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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To be pissed off about having images censored because 'someone might get upset'

151 replies

VestibuleVirgin · 25/04/2024 06:10

Yesterday, the TV and social media were showing film and photographs of the bolting horses in London. Clearly they were terrified, and the grey had an obvious injury, with blood on its chest and legs.
This morning, GMB has blurred the grey's chest area to preserve sensibilities.
I am sick of these holier than thou people thinking they can arbitrate which images, previously freely available, they deem unsuitable.
This top-down censorship, particularly by tv companies, is not in the name of decency, just some pathetic attempt to prove that they can dictate life because they understand what the 'community' wants.

OP posts:
wordler · 25/04/2024 12:47

JeepSleeHack · 25/04/2024 09:53

It’s genuinely concerning that people don’t understand the difference between censorship and editorial decision-making.

This.

Also there’s not some single massive ‘media’ entity making decisions with the view to ‘do something’ to the public.

These editorial decisions are taken on a rolling basis by dozens of different editors with lots of discussion within editiorial teams. In consultation with style guides, lawyers when necessary etc.

Often there will be lots of differences of opinion in the team making the decision for that particular bulletin or programme and then the senior editor has to call it.

They then might get bollocked or praised by their senior editor for making that decision.

This then informs how they will react the next time they have to make a call over an image or video.

JudgeJ · 25/04/2024 12:48

Iwasafool · 25/04/2024 09:26

Do they really give warnings for Midsomer Murders? I've never seen it so didn't realise it was so violent.

Can't swear it's Midsomer Murders but certainly I've heard/seen it on similar fairly innocuous programmes!
Because I'm v v old I recorded the other day the episode of Goodnight Sweetheart where Gary came into the 21st century, there's a banner across the top of the titles saying how it reflected the attitudes of times etc and might offend some people. The only thing I think I heard was some reference to nasty Nazis!

JudgeJ · 25/04/2024 12:50

Much like all the links to the Daily Mail that no-one reads…

If no-one reads it how can so many people be so forensically aware of its contents?

usedtobeasizeten · 25/04/2024 12:51

Well, quite!

Scautish · 25/04/2024 13:01

Saw this yesterday and think it’s appropriate for some on this thread.

To be pissed off about having images censored because 'someone might get upset'
VestibuleVirgin · 25/04/2024 13:33

Mrsjayy · 25/04/2024 09:35

Would you want to see a person who had been hit by a car ? See them bleeding would that add to your viewing pleasure ? I mean if that's your thing then I'm sure there is news agencies on the Internet you can watch. Censorship of images is a decent thing to do.

Don't be ridiculous. You know that is not the point.

OP posts:
VestibuleVirgin · 25/04/2024 13:34

exomoon · 25/04/2024 12:33

I think you have little clue as to what extent content providers have to comply with Ofcom requirements.

So blaming it on the channels as ‘Censorship by the vacuous and entitled masquerading as caring for the 'Great British public'’ is pretty ignorant.

Take it up with Ofcom.

Edited

So was Ofcom closed yesterday when everythimg was being broadcast?

OP posts:
exomoon · 25/04/2024 13:38

VestibuleVirgin · 25/04/2024 13:34

So was Ofcom closed yesterday when everythimg was being broadcast?

🤦🏻‍♀️

What are you even talking about?!

fatshamedbyfamily · 25/04/2024 13:41

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

shearwater2 · 25/04/2024 13:53

Image censoring isn't new or something that has just started recently due to "wokery" or "snowflakes". News editors get all sorts of footage in from war zones, natural disasters etc and make decisions all the time what to actually show on the news. Or whether it even is news, or makes the list of topics being covered that day. And someone else has already made a decision as what to capture and what not to capture on camera.

Or did you think that at one time news was piped live straight into your living room free from bias, opinion, or the application of news values?

TriesNotToBeCynical · 25/04/2024 14:16

muddyford · 25/04/2024 06:45

Slightly unrelated but I overheard a woman fretting yesterday about a dead squirrel in the road near a school. She thought the children might be upset. I would have thought it was a prime opportunity to start a gentle conversation about death!

Or how to cross the road.

Hadalifeonce · 25/04/2024 14:24

I have often wondered if there is a locked room somewhere, where a bunch of people gather to decide if someone somewhere might be offended by something, and they decide if there is the slimmest possibility, then it doesn't get shown/printed/reported etc..

Mrsjayy · 25/04/2024 14:26

VestibuleVirgin · 25/04/2024 13:33

Don't be ridiculous. You know that is not the point.

