Task 1: Mrs. Fisher’s video (1 hour)

Watch and take notes on the set product The Times:

 

notes:

• The wraparound nature of the cover and image, represent Trump and the election as being important.
• The cover shows Mike Pence on the left and Donald Trump on the right, election running mates for the republican party.
• The suits and ties connote that the men are wealthy, successful, powerful, with high status etc.
• The American flag badges / pins represent the men as being patriotic, American and important
• This reflects the political context of Trump’s campaign which focused on nationalism, patriotism and ‘making america great again.’
• In addition the iconography of the American flag behind them, adds the idea that they are standing up for and protecting America.
• Trump’s fist pump and facial expression represent him as someone determined and successful.
• Pence clapping suggests he is pleased with the results, and is supportive of Trump. It connotes his satisfaction with Trump being elected.
• The repetition in Trump’s quote tries to reinforce the idea that he will do well in the role. The use of a quote by Trump and the decision to omit quotes from anyone else reinforces his importance.
• “New World’ is ambiguous and not overtly positive or negative.
• The reflect The Times’s centralist political standpoint.
• “The New World – Donald Trump sends shock waves around the globe” The way this text represents Trump and his win, could be interpreted differently by different audiences.
• The word ‘shock waves’ clearly represent Trump as powerful and having an impact, but isn’t inherently positive or negative.
• The Chief Executive of Newscorp (The publisher behind The Times), is a Republican supporter and friend of the Trump family.
• Murdoch’s affiliation with Trump and the Republican party, might explain why the representations on this Times cover are not ‘totally neutral’ and do seem to have some positive bias to them.
• The target audience for The Times are wealthy, educated, middle to upper class, white males. So they may identify with Trump and his policies and be more engaged by positive representations of him.

 

 

 

Task 2: The Times – Extended task (6 hours):

Using the information in these set text revision posters for The Times set text, create a 20-slide PowerPoint which presents all of the notes in a coherent way. Ensure that the PowerPoint is uploaded onto your WordPress blog.

The Times

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Daily Mirror

Task 1 – Media Studies textbooks (1.5 hours)
Read and take notes on the pages 83-89 of your Yr1 Media Studies textbook on key approaches related to the Radio industry. (45 min)

Station Profiles

Each radio station, whether commercial or a public service broadcaster
such as the BBC, has a distinct profile and identity, and appeals to different audiences. This is evident in the programmes they produce, the presenters and the way in which they market themselves to those audiences. Each station also has a logo that is a visual signifier of the station and is used in cross-platform marketing. This identity has been built up over time and audiences have expectations of particular stations and their output.
The programmes produced and commissioned by a station are often Indicative of the station’s identity and its values, attitudes and beliefs. Radio differs from television in that it is available in a range of different formats. BBC radio :the BBC is a public service broadcaster that is funded by the licence fee and does not air commercials. BBC radio is both national and regional, there are over 40 local/regional stations attracting more than nine million listeners each week. However, these numbers have been steadily falling due to the competition from commercial broadcasters.
There are over 300 commercial radio stations in the UK. These are National commercial radio 1 there are three of these stations broadcasting at the time of writing: Classic FM, Talk sport and Absolute Radio.
» National brands : these are regional stations that have been collected into networks, sharing some programmes and syndicated output. They are:

– Global Radio- Heart, Galaxy, Gold and Radio X
– Bauer Media Group – Kiss and Magic
– Guardian Media Group – Real Radio.
Independent local radio : these are regional commercial stations. They are specific
to a certain area of the country and are not part of a network group. Community radio: this is a different format from public service and commercial stations. Community stations serve their local areas and produce content of
interest to local people. The stations are non-profit making and are usually funded by the local community.
Hospital radio : there are hundreds of these radio stations based in hospitals and
staffed by volunteers, broadcasting in the UK. Many radio presenters started out in
hospital or community radio.
Industry: The BBC
As stated earlier in this section, the BBC is a public service broadcaster with a remit to
inform, educate and entertain. Like television, radio has to produce programmes that
attract and appeal to a broad audience. BBC radio is funded by the licence fee so there
are no advertisements other than those for other BBC television and radio programmes
and events organised by the BBC, for example ‘Proms in the Park’. As with BBC television, the funding arrangement allows the stations some aspect of freedom to produce programmes that may target less mainstream audiences. All radio stations are obliged to broadcast regular news bulletins, which often will reflect the style of the station and the target audience, for example, the condensed, pacey delivery of Radio is Newsbeat, which  covers issues relating to its younger demographic, or the more traditional mode of address of the Today programme on Radio 4. However, it is also important that all stations prove their popularity, as it is a competitive market.
Industry: Marketing
BBC radio engages in the following marketing strategies to promote its stations and
programmes:
Cross-platform marketing. Other radio stations and BBC television will promote radio stations and events related to BBC radio, for example ‘T in the Park’. Billboard and magazine advertisements for stations and presenters, Each station has its own website within the umbrella website for BBC radio. These allow listeners to access live audio streaming and to listen to archive programmes. They also provide interactive opportunities for an audience and can be accessed by a global audience.
The Specialised Nature of Radio Stations
Different radio stations will have diverse styles, and their programming will reflect
the target audience. This will in turn influence and reinforce the profile of the station.
Audiences build up a knowledge based on experience of what each station will offer.
Stations tend to be divided stylistically and in terms of content between those that
are speech based and those that are music-led. Speech-based stations such as
Radio 4 and its individual programmes tend to target an older audience demographic
but, as can be seen with the launch of Late Night Woman’s Hour (LNWH), this station
is attempting to address a younger, more diverse audience. The generic codes and
conventions of speech-based radio programmes are:
although this can also be the case for music-led formats, the A presenter:
presenter in speech-led programmes acts as an anchor to guide the discussion
between various guests, for example Lauren Laverne in LNWH or as a judge in a
quiz programmer, for example Miles Jupp in The News Quiz on Radio 4
Discussions: a group of people discussing a range of topics. This sub-genre of
programme is often a key part of Radio 4’s schedule. LNWH uses this style with
each programme centring on a key topic. I
» phone ins: these are effective, cheap ways of involving the listeners, who are
encouraged to take part in the programme and offer their point of view. For
example, Jeremy Vine’s lunchtime programme on Radio 2.
» Contributors: news magazine programmes such as Today and PM on Radio
4 invite guests who tend to be experts or knowledgeable in the topic under
discussion. The 8:10am slot on the Today programme is renowned for being
reserved for eminent contributors such as, for example, the Prime Minister.
LNWH has highbrow female guests including writers, artists and academics.
Drama : Radio 4 has a regular feature of The Afternoon Play. Other dramas
include the long-running radio soap The Archers.
Scheduling
Just like television, each radio station has a schedule and programmes across the schedule. The regular programmes for each station are. The same time each day. The scheduling of a particular programme will have been researched in order to maximise the target audience. This IS still the case even though, with advances in digital technology, listeners can catch up on radio in, programmes through ‘Listen Again’ and Podcasts. The radio, more so than television, divides up its day related to what the audience may be doing. Radios 1 and 2 both have breakfast shows, which bring in a large
section of audience who are getting ready for, or travelling to, work. These are largely
musical but also incorporate chat, sport, traffic and regular slots specific to the
programme. These regular features build up expectations in the audience and give a
structure to the programme.
Similarly, a speech led station such as Radio 4 engages in stripping as part of its
schedule. For example, Woman’s Hour and its spin-off, Late Night Woman’s Hour,
both have specific scheduling times. Woman’s Hour is broadcast every day at loam.
However, the scheduling of LNWH is more interesting, it is a monthly programme
broadcast, as the name would suggest, at Ilium. The assumption is that a lot of
listeners will choose to listen via the podcast, but keeping it in the schedule at this
time allows the programme to include more adult content.
LNWH was launched in 2015 in response to the demands of the industry and to
cater for a younger female audience who may not be addressed by the current
Radio 4 output.
It is presented by Lauren Laverne who is of a similar age to the target audience and
is known for her involvement in music and the arts. She is a presenter on Radio 6
Music and fronted The Culture Show, as well as covering Glastonbury for the BBC.
Each episode is based around a theme and involves informal and in-depth
discussion. Themes have included female friendship, women in sport and anxiety.
To accompany the programme the BBC also produced a pilot online video series
called The Green Room, These were short films that would appeal to the target
audience and were shareable.
The BBC is a public service broadcaster and the programme reflects this and the
ethos of Radio 4. It is linked to Woman’s Hour, which has been running for more
than 70 years, in that the subjects it discusses are linked to the interests of women.
The role of Ofcom with regards to broadcasting is:
To ensure that a wide range of television and radio services of high quality and
wide appeal is available.
– To maintain plurality in the provision of broadcasting.
– To adequately protect audiences against offensive or harmful material.
– To protect audiences against unfairness or infringement of privacy.
– The BBC is also self-regulatory. The company works with producers to ensure that
there will be no need for Ofcom to intervene except in extreme circumstances.
An audience member can complain to Ofcom regarding a particular programme that
they may deem offensive or harmful, and audience pressure over certain programmes
can often be a successful form of regulation. When Ofcom receives a complaint, it
assesses it under the terms of the Broadcasting Code and decides what action to
take. Of com produces a regular ‘Broadcast Bulletin’ reporting on the complaints
received and decisions taken.
Audience
In an age when we are dominated by visual images, many will question how radio
has managed to survive and indeed develop. The medium of radio has a range of
different appeals as it consists of:
The blind medium: it only involves the sense of hearing with no visual images.
In this sense the medium can be seen to have advantages in that it allows the
audience to use their imagination.
The companion medium: the radio format provides a strong sense of personal
communication for the audience. It also offers interactive opportunities –
audiences can text and email programmes and get a ‘mention’ or a ‘shout out’ on
it. Some programmes have phoneins where listeners can air their views or select
music to be played.
The intimate medium; radio is very personal. It encourages intimacy by the use of
the direct mode of address.
The undemanding medium: it allows the audience to do other things while listening.
A criticism of television in the early days was that it didn’t ‘go around corners’, with
radio, a listener does not need to devote their time entirely to the platform.
Radio Audiences and Emerging Media

