Mini Assignment 2

Understanding the media industries - Magazine insdustry Tthical, Legal and Regulatory considerations.

Tasks

1. Professional codes of practice.

ASA -

•The full name for ASA is Advertising Standards Authority.

•The Advertising Standards Authority regulates most types of ads but not all of them. They regulate ads for loads of different areas of the media, which include:
- Magazine and newspaper advertisements
- Radio and TV commercials
- Television shopping channels
- Posters on legitimate poster sites
- Leaflets and brochures
- Cinema commercials
- Direct mail, which is advertising sent through the post and addressed to you personally
- Door drops and circulars, which is advertising sent through the letter box without your name on
- Advertising on the internet, which includes banner and display ads etc
- Commercial e-mail and SMS text message ads
- Ads on CD ROMs, DVD and video, and also faxes.

•The Advertising Standards Authority is a self-regulatory organisation because the organisation imposes agreed regulations upon itself.

•BCAP code – The BCAP code applies to all advertisements (including teleshopping, content on self-promotional television channels, television text and interactive television advertisements) and programme sponsorship credits on radio and television services licensed by Ofcom. It is designed to inform advertisers and broadcasters of the standards expected in the content and scheduling of broadcast advertisements and to protect consumers.

•CAP code - The CAP code applies to advertisements in newspapers, magazines, brochures, leaflets, circulars, mailings, e-mails, text transmissions (including SMS and MMS), fax transmissions, catalogues, follow-up literature and other electronic or printed material


PCC -

•The full name for PCC is Press Complaints Commission.

•The Press Complaints Commission is an independent body which regulates with complaints from members of the public about the editorial content of newspapers and magazines.
All complaints are investigated under the editors' Code of Practice, which binds all national and regional newspapers and magazines. The Code - drawn up by editors themselves - covers the way in which news is gathered and reported. It also provides special protection to particularly vulnerable groups of people such as children, hospital patients and those at risk of discrimination.

•The Press Complaints Commission is also a self-regulatory because the organisation imposes agreed regulations upon itself. One of the central benefits of press self regulation is that it combines high standards of ethical reporting with a free press. Statutory controls would undermine the freedom of the press - and would not be so successful in raising standards.

•The Editors code – The Editors code sets the benchmark for those ethical standards, protecting both the rights of the individual and the public's right to know. It is the cornerstone of the system of self-regulation to which the industry has made a binding commitment.

•The Evolving code – The Evolving code can swiftly be amended to take account if necessary of parliamentary comment, suggestions from the PCC, editors and members of the public, and changes in technology.

Workplace code
Everyone at work should be treated the same and be professional, such as good time-keeping and wearing the correct clothing.

Three other suitable codes -

Conduct code
Workers should have a positive duty to observe the highest standards in the practice of customer magazine publishing.

Quality code
Workers will endeavour to ensure that all their work is produced to the highest possible standard in accordance with their clients' marketing and financial objectives.

Research code
All workers should agree to follow best practice guidelines to ensure high standard of measurement and evaluation.


2. Legal and Ethical Restrictions

Difference between criminal law and civil law - The difference between criminal law and civil law is that Civil law deals with individual wrongs whereas Criminal law deals with wrongs against society. An example of this would be in practice you can tell the difference by who brings the case. A criminal matter is brought by the government, whereas a civil matter is brought by another person or some private entity.

Health and safety checks before a photo shoot -

1 – Make sure that there are not any bags or coats on the floor around wear you are going to be shooting encase if someone trips over.

2 – Make sure that any backdrops are properly set up to avoid them collapsing during the photo shoot.

3 – Be sure to have checked that everything has been properly connected, e.g. wires for camera, lights etc, to avoid any electric shocks.

4 – Make sure that your model is comfortable and ready before you take the photo, because there could end up being a serious injury if they fall over onto the equipment etc.

5 – Make sure that there isn’t any food or drink in the photography studio, because if spilt this could damage the expensive equipment.

Copyright -

Copyright is a set of exclusive rights granted to the author or creator of an original work, including the right to copy, distribute and adapt the work.

What you can copyright –

1. Literary works;
2. Musical works, including any accompanying words
3. Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4. Pantomimes and choreographic works
5. Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
6. Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7. Sound recordings
8. Architectural works

Copyright protection is a valuable intellectual property tool. By using copyright protection, you can create and produce materials without worrying about them being swiped.

Libel law –

What is defamation?

Defamation is a false accusation of an offence or a malicious misrepresentation of someone's words or actions.

Example - An abusive attack on a person's character or good name.

What is Libel?

Libel is a false and malicious publication printed for the purpose of defaming a living person.

Example - "The newspaper was accused of libelling him"

What is Slander?

Example - "The journalists have slandered me!"

Data Protection -

What is the data protection act?

The Data Protection Act (DPA) is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which defines UK law on the processing of data on identifiable living people. It is the main piece of legislation that governs the protection of personal data in the UK.

Ethics -

Examples of when people have not been treated fairly in the media using stereotypes.

1. When people have had there position justified in power using stereotypes.
2. When people have used stereotypes to perpetuate other peoples social prejudice and inequality.
3. When people are being stereotyped and they have little to say about how they are represented.