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Media censorship

31 Dec 2011 04:25 PM | Malcolm Boura in Censorship

Advertising Standards Authority
The following quotes from an excellent Newswatch article make a lot of very important points. Note how the out of date attitudes of the regulator results in a tiny minority dictating what the rest of us are allowed to see. LA Fitness had a series of adverts banned:

Four-in-five people believe Britain is "behind the times" when showing nudity in the media ... The research was commissioned by gym chain LA Fitness after a new advert featuring naked members of the public in innocent athletic poses were rejected by the Advertising Standards Authority. But 97.6% of the 2,500 people shown the banned 'Enjoy Your Body' ad campaign by independent market research firm tickbox.net did not find the advert offensive at all...

"Our research clearly shows that the reaction of the establishment is out of tune with those of the vast majority of the public today. It is like living in the Victorian era all over again." ...

"The campaign is promoting the body in a positive and natural way, something we don’t see very often. The naked body should be celebrated, especially when it is shown in such a positive context."

(Newswatch, 26 Apr 2006)

There is no sign that the Advertising Standards Authority has taken the slightest bit of notice.

BBC
The BBC has a published policy on censoring nudity.

"Nudity before the watershed or in online content likely to appeal to a significant proportion of children, or suggestions of nudity on radio when children are particularly likely to be in our audience, must be justified by the context. Nudity, whether actual or suggested, has the potential to offend and care must be taken in pre-watershed content, especially in promotional material which does not carry content information."

This is a considerably more draconian policy than when we last looked at it, a couple of years ago, but there has been no consultation that we know of. In practice it seems that near nothing can justify nudity to the BBC, especially before 9pm. One producer told us that the BBC management gold plates the policy into a total prohibition. The BBC has page after page about the importance of honesty but that counts for very little where nudity is concerned. Travel programmes don't show tops free sunbathing and even a mention of a naturist beach is so rare as to be remarkable. The BBC web site censors nudity, it even censors high status artworks, but the BBC lacks the honesty and courage to admit to it. In March 2011 the BBC was criticised for broadcasting a programme that was heavily biased in favour of increasing censorship and seriously deficient in balance and objectivity.

Andrew Marr's History of the World
In November 2012 the BBC admitted to systematically falsifying history but gave no indication that they felt any guilt! This is the letter British Naturism sent to the BBC at the second complaint stage. It will be pursued as a matter of urgency to the highest possible level. Warfare, blood, gore, guts, murder are quite acceptable as part of this programme but the human body is anathema and must be lied about.

BBC Michaelangelo Crucifix and portrait of Sir Sean Connery
Firstly compare the correct image of Michaelangelo's Crucifix as shown on Wikipedia, followed by the second version used by the BBC. Note the lack of any indication on the BBC web site that they have cropped Jesus. It is religious and artistic vandalism.

For the image of a naked Sean Connery discovered in 2010, compare the full version used in the Telegraph followed by the BBC version. Again, the BBC give no indication that they have censored the painting.

BBC drama
It is not just factual content, drama is also censored. For example they axed the nude ending from 'This Life' reunion in December 2006.

BBC honesty
The censorship is worrying enough, but the lack of the honesty to admit to it is a betrayal of everything that the BBC is supposed to stand for.
There are numerous other examples. Particularly disturbing are the BBC articles reporting the harm done by censorship, which the BBC has then censored! There is a number of examples reported elsewhere on this page.

Cinema Advertising Association

The CAA censors all adverts shown in cinemas. They decided that an advert encouraging people to vote must be cut. It showed a nipple for a fraction of a second. It was shown uncut in every other country in Europe except Ireland where it was not shown at all. It is not coincidence that the UK has amongst the worst breast feeding rates in Europe. Community Practitioners and Health Visitors Association Director, Mark Jones said:

'This is bordering on the Pythonesque. Millions of women each day breastfeed their babies. It is perfectly natural human behaviour. Everything should be done to encourage women to breastfeed their babies, not to create some artificial stigma about it. These censors seem to be living in a Victorian age when we covered piano legs so as not to cause offence. They are completely divorced from reality.'

The BBC article has much the same words as all the other reports but the photograph sets it apart. Even in the context of the widespread and obviously justified criticism of the CAA the BBC was ashamed to show a nipple. They used this completely unrelated to picture, one that did not show even the smallest part of a breast.

Daily Mail
Self censorship is one of the most pernicious forms of censorship.

... London's Evening Standard ran the story about Sheridan Ritchie, the naturist who'll be posing naked at the Chelsea flower show ... snap of Ms Ritchie watering some flowers and showing off her left bosom and its protruding nipple.

The story was too good for the Mail not to run ... using the same shot as its sister paper.

... Mail's Middle England readers were treated to a ... deformed version ... Ms Ritchie's bosom was still there, but her extended nipple had dropped off somewhere between the picture desk and final proofs.

(Press Gazette Ltd, 25 May 2006)

Sheridan Ritchie is a BN member.

If any of the organisations listed here would like to send us links to objective evidence justifying their policy on nudity then we will be delighted to add them. NB evidence that some people are prejudiced does not provide justification. It doesn't matter how deeply held a prejudice may be, or how popular it may appear to be, it is still nothing but a prejudice.