Yellow Journalism And Fashion News: Does It Exist? (And How To Avoid It)
Yellow journalism is sensationalized news pieces that might have a gram of truth to them. The rest of most of the articles in yellow journalism is all fabricated, or fake. If you are about to start a fashion news magazine, you might be wondering if yellow journalism exists in in the form of a fashion news magazine. You may also be the type that wants to avoid this kind of publication, but you are not sure how. The following helps you figure out what yellow journalism looks like in the fashion industry, and how you can avoid it as you move forward to publish a legitimate fashion daily mag.
Yes, Yellow Journalism in Fashion Does Exist
It is not often that you see a complete fashion publication filled with fake fashion news. Most fashion magazine publishers take fashion very seriously, as you intend to do. However, yellow journalism does exist in the fashion magazine industry.
You can usually spot these articles and publications by their hyped titles, easy, believable lead-ins, and a sudden switch to unbelievable "facts," which are akin to "click bait" in online media. If there is an article that is very believable, do your own research and fact-check.
How to Avoid These Kinds of Articles in Your Own Magazine
Avoiding this type of journalism in your own magazine is not as difficult as you may think. There are some really easy steps to follow.
These steps to avoiding bad, fake, or hyped articles are:
- Fact-check EVERYTHING. Never make anything up or guess about what someone wore, said, did, etc.
- Your magazine is going to present Houses of Haute Couture and talk about them; you should know all the names and heavily familiarize yourself with everyone from D'ior and Chanel to Anne Klein and the late Kate Spade. If you misrepresent these fashion houses and their designers with your publication, you could be sued for defamation.
- If you are going to write about a fashion show, BE AT THE SHOW. Otherwise, you are making it up, and readers will not be impressed with your lack of authenticity.
- People who read fashion magazines want what is happening in fashion right now. Not what happened three weeks ago, and not what is trending.
Trends come and go, but real fashion by real fashion designers lasts indefinitely in the vintage items consumers can buy years down the road. Leaks to the press about fashion happening in the future is acceptable to print, so long as you verify the authenticity of the leaked information.