Mediawatch-UK, formerly known as the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (National VALA or NVLA), was an
advocacy group
Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, which campaigned against the publication and broadcast of
media
Media may refer to:
Communication
* Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data
** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising
** Interactive media, media that is inter ...
content that it viewed as harmful, blasphemous and offensive, such as sex,
violence
Violence is characterized as the use of physical force by humans to cause harm to other living beings, or property, such as pain, injury, disablement, death, damage and destruction. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines violence a ...
, and
profanity
Profanity, also known as swearing, cursing, or cussing, is the usage of notionally word taboo, offensive words for a variety of purposes, including to demonstrate disrespect or negativity, to relieve pain, to express a strong emotion (such a ...
.
History
NVLA was founded in 1965 by
Mary Whitehouse
Constance Mary Whitehouse (; 13 June 1910 – 23 November 2001) was a British teacher and conservative activist. She campaigned against social liberalism and the mainstream British media, both of which she accused of encouraging a more permis ...
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. NVLA Vice President was Christian activist and educationalist,
Charles Oxley. Whitehouse remained the group's leader until 1994, when she was succeeded by John Beyer. NVLA changed its name to Mediawatch-UK in 2001.
Mediawatch-UK monitored traditional broadcast channels, as well as social and digital media, published reports about programme content, and responded 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.
The organisation closed down and was dissolved as a company on 7 September 2021 following an application by three directors on 12 June of that year to strike the company off the
Register
Register or registration may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Register (music), the relative "height" or range of a note, melody, part, instrument, etc.
* ''Register'', a 2017 album by Travis Miller
* Registration (organ), ...
.
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
it was suggested that the possession of allegedly "hard-core" pornography, as currently classified R18 by the
British Board of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organization, non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited ...
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 3 years in prison.
References
External links
UK Charity Commission registered number: 1145460 - CHILDREN AND FAMILIES MEDIA EDUCATION TRUST (a.k.a. "MEDIAWATCH UK") - working in ScotlandCompanies 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 classifiedHome Office report, 2016-17
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1965 establishments in the United Kingdom
2021 disestablishments in the United Kingdom
Organizations established in 1965
Organizations disestablished in 2021
Censorship of broadcasting in the United Kingdom
Lobbying organisations in the United Kingdom
Organisations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom
Political advocacy groups in the United Kingdom
Television organisations in the United Kingdom