Recent technological advances have had an impact upon radio in terms of how programmer are broadcast and how listeners receive those programmes. These technological developments have allowed radio to develop and increase in popularity, despite critics heralding the end of the radio format. Although radio is a blind medium, many radio stations now have webcams in their studios, allowing listeners to view the presenters and guests in a radio show. Radio programmes also often produce a podcast of the best bits of a particular week. Podcasts can then be downloaded on a range of platforms and make listening to the radio more flexible for audiences.

One of the areas of the specification you will need to address is how the set rod
target, attract, reach and potentially construct audiences, and how specialised
audiences can be reached on a global and national scale through different media
technologies and platforms. Consider:
The choice of presenter. Lauren Laverne is of a similar age as the target audience.
– Her northern accent also subverts the stereotype of the typical Radio 4 presenter
and makes her more relatable to the audience.
The language and mode of address are aimed at a younger female target
demographic.
– It appeals to a niche, specialised audience signified by the scheduling time.
The themes of the programme and subsequent podcasts are constructed to be of
interest to the specialised audience.
– The audience is constructed through the style of the programme and the choice
of guests tend to be educated and often highbrow, for example Susie
Orbach, a psychotherapist and author, and Rachel Hurley, Cardiff University.
– It is available across a range of platforms and is therefore available to a bigger
audience.
Read and takes notes on the pages 101-109 of your Yr2 Media Studies textbook. (45 min)

Set Product Industry Focus: The BBC
significance of patterns of ownership and control, including conglomerate ownership, vertical integration and diversification , The BBC is a public service broadcaster whose output spans across national and local services. In addition, the BBC World Service broadcasts globally in over 28 languages.
The advances in digital technology have ensured the continued expansion of the BBC Radio network. The BBC does not carry advertising and is funded by the licence fee, giving it some freedom from competition and allowing it to produce programmes to target a range of audiences, not just the mainstream. Every ten years the government sets out its vision for the BBC in the Royal Charter .The aim of the BBC Royal Charter
of 2016 was to ‘reinvent public service broadcasting for a new generation’. The BBC
announced a new mission statement:
To act in the public interest, serving all audiences with impartial, high quality and
distinctive media content and services that inform, educate and entertain,
(BBC, 2016)
This echoes the aim of Lord Reith ,the founder of the BBC, who first said that the
role of a public broadcaster was to inform, educate and entertain. Part of the 2016
mission statement included the need to reach a younger audience. However there was some controversy over the 2016 Charter as there was seen by many to be government interference and the threat of the loss of the publicly funded and autonomous nature of the BBC. Several actors and industry professionals used the 2016 BAFTA Award ceremony to air their concerns about the future of the BBC: We’re a nation of storytellers, we’re admired around the world for it and may it live and long may it be a privilege to the people here without having to watch commercials. (Mark Rylance, BAFTA Awards 2016) One of the requirements set out in the charter was for the BBC to name all its stars
who were paid more than £450,000 per year.
In response to the new Charter, the BBC and its Director General Tony Hail set out
their mission to inform, educate and entertain in a speech to staff:
Our task is to reinvent public service to present public broadcasting for a new
generation and also to ensure it works for all audiences so that everyone in the
country gets value from the BBC.
Why is this so important? During the debates about the Charter we learned
something vital: the public continue to believe strongly in the BBC ‘s mission.
When we look at how society is changing, see the B8C’s mission as more
important to the UK than ever (BBC, 2017)
The main points set out in the Annual Report were:
To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage
with the world around them.
To support learning for all ages.
To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services.
To reflect, represent and serve the direct communities of all the UK’s nations and
regions, and in doing so support the creative economy across the UK.
To reflect the UK, its culture and values to the world. (BBC, 2018)
Marketing
It is important, as with all media forms, that the radio station markets itself to the
potential audience. Radio uses some of the following strategies:

cross-platform marketing websites linked to a specific station
BBC Taster : allows audiences to sample new programmes and interact with the BBC. the schedule: the station’s output will be marketed regularly throughout the
day on the radio with trailers. The schedule is also published and particular
programmes may be covered in more detail in articles in the press, for example in
the Radio Times.
Discussion focused programmes; the format of many speech-based programmes is
a group of people talking about a series of or one specific topic, led by a presenter contributors: can be a range of different people brought onto the programme to add to its content and can include: experts in a particular topic, news correspondents and location reporters. The public can also be participants in radio programmes through phone-ins where they are encouraged to give their ideas and
opinions related to events and issues.
Dramas: part of Radio 4’s speech-led output is its dramas, which include works
from new writers, a soap opera and adaptations of novels.
Documentaries: cover a range of topics and are an important feature of the Radio
4 schedule.
Outside broadcasts: the versatility of the radio medium allows programmes to
be easily broadcast from different national and global locations. For example, The
Listening Project is a partnership between BBC Radio 4, BBC local and national
radio stations, and the British Library. Since 2012 the project has invited people in
different locations around the country to have their conversations on a range of
topics recorded. These would then be archived in the British Library’s permanent
audio archive

industry: Set Product Late Night Woman’s Hour
The impact of digitally convergent media platforms on media production, distribution and circulation Late Night Woman’s Hour is an interesting example of how Radio 4 is evolving and fulfilling its mission to provide content that will appeal to a younger demographic. Part of the success of this product is the fact that it is distributed across different platforms, which suits the listening patterns of a younger audience who may be less familiar with listening to live radio programmes.
Woman’s Hour has long been considered to be a safe, if slightly worthy, staple of
the daytime Radio 4 schedule. Until now, few would have described it as cool, and
nobody would expect it to turn the airwaves blue. All that has changed now Lauren
Laverne has taken the helm of a new late night version of the long-running show that is shaking up some of the cosier conventions of BBC speech radio. (Glennie, 2015)

