Legal, Ethical and Professional obligations.

Legal: Media content in our country is based on codes of practice drawn up by a number of parties. These parties are normally largely independent and make use of extensi e public consultation. !n the "# there is no re$uirement that %ournalists ha e to be registered or participate in any association. &owe er, there is the Press 'omplaints 'ommission. The P'' has no legal powers and maga(ines and newspapers oluntarily contribute to the costs. )n example taken from the Press 'omplaints commission is that from the Li erpool Echo: breaching pri acy: *http:++www.pcc.org.uk+case+resol ed.html,article-./c0123 '.MPL)!1T: 4te en Price complained to the Press 'omplaints 'ommission that the newspaper had reported the death of his cousin before the family had been officially notified by the police. The complainant belie ed this represented a breach of 'lause 5 *Pri acy3 and 'lause 0 *!ntrusion into grief or shock3 of the Editors6 'ode of Practice.

!ntellectual property co ers four areas, Patents, Trademarks, /esigns and 'opyright. This was designed to protect people7s indi idual work8 the two areas that the intellectual property co ers the most are trademarks and copyright. The /esign and Patent )ct was founded in 9:;; and is still used in the "# today, co ering drama, music etc. This )ct only applies if the work is regarded as original. The act co ers lots of different sectors such as8 literary, songs, plays, musicals, sound recordings, photography, films and audio books. The images that we collect from <oogle ha e a warning at the bottom saying, that these images may be sub%ect to copyright. =alt /isney Pictures protects their images and ideos to ensure that the $uality of the entertainment keeps running, they also ha e the right to keep the names of the characters and the titles of the spin off shows they make. Trade Marks )re signs distinguishing one company from another. Trade marks can be used for football emblems, Mc/onald7s, #odak, =eetabix, >irgin and )didas. The trademark act of 9::? has been re amended in .ctober @AA;, stating that e ery 9A years a company needs to renew, their trademark so then other people cannot start using it.

Libel: Libel is defamation by written words and or pictures. The Libel Law originated in the 9Bth century. Libel6s definition is writing something untrue and unfair about someone or something. Tabloid newspapers and gossip maga(ines sometimes are libel because they make up facts to sell a story. 4ome people ha e to pro e that they ha e been libelled, this can include pro ing that the statement that has been made is not true and that the person who has wrote the statement against you, does not ha e the right e idence+ade$uate information to carry that. &owe er, the /efamation )ct from 9::C pro ides a defence to people who are not authors, editors or commercial publishers of the statement. )lso if they

did not know and had no reason to belie e that what they did caused or contributed to the publication of a defamatory statement. *http:++www.yourrights.org.uk+yourrights+rightDofDfreeD expression+defamation+defamationDelementsDofDaDclaim.html3 The &ealth and 4afety act was registered in 9:B?. !t co ers all of the "nited #ingdom and is enforced hea ily in all companies around the country. Each print industry has their own risks, with the print industry employing o er 9@,AAA people e ery year and @BE of that is manual handling, which does carry the ma%ority of the risks. The health and safety act also protects the people at work from dangerous substances. The /ata protection act was introduced in 9::;. This act is the main piece of legislation and it controls personal data within the "#. 4ometimes, the data can only be used for specific purposes and indi iduals ha e the right to ha e access the information which is being held under this act. People can also ha e incorrect information changed but the information cannot be sent outside of the EE). Personal information can be kept as long as necessary, for example personal information can be kept for up to fi e years in schools. There are stronger types of data protection that protect8 ethnic background, sexual health, criminal records, religious beliefs, health and political opinions. This information howe er can be withheld for arious different reasons, such as the in estigation of a crime or the collection of tax. 4ome organisations may charge up to F9A if the paper work is unstructured. *https:++www.go .uk+dataDprotection+findDoutDwhatDdataDanDorganisationDhasDaboutDyou3 ) contempt of court is a court order which can declare a person or an organisation+company to ha e been disrespectful of the court6s authority. The idea of this act is to make sure that %ournalists do not get too hea ily in ol ed with court cases, the recent being 'oronation 4treet6s Gill Hoache. The E$uality and Hace relations act combined together in 9:BC. This act co ers employment, goods and ser ices. The act was also made to pre ent discrimination in the workplace o er race and ethnicity. There were earlier acts similar to the one today in the years 9:C0 and 9:C;. &owe er the act was changed and fully updated in @A9A and became the E$uality )ct. E$uality )ct pro isions which came into force on 9 .ctober @A9A: the basic framework of protection against direct and indirect discrimination, harassment and ictimisation in ser ices and public functions, work, education, associations and transport 'hanging the definition of gender reassignment. pro iding protection for people discriminated against because they are percei ed to ha e, or are associated with someone who has, a protected characteristic clearer protection for breastfeeding mothers applying a uniform definition of indirect discrimination to all protected characteristics harmonising pro isions allowing oluntary positi e action These pro isions ha e been included in the newest ersion of the @A9A act, other acts that fall into this are8 4ex /iscrimination )ct I 9:B0, Hace Helations )ct I 9:BC, /isability /iscrimination )ct I 9::0. *https:++www.go .uk+e$ualityDactD@A9ADguidance3

