LO2: Legal and Ethical Issues

Legal

• Obscene publication acts

-The publication of some thing that has a negative effect on your audience by accepted standards of morality

My magazine is designed for amateur hikers in the centre of Sheffield. aged 18-35 year old.

This applies to my magazine if we instruct a very novice walker to go on a very dangerous hike it could cause them to injure themselves and even cause fatality.

To make sure that our articles are safe we must explain what type of equipment would be best be safe on a particular walk, recce the walks our self to ensure they are safe for novices and the maps are up accurate. the map must be the most up to date version that we publish.     

• Libel law

- Libel is stating something in the written word or print that could be seen as defamatory and damage a reputation.

We couldn't say anything bad about locations and or people who live there to avoid offending them. For example if I was to say that the location was run down and the people who live the are horrible, it could be seen as being defamatory.

I will adhere to this law by gathering some feed back from the location of where I go to ensure they have no reason to be offended. I could to this by having locals look over the work to ensure what I have written isn't offensive and true.

I will always use reliable sources that have .gov, .org or .ac at the end of their web address and must source and reference my work

• Copy Right Designs and Patents act

Be able to use something that someone else has made and using a release and consent form to have their permeation to use their image.

I will have to gain permeation to use a cut out of an ordinance survey map in my magazine. and any outdoor clothing brands I an using and any location permissions I will need 

I will also be creating a lot of my own material meaning i will need intellectual property rights i.e. masthead.

• Laws of contempt

You are not allowed to publish content that relates to a current on going court case and that could effect the outcome.

This could relate to my magazine i.e. The Body on the Moors and speculation into who was to blame and what was the cause

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-e8c6cbab-da44-4a3c-8f9b-c4fccd53dd24

• Ethical issues

Ethically I must tell my readers how to correctly prepare for a hike, not to travel on your own as a novice and what to do in an emergency. I will do this by putting advice in my articles and safety notes that are important.

And must have fair representation of people so all people feel that they can take part no mater what shape, size, gender etc.

Give advice on how to conduct themselves in the country side i.e. don't litter, I would do this by writing relevant rules in my article and i.e. if there's a lot of gates in the article make sure to tell them to always leave a gate as they find them after going through it.