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The Culture, Media and Sport Committee of the UK House of Commons has produced a report which is highly critical of proposals to fund the provision of digital services by the BBC through an additional licence fee to be paid by all who take up digital television (IRIS 1999-8: 11). The Committee considers that the additional fee would slow the take-up of digital television and delay analogue switch-off. It would also hamper the possibility of marginally free digital television being available to consumers and so bear most heavily on the most disadvantaged in society. Thus it would, according to the...

The British Board of Film Classification has published new guidelines at the end of October 1999. The BBFC is an independent, non-governmental body which classifies films on behalf of the local authorities who license cinemas under the Cinemas Act, 1913 and videos, DVDs and digital games under the Video Recordings Act 1984. The new draft is intended to be clearer and simpler, but also to provide a more comprehensive, practical guide to BBFC's classification policy. There are 7 classification categories: U (Universal), Uc (this video-only category denotes particular suitability for young or pre-school...

The so-called Bloody Sunday Tribunal (a Tribunal to inquire into "a definite matter of urgent public importance, namely the events on Sunday, 30 January 1972 which led to loss of life in connection with the procession in Londonderry on that day, taking account of any new information relevant to events on that day") has issued a ruling dealing with eight specific issues involving various media organisations which have made applications to the Tribunal; and also in connection with an instance of destruction of a journalist's notes. And, in a decision which has implications for all audio-visual media...

The British Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who has the main responsibility for broadcasting policy, has made an important speech stating Government policy on analogue switch-off and future regulation. He has set a number of key tests to be met before analogue switch-off can take place. These are that: - everyone who now receives free to air analogue channels must be able to receive them digitally. This is a figure of 99.4% of the population; - 95% of consumers must have digital equipment; - the digital equipment must be affordable by the vast majority of the population, including...

The British Radio Authority announced on 6 September 1999 that it has fined Oxygen FM (Oxford) Pound Sterling 20,000 and shortened its eight-year licence by two years. The station is targeted at students and is staffed by volunteers, mainly students. This may go some way to explain the events which had occurred. A complainant had alleged that Oxygen had breached the programme format in its licence which required it to include debate, discussion and science and arts programmes. To investigate this, the Authority asked for tapes of the output on 1 March; tapes must be retained for 42 days. To avoid...