M3: DESCRIBE LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS REQUIRED TO COMPLY WITH REGULATORY BODIES FOR AN ORIGINAL RADIO PROGRAMME
Copyright
For my documentary to be legally broadcasted, I would need to follow the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. The act gives creators the right to control their materials in ways it might be used, meaning any music that I include in the documentary, I would need permission for the artist or have a license that allows the right to use full length songs. When scripting the documentary, copyright also applies here as I can't take work from literacy creators and name it my own. I would need to first make sure the script is original.
PSL
To be able to broadcast full length songs of copyrighted artists on the documentary, I would need a license permit from Ofcom called the Restricted Service License [PSL] which allows the right to:
broadcast and simulcast from the UK
copy commercial works into programmes and trailers
copy our members’ music for broadcast onto databases and servers
PPL
PPL, established in 1934, is the UK based music licensing company that allows music to be broadcasted on TV or radio stations, and then also distributes license fees the creator/artist and company members. This makes things easier because without this license, I would have to contact each artist individually for permission which would be heavily time-consuming and would effect the process of pre-production.
PPL and PRS are two separate companies and usually, both licenses are needed to legally play copyrighted music.
Ofcom
Accuracy
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory body for broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the UK. To comply with their broadcasting codes, I must follow the rules in 'section five: due impartiality and due accuracy'.
5.1 News, in whatever form, must be reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartiality.
This rule means I need to make sure that the information broadcasted in the documentary is accurate. To ensure this, I research the information from reliable websites that are dedicated specifically to the band and double checked facts, such as dates of when the band officially formed. As the Beatles are globally known, any false information or incorrect facts would be quickly noticed.
Defamation Of Characters
As the chosen topic for the documentary is a music artist's life, which makes it crucial to make sure the information presented is accurate. I have to make sure that the script does not contain any libel issues, and offend the Beatles' reputation.
Protecting Under 18s
From the broadcasting codes, the section is called 'section one: protecting under-eighteens'. Children or under-eighteens are not the focus of the documentary but due to the involvement in interviews, I think this is an important legal aspect to cover.
1.29 People under eighteen must not be caused unnecessary distress or anxiety by their involvement in programmes or by the broadcast of those programmes.
Some of the people involved in the interviews or vox pops, as well as the presenter, are under the age of 18. Before their involvement, I made sure that they were comfortable and gave their full permission for their participation to be used.
Fortunately, the radio documentary does not have any content of which under-eighteens would need protection from, as I have made the documentary to be educational and entertaining in an appropriate way. The secondary target audience involves teens, so I have tailored the documentary to appeal to them through mode-of-address.
D1: JUSTIFY HOW THE CODES AND CONVENTIONS OF THE RADIO GENRE ARE EMBEDDED WITHIN THE PLANNED CONTENT
Codes And Conventions Of A Radio Documentary
Voiceover/Narrator
The presenter is an important code and convention of the
Interviews
Music - (Songs and beds)
Archive Footage
This is a common convention in radio documentaries, especially if it is about a music artist's life or career. It helps break up the presenters and keeps the listener's engaged by hearing audio clips of the artist that they may not have heard before. Radio's 4 documentary on Amy Winehouse includes archive footage of Amy answering questions about her career.
Intro and Outro/Stand Out Cue
Research
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05zr37p
How These Codes And Conventions Apply To My Radio Documentary
Intro
With the documentary, the first thing the listeners hear is a short vox pop announcing their love of band before the first song begins. During the instrumental of the song, the presenter gives an introduction and summary of what the documentary is going to be about. Once the song ends, the last part of the intro finishes with the title of the documentary (You're listening to Background of the Beatles Documentary) in a voice bridge.
Outro/Stand Out Cue
In professional radio stations, presenters never end the show by saying 'goodbye' as listeners will tend to turn off or switch to another radio station. To avoid this, I followed the code convention of closing the documentary in the outro but encouraging the audience to continue listening.
Archive Footage
In the documentary, I have included archive footage of an interview with the Beatles in 1964 because