magazines

lesson objectives

one Understand the changes

magazine industry in the

UK is going through.

two Identify types of magazines

and their audiences.

three Analyse magazine covers and identify different codes and conventions.

four Understand how different

people are represented in

magazines.

magazine industry in the UK

the magazine industry in the

UK is very competitive and

is worth more than £4 billion.

There are almost 3000 titles aimed at consumer groups, and over 500 aimed at

businesses.

75% of the uk population enjoy magazine content annually.

Yet Britain’s consumer magazines lost nearly 1m print sales in the first

half of this year.

total sales of print titles

fell 4.4% compared with

the previous six months.

total sales of magazines

came in at 21.2m copies.

digital editions - usually

replica of the print magazine - were just 396,000.

nme weekly circulation fell to

28% from

a year ago.

Despite the fall nme reached

3.6 million people across all

platforms, print and

digital, including its website.

Traffic on the nme website grew 85%. Nearly 40% of

its online audience now

reading on mobile.

types of magazines

general interest magazines appeal to large

audiences.

children’s

teens

women’s

men’s

specialist magazines have

smaller audiences as the

focus on specific areas of interest.

biking

gaming

golf

photography

home interiors

film

science and technology

magazines audiences

Of all print media, magazines have the most

specialised audiences.

There are often several

magazines produced by

different publishers that

target similar groups of

consumers.

magazines codes & conventions

masthead

main cover line

strap line

cover photo

cover lines

pug

bar code and price

masthead The masthead is the title block of

the magazine. It is usually the

most eye catching convention on the cover page.

cover photo The cover photo creates a

connection between the reader and the magazine.

strap line Its aim is to entice the reader to look inside the magazine.

main cover line The main cover line anchors

the main image to its

meaning.

other cover lines Give the reader an idea on

other content of the current

issue of the magazine.

pUG Free gifts or competitions

offered to the readers.

bar code and price Usually positioned at the

bottom along with date, edition, issue number, price and website.