Courses — BNDS A-Level Programme

Media Regulation

Media regulation is one of the three A Level Media debates topics; you must study at least two of the three (Syllabus 2027 pp.9, 18). It is examined in Component 4 Section A as one 15-mark essay, “referring to one or more media forms” (p.26).

Syllabus framing: “Media regulation considers issues of morality and decency, accuracy of content and media ownership” (p.18).

The core question: who should control what media can say and show, and does control actually work?

What you must study (Syllabus 2027 p.18)

  • the nature of contemporary and historical media regulation
  • the arguments for and against specific forms of media regulation
  • the effectiveness of regulatory practices, including the ability to impose or recommend sanctions
  • the wider social issues relating to media regulation
  • the roles of different regulatory bodies in relation to ownership, morality and accuracy
  • the legal and ethical frameworks within which media producers and distributors must operate

Note the second bullet: “arguments for and against.” This topic is assessed as a two-sided argument, not a description of a regulatory system. If you explain how regulation works but never argue about whether it should exist, you are answering the wrong question.

Sub-topics (SoW p.23)

Regulation could include: taste and decency; illegality and incitement to crime; ownership and pluralism; intellectual property and piracy; public service and responsibilities to the nation; and misinformation.

The internet complicates all of them: “The debates about internet regulation are particularly pertinent and action is problematic because of its lack of central organisation and the fact that it is an international medium, so does not fall under a particular jurisdiction” (SoW p.23).

Activities you may work through

  • Regulatory authority comparison — two regulatory organisations of your choice compared for legal authority, enforcement powers, sanctions, criticisms, and challenges in the digital era
  • Regulation in context — trigger / technological context / reactive-or-proactive / intended and unintended outcomes for key regulatory developments
  • Regulatory sanctions case study — breach, speed of response, severity, impact, public trust
  • Ideological debate — assigned positions (free market, public service, critical theory) arguing “The media should be strictly regulated to protect society”
  • Regulatory gap mapping — streaming, social media, influencer marketing, UGC; jurisdiction issues and platform vs publisher responsibility
  • Global regulation comparison — “Is national regulation still effective in a globalised media industry?”
  • Question planning workshop — command words, argument strands, counter-argument, peer-assessed against AO1/AO2

Suggested teaching activities (SoW pp.22–23)

  • Opening discussion: “How is Media regulated where you live? / Has Media always been regulated in this way? / What effect does Media regulation have on consumption? / Are there different ways of regulating the Media? / How do other countries/regions regulate their Media?”
  • Historical timeline: groups take different decades of the 20th/21st centuries and different media (TV, Film, Print, Radio, Online), research developments in regulation during their period, and present; findings combine into a visual timeline of the historical context of regulation.
  • Comparative research: regulation in other countries, especially the UK and the USA, compared with your own.
  • Independent case studies, then shared in preparation for responding to an unseen question about media regulation.

How this topic is approached

Cambridge suggests three routes for studying regulation: “It is preferable to study regulation in your country/region. However, this may not always be possible because of the sensitivity of the subject. If this is the case, and you still wish to explore this topic, it is suggested that you encourage learners to research the UK model. There is plenty of material available on the Internet to facilitate this approach. Alternatively, an approach to regulation could be taken which focuses on intellectual property, ownership, piracy or misinformation – issues of morality are only one dimension.” (SoW p.22)

So you may: study your own region (preferred); use the UK model; or focus on intellectual property, ownership, piracy and misinformation rather than morality and press freedom.

At BNDS the two debate topics studied are Postmodern Media and Power and the Media; media regulation may be studied as an alternative. Which topics you take will be confirmed in class.

No regulator or theorist is prescribed

No theorist, theory or regulatory body is named in this topic itself. Where the activities ask for regulatory organisations, you select them yourself. Any specific regulator, framework or thinker used in a lesson is a centre choice, not a syllabus requirement.