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NEED TO KNOW FOR EXAMINATION!!!

Magazines are mostly produced by a few dominant companies the internet hastaken over due to its inexpensive costs, easy distribution, etc.

Publishing is a phenomenon of convergence, crossmedia ownership andoligopoly (a small no of companies controlling a large market.)

Descriptive analysis:

Glossy Weekly, monthly, bi annually Fiction and nonfiction varieties Mass or niche audiences

Specific target audience usually

Analytical analysis:

Need to understand what the conventions are can they be organised intogenres and subgenres? How is this related to the target audience?

Who owns the magazines and publishes them? What is the relationship between editorial content and advertising in

magazines?Funding:

In the early days the cover price covered the costs and made a profit. Competition meant less sales therefore less profit and higher costs. Advertisers then began to cover the costs.

ETypes of Magazines:

Business

Trades Work related Hobbies Interests Consumer focused Entertainment based TV tie ins

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Targeting an audience:

Age Gender Occupation

Interests Socio-economics groups Peoples occupations Economic status Education BackgroundSocio-economic groups:

A upper middle, administrative or

B professional middle intermediate

C1

management

C2

lowermiddle supervisory, clerical, junior

D mgmt skilled working class, skilled manual

E working class, semi and unskilled manual pensioners, widows, casual and lowest grad

Segmentation: We are clustered into 7 groups:

Succeeders Aspirers Carers Achievers Radicals Traditionalists UnderachieversCategorised by opinions and values:

Traditionalist

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Modernist Hedonist Postmaterialist PostmodernistNot just aimed at the young either as we grow older and live longer, we

become more mobile, have more money and are healthier, the young-mindedolder person has evolved.

Distribution

Newsagents Supermarkets sales have increased and newsagent sales have decreased

because of the decline in smoking and changes in shopping habits Subscription by direct mailing Bookstalls on stations Increase now in giveaways where advertising entirely covers costs Some publishers decline to supply mags to applicants who do not meet the

specification regarding wealth, education or status. Colour supplements in newspapers Sunday Times added in 1962 Fleet

Street derided it but within a year readership was up 600,000!

Contents

Interviews Profiles (deeper and more wideranging that interviews)

Multipleinterview features e.g. ask a number of high profile people to answerthe same question

Descriptive features places, holidays, events etc Serialisations of stories Service features about gardening, cooking etc Consumer advice Gossip columns Reviews

Competitions Readers offers Letters

Politics of the office

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Infighting between the advertising and the editorial departments is frequent adsare seen as spoiling the run or look of a magazine or article, when a feature Isbroken up by ads journalists get annoyed.

Titles are marketed sales are independently audited so that prospective

advertisers can be sure they are gearing towards the right market.

Launching a new magazine

Success depends on identifying a gap in the market by: Either hunch or marketresearch

The Face from Nick Logan came about as a result of a hunch, but usually marketresearch will identify potential readership size, age, income, education andtherefore potential advertising support.

The Steps THINGS TO THINK ABOUT WHEN STARTING UP A MAGAZINE

usual = cheaper

Choice of paper

low grade = cheaper

High quality = more expensive

%age of pictures

distribution

by post lightweight is cheaper

on stands it doesnt matter

fixed costs

premises

staff

paper

Type (print)

running

depends on how many were printed and distributed

binding

carriage now produce a dummyscamp (an artists impression), a mock-up or a

proper dummy of several hundred copies

Next mount a campaign to impress the distribution trade and advertisers

Engage staff do a dry run lease premises, book TV advertising for thelaunch

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The Cover

Masthead Photos of celebs / models will link with feature article Colour photo bleeds to the edges i.e. no border

Cover lines short phrases about the articles inside Flash or colour panels Straplines Puffa magazines unique claims: the first, the only, best etc A strong sense of both contents and outlook must be conveyed at a glance.

Can cause complaint!

