14 May 1993

Doc. 6842

MOTION FOR A RECOMMENDATION

on «reality TV»

presented by Mr REDDEMANN and others

1.       There is a growing trend towards the portrayal of violence in so-called reality shows on television.

2.       These programmes use on-the-spot footage, some of it filmed by amateurs using video cameras, of disaster victims and policemen, filling it out with scenes reconstructed later. Typical subjects include firemen in action, trapped accident victims, reconstructed bank-raids, people surprised by natural disasters and gruesome rescue operations.

3.       Long current in the USA, reality TV has now come to Europe, and is typical of the desperate efforts made, particularly by private TV stations, to improve their ratings. It insults human dignity and panders to the voyeuristic instincts of viewers.

4.       Its effects include the following:

-       there is a clear increase in violence among the young, who are constantly exposed to sensational material;

-       some rescue operations are actually hampered by the activities of cameramen;

-       some TV stations are already distributing video cameras to firemen, emergency services and policemen, for use on the job;

-       amateurs, too, are trying to break into the media with their own reality films;

-       it is not only the privacy of accident victims which is being invaded, but also that of their families and of emergency services personnel;

-       it is not only the boundaries of the ethically tolerable which are being transgressed, but also those of the legally admissible.

5.       The state should intervene in this area only to the extent that the broadcasting and supervisory bodies are themselves unable to remedy the situation through (self-) regulation.

6.       The Assembly therefore appeals to:

-       television stations to remove these programmes from their schedules and to accept a code of conduct in this area;

-       journalists to respect individual privacy and distance themselves to an appropriate extent from the subjects on which they are reporting;

-       police, emergency services, doctors and hospital staff not to take part in reality programmes.

7.       The Assembly urges the supervisory bodies to impose fines and, if necessary, revoke broadcasting licences when the relevant programme principles are violated.

8.       If existing legislation and the above measures prove ineffective, then a legal ban on programmes of this kind should be considered.

9.       Governments and parliaments of the member states are urged to take appropriate action, on the basis of these suggestions, to put a stop to these programmes.

10.       Finally, the Assembly recommends that the Committee of Ministers extend the proposals contained in Assembly Recommendation 963 to reality TV.

Signed:       Reddeman, Roseta, Nuñez, Roman Müller, Pahtas, Schreiner, Err, Fischer, Terborg, König, Berg, Arnalds, Pilarski, A. Probst, F. Probst, Schädler, Hadjidemetriou, Hawlicek.