ABSTRACT

This media ethics case study examines GQ Magazine's 2003 February cover photo of Kate Winslet where her legs were edited to look thinner. By applying the TARES test, a guideline for the ethics of media persuasion, this cover photo will be analyzed to show the ethical problems of editing a celebrity’s body. The case study will use John Stuart Mill’s philosophy of Utilitarianism with reference to the advantage of a magazine publishing a response article to a model’s critique of its content. The ethics of the magazine cover photo is further examined by answering these three questions:

1. Did GQ Magazine exploit Winslet by altering her appearance in the cover photo?

2. What is the advantage of a magazine making a response to a model’s critique of its content?

3. How is a photojournalist’s job different from a fashion photographer’s job?