small screen News Digest of Australian Council on Children and the Media (incorporating Young Media Australia) ISSN: 0817-8224 No. 277 July 2011 July : Classification month! argued at the 2001/2 review of classifi- July 15 was the closing date for submis- based on appropriateness for age levels cation guidelines in Australia, that the sions to both the Australian Law Reform that represent accepted developmental systems should be kept separate. The joint Commission’s Review of the Australian milestones. system since 2003 has meant a relaxation Classification Scheme, and the Federal of the games guidelines, and has directly ACCM said the following categories would Minister for Home Affairs’ consultation lead to the outcry over recent years about provide more useful advice to parents: on his proposals for a separate system the content of MA15+ games. • G = suits all, including young for classifying computer games. On July children However, ACCM opposed the proposed 22, ACCM’s President Prof Elizabeth • G8+ = mild impact appropriate for criteria for the MA15+ and new R18+ clas- Handsley and CEO Barbara Biggins 8 and over sifications. We said, met with the ALRC President Rosalind • G13+ = moderate impact appropri- Having carefully reviewed this document Croucher and the Inquiry Chairman Prof ate for 13 and over we find there to be very little real change to Terry Flew to discuss classification issues. • MA16+ = strong impact legally the existing system. Many seemingly new restricted to those 16 and over inclusions are mere transfers from the exist- ACCM’s major arguments to the ALRC • R18+ = high impact legally ing preamble; new statements about inter- Review were that the classification system restricted those 18 and over active drug use seem superfluous at lower must be evidence-based, indepently (not levels and are missing at R18+ level; the industry) constructed and applied, and ACCMs full submission can be read at: addition of a prohibition on “very” frequent applied to all media as far as possible con- http://www.childrenandmedia.org. strong and realistic violence at MA15+ level sistent with other aims. With regard to the au/publications/submissions.htm is hardly an effective improvement given existing framework, ACCM thought that that frequency always has been an element these key elements are worth having: In response to the publicly released R18+ that could have been used to make a judge- • The existing principles on which the proposals, ACCM strongly supports the ment of high impact. There is little to better NCS is based: adult freedom; chil- separation of games classification from the protect children. dren’s protection; protection for all system for films. An acceptance of the dif- from inadvertent exposure to offen- ference in experience and impact between ACCM still prefers South Austral- sive material; community concerns playing interactive games and watching ian Attorney General John Rau’s about violence, sexual violence, de- a movie is reflected in overseas systems proposal to move all MA15+ games into meaning depictions such as the European PEGI. ACCM had the R18+ category. • National approaches to the classifi- cation of films, computer games and Australian Council on Children and the Media publications • Independent and consistent applica- presents: tion of the classification criteria by a well trained government agency Steve Biddulph • A review process accessible by all on And that these elements are not: • Too many categories centred around Raising Girls the age of 15 years Monday 26 September 2011 • Classification categories and criteria 7.15pm for 7.30 pm start that are not evidence –based Immanuel College Auditorium • Over-reliance on context and impact 32 Morphett Road, Novar Gardens SA to determine classification category • Self regulation of TV and other me- Steve Biddulph’s work on boys has changed how we raise and educate dia content boys. Here’s your chance to hear his new presentation! Steve will talk about • Little effective regulation of internet, what parents, communities and the media need to do to create healthy lives mobile phone content for girls and young women. • Different time zones for the same classifications across free to air and We regret that no babies or children can be admitted digital channels • Lack of funding put into public edu- Tickets $27.50 cation about the worth and meaning Bookings can be made online at www.trybooking.com/ucf of the classification scheme ACCM recommended a total overhaul of For more information, go to www.childrenandmedia.org.au or contact existing categories, as they need to be [email protected] or PH 08 8376 2111 JULY: CLASSIFICATION MONTH! GUEST BOOK REVIEW: TAGGED WARNS TEENS GLOBESITY, FOOD MARKETING STEVE BIDDULPH SEMINAR AND FAMILY