TV and Radio Compliance Consultant
Moral panics rarely make good laws or regulation. The tragic death of Steve Dymond (pictured), who committed suicide after taking a lie detector test on the Jeremy Kyle Show, is the latest example. Ofcom is now proposing to introduce rules… Continue
Islamic firebrand Dr Zakir Naik (pictured) of Peace TV – the Wahhabi channel broadcast out of Dubai – has been on the watchlist of Ofcom and the Home Office for several years. But it was only today (21 July 2019)… Continue
Well, not quite…but any explicit sex must be limited and shown late in the schedule. That is the message from three breach findings Ofcom published this week (Bulletin 381) against Channel 5. The broadcaster transmitted three observational documentaries about the… Continue
ONE: The row over the Jeremy Kyle Show will have come as manna from heaven to some ITV executives. Although the show regularly still attracted one of the channel’s highest morning audiences, after fourteen years its lowbrow image and confrontational style have appeared increasingly tired… Continue
The clear message from experts debating the regulation of Big Tech is that the sector needs reform but that the plans to regulate social media more tightly must be realistic and workable. Last night (28 February) I attended and took… Continue
The news that the controversial Russian international broadcaster RT is challenging in court all seven of Ofcom’s recent breach findings against it is a bold move – and important for all UK broadcasters and media lawyers. It was just before… Continue
The shooting dead of Mehwish Arshad (pictured) in Faisalabad in Pakistan was shown repeatedly on a TV channel in Britain at 3pm during a 45 minute broadcast in June 2018. The murderer of the 19-year-old bus hostess was Umar Daraz… Continue
This week’s Broadcast Bulletin from Ofcom is a bumper one: 132 pages in total, and although the Jimmy Carr decision (on which more later) grabbed the headlines, many of the others are worthy of comment – not least that involving… Continue
Sky is breaking out the bubbly this week! In a move that shows that Ofcom is – if slowly – adjusting to the rapidly changing audiovisual environment, the regulator is allowing TV broadcasters in the UK to show post 9pm… Continue