Lo3 - Legal and ethical

Legal:

3. Copyright - allows producers of content to protect their intellectual property

One law that I will have to follow is copyright. This means that any assets that I use in the radio show will have to be under fair use with CCO. one way I will protect myself is by making sure that the sounds that I will download are from the creative commons, I will do this by downloading my sounds from places such as Pixabay as they have filters that can filter out content that isn't in the creative commons. Additionally, for the music that I feature in the show, I will make sure to have the necessary permissions from the artist or the record label that owns the rights to the music. If I don't make sure to abide by this law, then this could lead to fines as well as negative press which could cause a massive decline in viewership.

1. Data Protection act - controls how your personal information is used by organisations, including businesses and government departments.

Another law I will have to follow is the data protection act. To make sure that I don't break this law, when I do the dial-up section of the show I will make sure not to say the phone number of the person calling and I will make sure to gain permission before hand. If I don't make sure to keep to these steps and the caller's phone gets leaked, then it could cause allot of distress to the caller as well as it breaking the law. If I don't follow this law correctly, then it could lead to have fines as well as potential compensation for the person/ people that were effect buy it. Additionally, if I don't follow this law and something serious happens, it could lead to the closure of the radio show entirely.

Ethical:

Ethical issues are more moral issues that can affect the audience as well as the business.

I need to ensure that any businesses that are included need to be represented factually without any bias as well as in a generally positive way. this is import as this could lead to me being sued for defamation which could leading to a decline in interest, sales and potential closure of the business. How I will avoid this is I will fact check everything that I have written, making sure that it is factual and correct, I will also have my script read by other people to ensure that there is no personal bias within the text as well.

Another thing I will need to do is make sure not to mentioning any offensive or harmful content such as hate speech and bad language. Doing so will ensure that no audience members are made to feel uncomfortable while listening, making them want to tune out. it will also keep my show morally correct by not bringing up or talking about any topics which may bring controversies. will create a sense of escapism with the audience (Bulmer and Katz) as by excluding these topics it will make the viewer only focus on the music and the segments.

if I don't make sure to follow the rules I set out to overcome these issues then it could lead to massive controversy around the radio show. This could leave to a decline in listenership meaning less revenue for it and potential closure if things are not properly followed.

Broadcasting codes:

In order for radio stations to be regulated in the UK, Ofcom has10 broadcasting codes that all radio stations have to abide by. It makes sure that listeners are protected from harmful and offensive content as well as keeping content accurate. 

Section 1 - Protecting under 18's:

To follow the broadcasting codes for protecting under 18s, i made sure to not include any explicit content as well as making sure that any language i say is apropiate. To make sure any young people are kept safe, I really wanted to ensure any callers and competition enterers can confirm that they are 18 or over. I think this was crucial as i will be doing giveaways which could then count as gambling which would be illegal.

Section 2 and 3 - Harm and Offense and Crime, disorder and Hatred:

One of the things that i had to do was keeping the content away from any controversial political opinions. I feel like it makes the listener feel safe as well as broadening my listener base as no one will feel alienated out. I also intentionally didn't include uncomfortable topics like brutal deaths, assault, or harassment. I feel this makes the listeners feel more comfortable, as hearing about sensitive topics can harm people emotionally, which I wanted to avoid. For the third section, I made sure that my script did not involve any controversial subjects within my script as well as making sure I don't include any songs that have controversial backgrounds. To make sure I don't say anything that would be out of line, I will follow a script which will keep me on a strict track of what to say.

Section 4 - Religion:

Because the show is broadcasted on Sheffield Live in a very multicultural city, I made sure that my show was neutral to every religion, I feel this is important so no specific demographic feels outcasted meaning that more people would feel invited to join in with the call in sections.

Section 5 - Due impartiality and Accuracy:

My radio show will not be out-putting nay news information meaning that I don't need to follow the rules in this section much. however, if I ever do decide to talk about some news, I will need to make sure that I am impartial and don't add my opinion to whatever I say, and I will double check the information beforehand to make sure that it is accurate.

Section 6 - Elections and referendums:

I intentionally will not be mentioning any political talk as it can heavily diminish the target audience that I can reach, additionally it will provide a sense of escapism within the show it the audience wouldn't be focusing on these issues but instead just enjoying the friendly host and music.

Section 7 - Fairness:

For this section, I will make sure that I treat the call-in guests with respect, making sure that they feel welcomed. I'll also make sure they all consented to be in the broadcasted. For sponsors, I will make sure to check information on the businesses that i will mention and make sure not to say anything that is false, so I don't give the company a bad reputation from what I say.

Section 8 - Privacy:

to stay in keeping with the Data Protection Act, as mentioned above i will make sure that all information that comes into the radio show stays private and secure via methods such as two factor authentication. A way i will do this is by when I take a caller's name and number, I will immediately safely and secure delete any information that is given after it is used. Also, when competition winners get prizes delivered to their house, I will make sure to discard their home location immediately, this is critical to making sure nothing is at risk of being leaked which could cause controversy for the show as well as potential fines.

Section 9 and 10 - Commercial references and Commercial Communication:

It will be very important to make sure that my audience will easily be able to know the distinction between the radio show and the advertisements, this is very important as if an advert / sponsorship, then it could lead to massive fines via OFCOM and the consumer protection act. I also had to make sure that when choosing a sponsorship, it would be something that the view would to be advertise with as to not annoy the viewer and take more the company gets higher business from it. To make sure the audience will be able to distinguish between the content and the ads, I will use the radio show's jingle before and after as well as mentioned that we are going into a ad break.