Ed Richards.....

Job: chief executive, Ofcom

Age: 41

Industry: regulation

Staff: 776

Salary: £308,930 (including bonus, benefits and pension payments)

2006 ranking: 77

Who is Ed Richard

1. Ed Richards was appointed Ofcom Chief Executive in October 2006.
2. Prior to this he was the chief operating officer which meant he was responsible for many tasks including research, business planning and human resource.
3. Prior to this Ed he was Senior Policy Advisor to the Prime Minister for Media, telecoms and Internet .
4. Mr Richards was the former head of strategy at the BBC.
5. He also worked in consulting at London Economics Limited, as an advisor to Gordon Brown MP.
6. He began his career as a researcher with Diverse Production Ltd, where he worked on programmes for Channel 4.
7. His major career moves involve working in the media and controlling it to some extent.
8. And voted 8th on the most influential person in the media 2007 because of his outstanding attributes in the media.

Why is he so influential in the media

1. He is so influential because he controls what is suitable and unsuitable for television and films.
2. Mr Richards is even famous for saying says 95% of spectrum in the UK has been subject to command and control regulation. This means that Ed has control of most of the media and regulates what is suitable for the public.
3. Ofcom chairman Lord Currie said: "Ed has played a critically important role in the establishment of Ofcom. He has a profound understanding of the markets we regulate and is ideally placed to lead the organisation into the future." This shows his skills and commitment to the job.
4. Richards is one of this year's biggest risers, up nearly 70 places to number eight. He was lower last year because he had not yet been appointed as head of Ofcom.

Ofcom regulations

• Ofcom will regulate with a clearly articulated and publicly reviewed annual plan, with stated policy objectives.
• Ofcom will intervene where there is a specific statutory duty to work towards a public policy goal which markets alone cannot achieve.
• Ofcom will operate with a bias against intervention, but with a willingness to intervene firmly, promptly and effectively where required.
• Ofcom will strive to ensure its interventions will be evidence-based, proportionate, consistent, accountable and transparent in both deliberation and outcome.
• Ofcom will always seek the least intrusive regulatory mechanisms to achieve its policy objectives.
• Ofcom will research markets constantly and will aim to remain at the forefront of technological understanding.
• Ofcom will consult widely with all relevant stakeholders and assess the impact of regulatory action before imposing regulation upon a market.

Ofcom problems

The Big Brother controversy ended with a landmark ruling from the regulator saying that Channel 4 had made "serious editorial misjudgments" that were "compounded by a serious failure of the compliance process".
In January he had to react to Ofcom's biggest complaints response, more than 44,000, following the bullying of Indian actress Shilpa Shetty on Channel 4's Celebrity Big Brother. In May, the watchdog forced C4 to undergo the humiliation of three times broadcasting the damning adjudication on its handling of the affair. In June, Channel Five was hit with a 300,000 Ofcom fine for faking winners of a phone-in quiz, and the following month the BBC was fined 50,000 for faking a competition on Blue Peter. Before Christmas, Ofcom fined C4 for duping viewers who phoned in to Richard & Judy and Deal or No Deal.

Extra Information.........

In 2001 he was 15 and he was a new entry although then he worked for Gordon Brown.

Although Ed control a vast aspects of the media he has claimed that "hey, the net's too big and complex for regulation...". Showing that even with Ofcoms power the have limited restriction and the Internet is difficult to control. This may be the reason there is increasing popularity with the Internet because it allows its user to be free and express their idea with no restriction or limitations.Richards approach is very different to others working in similar fields becausde he has different outlook and perspctives to others. His main believe is that there shoiuld be regulation howevetr people should haver more freedom of choice and even says consumers should be able to switch providers, and they should know which ISPs (internet service providers) are making prioritization decisions. His main interest is consumer and people deserve the best.

Restrictions on TV advertising of Food and drink

This video just demonstrates the extent to which the media is controlled and the way it affects our decisions.