* YOU BEEN SNAP* Give us a REAL watershed: Hard-hitting report demands clampdown on raunchy prime-time shows"

Give us a REAL watershed: Hard-hitting report demands clampdown on raunchy prime-time shows

*MKILETEWA HAPA NA FLORA LYIMO DESIGNER* 
TV chiefs will be ordered to cut raunchy routines on talent shows and sexual content in soap operas in a toughening of the 9pm watershed.
Shows such as The X Factor must tone down their content after protests by parents over graphic performances by pop stars including Rihanna and Christina Aguilera.
A report commissioned by the Prime Minister, to be published on Monday, demands an end to the sexualisation of young children.

Outrageous: Christina Aguilera's lewd X Factor routine broadcast before the 9pm watershed is cited as among the worst offenders by the Ofcom report"

It will order the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, condemned as toothless by critics, to consult parents about their concerns and report back every year on how it has  reinforced taste guidelines.
David Cameron will endorse the proposals of Reg Bailey, the chief executive of the Mothers' Union, who found parents are deeply concerned that sexual imagery in television, advertising and pop videos is making children grow up too fast.
Ministers will make clear that they expect changes and the Government is prepared to intervene directly unless the conveyor-belt of smut is toned down.
The report also calls for a hard-hitting crackdown on internet pornography, demanding tighter parental controls over access to explicit websites.
Under the plans, laptops will be sold with parental controls automatically activated and customers will have to request specifically to receive porn – a reversal of the current position.
Mr Bailey is also demanding a crackdown on lewd 'lads mags' such as Nuts and Zoo, urging retailers to sell the magazines in plain wrappers or put them behind 'modesty boards' which hide their lurid covers from young children.

THE TOOTHLESS TV WATCHDOG STRIKES AGAIN...

Ofcom, the communications regulator, is responsible for policing the watershed but has been criticised in this area as toothless and weak.
Many feel that the 'light touch' TV watchdog takes an overly permissive attitude which is out of step with the majority of viewers.
The non-elected quango, which has a number of executives on six-figure salaries, is responsible in two ways for overseeing the watershed.
It establishes the rules through the Broadcasting Code, which are designed to ensure broadcasters are clear about what cannot be shown before 9pm (the BBC Trust also has a role in policing the watershed).
Ofcom, which has an annual budget of £115million raised through industry fees and a government grant, has the power to investigate programmes which it believes might be in breach of the rules.
Sanctions include warnings, recording black marks against broadcasters, forcing them to air critical findings and in extreme cases issuing fines.
The Broadcasting Code states that 'children must be protected by appropriate scheduling from material that is unsuitable for them'.
But Ofcom is a largely reactive organisation, taking action only once programmes have aired when the damage has already been done.
It came under fire recently after failing to punish Channel 4 over Frankie Boyle's sick comments made about Katie Price's disabled son. It did not even fine the broadcaster or ask it to broadcast an apology.
A spokesman said: 'Protecting children is one of Ofcom's most important responsibilities which we take very seriously.
'Our rigorous policing of the watershed forms a critical part of this.
'Since 2003 we have censured broadcasters on 300 occasions where programmes have been unsuitable for children.'

Ministers will set up a single website which parents can use to report excessive sexual content on screen, in adverts and where high street stores sell inappropriate clothing to youngsters.
The Bailey Review warns that sexualised imagery is now 'a mainstream part of children's lives, forming the wallpaper or backdrop to their everyday activities'.
It demands a return to the days when parents could be confident that programmes broadcast before 9pm would be suitable for the whole family.
The report accuses broadcasters of 'actively working against parents' by peddling sexual content.
'Some parents even questioned whether the watershed still exists.'
Mr Bailey warns: 'The watershed was introduced to protect children and pre-watershed programming should therefore be developed and regulated with a greater weight towards the attitudes and views of parents, rather than viewers as a whole.
'Broadcasters and Ofcom should report annually on how they have specifically engaged parents over the previous year, what they have learnt and what they are doing differently as a result.
'The onus is on broadcasters to show acceptable content in the first place, not to react to audience complaints after the event.'
Mr Bailey makes clear that programmes such as X Factor are in his sights, singling out the controversial live final last December, when Rihanna and Christina Aguilera attracted 4,500 public complaints for their 'soft-porn' dance moves.
The report says parents are most concerned by 'music performances in music and talent shows during family viewing hours' which were 'heavily influenced by the sexualised and gender-steroetyped content of music videos', making them 'more raunchy than was appropriate for that type of viewing'.
It concludes: 'The industry needs to act and, in the case of pre-watershed family viewing, take a slightly more cautious approach than is currently the case.
'Building the confidence of parents will mean broadcasters not only listening to their concerns but being seen to have listened and to have acted on what they heard.'
The Prime Minister has repeatedly said he is troubled by the sexualisation of children.
Mr Cameron said recently: 'Some businesses are dumping a waste that is toxic on our children.
'Products and marketing that can warp their minds and their bodies and harm their future.'
The Government will now consult on introducing cinema-style age classifications for pop videos. Raunchy adverts will be banned in the vicinity of schools.