Consider how Late Night Woman’s Hour fulfils the remit of the BBC to inform, educate and entertain. It is a specialised programme, specifically produced to target a niche audience. The fact that the BBC is funded by the licence fee allows the channel greater freedom to be more creative and experimental with its programming content. The programme has low production values, no music, location reporting or clever editing, the focus is the calibre of the guests and their discussion topics. This style of programme may be deemed too risky for more commercial channels that have to attract advertisers by securing audience numbers.
Consider how Late Night Woman’s Hour fits a specialised profile of Radio 4 and how
it conforms to the codes and conventions of speech-led radio broadcasts:
The presenter: Lauren Laverne has proved a successful choice for this
programme. She is of a similar age to the target audience and will be known to
them as both a television presenter and one of the main anchors of BBC Radio 6
music.
Applying Theory
Regulation: Livingstone and Lunt
Consider how you could apply and critically explore the following aspects of Livingstone and Lunt’s theory to Late Night Woman’s Hour:
The idea that there is an underlying struggle in recent UK regulation policy between the need to further the interests of the citizens (by offering protection from harmful or offensive material) and the need to further the interests of consumers (by ensuring choice, value for money and market competition). BBC Television and Radio is self-regulatory in the first instance. As a media organisation it is responsible for working with production companies to ensure that it does not breach regulatory codes. The new unitary BBC Board is responsible for ensuring that the BBC fulfils its mission as set out in the 2017 Charter. The Board is accountable for all the BBC ‘s activities. Where there are concerns the BBC has the option to give pre-programme warnings and to schedule programmes after the watershed. The BBC is also externally regulated by Of com who can act in response to audience complaints.
Radio has retained an appeal for audiences for the following reasons:
It is an undemanding form. It does not ask for complete concentration
from listeners, allowing them to do other things while listening, for
example driving.
It distributes its content on other platforms to broaden access to the content. In 2016/2017 BBC online was used by 51% of UK adults and was one of the top five highest-reaching websites. BBC content on Facebook globally was 6.9 million per week (BBC, 2017). BBC iplayer Radio has also taken measures to improve its homepages to be more attractive to audiences.
It is referred to as a companion medium because omits intimacy with audiences. Many programmes also offer opportunities for the audience to interact. The form also encourages intimacy with the direct mode of address adopted.
Audiences: Social and Cultural Context
The fact that Radio 4 has produced a programme in the style of Late Night Woman’s
Hour reflects its concern that it has not previously produced content that appealed to
a broad spectrum of society, particularly in relation to targeting younger women. This
move also reflects a shift in society with regards to the changing roles of women and
the demands of this audience to have programmes on both radio and television that
cater for their interests and concerns.
Although Late Night Woman’s Hour has direct links with the long running radio
programme Woman’s Hour, which itself has a very specific audience, the late night
scheduling time, the largely all female line-up and the often controversial subject
matter suggests the targeting of a new audience of independent young women who
were previously underrepresented on Radio 4.
How audiences are grouped and categorised by media industries, including by
age, gender and social class, as well as by lifestyle and taste
Late Night Woman’s Hour is a good example of how a media product and industry
can group an audience. This makes the programme easier to market for the BBC
as the target audience is clearly defined.
The audience group is suggested by the programme’s content, reflecting gender
age, lifestyle and taste. In the set product Home there is a distinct sense of
middle-class values as highlighted through the discussion of dinner parties,
quilting, tea lights.
There is an expectation that the female listener will have a historical understanding
or a wish to learn about how women’s roles have changed since the 19505. There
is also an assumption that the women listening are professional and independent
and have a particular set of values.
Applying Theory
‘End of Audience’ Theory: Clay Shirky
Shirky (2009) suggested that the internet and digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relations between media and individuals. In his theory he puts forward the idea that audiences have changed as the ways in which they can access media products have revolutionised access and ability to interact with and respond to
media products. Consider how advances in digital technologies, as outlined by Shirky, have allowed radio to exist as a viable platform with a distinct relationship with its listeners.

 

task 2 – Exam Questions Planning (1 hour):

Spend 30 minutes (each question) planning a detailed response to the questions below. Use the PEETA model when you are planning your response.

Question 1 – With reference to Late Night Woman’s Hour to support your points, how does radio use ‘star’ presenters to target audiences. [10]

Question 2 – Explain the impact of media technologies on audience consumption of radio. Refer to Late Night Woman’s Hour to support your points. [10]

Theories to use:

• Reception Theory (Hall)

Preferred

• The audience accepts that messages contained within the product as the producer intended
• Usually the case if a product reflects that ideas and beliefs of the audience.

Negotiated

• Where the audience accepts some of the products’s messages and disagree with others.

Oppositional

• Where the audience does not agree with the values, attitudes and beliefs of the products or its content. This may be related to the culture, gender, or other factors affecting audience response.

 

• Fandom (Jenkins)

Henry Jenkins Fandom

Jerkin’s work is focused on open participation on circulation of textual meanings
fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorised by the media producers
fans construct their own social and cultural identities through borrowing and inflicting mass culture images, and are part of a participatory culture that has a visual social dimension.

 

• ‘End of Audience’ (Shirky)

Shrinky’s theory states that:

• that the internet and digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relation between media and individuals
• the arguments that audience members are passive consumers of mass media content is no longer relevant in the age of the internet, as media consumers have now become producers who ‘speak back to’ the media in various ways, as well as creating and sharing content with one another.
• Educate the users

Summary of End of Audience theory

• he believes there are no longer passive audiences
• 21st century audiences interact with the media
• This change in behaviour may be due to the advances in technology – YouTube, Social media…
• gives-and-take interaction with the media
• audiences prefer to ‘speak back’ to producers
• Audiences feel more empowered they impact media. Not just shown and told message.

 

• Power & the Media (Curran & Seaton)

• the idea that the media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power.
• The idea that media concentration generally limit or inhibits variety, creativity and quality.
• The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media products

 

• Regulation (Livingstone & Lunt)

• Regulations just means rules
• Often to do with protecting the audience from harm, which can cause conflict because it can be seen that something harmful to someone but not to another.
• social media being regulated, such as “harmful material” and you have to click to see it.
• Powerful companies can avoid regulations.

 

Question 2 – Explain the impact of media technologies on audience consumption of radio. Refer to Late Night Woman’s Hour to support your points. [10]

 

 

 

Task 3 – Exam Question Response (1 hour):

Select one of the questions and, using the plan and the PEETA model, write an extended response to the question. (300 words)

 

Technology has over time improved and has developed allowing more people than ever to listen to other radio stations and there programmes created. It allow programmes such as LNWH to reach a globally to people around the global gathering more audiences around the rather than their specialised audience. The producer Lauren has promoted the show on her radio for millions to see, and therefore that would of further gained more audiences to listen in or to listen in at a later date, as audiences can listen to the radio show whilst doing over things, and listen into the radio show. it is portable and available for audiences to listen to at anytime. Radio used to be only available when they were being broadcasted, and audiences had to listen at that specific time. Woman’s Hour was available in the 1940s, for audiences to listen in, however, younger women aged 40-55 were finding it harder to engage with the content of Woman’s Hour, as they felt it didn’t reflect the growing complexity of their modern lives. They could only listen to the programme when aired and now audiences can listen wherever.

Furthermore, there are catch up programmes such as Iplayer where audiences can catch on their favourite shows they didn’t get to view the previous day or when it was aired. Again allowing audiences the chance to view the show on their own time. We can apply Shirky’s end of audience were BBC radio 4 also have their own social media pages to promote their shows with clips and articles etc. its a great way of targeting a larger, global, modern audience. The webpages for LNWH on the BBC site allows audiences to ‘interact’ by listening to clips, doing quizzes, commenting etc.

However, some women might enjoy the idea of a programme aimed specifically at them and their needs. LNWH is a slot of the show might limit the number of listeners as it is quite and many people would be in bed. Online digitally converged technologies have allowed audiences to circumnavigate schedules and listen ‘on demand’ via BBC sounds, the official LNWH web page, the app etc.

 

 

 

 

Task 4 – Mrs. Fisher video (30 min)

Watch and take notes on Mrs. Fisher’s video on Radio:

 

