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On 9 January 2002, Scotland's most senior judge decided to approve an application by the BBC to televise the proceedings of the appeal by Abdelbasset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi against his conviction for causing the deaths of those aboard PanAm flight 103 and on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland. If other broadcasters wish to televise the court proceedings live, they will have to apply separately. An earlier application in 2000 to televise the proceedings of the trial was turned down on the grounds that the safety of witnesses might be compromised and also that some witnesses might decline to give...

The UK Government's White Paper on Communications (see IRIS 2001-1: 8) promised more detailed proposals for reform of the complex rules on media ownership and concentration currently set out in the Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996 (a useful summary of the current rules is included as an annex to the new proposals). These have now been issued for consultation; to some extent they remain vague on key issues, but give some idea of the likely direction of change. A draft Bill will be published in 2002 with more detailed proposals. The Government accepts the need for continued sector-specific rules...

On 15 November 2001, the Independent Television Commission published a revision to its Programme Code ("the ITC Programme Code"). The Section in question is 2.11 and it deals with the reporting of offences (including sexual offences) involving children (i.e., anyone under the age of 18). The Section now reads: "Reporting of sexual and other offences involving children Where children are or have been involved in police enquiries or court proceedings concerning sexual offences, special care needs to be taken to avoid the so called 'jigsaw effect'. This happens when several reports in different media...

Supported by the Disability Rights Commission, new guidelines for television and radio programme producers on the issues of the practicalities and benefits of working with people with disabilities, entitled "Adjusting the Picture", were published at the end of October by the Independent Television Commission (ITC) and the Broadcasters' Disability Network. The guidelines cover a range of issues, e.g., language issues ("talking with" and "talking about" disabled people); employment matters; programme-making (stereotypes, representation and contributors in a variety of settings); and what considerations...

During the Mipcom fair held in Cannes at the beginning of October, the Franco-German cultural broadcaster ARTE announced that it would in future be making joint productions with the BBC. An increasing number of co-productions will be made in the next few years, particularly documentaries on cultural, artistic and social themes. As a result, the ARTE network, which unites various European public broadcasters through association and co-operation agreements, now includes an English-language representative.