.ffensi e material can contain a lot of sub%ects, iolence, sexual, discrimination, distress and gender all interlink. The appropriate information should be broadcast where it would help minimise offence and discrimination. Ethical !n the editor6s code of practice there is a section under Pri acy. !t entitles e eryone to ha e pri acy within their own home and medically. /igital communications can also come under the pri acy section. The /ataDprotection act can also co er pri acy and similarly so can the pri acy and human rights act of 9::;. The act also states that a person is entitled to their own pri acy but can be withdrawn when coincided with the law. Greach of confidence can be used in newspapers and maga(ine articles often, for public interest. This happens when maga(ines or newspapers publish photographs, %ournals and unnecessary information about a person without actual permission. This is therefore breaking the rules and could end up being taken to court if the person feels that the %ournalist has broken down legal barriers. The 4un newspaper has breached confidence when the &illsborough disaster happened, publishing photographs and %ournals belonging to police offers *after statements had been changed3.

Public !nterest can be outweighed by people withholding public interest in libel suits for %ournalists. Public interest can be used as a defensi e weapon when a %ournalist is being fought against in court, for a piece of information. !n an example of a %ournalist writing about an affair *about someone from the public eye3 the %ournalist can use public interest as their way of defending the story and themsel es. Jreedom of information can be breached for %ournalists writing articles, due to the demand of the public interest outbalancing the public wanting to withhold the information that is being shared. Kournalists can often write articles that include people who readers ha e had little experience knowing about. Kournalists shouldn7t create a bias or unhelpful opinion when they are reporting as it could go against the code of the 1"K, stating that nothing should be written that would cause discrimination to someone7s sexual orientation, race or age. Many young sports stars are written about which the reader knows little about, many writers could be bias if the football player has come from the same background or you are writing for the club.

Trade unions are used for industry specific and helps set common ground and goals for arious issues. Trade "nions help support pensions, working conditions and

benefits. 4.<)T was the main union for print industries and stood for 4ociety of <raphical and )llied Trades. <MP" and 1<) are also big parts of history for the print unions. These print unions are supporting all of the print areas and helping them aim towards business success. Trade unions became popular in Europe when the !ndustrial He olution started and workers were being underpaid. <ermany, 4candina ia, "4), 'anada, Kapan, Mexico and )ustralia are a few who ha e trade unions o erseas. Trade unions can be composed of many people including the unemployed. Trade unions can also offer their ad ice and support for issues in the workplace. The GP!J is the central print industry trade union, helping print industries create a profitable and sustainable business for themsel es. The people that put this trade union together are professionals in the print industry and ha e a lot of knowledge about how it works. This trade union can also offer legal ad ice on sales and finance. The )d ertising 4tandard )uthority makes sure that all ad ertisements are legal and truthful for iewing. This company is recognised by the <o ernment and .fcom who deal with the complaints on the ad ertisements. .ne complaint on an ad ert can lead to it being withdrawn from the public eye. The most recent case has been the marmite ad ert which sparked complaints about neglect issues. The ad ertisement is no longer being shown on tele ision due to so many complaints and not being truthful to the eye.