LO2: Legal and Ethical

Obscene publications Act:

It is illegal to publish any content what could be seen as negative to the audienc, e.g anything whats bad for the young audience to see

The name of my magazine is 'Plectrum'. The target audience age is 16-25 year olds and gender is 42% male and 58% female. My genre of magazine which is indie music could influence the audience because theres photos taken at gigs where their might be age restrictions to the venue so this might influence them to go and the younger audience might get fake ids etc to try and get into these gigs. Also people in the crowd might have alcohol in their hands and as my target audience starts at 16 it is illegal for them to drink but these photos could influence them. If the magazine was passed around to a younger audience at school or in your bedroom where younger family members could come in they could influence the audince to bad language if there was any swearing in the interviews. Also if these younger audiences saw the magazine and pictures of people at gigs or the way the bands are dressed could influennce them to dress the same as them even if it isnt suitable for their age. To adhere to this law I will make sure there isnt any obscene images for example all models are dressed suitable for the audience to see, also there isnt any bad language in my interviews with Sushi and Girls Only which could influence audiences and if there is any bad language i will sensor it. Also in any pictures i will take at a gig there wont be any young people drinking and if there is people drinking make sure they look old enough to drink so the audience dont get any bad ideas.

Libel law:

It is illegal to publish any harmful information about a person which is false. In my magazine the bands like sushi and girls only cant say anything bad about other bands in the interview as it is harmful to the other bands reputation to  adhere to this law i would need to make sure if they do say something what is harmful to another persons repuation i wont put it in the interview. The location of photoshoot plans like the venues cant be seen as looking bad in the photographs for example young people drinking or fights happening etc, also the bands being interviewed cant say anything negative about the venues because if my audience read it they might not want to go to that venue anymore if their favourite band doesnt like it, to adhere to this law I will make sure all photographs are set up to make everyone look happy and the venue looking nice also if the bands say anything bad in the interview dont put it in or also have a reason why it is good too so they dont ruin their reputation. To make sure there isnt any false information in the interviews what i could have took diferently when i publish it i need to get both bands to check through their interview so they know what im publishing incase I did took something wrong what they said etc. (Sushi and Girls Only will get a copy of the  interview)Get them to sign a release and consent form so i can publish it and not get sued. If i have any facts or figures i need to make sure they are a realiable source either .gov,org,ac however if it isnt from the internet i would need to reference where i got the information from.

Copyright,Designs and Patents Act:
It is illegal to use anyones content etc without their permission if not then they could get sued. I will need to get permission for my photoraphs from both bands sushi and girls only also anyone feauturing in the article at gigs etc. They will need to sign a relesase and consent form so i can use the photographs for my purpose of my magazine.Another thing i would need to get permission for is any brands or logos what would be in my magazine. Also any loatiosn i am taking my photographs i will need permission from the venues like the leadmill however some of my photos will be at their home studio or outside so i wont need permission however i will need to prove that it is public property. Alot of the design work will be done by myself so i wont need to get permission however i will need to get intelluctual property so nobody else can use my own materials for example the masthead unless i give them my permission.

Laws of contempt:

Individuals may be citied for publishing content that poses a risk to justice if it is a current on going proceeding when there has been no outcome of the case yet. Using the word 'Allegadly' this is how journalists get around this. Because my magazine is about music and therefore gigs alot of my audience will be drinking before or at the gig so i will need to put the drink awareness logo if there is any photographs or drinking. I need to put this logo on to be responsible for any drinking or drug use as my taregt audience strats at 16 it will be illegal so i need to let them know that they need to be aware of effects of alcohol at young ages and all round. I wont comment on this procedure as it is an ongoing court case as it could comrpimise the outcome.
http://www.thestar.co.uk/news/children-help-police-crackdown-on-underage-drinking-in-sheffield-1-8381478

Ethical Issues:
Ethical issues need to show a variety of different people sizes, reliious background, disabiltiy etc to make sure its not offensive. In my magazine issues what could arise are the size of my models is my photographs and their ethnicty to make sure im not focusing on one type of people for example at gigs make sure i get a range of shots of different types of people, this is important because i dont want anyone to be offended by my magazine. Also if theres a visually impaired person who wants my magazine get a audio copy on the internet for example incase they dont want to listen to it just because they have a disability doesnt mean they dont want to know about articles in my magazine. However just because my magazine is focused mainly on girls on this issue still have a range of what they look like etc not all 'typical girls'