Mediawatch-uk
Encyclopedia
Mediawatch-uk, formerly known as the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association, is a pressure group in the United Kingdom
, which campaigns against the publication and broadcast of media
content that it views as harmful and offensive, such as violence
, profanity
, sex
, homosexuality
and blasphemy
.
The organisation was founded in 1965 by Mary Whitehouse
(1910–2001), changing its name to the current mediawatch-uk in 2001. Mrs Whitehouse remained as President of the group until 1994, when John Beyer (b. 1948) became Director. However, he resigned that post in July 2009, and Vivienne Pattison is the current director according to its home page at 31st March 2011.
Mediawatch-uk monitors broadcast output, publishes reports about programme content and responds to Government and other consultations on broadcasting policy, as well as arguing for parliamentary accountability for broadcasters and greater public involvement in broadcasting policy issues. Mediawatch-uk's supporters argue that it is an important independent organisation that helps maintain standards in the British broadcast media. The organisation is mainly concerned with taste and decency issues and ensuring that the Broadcasting codes and guidelines are complied with. It argues that it plays an important role in promoting media literacy and in initiating discussion and debate about standards.
Along with around 400 others Mediawatch-UK responded to a Home Office consultation concerning extreme pornography
in December 2005. In the Mediawatch-UK response it was suggested that the possession of allegedly "hard-core" pornography, as currently classified R18 by the British Board of Film Classification and, therefore, legally sold in high street sex shops (R18
classification), should be included in the range of extreme pornography that is the subject of the Home Office consultation. It is proposed that possession of extreme material would become a criminal offence punishable by up to three years in prison. Mediawatch-UK are campaigning for the law on possession "to include a much wider range of pornographic imagery, such as R18 material".
Mediawatch-UK also responded to a Home Office consultation on the regulation of R18 videos, on a Department of Culture Media and Sport consultation on the future of the BBC, on the Office of Communications' Broadcasting Code and its Draft Annual Plan for 2006/7, on a House of Lords consultation on Religious Offences and much more.
game MadWorld
, stating that it was the "most violent video game ever to launch on the family-friendly Wii". John Beyer, director, stated that "This game sounds very unsavoury. I hope the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will view this with concern and decide it should not be granted a classification. Without that it cannot be marketed in Britain. What the rest of world does is up to them. We need to ensure that modern and civilised values take priority rather than killing and maiming people. It seems a shame that the game's manufacturer have decided to exclusively release this game on the Wii. I believe it will spoil the family fun image of the Wii." But MadWorld's publisher Sega
stated that "MadWorld pushes the envelope with its extreme content but takes a step away from the dark and serious nature of most mature games." Nintendo also responded, saying that their Wii console "appeals to a wide range of audiences from children and teenagers to adult and senior citizens, anyone from 5 - 95, as such there is a wide range of content for all ages and tastes available. MadWorld will be suitably age rated through the appropriate legal channels and thus only available to an audience above the age rating it is given." and that "the game is not made by Nintendo but by Sega."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, which campaigns against the publication and broadcast of media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
content that it views as harmful and offensive, such as violence
Violence
Violence is the use of physical force to apply a state to others contrary to their wishes. violence, while often a stand-alone issue, is often the culmination of other kinds of conflict, e.g...
, profanity
Profanity
Profanity is a show of disrespect, or a desecration or debasement of someone or something. Profanity can take the form of words, expressions, gestures, or other social behaviors that are socially constructed or interpreted as insulting, rude, vulgar, obscene, desecrating, or other forms.The...
, sex
Sex
In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...
, homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
and blasphemy
Blasphemy
Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy, while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy...
.
The organisation was founded in 1965 by Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse
Mary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
(1910–2001), changing its name to the current mediawatch-uk in 2001. Mrs Whitehouse remained as President of the group until 1994, when John Beyer (b. 1948) became Director. However, he resigned that post in July 2009, and Vivienne Pattison is the current director according to its home page at 31st March 2011.
Mediawatch-uk monitors broadcast output, publishes reports about programme content and responds to Government and other consultations on broadcasting policy, as well as arguing for parliamentary accountability for broadcasters and greater public involvement in broadcasting policy issues. Mediawatch-uk's supporters argue that it is an important independent organisation that helps maintain standards in the British broadcast media. The organisation is mainly concerned with taste and decency issues and ensuring that the Broadcasting codes and guidelines are complied with. It argues that it plays an important role in promoting media literacy and in initiating discussion and debate about standards.
Pornography
Along with around 400 others Mediawatch-UK responded to a Home Office consultation concerning extreme pornography
Extreme pornography
Section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 is a piece of legislation in the United Kingdom that criminalises possession of what it refers to as "extreme pornographic images". The law was enacted from 26 January 2009...
in December 2005. In the Mediawatch-UK response it was suggested that the possession of allegedly "hard-core" pornography, as currently classified R18 by the British Board of Film Classification and, therefore, legally sold in high street sex shops (R18
R18 certificate
The R18 certificate represents a film or video classification given by the British Board of Film Classification . It is intended to provide a classification for works that are within British obscenity laws, but exceed what the BBFC considers acceptable for its 18 certificate...
classification), should be included in the range of extreme pornography that is the subject of the Home Office consultation. It is proposed that possession of extreme material would become a criminal offence punishable by up to three years in prison. Mediawatch-UK are campaigning for the law on possession "to include a much wider range of pornographic imagery, such as R18 material".
Mediawatch-UK also responded to a Home Office consultation on the regulation of R18 videos, on a Department of Culture Media and Sport consultation on the future of the BBC, on the Office of Communications' Broadcasting Code and its Draft Annual Plan for 2006/7, on a House of Lords consultation on Religious Offences and much more.
Violence
Mediawatch-UK criticised the WiiWii
The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
game MadWorld
MadWorld
is a video game developed by Platinum Games and published by Sega. It was released for the Wii on March 10, 2009 in North America, on March 20 in Europe, March 26 in Australia, and February 10 in Japan...
, stating that it was the "most violent video game ever to launch on the family-friendly Wii". John Beyer, director, stated that "This game sounds very unsavoury. I hope the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) will view this with concern and decide it should not be granted a classification. Without that it cannot be marketed in Britain. What the rest of world does is up to them. We need to ensure that modern and civilised values take priority rather than killing and maiming people. It seems a shame that the game's manufacturer have decided to exclusively release this game on the Wii. I believe it will spoil the family fun image of the Wii." But MadWorld's publisher Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
stated that "MadWorld pushes the envelope with its extreme content but takes a step away from the dark and serious nature of most mature games." Nintendo also responded, saying that their Wii console "appeals to a wide range of audiences from children and teenagers to adult and senior citizens, anyone from 5 - 95, as such there is a wide range of content for all ages and tastes available. MadWorld will be suitably age rated through the appropriate legal channels and thus only available to an audience above the age rating it is given." and that "the game is not made by Nintendo but by Sega."
Parody and criticism sites
A domain-name squatter created a parody of the Mediawatch-uk site. MediaWatchWatch is a web site opposed to Mediawatch-uk.See also
- Anti-pornography movementAnti-pornography movementThe term anti-pornography movement is used to describe those who argue that pornography has a variety of harmful effects, such as encouragement of human trafficking, desensitization, pedophilia, dehumanization, sexual exploitation, sexual dysfunction, and inability to maintain healthy sexual...
- CensorshipCensorshipthumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
- PornographyPornographyPornography or porn is the explicit portrayal of sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction.Pornography may use any of a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video,...
- Mary WhitehouseMary WhitehouseMary Whitehouse, CBE was a British campaigner against the permissive society particularly as the media portrayed and reflected it...
- John Beyer