• The BBC is a global conglomerate, that has a huge number of TV channels and radio stations, as well as films, magazines, comics etc.
• The BBC is funded through the TV License fee, paid for by every eligible household in the UK. It costs £154.50 per year.
• even though its called a TV License fee, the BBC use it to fund all their products including their radio products.
• Many of the general public dislike having to pay the license fee. They feel it is too much money for what they get.
• Because the BBC is publicly funded, they have to be responsible with that money, not wasteful, and must fulfil their PSB remit.
• PSB have to ensure their products inform and educate, as well as entertain, and also reflect diversity.
• ‘Home’ does include an all female panel, giving women a more prominent voice than they often get in other media products.
• Some people argue that LNWH focuses on white middle class females, and fails to include a range of other women.
• Their PSB remit means their programmes must have an informational or education benefit.
• Whereas commercial companies have to attract large numbers of audiences to get advertising revenue.
• This means that the BBC don’t have to worry about featuring mainstream content to attract large mass audiences. they can, if they wish, focus on more niche content, aimed at specialised audiences.
• LNWH might be considered niche, as it is a spoken word programme, with no music, high level language, complex topics, and an educational feel.
• LNWH is a spin off, or ‘sister show’ to Woman’s Hour. Woman’s Hour is a radio show that has been running since the 1940s.
• Younger women aged 40-55 were finding it harder to engage with the content of Woman’s Hour, as they felt it didn’t reflect the growing complexity of their modern lives.
• LNWH was formed to appeal to those audiences. It is on at 11pm and often features more controversial and adult content.
• The 11pm time slot is also good for targeting women who may be busy in earlier evening with their own families.
• However, some women might enjoy the idea of a programme aimed specifically at them and their needs.
• LNWH is a slot of the show might limit the number of listeners as it is quite and many people would be in bed.
• Online digitally converged technologies have allowed audiences to circumnavigate schedules and listen ‘on demand’ via BBC sounds, the official LNWH web page, the app etc.
• This can cause issues in terms of regulation for Ofcom, the regulatory body in terms of radio and television.
• Ofcom demand that more adult content is scheduled after the ‘watershed’ which is often considered to be at 9pm
• Because of technology audiences can now access the more adult content of many LNWH eps at any time of the day, not just after 9pm.
• Lauren Laverne had a reputation in her younger years as being wild, rebellious and a bit of a ‘ladette’
• So the choice of picking her as a presenter communicates a slightly controversial alternative rebellious nature of the programme LNWH.
• LNWH might be seen as challenging Curran and Seaton’s theory as it is not focused on profit.
• Some older women, or those with more old fashioned values, might find the content of LNWH too shocking. Or they may enjoy the Home ep at it based around domesticity.
• Some feminist listeners might have been disappointed by the episode as it focuses on the household and perhaps might feel too old fashioned for them.
• When Lauren presented the programme she used twitter to regularly promote the show to her millions of followers.
• BBC radio 4 also have their own social media pages to promote their shows with clips and articles etc. its a great way of targeting a larger, global, modern audience.
• The webpages for LNWH on the BBC site allows audiences to ‘interact’ by listening to clips, doing quizzes, commenting etc.
• Audiences listen to radio as it is easy to access, available portable, easy to consume whilst doing other things.

 

 

 

 

Task 5 – Late Night Women’s Hour booklet (3 hours)

Read and take notes on the extensive booklet (attached at the bottom) on the Radio case study, Late Night Woman’s Hour. Instead of completing tasks, I would like you to put these a summary of these notes into either a spider diagram or PowerPoint presentation – and then upload onto your WordPress blog.

Late Night Women’s Hour

Subject specific skills you are will be utilising this week:

• Analyse media texts: Examine media language, representation, industry and audience (AO1)
• Exam writing skills 

Task 1 – Media Studies textbooks (1 hour)

• Read and take notes on Chapter 5 (p.180-185) of your Yr1 Media Studies textbook on key approaches used to study online media products. (30 min)

The media language of online products: how blogs, vlogs and online videos communicate meanings through their form, codes, conventions and techniques.

Representations: the way individuals and social groups are represented in blogs, vlogs and online videos.

Industry: the impact of recent technological change on media production, distribution and circulation as well as the significance of economic factors in relation to online media forms

Audiences: how the producers of blogs and vlogs target, attract, reach, address and potentially construct audiences, and how audiences interact with and respond.

Digital technologies and the growth of the internet have dramatically altered the media landscape, challenging traditional understandings of the relationship between media producers, products and audiences.

The growth cultural significance of content creators such as Zoella, is not only evident in the number of subs that their blogs and YouTube channels attract, it is also apparent in the way their images circulate within the mass media and mainstream culture. I.e. Zoella has appeared on the cover of the Mail on Sunday’s You magazine.

Zoella and Alfie can be seen as prime examples of what Jean Burgess and Joshua Green refer to as YouTube stars – figures who, ‘despite their carefully cultivated “homegrown” brand identities, seem to be making a living via advertising revenue, reaching large audiences with content produced within and for YouTube, often with their own external websites as well’

Conventions of the Blog as a Media Form

A blog is a regularly updated website that features a series of entries posted in

chronological order. This means that the most recent entries or ‘posts’ appear first.

Blogs tend to be far more interactive than more traditional media forms. As well

as including hyperlinks that enable users to navigate between different parts of

the website, most blogs allow readers to respond to posts by adding their own

comments at the bottom of the blog page. Significantly, this not only enables users

to interact with the blogger, it also enables them to interact with one another.

 

Blogs come in many different forms and have a wide range of purposes or functions.

They can be political or personal, instructional or journalistic. Some are created by

amateurs while others are produced by professionals. They may be commercial or

non-commercial. They also cover a wide range of topics. There are food blogs, health

blogs, blogs, travel blogs, research blogs and news blogs to name just a few.

One of the most popular types of blog is the fashion, beauty and lifestyle blog. These

blogs usually offer a personal insight into the everyday life and interests of the blogger

For example, the blogger may share their personal beauty routines or discuss the places

they have recently been This is an important source of audience appear as, by sharing

personal thoughts and experiences in this way, the blogger builds a more intimate

relationship with their readers. Tanya Burr and Louise Pentland, who blogs under

the name ‘Sprinkle of Glitter’, are particularly popular exponents of this type of blog.

 

 

Types of Vlog

The term vlog is used to describe a blog in video form.

many different types of These include:

Personal vlogs – Videos in which the logger shares their thoughts, experiences or feelings with viewers. The vlogger generally uses a direct mode of address, speaking straight into the camera in the style of a video diary. The predominant use of close-ups combined with minimal editing help to foster a sense of intimacy and authenticity. The illusion of face-to-face conversation that this creates is commonly described aspara-social interaction.

 

Analysing Blogs and Vlogs Using Semiotic Theory

While some signs function at the level of denotation, others function at the level of connotation and myth. In applying semiotic theory to the online product, you are studying, you should consider the significance of the paradigmatic choices that have been made as well as the connotations of the various signs that are used. For example, when analysing the homepage of a blog or log it is important to think about the significance of its design. Although homepages often follow a similar format and have the same basic layout, there may be certain design features that contribute to the visual branding of the product. For instance, one of the ways in which YouTubers create a brand identity for their channel is through the customised banner that appears at the top of their homepage. This often includes a symbolic sign in the form of images, colours and typography that are used can also help to convey messages and meanings about the product, establishing a particular mode of address.

 

 

Representation

Gauntlett’s Theory of Identity

 

What is particularly significant about the new age of online media is that it off a much greater variety of resources to draw on as we undertake this task. As images and messages multiply online in seemingly limitless ways, this contributes, to ‘the perception of an open realm of possibilities’ (David Gauntlett, Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction, 2008, page 287). In other words, the plurality and dive; of online media representations gives us much more choice in terms of how

create and communicate a sense of who we are. An important part of Gauntlett’s theory of identity is the idea that the media provide US with resources in the form of stories. He suggests that ‘we use these narratives to frame our experiences and to bring order to the stream of “stuff” that goes on in our lives’ in this way, the stories that circulate in the media ‘provide an opportunity for individuals to think about the kind of person they want to be’ (Media, Gender and Identity: An Introduction, 2008,

page 272).

 

This is a particularly useful way of thinking about the function and appeal of blogs and vlogs. For example, by sharing their personal stories and experiences online, blogger and vloggers such as Zoella and Alfie Deyes provide fans with a means of imposing order and meaning on the ‘stuff’ that they experience in their own day-to-day lives.

 

 

• Read and takes notes on Chapter 5 (p.215-220) of your Yr2 Media Studies textbook on the Media Language aspects of online media products. (30 min)

multimodality and Hyper modality

When analysing different media forms, it is important to think ab h

communication they use for instance, whether they use writing. Websites are multimodal as they use a combination of modes to $32 or their meanings. While this is true of many other media forms, what makes websites different is their use of hyperlinks. As Jay Lemke points out, this means that ‘there are more kinds of connection than those provided for in print genres. [./t is not simply that we juxtapose image, text, and sound, we design multiple interconnections among them’ (Lemke, 2002). Lemke uses the term hypermodality to describe this extra level of interconnectedness that

online products typically possess,

 

 

Layout and Design

In terms of the layout and design of webpages, a distinction is often drawn between content that appears above the fold and that which appears below the fold. Content above the fold is immediately visible to the user without the need for scrolling, while content that is below the fold only becomes visible when the user scrolls down the page.

 

 

The Way Media Language Incorporates

Viewpoints and ideologies

As well as considering how meanings in your set online products are conveyed through binary oppositions, you will also need to explore how their use of media language incorporates viewpoints and ideologies. Of course, these two aspects of the theoretical framework are by no means mutually exclusive. As already suggested one of the ways in which media products incorporate viewpoints and ideologies is through the binary oppositions they set For example, when encoding messages

and meanings in terms of binary opposites, media producers will often favour or value one side over another. The discourses that are used in online products can also be seen to express viewpoints

and ideologies. For instance, the discourses of self-improvement that conventionally circulate within fashion, beauty and lifestyle blogs generally promote a particular ideas about gender and identity. Similarly, the discourses of consumerism that circulate in certain types of blog, vlog and online magazine have a significant ideological function as they promote a particular set of ideas, values and beliefs.

