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Media Laws + Ethics

The rules governing media content are a mix of laws, ethics and codes.

Laws

Laws are a body of rules for behaviour imposed and enforced by an external authority, applicable to all equally, enforceable through penalties and sanctions.

Anyone involved in the production and dissemination of media content needs a working knowledge of the key areas of media law. Freedom of expression is guaranteed under the Bill Of Rights 1990, subject only to such “reasonable limits” as can be “justified in a free and democratic society.” Certain laws impose restraints which form part of those reasonable and justifiable limits on what can be said.

Ethics

Ethics are rules imposed on yourself or which your profession requires you to adopt. They are an internal philosophy or set of principles as to what is right and acceptable. Ethics may embrace personal values, and may come down to individuals making key decisions on the basis of principles they believe in.

Codes

The broadcasting codes are more like laws - imposed and enforced externally, by the BSA, with legally enforceable sanctions. On some issues, the codes remove the ability of broadcasters to reach a genuinely ethical decision. The codes prescribe what is acceptable and what is not. For a commentary on how the codes work, see taste and decency, privacy.

There may be areas of overlap between laws, codes and ethics:
  • A privacy issue may have a legal aspect – is trespass involved?
  • It may be covered by the BSA’s privacy principles in the broadcasting codes.
  • It may be addressed by a broadcaster’s own in-house code or manual, e.g. TVNZ’s very precise guidance regarding the use of hidden cameras.
  • Broadcasters may have their own ethical views on how far intrusion may be justified, and in what circumstances.


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