The University of Westminster offered this interesting fellowship last year.
Regulation and Reception of Paranormal Media
School of Law and School of Media, Arts and Design Supervisors: Annette Hill, Guy Osborn, Stephanie Roberts
The psychic industry today is a multi million pound business; with a plethora of websites, chat lines and text services amongst other ways of consuming the paranormal. Within this, more than 170,000 consumers fall victim to clairvoyant scams every year, losing around £40 million in the process (OFT). The repeal of the Fraudulent Mediums Act 1951 in 2008 addresses the commercial ‘psychic revolution’ by the introduction of new Consumer Protection Regulations, and creates a number of issues and problems. Previously, mediums and psychic professionals had to use the disclaimer of ‘entertainment’ in connection with their services. The consumer of paranormal media can now choose from a wide range of international programming, with formats sold in the global market place, websites profiling ghost hunters, and digital photographs and videos capturing ‘evidence’ of ghosts. All of these examples utilize new trends in the entertainment industry, ranging from interactive elements, spin offs in the form of webisodes to mobile downloads. Similar to the 19th century, paranormal media is both a means to document, create and promote the paranormal. The key issues of illusion and reality, faith and evidence, frame the regulation and reception of paranormal media. High profile fakery scandals surrounding fraudulent mediums and psychic professionals are reported in the press and discussed by audiences of a range of paranormal media, and have been the subject of OFCOM commissioned research. It is timely that a critical study of paranormal media examines the existing and emergent regulatory framework for the paranormal industry in relation to the reception of paranormal media and psychic professionals. Consumer rights are paramount, especially concerning issues of fakery and the exploitation of individuals in scams or within the entertainment industry.
Relevant
This project will critically examine the policy and regulatory environment for paranormal media and consumer protection within the psychic industry. The project will include empirical research in the reception of paranormal media and consumers of psychic services. The project will further assess and analyse divergent forms of regulatory practice, both legal and extra-legal. This research will be multi-method in its approach, using a combination of policy analysis, quantitative and qualitative audience research. The results will provide empirical evidence for policy recommendations, and will be relevant for the various relevant regulatory bodies and may impact upon future legislative developments.
NB: Annette Hill is the author of the new book Paranormal Media (Routledge, 2010). Guy Osborn writes a great deal in the area of law and popular culture.
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