Researching & Planning (U7: P4. M3. U8: P2, M2)

P4 (U7): Research and plan content for an original article

The news story I will be focusing on within my upcoming article is a general interest story but also features elements of serious reportage within the topic being discussed. The story will focus on the controversy surrounding the fast fashion market and the unsustainability of some vastly popular brands. The genre can be identified as fashion and environment within this story as I discover the hidden truths behind the thriving market. Interestingly, this story is very relevant at this time as the landfills begin to rapidly grow with unwanted clothing. This is an important issue that audiences need to be informed on, therefore I will carry out extensive research in order to provide the best insight into the topic and generate more awareness for the problem. A large portion of my research will be secondary, using websites, other news articles, and social media platforms to learn more about the issues and what can be done to solve them. However, I will also carry out my own primary research in order to understand out readers' points of view on the issues via surveys and focus groups.

The primary research for this article will include creating a survey of questions surrounding the issues discussed. The survey will be electronically sent to our target audience via email links, this will be the most efficient way to contact the audience and ensure it is completed truthfully. This survey will be 15 questions long, consisting of a mixture of multiple-choice and long-answer questions in order to provide the maximum amount of relevant information for our article. The survey will also help us to understand what the target audience (16-25) needs to be informed about based on gaps in their current knowledge, ensuring the article covers all the necessary areas. Additionally, we will interview focus groups within a range of audiences in order to gain perspective into varying fashion habits including where they shop, how often they shop, and what factors influence their choice in clothing purchases. We will be able to conduct this meeting via the online Zoom platform in which we can ask participants to give themselves a false name on the call in order to maintain anonymity and reduce bias. Using the target audience for research will make the articles more appealing to this group because they appear more relevant, stating statistics/opinions directly related to the reader, making it easy to identify with.

Primary research Proposed interview/survey questions- doing on google forms atm

Secondary research articles

For my secondary research, I planned to look at a range of online and phone app news articles that discussed the topic of fast fashion in some capacity. The aim was to find articles to help me understand the topic in more depth so I was more capable of writing the article as well as understanding the opposing side including the oblivion many people have to the subject. I could look at documentaries to aid my knowledge such as 'The price of fast fashion' which aired on the BBC as this will help me to visualise the issue. Interestingly, I looked at articles on the Apple News app, blogs online and one online newspaper article in my secondary research to help. 

"Get this viral TikTok bag for $20 before it sells out"
This news article is promoting the habit of fast fashion as a positive thing to audiences. The news article written has a majorly positive outlook on the product and doesn't consider the consequences of the soon-to-be discarded trend within the article, pressuring impressionable teens to participate. Interestingly, this article doesn't provide all the facts and results in ignorance. In this article, it proves the need for my article to inform young audiences.

"90's trouser trend all over Mango and Zara"
The following news article has been written with promotional intentions behind the story, it doesn't aim to inform or educate its readers. Another reason so many people are unaware of the impact their shopping habits have on the environment and ultimately cause further damage to it.

"What is fast fashion and why is it so bad?" https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-fast-fashion/
This informative news article has been used for my secondary research in order to further understand the topic I wish to write about. The article is well-researched and informs readers of all the consequences of participating in fast fashion trends. I was able to learn through this article the history of clothing production as well as the future of the industry if something doesn't change.

"Returns aren’t a good look for struggling Asos" https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/returns-arent-a-good-look-for-struggling-asos-ct5xw6kpz
This informative piece refers to a large organisation guilty of using unsustainable production methods as well as producing fast fashion clothing products. The article is a great example to identify a fast fashion company and prove to readers the impact they have. Interestingly, I was able to use this as secondary research as I learned all about the negative affects a company experiences after being discovered as unsustainable and how to effect change within my readers.

Significantly, this story might cause a low-level moral panic as readers learn the consequences of fast fashion trends on the environment, Stanley Cohen's moral panics theory refers to the negative impacts consuming media could have on its audience. Learning the negative effects of fast fashion could present a potential issue as readers grow uneasy and feel overcautious about each decision they make in their daily lives. However, I believe this will have an overall positive outcome as individuals learn to make more sustainable choices. The images used within the article will feature current fashion trends but also landfills or emotional images of the impacts on the environment to allow the article to have a full effect. Furthermore, the linguistic devices used within the article will be emotive language and hyperboles in order to have the desired impact on audiences, this will help produce the message within the article clearly. On the other hand, we won't want to take this to an extreme level to ensure audiences feel safe and secure so to avoid a major moral panic we will also provide solutions to the issues discussed. This allows our readers a greater sense of control and helps them to understand how they can help to avoid the consequences the environment is currently facing.

Galtang and Ruge were two theorists who described the value of news, this explained what makes a news story more important and what elements it should have in order to gain priority within the newspaper. The more valuable a story, the more space, time, and attention it will gain within the newspaper. The theorists broke news values down into:

Negative elements
A news story is more likely to be reported on if it has negative elements within the story. Audiences have been proven to favour negative stories over positive ones as these appear more interesting, and the readers will want to discover more. The news story I will be producing can be applied to this theory as it focuses on the negative impacts clothing and fast fashion have on the environment, devastating images will accompany the piece in order to further the impact. Negative features draw audiences in and therefore my article will be given higher priority within the newspaper. 

Currency
The issue of fast fashion is not new, readers will already be familiar with the topic and therefore it has currency. While the story will take a new approach, the issue has been rising for the past few years and therefore it won't appear a total shock to audiences. A newspaper will give this story priority if they know they can write about it for a long time if there are likely to be developments within the story then this will increase the chance of giving the story more space.

