National Viewers' and Listeners' Association
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| Formation | 1965 |
|---|---|
| Legal status | Non-profit organisation |
| Purpose | Pressure group |
Region served | United Kingdom |
Director | Elizabeth Evenden-Kenyon |
| Website | www.mediawatchuk.org.uk |
Mediawatch-UK, formerly known as the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (National VALA or NVLA), was a pressure group in the United Kingdom, which campaigned against the publication and broadcast of media content that it viewed as harmful and offensive, such as violence, hate speech against any race, creed or sexual orientation, xenophobia, and profanity.
NVLA was founded in 1965 by Mary Whitehouse to succeed the earlier Clean-Up TV Campaign, which Whitehouse co-founded with her husband Ernest and the Reverend Basil and Norah Buckland early in the previous year.[1] Whitehouse remained the group's leader until 1994, when she was succeeded by John Beyer. NVLA changed its name to the current Mediawatch-uk in 2001.
Mediawatch-UK monitored traditional broadcast channels, as well as social and digital media, published reports about programme content, and responds to Government and other consultations on broadcasting and digital policy. It argued for greater parliamentary accountability in recognising and tackling the risks inherent in digital platforms. It also highlighted the need for both governments and individual households to be proactive, not just reactive, in monitoring risks online.
Previously the organisation was mainly concerned with taste and decency issues[2] but before it closed down it planned to launch a series of initiatives to help promote social cohesion and safety for all children, young adults, and families, irrespective of background and dynamic.
Campaigns
Pornography
Along with around 400 others Mediawatch-UK responded to a Home Office consultation concerning extreme pornography in December 2005. In the Mediawatch-UK response[3] it was suggested that the possession of allegedly "hard-core" pornography, as currently classified R18 by the British Board of Film Classification and, therefore, legally sold in high street sex shops (R18 classification), should be included in the range of extreme pornography that is the subject of the Home Office consultation. It is proposed that possession of extreme material would become a criminal offence punishable by up to three years in prison. Mediawatch-UK are due to launch a series of 'keep safe online' initiatives for young people.
References
- ^ "Mary Whitehouse Obituary". The Telegraph. 24 November 2001. Retrieved 4 July 2016.
- ^ "For Family Values in the Media". Mediawatch-UK. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
- ^ "For Family Values in the Media". Mediawatch-UK. 20 June 2014. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
External links
- UK Charity Commission registered number: 1145460 - CHILDREN AND FAMILIES MEDIA EDUCATION TRUST (a.k.a. "MEDIAWATCH UK") - working in Scotland
- Companies House info on company number: 07719477 - CHILDREN AND FAMILIES MEDIA EDUCATION TRUST (a.k.a. "MEDIAWATCH UK"). Incorporated: 27 July 2011. Nature of business: Other education not elsewhere classified
- The official mediawatch-uk website[dead link]
- Home Office report, 2016-17