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National Viewers' and Listeners' Association

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Mediawatch-UK
Formation1965
Dissolved2021
Legal statusNon-profit organisation
PurposePressure group
Region served
United Kingdom
Director
Elizabeth Evenden-Kenyon

Mediawatch-UK,formerly known as theNational Viewers' and Listeners' Association(National VALAorNVLA), was anadvocacy groupin theUnited Kingdom,which campaigned against the publication and broadcast ofmediacontent that it viewed as harmful, blasphemous and offensive, such as sex,violence,andprofanity.

History[edit]

NVLA was founded in 1965 byMary Whitehouseto succeed the earlierClean-Up TV Campaign,which Whitehouse co-founded with her husband Ernest and the Reverend Basil and Norah Buckland early in the previous year.[1]NVLA Vice President was Christian activist and educationalist,Charles Oxley.[2]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.

Previously the organisation was mainly concerned with taste and decency issues[3]but before it closed down on 7th September 2021[4]it planned to launch a series of initiatives to help promote social cohesion and safety for all children, young adults, and families, irrespective of background and dynamic.

Campaigns[edit]

Pornography[edit]

Along with around 400 others Mediawatch-UK responded to a Home Office consultation concerningextreme pornographyin December 2005. In the Mediawatch-UK response[5]it was suggested that the possession of allegedly "hard-core" pornography, as currently classified R18 by theBritish Board of Film Classificationand, therefore, legally sold in high street sex shops (R18classification), 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.[needs update]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Mary Whitehouse Obituary".The Telegraph. 24 November 2001.Retrieved4 July2016.
  2. ^"Mary Whitehouse and Charles Oxley, of media pressure group the..."Getty Images.Retrieved21 March2021.
  3. ^"For Family Values in the Media".Mediawatch-UK.20 June 2014.Retrieved7 July2016.
  4. ^"CHILDREN AND FAMILIES MEDIA EDUCATION TRUST overview - Find and update company information - GOV.UK".
  5. ^"For Family Values in the Media".Mediawatch-UK.20 June 2014. Archived fromthe originalon 9 February 2012.Retrieved7 July2016.

External links[edit]

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