ISAS BC-9001

ISAS BC-9001 is a quality management standard for the broadcast industry. It was developed by the Swiss Media & Society Foundation (MSF) in cooperation with International Standardization and Accreditation Services (ISAS). The MSF and ISAS assume that the quality management practiced in the economy for years can in principle also be applied to the media industry. Despite the openness and flexibility of the ISO 9000 series of standards , it cannot do justice to all the specific characteristics of the media. On the one hand, the media play a separate role in society (“fourth power”), on the other hand, the simultaneous orientation on two markets - the public market and the advertising market - is unknown in the rest of the economy.

Structure of the standard

The international standard ISAS BC-9001: 2003 is based on the QM standard ISO 9001 . Their requirements for a quality management system are part of ISAS BC-9001. In addition, requirements are defined that are specific to broadcasting companies. A separate guide describes basic principles and standard procedures and is intended to facilitate the introduction of a corresponding quality management system. ISAS BC-9001 is based on the basic principle of the PDCA cycle by William Edwards Deming.

Broadcast-specific requirements

The ISAS BC-9001 standard does not assess the quality of the program itself, but only that of the organization. ISAS BC-9001 cannot certify that individual messages are correct or that a broadcast is entertaining. However, ISAS BC-9001 can certify that the news or entertainment program was produced by a broadcasting company that adheres to generally accepted professional standards and ethical values. Media organizations that want to implement a quality management system in accordance with ISAS BC-9001 have to prove that they are committed to the completeness, balance and accuracy of information - i.e. the main components of media quality. At the same time, they have to show that they are editorially independent and have an internal culture that a. includes a clear content-related objective, an effective mechanism for identifying and correcting errors and feedback options for viewers and other interested parties.

The individual requirements are listed in chapters 4 to 8, which are identical to the chapter system of ISO 9001 .

The eight main chapters of the standard are:

• (Chapters 1–3 contain foreword and general information)
• Cape. 4: quality management system
• Cape. 5: Management responsibility
• Cape. 6: Management of resources
• Cape. 7: Product realization
• Cape. 8: Measure, analyze and improve

Quality management system

ISAS BC-9001 requires management to identify and document all processes that affect program content, relationships with regulators and advertisers, audience satisfaction measurement, and human resource management. The documentation should contain editorial and advertising guidelines, an ethical code and a quality manual.

Responsibility of the management

The management should prove that they are committed to values ​​such as independence from politics, business and the military, pluralism of opinion, innovation and creativity, etc. The management's quality policy must be formulated in an openly accessible document. Furthermore, the management should set up a quality committee and a mediation mechanism (ombudsman). The line should clearly describe the relationships with owners, investors, authorities and advertisers. The annual management reviews may have to a. Include the reports of the quality committee and the satisfaction ratings of viewers and advertisers. This evaluation is intended to ensure that the quality policy is updated if necessary and that new objectives for improving quality are set.

Management of resources

The organization must establish clear rules for the application and development of staff. So should u. a. understandable employment contracts are in place and the performance of each employee is assessed annually. The organization should also pay attention to the quality of the equipment.

Product realization

The organization should pay special attention to customer complaints. The aim is to ensure that every production complies with the requirements of the editorial guidelines and the ethical code. The organization should check the content requirements formally. Measuring audience satisfaction and complaints is particularly important. The organization should introduce rules according to which external suppliers are evaluated. Copyrights must be observed. In addition, key figures and criteria for the correctness of the information, audience numbers, technical quality and complaints are to be developed. The organization must take special care that advertising complies with advertising guidelines.

Measurement, analysis and improvement

The organization must monitor all important information and, if necessary, take corrective and preventive measures to encourage continuous improvement.

Goals of the standard

Interested broadcasting organizations can have their compliance with the requirements certified. The aim is to strengthen the trust between the media company and the public, to make a contribution to the continuous improvement of the media company and to coordinate the quality with the economic requirements. Other advantages are the comparability between broadcasters (benchmarking), the identification and exchange of standard procedures, the ability to attract quality-oriented journalists and the recognition of contributions to social development and democracy.

Web links

• International Standardization and Accreditation Services
• Media and Society Foundation
• European Broadcasting Union: ISAS BC 9001: Quality certification for media
• Landesanstalt für Medien NRW, presentation of QA & QM introduction at Radio Fr.

literature

• Michael Körte: ISAS BC-9001: An international quality management standard for television stations in practical application and evaluation using the example of German health television , Bachelor thesis, Mittweida 2007

Individual evidence

1. ↑ International Standard BC-9001, version 1.0, Nov 15, 2003, Quality Management Systems, Requirements for Radio, TV Broadcasters and Internet Content Producers ( Memento of the original from January 5, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
2. ↑ Guidelines for ISAS BC-9001: 2003 and ISAS P-9001: 2005 International Standards, Version 1.1, March 15, 2007, Reference Number - ISAS-GLPBC 9001: 2005 En ( Memento of the original from December 4, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.