What is the point I mean it just seems you think animal distress and injury or anything is fair game which is in fact ridiculous at 8.30 in the morning on TV.

gonegrl · 25/04/2024 14:33

No, I'm with the blurring of these things. If you're watching TV it's not always nice to have unexpected graphic images of upsetting images (and as an animal lover I found it upsetting knowing how stressed those horses were) sprung on you. You can google it after if you're really adamant you need to see the blood and bones of it.

goodluckwiththat · 25/04/2024 16:46

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 25/04/2024 09:30

The footage is uncensored on the BBC website - just saying.

Websites don’t have to follow ofcom guidelines. But even there, from a quick look, the photo of the grey drenched in blood is not on the entry page - you have to click through to the article to see it. This is because a reader will not reasonably expect to see a horse covered in blood on the front page of the BBC news site - but they can reasonably expect to see something like that if they click on a story about injured horses.

A lot of the editorial compliance guidelines are based on what the audience will reasonably expect.

So if you’re watching a post-watershed thriller, you can reasonably expect violence, sex etc. If you’re watching The One Show at 7pm whilst having family dinner, you wouldn’t.

If you’re watching the news, you will likely see or hear references to murder, war, sexual assault etc. If you’re watching This Morning, you would expect content of that sort to be mediated and / or warned about beforehand.

The decision to pixelate will have been made on the timing of the item and the likelihood viewers would be young / vulnerable (probably because of the timing) and the fact it’s a lifestyle show, not the news / current affairs.

I imagine the contrast between the grey hair and red blood would have come into play, too, as it made it particularly visceral.

Even leaving all this aside, censorship is not necessarily a bad thing. We don’t let children watch super violent or sexual content for good reason. We don’t let certain types of media to be shared widely - pornography, snuff films and so on. The line for decency changes with the prevailing culture, but the idea that censorship is inherently wrong is, IMO, nonsense.

LlynTegid · 25/04/2024 16:51

No point raising anything with Ofcom as they are useless.

I defend the decision to blur out animal injuries on a breakfast programme, just as I defend the OPs right to object.

goodluckwiththat · 25/04/2024 16:52

BronwenTheBrave · 25/04/2024 10:56

I have experience of galloping horses and certainly would want to try and catch them in a busy London street.

Me too and I think I’d probably have tried. Although it’s easy to say that from here!!

goodluckwiththat · 25/04/2024 16:58

CHEESEY13 · 25/04/2024 11:16

BBC Radio 4 do something similar all the time, especially with The Archers. "If you have been affected by issues raised in this episode......."

Yawn!

Again, that’s an editorial guideline. Dealing with topics like rape, domestic violence and suicide come with agreed conventions on the best way to handle it - usually based on advice from experts / charities in the field. Signposting to help is standard - Samaritans for any discussion of suicide, to Rape Crisis for sexual violence etc. There are also specific agreed ways to phrase things (can’t remember them off the top of my head).

There is a lot of evidence to show that clusters of suicides happen because people ‘copy’ news reports.

With that in mind, anyone struggling, please reach out to the Samaritans anytime on 116 123.

goodluckwiththat · 25/04/2024 16:59

Mrsjayy · 25/04/2024 11:21

Oh yes I imagine the recent domestic storyline that was in the Archers and a warning is a total yawnfest I bet they had the audacity to provide a few contact numbers!

I hope you’re being sarcastic

eatdrinkandbemerry · 25/04/2024 17:01

My 4 year old was upset seeing the grey horse covered in blood!
Why not blurrr it out .
I think the original poster is strange wanting to view it in all its gore 🤷‍♀️

Mrsjayy · 25/04/2024 17:01

goodluckwiththat · 25/04/2024 16:59

I hope you’re being sarcastic

Yes of course I was replying to some one else who thought warnings on bbc4 were "yawn"

goodluckwiththat · 25/04/2024 17:03

Mrsjayy · 25/04/2024 17:01

Yes of course I was replying to some one else who thought warnings on bbc4 were "yawn"

Sorry - hard to tell with so many totally batshit people on this thread (and MN in general) 😆

goodluckwiththat · 25/04/2024 17:05

VestibuleVirgin · 25/04/2024 13:34

So was Ofcom closed yesterday when everythimg was being broadcast?

No, why do you ask?

have you understood the difference between news and lifestyle programming?

And do you understand that that they have different guidelines for editorial compliance?

And that these rules also differ by time of day?

It’s really, really simple to see why GMB pixelated and Sky / BBC / Ch4 news didn't.

But do you need me to explain it again?

EDITED to replace ‘censored’ with ‘pixelated’ as of course, it wasn’t censorship.

SomethingIn · 25/04/2024 17:06

They weren't censored yesterday and easy to find online

Some people faint at the sight of blood 🩸 so I presume that's why

J316 · 25/04/2024 17:12

I'm guessing they didn't think it was suitable for kids 🤨

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