 

 

One of the theories that you will need to explore when analysing

Pointless Blog or Zoella is Jean Baudrillard’s theory of postmodernism.

As discussed in the television section of this chapter, a key aspect of this theory is the idea that the boundaries between the real world and the world of the media have collapsed or imploded so that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation. rise of media and online forms such as vlogs and blogs could be seen as symptomatic of cultural, as the lines separating real, everyday life the world of media have become increasingly blurred. in a digital age where we now live much of” our lives online, it might reasonably be argued that the real, everyday world is the world of media.

 

 

 

Online Media and the Loss of Meaning

significantly many of the criticisms that Baudrillard makes of postmodern culture have also been levelled against online media and vlogs and blogs more specifically For example, in an essay called ‘Figures of the Transpolitical’ Baudrillard talks about the ‘obscenity’ of overrepresentation, arguing that ‘that which was kept secret is now] represented beyond necessity.

This idea could be considered in relation to online media:

 

• How might vlogs, blogs and social media be seen to represent ‘that which was [once] kept secret’? Consider how they blur the boundaries between private public, for example.

 

• Can we see in these new media forms what Baudrillard describes as ‘the representation of nothing at Do they simply represent the trivial and the mundane for instance? Are they symptomatic of the superficiality or lack of depth that Baudrillard associates with postmodern culture?

 

 

Hyperreality and Digital Media

Baudrillard’s notion of the hyperreal can also be applied to digital media. This is where simulations displace reality and come to seem ‘more real than the real’ (1994). Evidence for this can be seen in the way that people attending concerts simultaneously record and watch the performance on their smartphones, almost as if the image on the screen is more real than the band or artist in front of them.

 

Task 2 – Exam Questions Planning (1 hour):

Spend 30 minutes (each question) planning a detailed response to the questions below. Use the PEETA model when you are planning your response.

P – point – a general discussion that demonstrates your knowledge.

E – Example – specific evidence from the product/s you have been asked to discuss.

E – Explain – give reasons for the example you have chosen eg connotations, contexts, potential audience response

T – Theory – apply the theory and discuss how its evident in a product.

A – answer – directly response to what the question asked of you.

 
Question 1 – To what extent is Zoella’s content a postmodern media text? Use p.218 to support you with this question.

• Baudrillard’s theory states that…in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation.
• …in a postmodern age of simulacra, we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’.
• …media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyper-reality).
• Simulacra – an image or representation of someone or something (an imitation of something which is real)
• Audience often prefer simulacra to real life.

Question 2 – How does Zoella use media language to connote an idealistic lifestyle?

Media language theories

Postmodernism (Baudrillard)

Structuralism (Levi Strauss)

• Structuralism is focused upon the underlying systems and structures through which meanings are produced.
• Texts can be understood through an examination of their underlying structure
• meaning is dependent upon and produced through pairs of opposites
• the way in which binary opposites are resolved can have particular ideological significance

Semiotics (Barthes)

• The idea that texts communicate their meaning through a process of specification.
• Connotations and denotations
• Denotations is the literal meaning communicated by the text
• Connotations is the meaning associated with the literal meaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Task 3 – Exam Question Response (1 hour):

Select one of the questions and, using the plan and the PEETA model, spend 30 min answering the question. (300 words)

Question 1 – To what extent is Zoella’s content a postmodern media text? Use p.218 to support you with this question.

• Baudrillard’s theory states that…in postmodern culture the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation.
• …in a postmodern age of simulacra, we are immersed in a world of images which no longer refer to anything ‘real’.
• …media images have come to seem more ‘real’ than the reality they supposedly represent (hyper-reality).
• Simulacra – an image or representation of someone or something (an imitation of something which is real)
• Audience often prefer simulacra to real life.

 

P – point – a general discussion that demonstrates your knowledge.

E – Example – specific evidence from the product/s you have been asked to discuss.

E – Explain – give reasons for the example you have chosen eg connotations, contexts, potential audience response

T – Theory – apply the theory and discuss how its evident in a product.

A – answer – directly response to what the question asked of you.

 

Baudrillard’s theory of postmodernism can be applied to the extent of how far Zoella content is in terms of being a postmodern piece of text. Youtubers like Zoella are posting videos of their content which appeals to their target audience, with their videos seeming perfect in their vlogs and other content they post on there. It appeals to their target audience because they are seen as ‘real’ people with perfect lives, something that a person would want. But youtubers can script their videos, plan them so they know what to say and when to, they edit them only putting the clips they want their audience to watch, which makes their life look perfect and easy to live. YouTube as a platform has grown over the years, and more and more people have begun watching YouTube more often then they watch the TV, as the content is on their phones or laptops ready to watch whenever, wherever. In Zoella’s vlogs and other content such as haul videos, it seem on the point filming, or in her vlogs seems like what she does every day, however she has edited that in way to reach her target audience, and youtubers have different way of editing that is unique to them, that their audiences can recognise as that creators editing style. Baudrillard’s theory of postmodernism can be applied to Zoella’s content in the terms that her audience sees the hyperreality that Zoella has created. This theory states that ‘the boundaries between the ‘real’ world and the world of the media have collapsed and that it is no longer possible to distinguish between reality and simulation.’ What Zoella produces isn’t a realistic representation of a real life that someone would have. Zoella’s vlogs and other creators like Alfie Deyes Vlogs can be seen as the notion of simulacrum. Where the audience prefer the simulacra rather than their normal very real lifestyles they have. Zoella content fits the aspects of what postmodernism suggests about life and the world of media. She has positioned herself which shows her everyday life as real and authentic when it isn’t, it is imagery that has been replaced with realism.

 

Attitude booklet

mild, hot, spicy task done at the end of booklet

INDUSTRY

you will need to As well as conducting a textual analysis of your set magazine D In the Year 1 book, We explore the Industry contexts in which they have been produced, focusing in particular on; looked at the industry contexts of the historical magazines. patterns of ownership and control in the magazine industry the influence of economic factors on magazine products the way in which the UK magazine industry is regulated. In this section, we will consider the impact of recent techno leg | ICE Chan magazine industry, looking more specifically at the industry context. contemporary magazines were produced. We will also explore Livingstone and Lunt’s theory of regulation and discuss how Curran and Seaton theory of power and media industries might be evaluated.

Mainstream and Alternative Magazines

When looking at the industry contexts of the set magazines, it is important to consider the ways in which alternative media differ from mainstream media, model for exploring some of these differences is provided by Bailey, A Useful Carpentier (2007). They suggest that mainstream media is generally:

• Large-scale and geared towards large, and homogeneous (Segments of) audiences
• state-owned organisations or commercial companies:
• vertically (or hierarchically) structured organisations staffed by Professionals
• carriers of dominant discourses and representations.

In contrast, alternative media tend to be:

• small-scale and oriented towards specific communities, possibly disadvantaged
• groups independent of state and market
• horizontally (or non-hierarchically) structured, facilitating greater audience access and participation
• carriers of non-dominant (possibly counter-hegemonic) discourses and representations.

It is, however, important to be aware that mainstream and alternative are historically relative concepts. As Bailey et al. (2007) point out, what is considered alternative at one point in time may be regarded as mainstream at another. For example, cultural forms, traditions or genres that originate outside of the dominant culture may subsequently be appropriated or co-opted by the mainstream.
The Economic Context of Magazines

Although independent publishers are not generally driven by the same ‘Logic and power’ (Curran and Seaton, 2003) as the larger publishing houses, they still need to generate revenue in order to survive. As Megan Le Masurier (2012) points out: Independent magazines may not be made purely or primarily for commercial gain, but they are deliberately made for safe.

while most magazines generate revenue through advertising as well as their cover the fact that independent magazines are not made purely or primarily for commercial gain means that they are often more selective than mainstream magazines in terms of the advertising they choose to For many independent publishers, carry maintain the integrity and identity of the magazine is more important than

maximising profit. In order to do this, they have to ensure that the advertisements they care/ fully cohere with the magazines brand values and editorial philosophy. Within more commercial mainstream companies, these priorities are often. reversed, as magazine content is sometimes tailored to suit the needs and interests of advertisers. For example, when a nylon company called British Nylon Spinners paid £7,000 for a double page spread the magazine’s publishers agreed not to include any articles in Woman in 1956, which prominently featured natural fibres in the same issue’ (Winship, 1987). As this demonstrates, the need to attract, retain and appease advertisers can influence the decisions that editors make about what to include in a magazine and how that content should be presented.