LIFESTYLES FAME & SHAME AWARDS small screen July 2011 p2 GUEST REVIEWER Book Review of ‘informed choice and consent’ Our guest reviewer is Kaye Mehta, Senior Lecturer in in consumer decision-making. He no. 277 July 2011 Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Medicine, Flinders concludes that as ‘consumers in University, South Australia the making’ young children are not small screen fully cognizant of persuasive intent Editor: Barbara Biggins OAM and all children are susceptible Compiler: Caroline Donald to persuasion, therefore, children Barbara Biggins, Kaye Mehta Editorial Board: warrant being treated as special Jane Roberts, Judy Bundy, Elizabeth Handsley. cases, for their vulnerability to be acknowledged, and for them to be protected small screen is published at the from the risks communicated by marketing. This beginning of each month and is of course, consistent with the United Nations reports on the events of the Conventions on the Rights of the Child. Therefore previous month 11 issues per year (Dec/Jan double issue) Kline supports states enacting precautionary Published by policy to protect children. Australian Council on Children and the Media He analyses the policy debates in US, UK and (ACCM) Canada, and identifies the sectional interests PO Box 447 and their advocacy tactics. He frames the Glenelg 5045 inability of states to override industry resistance South Australia to controls on marketing as being indicative of [email protected] dominant neoliberal ideology, whereby markets www.youngmedia.org.au are essentially protected and consumers have to Tel: +61 8 8376 2111 Globesity, food marketing & family lifestyles fend for themselves. Consequently the success of Fax: +61 8 8376 2122 Helpline: 1800 700 357 Stephen Kline the UK regulator (OfCom) to restrict advertising Palgrave Macmillan 2011. is recognized as radical and pioneering, and ACCM is a national, non-profit communicates a high value on children’s health. community organisation. Its mission is to promote a This is a book worth reading. It examines a quality media environment for current controversy, food advertising to children Kline’s overall thesis in this book is that children’s Australian children. as a contributory factor to childhood obesity, special status as ‘vulnerable consumers in the from a new angle, namely, risk in modern risk society has made them canaries in the coal No part of this publication mine of twenty-first century lifestyle politics’. may be reproduced without consumer society. Kline suggests that in market- permission of the Editor. centred neoliberal society, food advertising Overall this is well-written book and easy to Contributions are welcome. communicates risk, by presenting a skewed impression of foods to children and persuading ready. The arguments are logical and well- them to desire predominantly unhealthy foods. constructed, and Kline justifies his claims with references to the literature. I highly recommend The main thrust of the book is an analysis of this book. ACCM’s movie review the ‘discursive politics’ of childhood obesity service is supported as a global phenomenon (globesity). Kline Stephen Kline is Professor of Communications, Simon by a grant from the examines the processes and actions that have put Fraser University, BC, Canada South Australian this issue on the risk agenda. He describes the Government use of epidemiology as an advocacy science to communicate the risk of increasing prevalence Nothing beats the real thing: of overweight among children. In spite of the limitations of epidemiological knowledge, he How copyright, creativity and suggests that politically motivated advocates citizenship shape our society ACCM’s Web Page and ‘fed’ the information to the media to generate Broadband access ‘moral panic’ and force governments to consider • Is it OK to copy this movie for a friend?’ are supported by its policy response. In this way, he suggests that Internet Service Provider public health organisations became ‘moral • ‘Can I take this film clip and put it on my entrepeneurs of child obesity’; in particular he website?’ Internode cites the World Health Organisation’s campaign • ‘Downloading the latest film release to to promote awareness of child globesity as a watch at home’s OK, right?’ public relations success. These are questions that students face almost daily Kline provides a scholarly summary of the in today’s digital age. However, the answers they Publication and evidence on advertising effects on children, and printing of small screen joins with other credible reviews to conclude that receive are not always accurate. Nothing beats is supported by a TV advertising does indeed influence children’s the real thing is a multimodal online resource for donation from food preferences