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                                                                 Broadcasting Commission clears path
                                 for pornographic Irish television stations - 
                                 April 30 - 2007
 
   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Family and Media Association An educational resource for Families and the community at large concerned about the impact the media has on their lives. Highlights the implications for Christian values in programme content, especially those relating to the family, critically assesses standards of honesty, decency, fairness and truthfulness in the media and makes these assessments available to the public through its publication, media report, public seminars and the internet; makes available relevant research relating to the links between media content and psychsocial development, facilitates effective dialogue between the media and the public by informing both media and public about issues relating to both ; promotes public understanding of the functioning and power of the media, assesses and enhances the value of the media to the individual, the family and the community.

Broadcasting Commission clears path for pornographic Irish television stations - 30 April - 2007

The Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) has cleared the way

for "exclusively adult oriented" (pornographic) television channels.

 

The BCI’s intention became apparent in the run up to the publication of its new Code of Programme Standards, when it resisted public efforts to have rules inserted in the Code which could curtail the activities of any such future stations.

 

In a questionnaire which preceded the release of the Code on April 10, the BCI  asked for people’s views on whether broadcasters should be required to include a type of ‘audience information’ (or warning) system, and also whether or not the type of system used should be left to the discretion of the broadcaster in question.

 

The majority responded in favour of a standardized warning system, which would apply equally to all broadcasters intending to screen harmful content. For a pornographic station, such a system could have meant that a  warning would have had to be issued before each and every programme.

 

In a startling revelation which signaled its intent to clear the way for pornographic channels, the BCI rejected the majority view, partially on the grounds that that such a requirement would be inappropriate for stations "that are adult oriented all day".

 

Any move to actually license such a station, however, is likely to be met with strong opposition.

 

Just last week, directors at Channel 6 blocked plans to screen ‘soft’ pornography bought in France, and a recent report by the American Psychological Association blamed sexualized media images for causing “harm” to girls.

 

Given what it calls “an increasing body of scientific evidence”, the Family and Media Association has questioned why, at a time when the rest of the world is waking up to the damage pornography inflicts on perpetrators, victims and viewers alike, the BCI seems determined to clear a path for it.