Legal:
Legal issues have a ruling in law to prevent them and are things such as copyright, fraud etc.
Ethical:
Ethical issues are ruled by moral judgements, doing what's "right" in the public eye
Legal and Ethical Issues of my Campaign:
Libel Law:
The Libel Law prevents defamation of character in a written/print-based form through release of untrue information. This law will impact all my article and all other body copies in my magazine. This also applies to any models included in the magazine.
Steelie Magazine is a teen magazine, meaning that discussion of negative stereotypes of teens would be a prohibited activity by this law. Another subject that would be prohibited would be the slander of the LGBTQ+ community, as this is a large portion of my target audience and said audience is very impressionable. A third example would be that defamation of organisation and ensuring there is no slander thrown towards reputable companies who work in the aid of teens.
As I am creating a fictional publication, I must ensure than any comments made and articles written are not defamatory towards people, places or events that are referred to within them and that they are all factually correct. For instance, as the genre of my magazine is a "teen" magazine, I may write about teen rights and as such I will have to ensure that all statements made are factually accurate.
Copyright Law:
Copyright Law allows producers of content to protect their intellectual property and ensures that it cannot be claimed/used without permission. This will affect my magazine as I must make sure that no pre-copyrighted content is used.
Steelie magazine is a teen-based magazine, a market which is severely undersaturated thanks to the teen audience being digital natives and so gaining most of their entertainment from social media sources such as Instagram and Snapchat. This means that there is a far smaller ranges of magazines, and as such replicated materials are much more recognisable. Having a unique, self-sourced house style will prevent any copyright being infringed. Furthermore, the content of the magazine itself; body copies and articles. Ensuring that these are not too similar to preexisting articles will be vital as I want to ensure that no copyright has been violated. Finally, photography. I need to ensure that no photographs have been taken from online sources that are protected by copyright, and that any photos that were not generated by my own right are credited to their original source.
To gain copyright permissions from an asset's source, I must ensure that permission is successfully gained from the brand/organisation that I am requesting it from. If copyright permission is not gained, then editing techniques such as blurring must be applied to prevent the brand/organisation's identifiers from being visible.
Laws of Contempt:
The Laws of Contempt state that it is a criminal offense to encourage risk of justice in proceedings through publications. In terms of my magazine, I would have to ensure that no influential reference to any court proceedings. For instance, with the case described in this article, I would have to ensure that no opinions or facts that have any impact on the case's outcome were stated publicly. This article applies specifically to my brief and genre as it entails the court case of a 15 year old Sheffield boy.
Obscene Publications Act (1964):
The Obscene Publications Act covers any "obscene" content, which encompasses sexually explicit material, drug-taking, foul language and graphic violence. These laws are particularly important when content is gaged to minors. It prevents these subjects from being published in print products, for instance magazines. It also covers that it is illegal to publish content that may negatively influence readers.
The audience of my magazine Steelie is 13-18 year old, gender diverse and of C2DE social grading. Topics included in my magazine that would be prohibited could be harmful habit glamourisation, such as positive lights on smoking or drinking. Furthermore, as fashion is being covered as a topic, ensuring that no revealing clothing is promoted to the minor audience. Another thing to ensure is that none of the dangerous stereotypes of any alternative styles (the negative mental health tropes often associated with emo/goth styles) are perpetuated onto my magazine. As a final, general statement, as my audience is young, impressionable and diverse, I must ensure that all groups I represent are accurately and fairly shown.
To adhere to this law, I will prevent any material containing smoking, drugs or alcohol, along with ensuring all models are dressed appropriately and no content is associated with the negative mental health tropes of the emo/goth scene. All models will by diverse in race, gender, social grade and size to ensure that all groups are represented.
