Mediaset España has updated its code of ethics and added an action protocol for reality shows. In this way, the communication group continues the renewal of its internal regulations, which has already begun with the inclusions related to entertainment programs and which included, among other things, the prohibition of ideological comments in these areas. The rules that Mediaset announced this Friday concern reality shows that involve isolation and group coexistence for long periods of time, and that in some cases take place in complex environments, such as in the variants “Survivors”, “Nightmare in Paradise” or “Big Bros”.
The protocol consists of 10 basic rules divided into three sections. The first focus is on the selection process of the participants, who must fit the program’s profile and whose final list must be “expressly approved by Mediaset, which will have a veto right for objective and reasonable reasons,” according to the new protocol. The participants undergo a medical examination (physical and psychological) as well as an examination of their family, professional or social environment. “Any applicant found to have committed violence of any kind in the five years prior to the selection process will be disqualified.”
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The second section focuses on creating safe environments for participants, “with the aim of preventing them from being exposed to uncontrolled situations that endanger their physical or mental health.” at least two months after the end of the program. Compliance with these obligations is always the responsibility of the program producer.
The third section describes the “prohibited or reprehensible” behaviors and attitudes. This includes sexual harassment or abuse, bullying, discrimination based on gender, race, nationality, belief or religion, drug use, physical or verbal violence, excessive alcohol consumption and the use of participants’ images. under the influence of this and every other act deserving of censure. “The production company undertakes to have a sufficiently numbered and prepared human team that, divided into at least two shifts (day and night) and equipped with the necessary technological infrastructure, can carry out continuous and precise monitoring of the participants in order to achieve this The Code of Ethics reminds us that Mediaset has an anonymous complaints channel that the program producer uses and which is accessible at this link.
The announcement of this update to the code of ethics affecting reality shows comes a few weeks after Survivors decided to expel one of their contestants for her repeated aggressive behavior towards other contestants. In April, the Madrid Supreme Court sentenced José María López Pérez, a former participant in the show Gran Hermano Revolution, to 15 months in prison for sexually assaulting another participant in the show in November 2017, during a party at the Gran Hermano Revolution in Reality . The judgment can still be appealed. What happened next prompted the production company Zeppelin to present a protocol on how to deal with sex crimes.
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