Stereotyping or casual and careless offence to minority groups, unethical

behaviour, violation of privacy etc can all be complained about.

Red analysis Bold, short, punchy (like the reader), top left corner in box, white word RED on

rich red background, stands out on shelves where space is limited. Font distinctive like handwriting a sense of individuality yet an air of fun Sell lines superimposed on model but being in different colours dont block her

out too much they are teasers Use of upper and lower case Mid-shot of model therefore we can see all of what shes wearing and thus the

goods the magazine is dedicated to.

Colour, some red like title but mostly neutral to emphasise the classic eleganceand fashion.

Readers

social conscience none the rich!How does the content show who the intended reader is?

Feature articlesin womens mags often comment by interviewer, detaileddescription of clothing, surroundings etc in mens mags interview is often tapedand transcribed with little or no comment from interviewer men prefer this!

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Message and values

Female mags are dedicated to the ideal image of women who are: independent,sexy and appearance driven. Often depicted as tall, thin and blonde (a famousBody Shop ad once stated that there are only 8 women in the whole world like

this and they are all top fashion models!)

Male mags are aimed at men who: enjoy being lads, ogle women, drink, watchfootball and listen to loud music. They aim to be wild, witty and include interviewswith the stars.

Alternative mags can be a range of things. Can you figure what is attractiveabout Rip it Up?

Q How do magazines vary and accordingly attract an audience?

Quality of paper Size of print Print type / font Size of paper Design and layout of image Cover lines Style of model image

Magazines variously inflect the image to convey their respective styles:

Domestic or girl about town Cheeky or staid Upmarket or down Hairstyle Neckline Facial pose

Advertising facts

Magazines are joint 3rd after TV and local papers and with national newspapersin terms of money spent on advertising.

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Mode of address manner, tone and attitude of speaking to reader e.g. matey,friendly, informative, avuncular

Audience profiles: market research has always enabled advertisers to know theirtarget audience but now club cards ensure greatest accuracy of information

about what consumers buy.

Aspirationsit is part of societys shared values to produce and consume morematerial goods and wealth. (Buddhist or Islamic societies prioritise spiritualgrowth and benefits.)

Criticism: consumerism: many people criticise our desperate consumerism andcompare glossy mags images with the pictures of starving in Africa etc. How canwe support this dichotomy or hypocrisy? What does this say about the values ofour society? Do we just accept the status quo? The commonest value message

in ads is, If you have one of these you will be in with the in-crowd, or you will feelmuch better if youve got it.

Production Values

The adverts are the high point in terms of gloss, colour, glamour and technicalskills. Articles and ads compete for the readers eye.

Straplines in womens mags have to offer some benefit, selfishness is the key.

Cover photographs

Marjorie Ferguson identified 4 types of facial expression:

Supersmiler confident, assertive, big smile = the hard sell Invitational mouth may be shut, hint of a smile, eyes emphasised more

mysterious, maybe tilted or looking back over shoulder = the soft sell. Chocolate box smiling but only a glimpse of her teeth or may have mouth

closed expression nonspecific = the uniformity of feature and beauty (like a work of

art) Romantic or sexual the overt comeon promises sex and is usually directed

at the single male or more sensual dreamy look which only h ints atavailability.

The magazine article

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The intro purpose is to capture attention how?

The questionposed to readersdo you want tolose a stone, drop a dresssize Anecdote

The quote

The action/ adventure always starts with the high point. The description

The summary intro

Shock horror intro uses sensational info to get reader to read on.

Some theorists!

Wolf: The relationship between the magazine and the reader is emotional,confiding, defensive, unequal.

So the reader trusts the ads as much as the editorial.

Adverts blur the line so that advertisers can demand particular placing of

the ad in specific places.

McCracken: If a beauty columnist recommends a certain product thereader will feel more confident buying it

Promotions are hidden as editorial material.

Tina Gaudoin: Editors are not in charge of the magazine it is the men ingrey suits (the money men.)