Simplicity
A simple story is more likely to gain more space within a newspaper as audiences will be better enticed by this. In general, a mass audience is less likely to understand a complex story and therefore writing about a simple issue or even a complex issue in a simple way will allow audiences to better understand the article. Therefore the newspaper will award this article a larger space within. The fast fashion article is simple at its core and can be written in this way so audiences can better understand the impact of the issue without being put off by complexities.

Expectancy
Audiences enjoy feeling like they're correct, if a story has a level of expectancy to it then this will be given more priority within the publication. The issue of unsustainable clothes has been one that has risen over the past few years, the way in which we live and conduct our everyday lives is not driven by environmentally friendly behaviour. This issue is one audiences are aware of but choose to ignore and therefore reporting on it will fill the expectancy they feel toward the issue.

Size
The size of a story refers to the impact of the story and how many people will be affected by the issue discussed. For instance, the issue of fast fashion will eventually affect the entire world and therefore is considered a prominent issue for the newspaper to discuss. If a story will impact a large group of people the news paper will prioritise it as a large audience is likely to be enticed by it.

M3 (U7): Reference and record information sourced for use within the article

DATE	SOURCE	RECORDING METHOD	PROOF OF CREDIBILITY	QUALITATIVE/ QUANTITATIVE DATA	PURPOSE OF RESEARCH
11.05.2023	Primary research survey	Survey results web page	Surveys were sent to trusted individuals within the target audience while they were home, uninfluenced by other candidates	Mixed	Discover audience knowledge on the planned article topic
15.05.2023	Primary research focus group	Online screen recording of meeting as well as notes taken	Participants were anonymous to the interviewer to reduce bias.	Qualitative	To understand audience perspectives on the proposed article subject
01.04.2022	Secondary research (website) https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-fast-fashion/			Qualitative	Gain additional knowledge surrounding the subject of fast fashion
11.05.2023	Secondary research mobile news app (WHO WHAT WEAR)		The apple news app put the article on their platform so it has passed a round of checks in order to appear here and must have a level of credibility	Qualitative	Understand the opposition
02.03.2022	Secondary research Twitter		A verified Twitter account user reposted the news article on fast fashion stats and info	Mixed	Gain reliable statistics and discover if the issue is relevant to our target audience
11.05.2023	Secondary research (website) https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/returns-arent-a-good-look-for-struggling-asos-ct5xw6kpz		The trusted Times broadsheet website reported this article, it had to be approved by the editor and IPSO had received no complaints.	Mixed	Learn about a brand who has been subject of ridicule since being discovered as unsustainable- the issue is relevant (proof)

P2 (U8): Plan a photographic shoot for client brief

Location recce

Call sheet

Risk assessment

M2 (U8): Explain legal and ethical considerations for the photographic shoot

model release form

location release form

Legal issues

A legal issue photographers need to be aware of is ensuring they attain the suitable permission needed from the subject of the image. The model and location owner (if a private location) must consent to have images taken for public use, within the newspaper article. For example, the model will need to sign a consent form for being in the photographs otherwise they could sue the photographer or the newspaper for using their images without permission and this will lead to large fines. If consent is not given then these images cannot be used within the newspaper article. In order to avoid this issue the photographer will need to create consent forms for the model and location owner to sign, obtaining the correct permission.

Copyright is another major legal issue a photographer will need to consider. Copyright is the law that protects an individuals work from being copied and used by someone else, where the 2nd party could attempt to pass it off as their own for either profit or personal use. The action of getting your work copyrighted will allow the photographer to have exclusive access to the image so no one else can use it without permission. To avoid other people stealing the work the images will be copyrighted. The article will credit the photographer under each image displayed within the page and use the copyright symbol in order to deter others from attempting to steal the image. 

One legal issue to consider might be the use of company logos. The purpose of these images are for an unflattering article about the alleged practices of some very successful clothing brands, if they have not consented to the photographer using their logos within their work this could lead to serious legal issues. To avoid this the photographer must ensure they gain the appropriate permission or carry out research to learn if these logos are for the public domain.

Ethical issues

An ethical issue to consider is the editing of images, within the article, there will likely be an image of a model wearing fast fashion clothing brands. If the model is edited using Photoshop to retouch her features this might appear deceptive to audiences as this image won't be true to reality. The audience might notice the editing and will feel misled by the images as the model doesn't appear 'real' which can cause the audience to lose focus on the purpose and message of the article. Furthermore, the clothing images can be adapted in colour in order to create the desired effect on audiences which might also appear deceptive. This ethical dilemma could lead to a poor reputation for the newspaper and photographer, making it difficult to continue within their current careers. In order to avoid this issue the article could input a disclaimer to say the following images have been edited for dramatic effect.

This article will be focused on a tragic topic and the images will need to capture this essence, however, it isn't really right for the photographer to profit from such a tragedy. The photographer will be required to capture emotional shots of landfills and other impacts this industry has on the environment and profiting off of this can appear insensitive to audiences who feel impacted by the events. Interestingly, this must be considered when carrying out the photoshoot as it could likely result in a poor reputation for the photographer. Avoiding this issue can be done by hiring a volunteer photographer for example who will therefore not profit off the images taken.

When setting up and carrying out a photo shoot, the crew must be well taken care of and paid accordingly. If this is done insufficiently it could cause ethical issues as staff will feel mistreated and this could impact the photographer's reputation amongst the community. The working environment must be of a high standard or else workers will begin to quit and this will result in a poorer quality outcome for photographs taken. In order to avoid this, the photographer will need to provide good working conditions by providing fair pay, legal breaks, and perks for staff.