 

Industry Context: OPTION 3: The big Issue

Since 2011, The Big Issue has been published in partnership with the independent media company Dennis Publishing. Under the terms of the partnership, la Ennis provides support with subbing, production and design. It is also responsible for generating advertising revenue. The Big issue’s business model is primarily designed to support those who are homeless or experiencing poverty by enabling them to become street vendors entrepreneurs. However, over the past decade, The Big issue has diversified into a number of different business areas.

Alongside the magazine, there is also an independently funded charity, The Big issue Foundation, which provides Support and guidance to vendors in areas such as training, education, health and housing. The Big issue Group also has a social investment arm, Big issue invest, which helps to finance sustainable social enterprises and charities, and a social trading platform, The Big issue Shop, which aims to promote ‘social consumerism’ or ‘shopping with asocial echo’ (The Big issue Shop, 2018). This is where the purchases that consumers make have a positive social impact. lt might involve purchasing eco-friendly products, for instance, or buying products from organisations that use the profits to support social enterprises or charitable causes.

The impact of Recent Technological change on the Magazine Industry

One of the issues that you will need to consider as you study your contemporary magazine is the relationship between recent technological change and magazine production, distribution and circulation. You will also need to exp fore the impact of digitally convergent platforms on the magazine industry.

Magazine Production

Interns of production, one of the most important changes in the magazine industry in the past 40 years has been the rise of desktop publishing (DTP). Computer technology and design programs have made it far easier for individuals and smaller, independent companies to publish magazines without the support of major publishing houses. For this reason, desktop publishing is often said to have democratised the magazine industry.

Magazine Distribution

Recent technological change has also had a significant impact on magazine distribution, distribution Involves;

• persuading retailers to stock the magazines that the distributor handles
• ensuring that the magazines are delivered in the right quantity and at the right time to the most appropriate retail outlets
• marketing the magazines that the distributor is responsible for (by placing promotional displays at the point-of-sale, for instance)
• importing and exporting physical copies of magazines.

However, the growth of digital distribution has led to some significant cultural changes in the magazine industry. In particular, this has made it much easier for magazine publishers to reach specialised audiences on both a national and global scale. As Megan Le Masurier (2012) points out: Online marketing, distribution and social networking have allowed the indies to develop what could be called a ‘global niche’ of readers whose specialized interests are not limited by location but connect horizontally across national borders. Adbusters and Huck are good examples of this, as online marketing and distribution has helped them to develop a global network of readers with shared values or interests.

 

Digital platforms have also proved particularly useful for The Big issue enable to reach audiences who would not otherwise be able to access the magazine in because they live in remote locations or because there are no vendors in the other. The rise of digital newsstands, such as Zinio, which is a multiplatform distribution. At a service for digital magazines, further demonstrates the impact of recent to on the magazine industry, as thousands of titles, including The Big Issue are made available for distribution through these services.

Digital Convergence in the Magazine Industry As digital convergence enables publishers to disseminate content across multiple platforms, this has led an increasing number of magazines to adopt a digital first strategy. Huck is a good example of this cultural trend. As the

magazine’s editor-in chief, Andrea Kurland, explains: Everything we do online becomes our field notes – we can test things out, and if something seems to resonate, or if an interviewee introduces us to a new Mover.it becomes a great entry point for features in the printed magazine.

lt is commonly argued that in the new digital age, publishers can no longer rely on print alone.  “You have to think in terms of transmedia storytelling, commissioned that would work as a short film? Can a beautiful illustration be turned into an animated GIF for lnstagram? Could a great interview be exposed into a podcast series?” (McDermott, 2018)

The increasing importance of transmedia storytelling in the magazine industry is reflected in the way that videos are posted to accompany or supplement articles either on the magazine’s website or through social media platforms such as YouTube. For example, a video to accompany the ‘Teenage Utopia’ feature in the set edition of Huck was made available through the magazine’s website and YouTube channel.

 

Regulation

REGULATICN THEORY- LIVINGSTONE

Recent technological changes also raise certain issues in terms of how the magazine

Industry is regulated. Livingstone and Lunt’s theory of regulation. specified theories that you are required to study in relation to the magazine industry is particularly relevant in this regard. One of the key points that Livingstone and Lunt make is that the rise of convergent media technologies, together with transformations in the production, distribution and marketing of digital media, have placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk. For example, the fact that magazines today publish and distribute material across multiple platforms presents certain challenges in terms of how to regulate this content. Another factor that has placed traditional approaches to media regulation at risk, according to Livingstone and Lunt’s theory, is globalisation. Again, digital technologies have had a significant impact in this regard. For instance, although Adbusters is published in Canada, readers in the UK can purchase and instantly download the digital version from their website. Similarly, digital copies of The Big Issue and Huck can be downloaded in various international territories via Zinio. Regulators such as IPSO have been forced to re-evaluate their regulatory strategies in light of these developments. Noting that ‘digital publishing is transforming the way in which [magazines and newspapers] produce and present content’ (IPSO, 20171, IPSO launched a consultation in July 2016 in response to concerns about its jurisdiction over online content. The increasingly global nature of the magazine industry was one of the main issues that lPSO’s digital review addressed. Pointing out that a growing number of UK newspapers and magazines ‘have begun to develop international business models and are producing content from all over the world for a global audience/ IPSO (2017) the fact that its jurisdiction ‘now overlaps with the legal and regulatory of other countries, to which the content is also subject to some of the issues that you will need to consider as you apply Livingstone’s theory to your set magazines.

 

Power, Control and media concentration

POWER AND MEDIA INDUSTRIES THEORY: CURRAN AND SEATON

As well as Livingstone and Lunt’s theory of regulation, you will also need to explore Curran and Seaton’s theory of power and media industries. The main principles of this theory include the ideas that:

the media are controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the

• logic of profit and power
• media concentration generally limits or inhibits variety, creativity and quality
• more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions

 

The Extent of Media Concentration

Whether the magazine industry today is controlled by a small number of com Curran and Seaton suggest, is a matter of some debate. While the series of acquisitions and mergers that took place in the magazine industry during the 1960s enabled companies such as IPC to establish a dominant position within the market, power today is not as concentrated as it once was. This is partly due to changes that occurred during the 1980s, when several large European publishers entered the UK market, challenging the dominance of companies such as IPC and Condo Nast. Desktop publishing has also made the magazine industry more competitive than it once was. However, while there may be many more publishers operating today, some would argue that there is still a relatively small oligopoly of major

 

 

The Effects of Media Concentration

Another important aspect of Curran and Seaton’s theory is the idea that media concentration limits or inhibits variety, creativity and quality, as companies are less likely to innovate and more likely to cut costs if competition in the markets in which they operate is reduced. For example, Howard Cox and Simon Moffatt (2008) claim that lpc’s monopoly over the women’s weekly magazine market in the 1960s and 1970s generated an ‘air of complacency while ‘the very size of IPC lent itself to overgeneralisation and bureaucratisation, which tended to stile entrepreneurship and creativity. However, Curran and Seaton’s (2003) suggestion that ‘the victims of media concentration are variety, creativity and quality’ is open to question. For instance, it could be argued that media concentration gives larger companies the necessary economic capital to produce higher quality products. Companies such as IPC and Conde Nast were able to invest in high-quality col our printing during the 1950s and 60s because of their financial power.

 

Socially Diverse Patterns of Ownership

Curran and Seaton also claim that socially diverse patterns of ownership help to cream the conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions. This 5u99ests that innovation is more likely to be found in independently owned magazines, as large companies tend to be more risk averse. For example, Andrew Lowosky (2009) argues that independent magazines continue to lead the way, showing the mainstream media how to innovate and excite through their variety originality, tenacity, thoughtfulness creativity inspiration, individuality [and] defiance. in order to evaluate this aspect of Curran and Seaton’s theory you may find it useful to consider whether the contemporary magazine you have studied, which was produced outside the commercial mainstream, is more varied and adventurous than the historical magazine you have looked at, which was published under conglomerate ownership, However, you will need to bear in mind the significance of the historical contexts in which the magazines were produced. A magazine that appears relatively safe and commonplace by today’s standards may not have been seen in the same way at the time it was produced.

