Prompt questions

1. What is the nature of contemporary media regulation compared with previous practices?

2. What are the arguments for and against specific forms of contemporary media regulation?

3. How effective are regulatory practices?

4. What are the wider social issues relating to media regulation?

Press regulation

Most democratic countries have a free press. This means that the press works within the European convention of human rights, specifically articles 8 and 10. Article 8 is an individuals right to privacy, and article 10 is the right to freedom of expression. This means that the press can publish any article it wants as long as it doesn't intrude on a persons privacy (at least without their previous permission). Another key feature of the press is self regulation. This means that there's no external governing body for the press, it's trusted to look after itself.

What i believe my theme to mean

I believe the theme of contemporary media regulation to mean any legal issues surrounding media issues, in this case video games and the press. In my opinion it mainly focuses on infringements and copyright rights.

Key words concerning media regulation

>intellectual property

>free speech

>citizen journalism

>self regulation

>pluralist view of mass media

>chequebook journalism

>copyright infringement

Specific media examples

Video-games

The Fallout series-Bethesda Soft-works Vs. Interplay

Warcraft 3 and DOTA (Defense Of The Ancients)-Blizzard Vs. Valve software

The use of 'Scrolls'- Mojang Vs. Bethesda Soft-works

The game 'modding' community and intellectual property rights


The press

Leveson enquiry and report

Wikileaks and Julian Assange

News International phone hacking scandal

The Aaron Swartz case

Defining the areas of focus

As stated in the name of the blog i will be looking at the contemporary media regulation in the games industry and the press