Coverage: How the Mail highlighted parents' concerns about the graphic performances

And high street stores will be told to sign a code of conduct to prevent padded bras and clothes emblazoned with sexual slogans being sold to children.
The report contains shocking statistics about the degree to which young people are exposed to sexual imagery.
One poll found that 22 per cent of girls and 26 per cent of boys aged nine to 16 have encountered sexual images on the internet in the last year. Some 6 per cent have actually seen images of people having sex.
Mr Bailey says that leaving parents to decide whether to turn on anti-pornography filters on computers is not good enough.
'When a new device is purchased, the customer would be asked to make an active choice about whether filters should be switched off or on.'
Dr Katherine Rake, chief executive of the Family and Parenting Institute, said: 'Parents are concerned that children are experiencing too much too young in terms of sexualised images and aggressive advertising.
'From what we've seen, this review offers steps to make parents feel they are regaining some control of the messages children absorb.'

Mail WAS right and ofcom was wrong over X Factor 'soft porn'

by Paul Revoir

The broadcasting regulator Ofcom caused outrage with its judgment over December's final of The X Factor, in which Rihanna and Christina Aguilera both performed lewd routines at a time when millions of children were watching.
Despite 4,500 complaints, it cleared the programme of wrongdoing, saying merely that the scenes were 'at the limit' of acceptability for broadcast before 9pm for a family audience.
Instead, Ofcom tried to blame the Daily Mail for public outrage over the show. 

Lewd: Ofcom actually tried to shift the blame onto the Mail, saying the X Factor broadcast was at the limits of what was acceptable"

It rebuked the Mail, saying it had included images of the talent show which  'contained significantly more graphic material than had actually been broadcast'.
In fact, the pictures we used were provided by ITV and The X Factor's official photographic agency, with the exception of one screen grab of the show's transmission.
Now, in his report on the pressures faced by young children, Reg Bailey comes down firmly on the side of the Mail.
'Parents do not accept that if a variety show features a pop musician with a reputation for delivering highly sexualised performances that the broadcaster has a licence to sail as close to the edge of compliance with the Broadcasting Codes as possible,' he says.
And he makes clear that the broadcasters have to clean up their act.
'With the desire to build a mass audience comes a responsibility to those who commission, make, broadcast and regulate television to ensure that their concept of what constitutes family viewing aligns closely with the values and concerns of the families watching.'

Shocking lapse: The report singles out the X Factor final as the most controversial broadcast of recent times"

Mr Bailey says that after taking evidence from parents: 'There was a perception that such performances were heavily influenced by the sexualised and gender-stereotyped content of music videos and that they were more raunchy than was appropriate for that type of viewing.'
The report singles out the X Factor final as the most controversial broadcast of recent times.
Rihanna stripped to a bikini to perform What's My Name alongside a troupe of scantily-dressed dancers.
Later in the programme, watched by a peak audience of 18.8million, Miss Aguilera gave a provocative performance as she sang Burlesque alongside dancers in risqué lingerie.
Parents were furious about the 'soft porn' routines, which featured lewd poses and provocative costumes, and described the scenes as a 'terrible role model' for children.
The Bailey Report says that even Ofcom has now realised there was a problem with the X Factor final.
'In response to complaints from viewers about the live performances of Rihanna and Christina Aguilera, Ofcom issued a statement promising to issue "new guidance about the acceptability of material in pre-watershed programmes that attract large family viewi"