 

Audience Targeting

While some magazines target a mass audience, others are aimed at more specialised, niche. Since themid-20th century, the general trend within the magazine has been away from mass-market publications and towards more specialised in US titles aimed at specific audience segments. The circulation figures shown in the grid below provide a general indication of the audience reach for each of the set products. However, when analysing these circulation figures, it is important to bear in mind that Adbusters and Huck both target global audiences, whereas the other magazines are made specifically for the UK market (although there are different international editions of Vogue and The Big issue, the circulation figures here relate specifically to the British editions of these magazines). Historical context is also a significant issue, as traditional print magazines have seen a steady decline over the past 50 years. For example, while Woman’s circulation in 1965 was close to three million, today it is around 166,000

 

 

The Content and Appeal of Magazine Products

In exploring how magazine publishers target their audiences, you will need to consider the content and appeal of your set products. Magazines that feature more mainstream content are likely to have broader appeal than those that feature alternative, non-mainstream content. For example, Adbusters and Huck, which focus primarily on radical culture, have more niche appeal than traditional women’s weeklies such as Woman and Woman’s Realm, which are far more mainstream in terms of the topics they cover.

 

Woman and Woman’s Realm are both defined as general interest women magazines, whereas Vogue is a high-end women’s fashion magazine and there’s has a more specialised focus. ore The Big Issue also differs from Adbusters and Huck as it caters for both mass and While the ethics and purpose of the magazine would specialise audiences. celebrity and popular Culture to a primarily to reformers, it also uses entertainment, target a more mainstream audience.

Marketing and Distribution

As well as considering how magazine publishers target audiences through the content and appeal of their products, you also need to explore how audiences are targeted through marketing and distribution. Some of the points made in the previous ‘Industry’ section of this chapter can also be applied here. For example, the role of digital technologies and platforms in reaching specialised audiences is particularly relevant in terms of audience targeting.

The internet and social media have become increasingly important in magazine marketing in recent years. Platforms such as Twitter and Face book are commonly used to alert readers when a new issue of a magazine is about to be published. These social media posts often include links that direct readers to the magazine’s website, where the readers can preview articles or access additional content. The use of hashtags also encourages user participation and facilitates viral marketing, as key messages are passed from user to user through social networks. This form of online engagement is particularly useful for publishers and marketing companies, as it enables them to develop a clearer understanding of a magazine’s

readership, which means that they can target audiences more effectively. Huck’s

deputy editor, Clan Tray for, says in an interview:

“We’re constantly analysing our traffic to see whom reading what and where its being shared, feeding that back into strategies to expand our reach.” (McDermott, 2018) The internet and social media can also be used to target different demographics.

For example, Ben Sullivan, The Big issue’s digital editor, has talked about the need to reach a younger audience who have ‘grown up aware that The Big Issue’s on the street but because they’re digital-only, mobile-only, […] perhaps might not buy the magazine’ (Clarke, 2018). Making content available online is an important way of reaching this demographic:

We talk to a lot of amazing people and we want to make those convers. Io available to a wider audience online, which will also raise awareness of The Big Issue magazine. (Clarke, 2018)

 

 

Campaign trying to reach? Is the marketing message aimed at a similar demographic to the magazine’s existing audience or is it attempting to broaden the audience by targeting a different demographic? One of the ways in which has been marketed is by exploiting synergies with other brands. The content that TCO produced for Levi’s made prominent use of the Huck for instance, broadening awareness of the Huck brand within Levi’s key youth demographic. A potential crossover between Huck and its sister title, Little White Lies, was also developed when, in 2009, the graphic designer Geoff McFetridge was commissioned to produce a piece of cover artwork that would run across the two magazines. In order to collect the complete artwork, readers had to buy both Magazines.

 

How Magazines Construct Their Audiences

Targeting audiences, various ways. For example, magazines can also be seen to construct their

audiences in Gerbner’s cultivation theory suggests that exposure to repeated patterns of representation over long periods of time can Shape and influence the way In which people perceive the world around them. The idea particle largely applicable to women’s magazines, Similarly, The Big Issue could be seen to shape and influence audience

• understandings of social inequality. By challenging the dominant discourses that surround homelessness and poverty, the magazine aims to change public perceptions, shaping the values, attitudes and beliefs of its readers.

 

How Audiences Use and Interpret Magazine Products

You will also need to explore how audiences use and interpret your set magazines the audience theories that we introduced in the Year 1 book are particularly relevant For example, Hall’s reception theory outlines the different ways in which audiences or read or decode media products, while Blumer and Katz’s uses and gratification looks at how media products can be used by audiences to satisfy different needs. Further to this, you will need to consider:

The way in which audience interpretations of your set magazines may reflect social, cultural and historical circumstances. For example, audiences at the time when the historical magazines were published are likely to have viewed them differently compared with audiences today. This is because social and cultural norms, values, attitudes and beliefs change over time.

The influence of demographic factors, identity and cultural capital on the way in which magazines are used. Demographic factors such as gender, age or social class are likely to have a significant effect in terms of how readers use a magazine.

Whether they see it as a form of escapism, whether they identify with or relate to the representations that it features, or whether they aspire to become more like the people who feature in the magazine will be determined to some extent by these demographic factors as well as other aspects of identity such as the readers values, attitudes and beliefs. Cultural or subcultural capital can be another influential factor, how much the reader already knows about the subcultural and countercultural movements magazines such as Adbusters and Huck document is to determine how they use magazines.

 

How Audiences Interact with Magazines

Another issue that is worth considering when analysing your set magazine readers engage and interact with these products. To what extent do the how solicit and facilitate audience interaction and participation? This is likely to see publication to publication. Magazines such as Adbusters, for example. readers to submit their own photographs or artwork. While the majority of articles in The Big Issue are written by professional magazine does provide a space for vendors to tell their own stories in the ‘My Pitch’s no lists section. You may also find it useful to see whether your set magazine has a letters Page a problem page where readers’ voices are heard. For the contemporary magazine products, you could also look at the magazines’ websites and social media looking at how they facilitate audience interaction.

 

 

Vogue booklet

 

Mild, Hot, Spicy task

Make connections
Think about what you have been learning in Media Studies this week. How does it link to and build on what you already know? Have any of the key concepts been covered in earlier units or in other subjects?

In the last week or soin media, we have been linking back to year 12 theories, testing our memory and using key specialist terminology in order to gain the best marks overall in the exam, and to help us with our knowledge overall. We do some theories in criminology that links back to media, there are topics that also link which helps me deepen the knowledge and help me understand the theories in both subjects. There is also another theory, Todorov theory is very similar to another theory we do in English called Freytag theory which made me think about books and tv shows/movies and how they conform to those theories.

Representation

When considering representation in magazines we will be analysing them in relation to:

• the genre (and ideologies of consumers driven by the need to ‘deliver’ readers to advertisers
• the social cultural and historical context

Dominant representations of women in vogue magazine

• housewives, traditional, sexual, consumers negative, domestic, beauty, fashion, physical appearance, glamour, feminine, modern, female identity, popular, classy, stylish, upper class, beauty, unique, freedom, material, luxury.

The Big Issue is a very different magazine from Vogue. Here are some key facts to get us started.

Set edition – October 17-23-2016

Published weekly by Dennis and The Big Issue Ltf. 1992 to present.

Price- £2.50

Circulation – 82,000 readership

Genre – independent/current affairs/entertainment/street magazine

Tagline – ‘A hand up not a handout’ (about supporting someone, suggesting there is an effort on every party, to those who make the magazine, to those sell them and to those who buy them.)

From an award winning magazine offering employment opportunities to people in poverty, to a multi million pound social investment business supporting enterprise to drive social change. For over 25 years The Big Issue group has strived to dismantle poverty through creating opportunity , in the process of becoming one of the most recognised and trusting brand in the UK.

How might the impact the contents of the magazine?

How might the influence the representations of different/cultural groups presented in The Big Issue.

Richard Dyer’s Typography of Representation (1983) – Theory

• Richard Dyer suggests that when considering representation it is important to ask several questions about the text being analysed…
• What sense of the world is it making? (re-presentation)
• What does it imply? is it typical of the world or deviant?
• Who is it speaking to? To whom? For whom?
• What does it represent to us and why?
• How do we respond to the representations?

Daily Mail fetish advert:

Who do you think the adverts are aimed at and what does this reveal about the audience of The Big Issue?

The audience of this advert would be open-minded based on this advert because of them being dressed in drag. They wouldn’t be for a more right-wing political stance, and not for those who are more traditional. The advert would be aimed at open-minded younger audiences, younger audiences may be there secondary audience.

Generally, how are people being represented across the advert? How does this fit with the genre of The Big Issue?

