How does your media product represent particular social groups?Katie Winn

New Affluent WorkersThis class group is sociable, have lots of cultural interests and sit in the middle class group in terms of wealth.• The average age of new affluent workers is 44, however, my

magazine is aimed towards younger new affluent workers who are starting their first jobs or have part time jobs/weekend jobs.

• They are economically secure, without being well off, however this may be due to their upbringing with people in my target age range.

• They do not tend to participate in highbrow culture, they are more relaxed and chilled out.

• These people have high scores for emerging culture, such as watching sport, going to gigs and using social media.

Front CoverMy media product has a demographic of teenagers/young adults aged 13-19, which is reflected in my front cover on my feature article photograph as the cover star is within this age range. I have subverted the cliché that teenagers are reckless and carefree, by representing my cover star as friendly and approachable.

My target audience is 80% females and therefore I chose to have a female cover star as she would be more relatable and the reader would be more inclined to idolise her. I also selected a feminine colours scheme of pink and purple as it would appeal to my demographic more as stereotypically these colours represent femininity. Through this image I am representing females as strong and as if they care about the way they are presented.The cover star on my front cover represents new affluent workers as she is 17 and therefore still in education, but with a part time job, this represents young people as caring and hard working.

My cover star is making eye-contact with the camera to make young teenagers seem approachable and friendly, therefore encouraging young people to aspire to be like my cover star.

Contents PageI added some males to my contents page as a small minority of my demographic is males. By having them in a friendly, non-threatening pose, I have subverted the gender cliché that teenage boys are very rebellious and intimidating, making them seem more friendly and encouraging people to read that article.

The continuation of the pink and purple colour scheme on the contents page, establishes a very girly house style, representing the 80% female demographic I have aimed my magazine at.

I chose a very simplistic layout, that is very easy to navigate throughout in order to appeal to my young demographic, as they have a care-free relaxed attitude and therefore would not want to spend a long time trying to find different articles.

I chose very short, colloquial phrases to promote the articles as they create a friendly, informal mode of address, and therefore represent the laidback, carefree lifestyle of my demographic.

Most the artists featured on the contents page are within the age range of my demographic, therefore representing that age group and making them more relatable to my audience. This age group is stereotypically reckless however I have presented them as harmless and friendly.

Double Page SpreadI used a similar colour scheme on my double page spread to the rest of my product which meant that femininity was still represented, however the addition of blue to the colour scheme meant that it also applied to males as well, as it is a stereotypically masculine colour. The heading “rising

superstar” is exciting and intriguing and would appeal to my young, current demographic, as they are the type of social group who want to keep up-to-date with all the current trends and be the first to know about new upcoming artists.

The interview style article, creates an informal, chatty mode of address representing my young demographic as light-hearted and friendly, as they would want something easy to read, rather than an informative or complicated article.

Similarly to the front cover, the artist on my double page spread is female who I have represented as very professional and serious, presenting young females as hard working and ambitious.

The model in my photograph seems very aspirational, representing how my demographic are ambitious and aim to achieve highly.

Comparison to Competitor ProductMy magazine follows a similar colour scheme to this competitor magazine, and both are very feminine, appealing more to females. However, I think that ‘ELLE’ magazine has a slightly older demographic as it promotes things that would appeal more to people in their twenties and also promotes shopping and fashion, which may be more appropriate for technical middle class or established middle class members of society, who have a steady, full time job, and therefore more of a disposable income.

Comparison to Competitor Product

Whereas my magazine offers posters and advice, which are a better representation of my teenage demographic. Both magazines have a female cover star, however, they are different ages, meaning that they appeal to different people. My magazine has a young teenage cover star, who would appeal to other teenagers as they can idolise her, whereas ‘ELLE’ magazine has a cover star in her twenties, appealing to people of a similar age.

SummaryThroughout my media product, the following social groups are represented:• New Affluent Workers- my magazine is aimed at this social group and represents them

using a friendly, chatty tone, as they are quite young and therefore would not want to read very serious, informative articles. I also used colloquial language, and made the article sound conversational to ensure that it is easy to read and understand.

• Females- my magazine appeals mainly to females as it follows a pink and purple colour scheme throughout, and also the main artist featured is a female.

• People who have a strong interest in pop music and culture and see it as a hobby, but not necessarily a career path or lifestyle, as the magazine is includes other topics such as fashion and advice, rather than solely on music.

• Young adults who have a carefree, relaxed lifestyle, as the articles are very informal and chatty, mirroring this kind of lifestyle.