LO2: Legal and Ethical Issues

Obscene Publication Act

Act of Parliament introduced in 1959, makes swearing, sexual content and other material that can negatively effect an audience harder to access.

My audience is 12-18, BC1C2, girls. The content in my magazine could influence them negatively would be the possible body image connotations if the models look unrealistic, and there could be a glorification of injury in the magazine if the interviews highlight the possibility of getting injured in the sport. Also, stereotypes about female rugby players could be enforced if the interviews with the players and officials give off this connotation.

To avoid this, I will ensure that a variety of people are pictured and interviewed in the magazine to make sure that most people can be represented (body types, race etc.).  Also, I will attempt to steer the interviews into a positive light, avoiding violence and stereotypes, through the use of focussed questions to either lightly touch or avoid the subject.

Libel Law

Illegal to publish defamatory (harmful) content about a person in your own words.
To do this, the magazine needs to ensure that anything said about anyone in an interview is not the opinion of the magazine, just individual, offer facts and stats (growth of participation and interest in women's rugby etc.), not opinions from reliable sources (RFU website etc) and reference the info, and the magazine needs to show interviewee the article to make sure they're ok with the way they've been presented - Hazel or other team members, and the RFU official.

Copyright

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1998 - illegal to use someone elses content without their permission. E.g., can't use an image of a player without the permission of the person (via a Release and Consent Form) OR photographer. Through this, you request to use an image in a certain way. Can also apply to brands or logos in the magazine.
Also, locations permission is needed (for me, the Abbeydale Rugby Club).
As a lot of the design work is being created by myself, making it my intellectual property to use, for example mastheads of my magazine to create a brand.

Laws of Contempt

It's a criminal offense to publish content that poses a risk to justice in proceedings. Prevents magazines from publishing anything that is too sensationalist about a criminal case. Newspapers get around this by using 'allegedly'.
Stereotypes as well (e.g. girls can't play rugby, scared of contact etc to be avoided).
This article shows that doping might be prevalent in amateur rugby, so I won't glamourise or encourage doping.

Ethical Issues

Body image (as it's common in the age and gender demographics) which will be avoided by using a range of models to show anyone can play, regardless of size, race (as it's a predominantly white sport) by showing a variety of races playing the sport - equal coverage, violence can be seen as quite violent, so avoid this by not glorifying it (e.g. my interviewees talking positively about it) which I'll do by asking specific questions and connoting safet - not including images of people injured.