Selsdon Committee Report on Television (UK), 1935A B C D E F G H IJKL M N O P R S T U VXYZWthe privacy of the individual a legal right in
Britain for the fi rst time.
However, the most recent scandal concerning
the conduct of the press broke in July 2011, and
focused on alleged phone-hacking activities by
the News of the World – although a number of
other newspapers are also suspected of being
involved in such activities. Th e scandal prompted
widespread discussion of the perceived failure o f
self-regulation under the auspices of the Press
Complaints Commission. The Prime Minster,
David Cameron, ordered an inquiry into the
regulation of the press with a view to introduc-
ing more robust procedures. See calcutt
committee on privacy and related
matters, 1990 and 1993; phone-hacking. See
also topic guide under broadcasting.
★Self-to-Self model of interpersonal
communication, 2007 Published at the
conclusion of a chapter on models, ‘Communi-
cation by design’ in Key Th emes in Interpersonal
Communication (Open University, 2007) by
Anne Hill, James Watson, Danny Rivers and
Mark Joyce, this model assembles and connects
constructs of, and infl uences upon, people in
communication. Th e chapter, by James Watson,
cites a previously illustrated model posited by
Eric M. Eisenberg (see eisenberg’s model of
communication and identity, 2001), where
identity and circumstance are seen in a rela-
tionship where the latter constantly infl uences
the nature and activity of the former. In the
Self-to-Self model, key factors of self-awareness,
self-concept, self-image and self-belief operate
in relation to such variables as communicative
competence and awareness of other.
Th is process is varyingly infl uenced by events
and circumstances outside of our interaction
with others and those which are part of what we
bring to every interaction, such as our education,
ethnicity, culture and motivation (see interven-
ing variables (ivs)). We recognize the vulner-
abilities – the uncertainties – concerning our
self-identity as we do with that vital contributory
factor, confi dence. In Note 7 of the chapter in Key
Th emes, the author writes how ‘in encounters
and interactions communicators use strategies
to reduce uncertainty about each other, a key
aim being to increase the ability to predict the
behaviour of self and other in communicative
situations’ and to react accordingly.
Selsdon Committee Report on Television
(UK), 1935 Th e task of Lord Selsdon’s Commit-
tee was ‘to consider the development of Televi-
sion and advise the Post-master-General on the
relative merits of several systems and on thewould adopt in carrying out his/her work role as
a High Court judge or an attorney.
Th e persona is part of our way of dealing with
diff erent people and the demands of diff erent
social situations. Once chosen for a particular
situation, it infl uences how we communicate in
that situation. Th e ability to choose an appropri-
ate persona for a situation and to communicate
accordingly can be seen as an important commu-
nication skill, as can the ability to shift from one
persona to another as situations demand it. Also,
it is likely that the role a person is playing may
dictate the kinds of persona it would be appro-
priate to adopt in any given situation.
Goffman uses the term performance to
describe the act of self-presentation, and in
many cases these performances can be seen as
staged. In staging a performance in everyday life
we would use props just as actors would on a
theatre stage; obvious examples here are dress,
cars and furnishings. A well-established pattern
of action that may be used as part of a perfor-
mance is known as a routine. An example here
would be a characteristic display of temper.
According to Goff man we also perform from
behind a front, which he defi nes as ‘that part of
the individual’s performance which regularly
functions in a general and fixed fashion to
defi ne the situation for those who observe the
performance’. Standard parts of the front are the
setting, for example one’s home, and the personal
front – age, dress, sex. See confirmation/
discomformation; impression manage-
ment; project of self; self-monitoring.
See also topic guide under interpersonal
communication.
Self-regulation Although broadcasting in the
UK has traditionally been regulated by acts of
Parliament and governing charters, the press has
been self-regulating. Th e Press Council was an
advisory body, set up by the newspaper industry;
its successor, the press complaints commis-
sion, which started work on 1 January 1991,
has similarly no statutory powers. Th e question
often asked is whether the press, dominated by a
handful of media barons, can be left to regulate
itself – that is, be judge of its own malpractices.
In the wake of the death of Princess Diana
of Wales in 1997, issues of self-regulation were
widely discussed, and the UK newspaper indus-
try responded to public concern by agreeing
to bide by criteria for respecting privacy and
curtailing media intrusion. In any event, the UK
Labour government’s incorporation into British
law of the European Convention on Human
Rights (see human rights act, 2000) made