem raw fi true, dem ave a funny smell. Coolie people have a funny smell. Host- How you know dat to be true Caller- Mi have some a dem wey live sida mi, some a dem mi affi jus back off

17 COMMISSION DECISION This version of the song is Not Fit for Airplay

18 Chino

19 COMMISSION DECISION Rating S1: Mild Sexual Content The song should not have been transmitted before 8:00 p.m. It s transmission between 2:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. is a breach of the scheduling requirements of the Code.

21 COMMISSION DECISION Licensee breached the Children s Code for Programming by omitting to air an advisory to viewers of the potentially disturbing nature of the content.

22 POLICY ISSUE Downside of media explosion Known boundaries being breached Landmark timeline of decisive regulatory action: February 2009: 3 Directives issued March 2011: Notice of Breach issued to NNN, requiring discontinuation of a programme. 22

23 Media Output Issues Directives of February 6 & Prohibit transmission of any recording, live presentation, song or music video from any genre which promotes, contains references to, or is otherwise suggestive of, daggering or which publicly displays, simulates or instructs about explicit sexual activities or positions;

24 Media Output Issues Directives of February 6 & Prohibit transmission of any live or recorded coverage of shows, dances or events which include the participation of children in activities that publicly display or simulate sexual activities or positions whether in street parades, stage shows or at any other event intended for adults;

25 The Future is DIGITAL

27 DIGITAL TELEVISION SWITCH-OVER 2015 Coding the video and audio signals into a stream of ones and zeros. Transmission and reception: The signal is digitally coded and compressed at the transmission end then de-compressed and decoded by a digital receiver. 27

28 More robust and efficient use of transmission capacity than traditional analogue television greater number of channels potential for high definition television (HDTV) possibility of a range of interactive services

29 The Bigger Picture

30 The Bigger Picture web 2.0 ( ) Has changed everything. Mass adoption of software and services that offer new possibilities for collaboration, including: BLOGS PODCASTS WIKIS FORUMS SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES MEDIA SHARING SITES P2P VOIP

31 The Bigger Picture ERA rise of the empowered user OF THE TOTAL RETHINK

32 The Bigger Picture Download of ABC s iphone application exceeded 1 million within 17 months In September 2010 YouTube reported in excess of 160 million mobile views per day, almost triple the number from a year before Electronic Billboards OECD Communications Outlook 2011

33 The Bigger Picture M AC RO T R E N D 1: Today, INNOVATION starts at the consumer level, and makes its way back into the enterprise Ken wirt, VP of consumer marketing, cisco.

35 The Bigger Picture M AC RO T R E N D 2 : The Growing Use of Video

36 More and more the traditional media are competing with alternative and new media for the individual s attention and for the advertising dollar The Bigger Picture

37 The Bigger Picture As international consumers become bombarded by media images, the regional AV sector will be pushed able to compete in terms of relevance, reach and quality

38 The Bigger Picture Wireless and compression technologies are lifestyle gamechangers Youth are extremely attracted to these new portable multimedia devices, which are being heavily marketed to youth populations.

The New economy/digital Society Children Born 1982-2005.

in cultural immersion Active in the networked world with a global mindset

39 The New economy/digital Society Children Born Technology veterans (grew up with Internet/multiprocessing skills) Experts in cultural immersion Active in the networked world with a global mindset Drivers of social networking Oriented to team work/comfortable working in groups Collaborative

40 THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION Media consumers ability to make their own decisions about content and how to treat it points to a different regulatory environment. Regulation is less about inoculation and more about empowerment, the watchwords being democratic participation and critical awareness.

41 THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 13 : states that every child shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information of all kinds through any media of the child s choice.

42 THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 17 : requires every state to develop appropriate guidelines for the protection of children from information and material injurious to his or her well-being. Media education must be made a central part of the basic entitlement of every child to freedom of expression and the right to information.

43 DIGITAL LITERACY Children must be empowered through Media literacy : the ability to access, understand and create communications in a variety of contexts. Society of uploaders rather than downloaders

44 MEDIA LITERACY PROJECT BCJ partnership with UNESCO, Joint Board of Teacher Education, Ministry of Education

45 Media Literacy Tools A 4 module video with supporting teachers' guide addressing: - How media content is produced - Portrayals of violence and sex - Advertising - How to use the Children s Code

-How to make informed decisions & respond to risky content in the media MEDIA LITERACY-outcomes Children in media literacy classes are expected to understand:

46 -How to make informed decisions & respond to risky content in the media MEDIA LITERACY-outcomes Children in media literacy classes are expected to understand: -Electronic media can be a useful tool for learning & selfdevelopment -Some types of content can be harmful for children -How to recognise inappropriate media content

47 2011 AND BEYOND a. Legislative Reform o Replace the Broadcasting and Radio ReDiffusion Act with a new Electronic Communications Act o Temporary amendments to Act and Regulations to protect and assist vulnerable audiences such as children, the disabled and those affected by violence

48 2011 AND BEYOND b. Research o New digital platforms (eg. Mobile TV; IPTV) o Audience needs, particularly vulnerable audiences such as children

49 2011 AND BEYOND c. Comprehensive Automated Content Monitoring o Automatically and simultaneously record and store the output of all broadcast radio (regional as well as national) and television stations 24 hours per day. o Generate automatic alerts flagging problematic content - music or spoken words.

50 2011 AND BEYOND d. Expanded Citizen Based Content Monitoring (260 monitors trained to date) e. Media/Digital Literacy Project f. Continue to Demand High Broadcast Standards g. Regional Collaboration on standards

51 CONTACT THANK YOU! Contact: Tel: / / Toll free: CABLE (22253) cgreen@broadcom.org; info@broadcom.org Website:

Cordel Green. ITU Digital TV Seminar August 8-9, 2011 Barbados

Cordel Green. ITU Digital TV Seminar August 8-9, 2011 Barbados Cordel Green ITU Digital TV Seminar August 8-9, 2011 Barbados What is digital television? The Bigger Picture Rationale for DSO Digital Radio Challenges to Switchover Criteria for Success Regional Policy