ABSTRACT
The above extract from the on-air breakdown of fictional TV news anchor Howard Beale, played by Peter Finch in the 1976 film Network, brings into sharp focus our expectations of newsreaders and broadcast journalists – namely, that the news media in democratic societies are not generally at liberty to disseminate information which is inflammatory, inaccurate, defamatory or offensive. Though as we have seen journalism has developed a set of general principles which are orientated towards often competing objectives – to hold the powerful to account and to generate profit – it must nevertheless do so within a set of parameters which are intended to ensure that it meets the highest standards. Of course journalism does not always conform to such demands, yet in the U.K. there exist both statutory and voluntary regulatory frameworks which are intended to ensure journalism corresponds to its central claims and ideals. The present chapter and the one that follows are primarily concerned with the regulatory codes and guidelines that pertain to journalism, with broadcast journalism being centred on here, and print in Chapter 6.
