Mass Media in Great Britain Essay

The media play a centimeral fibre in Britains daily life, informing and educating, questioning and ch solelyenging and of signifier entertaining. In recent years the availability of much radio frequencies, together with planet, cable and microwave contagions, has already made a greater egress of topical anaesthetic, national and international go possible. The transition from analogue to digital transmission technology is now expanding this capacity enormously. The Internet is providing, increasingly, an extra medium for information, sport and communication. tv set and Radio openhandedcast in Britain has traditionally been establish on the principle that it is a public service accountable to people. While retaining the demand public service element, it now withal embraces the principles of competition and choice the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), which broadcasts television set and radio programmes the ITC (Independent Television Commission), which licenses a nd regulates commercial television services, including cable and satellite services. the Radio Authority, which licenses and regulates commercial radio services, including cable and satellite.The three bodies work to broad requirements and objectives defined and endorsed by Parliament, but be otherwise nonparasitic in their daily conduct of business.Television viewing is by far Britains most popular leisure pastime everyplace 97 per cent of households pass on at least one TV set. British television productions are sold world wide.BBCThe BBC provides two equilibriseary national sublunar television networks BBC 1 and BBC 2, which transmit 24 hours a day. It also provides a range of digital epithelial ducts, including BBC News 24 and BBC Choice. BBC Network Radio serves an listening of 29 each week, transmitting 24 hours a day on its five national networks. BBC has 39 local radio stations function England and the business line Islands, and regional and community radio service s in Scotland, Wales and Federal Ireland. BBC World receipts broadcasts by radio in English and 42 other languages world wide. It has a global weekly audience of at least 140 jillion listeners. BBC Worldwide Television is responsible for the BBCs commercial television activity. It is one of europiums largest exporters of television programmes. It also runs an advertiser funded, 24 hour international news and information channel and an entertainment and drama channel broadcast to subscribers in continental Europe and Africa.The BBCs domestic services are financed predominantly from the sale of one-year television licences in that location are no remunerative advertisements. BBC World Service radio is funded by a government grant, magical spell BBC Worldwide Television is self financing.Independent TelevisionThe ITC licenses and regulates three commercial television services Channel 3 and Channel 4 (in Wales the corresponding service is S4C), which complement each other, and Channel 5 all financed by advertising and sponsorship. Channel 3 programmes are supplied by 15 regionally based licensees and an additional licensee providing a national breakfast time service. Licences for Channel 3 and 5 are awarded for a ten year period by private-enterprise(a) tender to the highest bidder who has passed a quality threshold.Independent RadioIndependent radio programme companies operate beneath licence to the Radio Authority and are financed chiefly by advertising revenue. There are three independent national services Classic FM, broadcasting mainly classical melody Virgin 1215, playing broad based rock music and lecture Radio UK,speech based service. About 200 independent local radio services are also in operation. Stations emerge local news and information, sport, music and other entertainment, education and consumer advice.Teletext, Cable and broadcast ServicesThe BBC and independent television both operate a Teletext service, under which infor mation is displayed as pages of text and graphics on receivers equipped with the infallible decoders.Cable services are delivered through underground cables and are compensable for subscription. Cable franchises have been granted covering areas comprising 83 per cent of all homes and nearly all urban areas in Britain. In middle 1999 there were about 12.1 million homes able to receive such services, and 3 million subscribing homes. Digital technology is being introduced which will support up to ergocalciferol television channels. Cable also has the capacity for figurer based interactive services, such as home shopping and email.Many British based satellite television channels have been set up to tote up programmes to cable operators and viewers with satellite dishes. Some offer general entertainment, while others concentrate on specific areas of interest, such as sport, music, childrens programmes and frisk films. The largest satellite programmer is BSkyB (British Sky Broadca sting) which, with around 7 million subscribers, dominates paid for television in Britain. It launched its digital satellite service in 1998, carrying more than 140 channels.Satellite television and cable services are funded mainly by subscription income.The shiftNational newspapers have an average total circulation of over 13 million on weekdays and about 14 million on Sundays, although the total readership is considerably greater. There are 10 national break of day daily papers and 10national Sundays five qualities, two mid market and three populars. There are about 1,350 regional and local newspapers, and over 7,000 periodical publications.There is no state control or censorship of the newspaper and periodical press, which caters for a range of political views, interests and take aim of education. Where they express pronounced views and show obvious political leanings in their tower comments, these may derive from proprietorial and other non party influences.A non statuto ry Press Complaints Commission deals with complaints by members of the public about the content and conduct of newspapers and magazines, and advises editors and journalists. In 1995, the Government rejected proposals for statutory regulation of the press and for legislation to ruin protection to privacy. Instead, it endorsed self regulation under the Commission and recommended tougher measures to make self regulation more effective.Working practices throughout the newspaper industry have become more efficient with the widespread used of advanced computer based technology. Publishers have been able to reduce production costs by using computer systems for editing and production processes.