Voluntary self-control television
The Voluntary Self-Control Television (FSF) is a non-profit association of private television providers in Germany based in Berlin . The aim of the FSF is, on the one hand, to do justice to youth protection issues on television through a program appraisal and, on the other hand, to promote more conscious handling of visual content in the areas of television and the Internet through publications, events and media-educational activities. The FSF was founded in 1993 as a further body for media self-regulation alongside the voluntary self-regulation of the film industry and the German Press Council . Association members have had their programs checked by the FSF since April 1994, and since August 2003 the FSF has been working as a recognized voluntary self-regulation within the framework of the State Treaty on Youth Media Protection.
organization
Members are nationwide broadcasting channels of private television .
A board is elected from among the members. He is responsible for the proper functioning of the office and for the finances, but has no influence on the program reviews.
An independent board of trustees is responsible for all content-related and formal questions related to the examinations and responsible for the appointment and further training of the examiners. In addition, the Board of Trustees develops the test principles and criteria for program evaluation. The members of the board of trustees come from the fields of science ( psychology , communication studies ), media criticism , media education or practical youth protection and are independent of the broadcasters. The member broadcasters can also send representatives; however, their share must not constitute the majority on the Board of Trustees. The members of the board of trustees are elected by the general assembly.
The office acts as an interface between broadcasters, auditors, the FSF bodies and the public and ensures that the association's goals and tasks are implemented in accordance with the State Treaty on Youth Media Protection (JMStV). It also organizes the reviews of the submitted content from the areas of television and Internet.
construction
The FSF works with around 100 independent auditors from all over Germany. These include media and educational scientists, employees in youth welfare offices or youth media centers, children's book authors, art and media educators, employees of children's and youth film festivals and freelance journalists. When making the selection, members of social groups who deal in a special way with issues of youth protection are also taken into account. These are, for example, experts from youth protection organizations or the churches. The examiners may not be employed by full members of the FSF, its shareholders or program suppliers. You are invited to Berlin for around six to sixteen test days a year and then take part in the test committees in the office. The FSF employs five full-time examiners in order to ensure uniform rulings.
Program review
application
As a rule, television stations that are members of the FSF have their programs checked by the FSF. It is also possible, as an external provider, to have content assessed by an FSF committee. The respective youth protection officers of the broadcasters submit the test request. Before doing this, they have to decide which program is "not obviously harmless" from the point of view of the protection of minors and for the planned broadcasting time (§ 1 PrO-FSF). The age rating (§ 5 JMStV) sought by the broadcaster and the associated broadcasting time are recorded in the test application. The members of the Board of Trustees and the Commission for Youth Media Protection (KJM), which is responsible for the supervision of the broadcasters according to the JMStV, also have the right to submit applications for examination.
exams
"The aim of the examinations is to protect children and young people from programs that are likely to impair or endanger their development or upbringing to become independent and socially competent personalities, as well as to protect them from programs that protect human dignity or others protected by the Criminal Code Violate legal interests ”(§ 28 Examination Regulations - FSF (PrO - FSF), based on §§ 4 and 5 JMStV).
The program review is the main area of responsibility of the FSF. The television programs are examined with regard to the content of acts of violence and sexual representations as well as the conveyance of attitudes and values that do not correspond to a democratic form of society. The age rating and thus the permissible transmission time in the daytime, evening, late evening or night programs depend on this. In particular, applications for series , TV movies (which have not previously appeared in the cinema or on video ) and FSK-12 films that are intended for the daily program are submitted to the FSF . Since the extension of their recognition as self-regulation for telemedia (March 2012), the FSF approvals also apply to television-like programs on the Internet.
The committees, which in the first instance consist of five examiners, discuss the applicant's application after reviewing the content on the basis of the statutory provisions and the criteria of the examination regulations. According to § 5 of the JMStV, the following broadcasting time frames apply:
| Airtime track | Time | Age group |
|---|---|---|
| Day program | 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Children up to 12 years of age, even without supervision - if the well-being of younger children does not conflict with this |
| Main evening program | 8 p.m. to 10 p.m. | Approval from 12 years - a broadcast time limit from 8 p.m. if the program is on the limit of approval from 16 years |
| Late night program | 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. | Approval from 16 years |
| Night program | 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. | No youth approval (from 18 years) |
Depending on the impact risk for children and young people, the auditors can set a later transmission time for a program, impose editing requirements or - if the concerns of the protection of minors cannot be resolved by editing the program - refuse approval for the broadcast.
