Professional Codes of Practise

ASA – Advertising Standards Authority

Advertising plays an essential role in today’s world. It informs, entertains and promotes healthy competition. Their aim at the ASA (Advertising Standards Authority) is to ensure that consumers do not just enjoy the ads they see, but they can trust them too. ASA makes sure all advertising meets the high standards laid down by advertising codes. They can stop misleading, harmful and offensive advertising and ensure sales promotions are run fairly. They can reduce unwanted commercial mail sent from the post, by email and by text message and can resolve problems with mail order purchases.

The ASA is responsible for controlling marketing communications in all media in the UK and they work closely with statutory regulatory partners, such as Trading Standards, the OFT and Ofcom. The types of marketing communications they deal with are as follows, print and press ads, posters, televison commercials, radio ads, internet ads; banners, pop-ups, sponsored search but not company websites, e-mail and text messages, direct mail, competitions, special offers, sales promotions, cinema commercials and teleshopping.

However sometimes the ASA can't help because the Codes they apply do not cover the type of advertisement or problem complained about. Therefore there are other organisations who can deal with those issues or who can offer advice about them; organisations such as Trading Standards Institute who deal with claims about websites, credit advertising, in-store advertising, product services and contractual disputes and shop window displays. Ofcom (Office of Communication) a company who ASA work closely with, regulate the TV and radio sectors, fixed line telecoms and mobiles, plus the airwaves over which wireless devices operate.

Advertisements are monitored by the ASA to spot problems. Research is carried out in many areas towards advertising and compliance with the advertising standards codes within specific sectors and media. The advertising standards codes are separated out into codes for Television, radio and all other types of advertising. The advertising industry takes responsibility for writing the advertising standards codes and enforcing the ASA rulings through the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) which represents the main industry bodies representing advertisers, agencies and media owners.

The main principles of the advertising standards codes are that adverts should not mislead, cause harm, or offend. There are specific rules for certain products and marketing techniques. These include rules for alcoholic drinks, health and beauty, children, motoring, environmental claims, gambling, direct marketing and prize promotions.

BCAP - Broadcast Commitee of Advertsing Practise applies to all advertisements (including teleshopping, content on self-promotional television channels, television text and interactive television advertisements) and programme sponsorship credits on radio and television services licensed by Ofcom. The UK Code of Broadcast Advertsing regulates advertisements for alcoholic drinks. The principle is that advertisements should not be targeted at people under 18 years of age and should not imply, condone or encourage immoderate, irresponsible or anti-social drinking.

The specific codes in this section apply to the adverts or alcoholic drinks and adverts that feature or refer to alcoholic drinks. The rules state for an acoholic drink to contain atleast 0.5% alcohol. Exceptions are made for low-alcohol drinks. But, if an advertisement for a low-alcohol drink could be considered to promote a stronger alcoholic drink or if the low-alcohol content of a drink is not stated clearly in the advertisement, all the rules in this section apply. Even if a soft drink is promoted as a mixer, the rules in this section apply in full. The rules are not intended to inhibit responsible advertisements that are intended to counter problem drinking or tell consumers about alcohol-related health or safety themes.

Advertisements for weight control and slimming products also have specific codes to make sure they receive close examination. This section applies to advertisements for weight-control and slimming foodstuffs, aids (including exercise products that make weight-loss or slimming claims), clinics and other establishments, diets, medicines, treatments and the like.

PCC - Press Complaints Commission
The Press Complaints Commission is an independent body which deals with complaints from members of the public about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines. Our service to the public is free, quick and easy. We aim to deal with most complaints in just 35 working days - and there is absolutely no cost to the people complaining.

Of the complaints received that are specified under the terms of the Code of Practice approximately two in three are about accuracy in reporting and approximately one in five relate to intrusion into privacy of some sort. All complaints are investigated under the editors' Code of Practice, which binds all national and regional newspapers and magazines. The Code - drawn up by editors themselves - covers the way in which news is gathered and reported. It also provides special protection to particularly vulnerable groups of people such as children, hospital patients and those at risk of discrimination.

Our main aim with any complaint which raises a possible breach of the Code of Practice is always to resolve it as quickly as possible. Because of our success in this, the Commission had to adjudicate on only 39 complaints in 2009. That is a sign not of the weakness of self regulation - but its strength. All those which were critical of a newspaper were published in full and with due prominence by the publication concerned.

As well as dealing with complaints, the PCC deals with a substantial number of calls from members of the public about our service and about the Code. In 2009 we dealt with approximately 37,000 enquiries by telephone, fax and email. This is an encouraging sign of the accessibility of the Commission to members of the public.

The success of the PCC continues to underline the strength of effective and independent self regulation over any form of legal or statutory control. Legal controls would be useless to those members of the public who could not afford legal action - and would mean protracted delays before complainants received redress. In our system of self regulation, effective redress is free and quick. An overview of the benefits of self-regulation can be found here.

NUJ - National union of journalism
NUJ is an active, campaigning organisation seeking to improve the pay and conditions of their members and working to protect and promote media freedom, professionalism and ethnical standards in all media. Their members take part in campaigning, negotiating and lobbying, seeking to ensure they are properly rewarded for the skilled work we do. At the same time, when things do get tough at work the NUJ is there to represent you and stand up for your rights.

The union is organised in workplaces, towns and cities all over the UK, Ireland an parts of continental Europe where NUJ members meet to discuss how to improve our working lives. Members work in broadcasting, newspapers, magazines, books, in public relations and in a variety of new media. We are professionals who are proud of the work that we do.Founded in 1907, the NUJ is among the biggest and best-established journalists' unions in the world, with 38,000 members. As NUJ members, we not only care about our own working lives but about the lives of other journalists and trade unionists throughout the UK and the world. We support workers’ rights and freedom of speech everywhere. We believe that together we’re stronger, that together we can make a difference.