It is the task of the tests to assess whether visual offers contain impact risks for certain age groups. Due to the extensive freedom of the media, which is stipulated in Art. 5 of our Basic Law, quality, taste or other subjective impressions of the examiners may not play a role in the protection of minors. If the examiner z. If, for example, a film is subject to airtime restrictions, only released subject to editing conditions or even rejected, you must plausibly justify that viewers of certain age groups could be affected by a program. The results of scientific media impact research and developmental psychology are used in the test decisions . However, youth protection decisions always depend on the perceptions of the individual auditors. An exact forecast of the effect of a specific content on all viewers can hardly be predicted. This is also the reason why a committee with several people reviews the content. In this way, subjective influences can at least be put into perspective.
When assessing whether an offer can impair development of children or adolescents, several risk dimensions play an important role:
- Developmental impairment
- Development endangerment
- Advocacy and promotion of violence
- Excessive fear generation
- Social ethical disorientation
In the age group of 12 and over, the fear dimension is generally less important than in younger audience groups.
In the case of so-called erotic films , the focus is less on whether viewers can be sexually stimulated. Rather, it is important that the impression is not created that sexual desires can be asserted against the interests of the sexual partner. The image of man in our constitution is shaped by self-determination and equal rights for partners. The treatment of a person as an object of sexual desire and the detachment from interpersonal relationships, which can be found in some erotic films, can, according to the examination regulations of the FSF, impair or even endanger the education of young people with a view to the basic values of our constitution.
Vocations
If the sender does not agree with the review decision, he can call the appeal committee, which consists of seven reviewers. The appeal committee can also be called by the board of trustees or the KJM if an examination result is to be negotiated again.
Audit decisions
Which specific decisions the FSF has made, how it is argued from the point of view of the protection of minors and which risks are suspected of a broadcast, these questions are answered in selected short assessments. These brief assessments are not the FSF test reports, but versions specially created for publication. They are used solely for consumer information. The test decisions are assigned to the following categories:
- Feature films
- TV movies
- Series
- Reality TV , casting, coaching formats
- Documentaries, reports, non-fiction
- eroticism
- Trailers, advertising and music clips
Examination requests according to categories (examinations since the start of the FSF examination activity in April 1994 [as of December 31, 2018])
| Total shipments checked: | 28,870 |
|---|---|
| Exception requests | 4,518 (15.7%) |
| FSK-12 certification | 3,530 (12.2.%) |
| eroticism | 2,578 (8.9%) |
| Indexed Films (until 2001) | 617 (2.1%) |
| No labeling | 177 (0.6%) |
| Non-fiction / reality | 5,512 (19.1%) |
| series | 10,451 (36.2%) |
| Trailer | 458 (1.6%) |
| TV movies | 1,029 (3.6%) |
further activities
Cooperation with the youth protection officer
In view of the large number of programs from the member stations, a complete program check is not possible. It is also not necessary, since many programs have nothing to do with the protection of minors, even when viewed critically. Each broadcaster employs at least one youth protection officer who ensures that the criteria of youth protection are observed when purchasing programs, in-house productions and when planning programs. If programs are not obviously harmless, taking into account the intended broadcasting time, the youth protection officer presents them to the FSF.
Youth protection hotline
In addition to the professional discussion of impact risks and youth protection criteria, it is important for the work of the FSF to include the opinion and criticism of television viewers. For this purpose, the association has set up an information and complaints office.
Publications
In various publications, the FSF provides information on dealing with the media, on the results of scientific research on media effects and on general issues relating to the protection of minors in the media.
The specialist magazine tv diskurs - Responsibility in audiovisual media has been published quarterly since 1997 and reports on current developments in the field of youth media protection, media research and media education. In addition, many books have been and are published directly by the FSF or with its support. The DVD-ROMs War in the Media and Fascination Media offer themselves as multimedia learning opportunities for practical media educational work.
Events
Media impulse
In cooperation with the voluntary self-regulation multimedia service provider (FSM) , the FSF has been running the medien impuls series of events since 2009 . Both self-regulation institutions offer a discussion forum on current developments in the media sector, with special attention to the protection of minors in the media.
Medius
The medius is awarded annually to promote young scientists . Together with the Society for Media Education and Communication Culture (GMK) , the German Children's Fund (DKHW) and the Medienanstalt Berlin-Brandenburg (MABB) , the FSF awards theses on topics from the media sector, media education or youth media protection.
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jessica Eisermann: Media self-control - an organizational analysis comparison of the German Press Council and the voluntary self-control television. In: Weßler, Hartmut et al. (Ed.): Perspektiven der Medienkritik . Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1997, ISBN 978-3-322-85097-3 , p. 237-250 .
- ↑ Audit decisions
- ↑ TV diskurs magazine
- ^ FSF publications
- ↑ Media educational materials
- ↑ Event series medien impuls