The representation of people across the magazine are represented positivity, with body positivity,  helping people out and being kind to another with tips and tricks for those who are in need or need help for them to read. The genre of the magazine is independent, and encouraging to others. There isn’t much stereotyping in the magazine, unlike Vogue where stereotypes of being beautiful and needing to look good for others.

How do the adverts differ from the studied in Vogue? Why do you think that is?

In vogue the main stereotypes Gauntlett identifies is the idealised figure of the prefect housewife. The stereotype has a long cultural history as traditional women’s magazines have often placed particular emphasis on the domestic sphere with women primarily represented as wives, mothers and homemakers. Whereas, In The Big Issue, woman and men are represented as a whole positively. They show how far society has changed and been influenced for the better. In Vogue women’s magazines it  constantly reiterate the need to ‘Be More Beautiful’, first telling their readers what they should aspire to look like and then providing them with the necessary tools to achieve the desired ‘look’

Box set adverts:

I think this advert is aimed at an older audience, with the box sets being an older television show. This shows the magazine is aimed towards an elder audience, as this show is one that an elder audience would be interested n purchasing.

This creates a positive representation as its including something an older audience will enjoy, making the magazine more inclusive to all ages and accepting everyone. This fits with the entertainment genre of the magazine and shows the acceptance.

This differs with Vogue as there’s no negative representation about gender or portraying the ‘perfect life’ to the reader. This is because this magazine is more modern and cares about funding the magazine then a negative portrayal of their audience.

Benefits Aware advert:

I think this advert is aimed at the elder audience for the magazine, and the working class area. This reveals the audience is hard working and cares about the current social situations and shows the audience may have been through troubling situations like the sellers of the magazine.

This creates a positive representation of the audience as it raises awareness of negative situations and how the audience may help. The smiling woman in the advert pushes the positivity of the advert and how happy she now is because of the readers help.

This positive representation differs from Vogue as it shows a more positive lifestyle that the audience can help with. This advert may also allow the reader to relate to the advert as they may have been in the same situation. This advert differs from Vogue as this modern magazine shows acceptance to those struggling and also portrays them in an accepting way.

Moving on advert 

• How are representations of social groups constructed?

The representations of social groups are positive, they are constructed in a positive way. They are represented as those who have gone from nothing to being successful.

• How do these representations reflect the industry context/ ideology of The Big Issue?

The representations in The Big Issue reflect the ideology of The Big Issue, because it is about helping others. The magazine is about supporting someone, suggesting there is an effort on every party, to those who make the magazine, to those sell them and to those who buy them. And this article is showing that they have influenced and helped others from need.

• How it the audience positioned in relation to these representations?

The audience is positioned to feel sympathy and happy for the people in advert. They are positioned in a positive light and audiences may feel sympathetic towards those in the article.

• How can David Gauntlett’s ideas be applied to this advert?

Gauntlett asserts that the media provide us with the tools or resources that we use to construct our own identities. Advertising offers us the models, he suggests that they then ‘pick and mix’ which aspects if the products they want to use in the construction of their identities. Therefore, in this advert they can pick and mix from their courageous personalities, to strive to be better.

 

‘Letter To My Younger Self’  by Grayson Perry

• The article lectures representations of social group that have traditionally been underrepresented and misrepresented. The article can be viewed in a contemporary social/cultural context where is increased understanding of gender fluidly and non-binary notions of gender.
• According to The Guardian, ‘there were advances in 2015 for trans visibility and rights’ – visibility in the media through, for example, really TV star Caitlyn Jenner and the sitcom ‘Boy Meets Girl’ on BBC2.
• Dr Joy Stewart of the group Gendered intelligence was quoted in the Huffington Post as saying that Britain is ‘moving towards an era where it is a fundamental human rights for each of us to self-determine our gender identity’

 

How does Grayson Perry’s representation in the article demonstrate intersection between gender and sexuality?

Theories of identity – David Gauntlett  (Gauntlett asserts that the media provide us with the tools or resources that we use to construct our own identities. Advertising offers us the models, he suggests that they then ‘pick and mix’ which aspects if the products they want to use in the construction of their identities.) 

Feminist theory – Lisebet van Zoonen

• gender is constructed through discourse (written or visual communication) and that its meaning varies according to the cultural and historical context.
• The display of women’s bodies as objects to be looked at is a core element of western patriarchal culture
• In mainstream culture the visual and narrative codes that are used to construct the male body as spectacle differ from those used to objectify the female.
• Men’s body is seen as strong

 

The article talks about Perry’s struggles growing up, because his parents didn’t accept him and how he overcame them slowly. He has not transitioned, but he is a transvestite, so he dresses up as a woman. There is a fine line between gender and sexuality, David Gauntlett theory can be applied to this article…

 

Alternative representation of gender in the 1965

NOVA magazine

• Emergence of contrasting messages and images
• Majority of magazines reinforced the stereotype of the ‘happy housewife’
• Minority of magazines offered more progressive representation of gender. These reflected a growing sense of female independence and liberation

Exam question to think about:

Does the Vogue magazine reinforce traditional gender stereotypes of the times?

Or does it offer a sense of female liberation and independence.

“Women magazines often offer contradictory messages and images” – David Gauntlett

 

Domesticity and gender stereotypes in women’s magazines

• David gauntlett identifies historical magazines significant use of the stereotypical perfect housewife.
• The stereotypes has long cultural history as a traditional women’s magazines have placed particular emphasis on the domestic place sphere (y1 textbook 168)
• Even though the stereotype of the ‘happy housewife’ was prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. Over 50% of working age women were in paid employment during this time
• By constructing ‘domesticity’ as a feminine ideal, these magazines and print adverts were reasserting the importance of traditional gender roles
•  Given that men occupy the majority of jobs and controlled corporations, this can be seen as reinforcing the dominant ideology of patriarchy

 

Van Zoonen

Compare Vogue to Big Issue

Discourse – communication from the media

Why is the Big Issue more likely to include representation of marginalised groups, over mainstream publications like Vogue?

The Big Issue is a more niche magazine compared to a mainstream magazine like Vogue. Vogue is targeted at those with more disposable income, rather than someone who reads The Big Issue. Magazines which targets AB or ABC1 readers often carry more expensive brands, like Vogue while those which are C2DE reader are more everyday brands like The Big Issue. The Big Issue is a global, independent, charity organisation magazine company. It runs off those affected by vagrancy, to help them. With The Big Issue there are employment opportunities for their target audience to those who need that help. Their tag line helps establish this ‘A hand up not a handout’ (about supporting someone, suggesting there is an effort on every party, to those who make the magazine, to those sell them and to those who buy them. Vogue on the other hand is a mainstream magazine, not niche like The Big Issue, using celebrities on their front cover like Sophia.

With Vogue being more mainstream, their target audience being females aged upto 35. It would be those with an interest with looking feeling good. They would be either aspirers or explorers, who enjoy instant results. They would be more willing to try on new products to see the results. They may, however, be a aspirer, someone who shows their brands off, and status off.

The Big Issue we can apply David Gauntlett theory, Gauntlett asserts that the media provide us with the tools or resources that we use to construct our own identities. Advertising offers us the models, he suggests that they then ‘pick and mix’ which aspects if the products they want to use in the construction of their identities. Articles in The Big Issue such as ‘Letter To My Younger Self’ may be able to help those who need it. Perry talks about his struggles as a child as a transvestite, with his parents not accepting him as he identifies as. This can be linked to David Gauntlett, because he may of been influenced, and then influenced others.

Damn you’re one clever gorl. Great analysis and inclusion of both Vogue and Issue, and the use of audience profiles is really effective. Maybe explain the theories and how they can impact the audience (but i didn’t do that either so😙🤞) . Also, maybe stop being so uh-oh-stinky. xoxo, loser gorl. PS green for Shrek 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Analysis of contents page and articles

Readship – how many are read

Circulation – how many sold

The readership will be higher than circulation

 

The Big Issue

• Sold outside of shops, not in shops
• Charity organisation
• Neutral nor left or right. (would say they are a little more left wing)
• against austerity
• Homeless people selling it, help them gain a living
• Pro Human rather than Pro economic
• 1991
• Social enterprise
• It is global magazine, in AUS, Korea…etc
• street paper revolution
• Since 1991, they have sold 200,000,000 copies in Britain alone
• 1991 has been changing life, allowing people to make a difference
• buying an issue, helps a life

 

Production context

Issue 1227, Published in October 2016 and celebrates the magazines 25th anniversary (1991)

• Celebrities often go onto this magazine to give back to the public.
• Different editions in 41 countries
• Guerilla marketing is used for The Big Issue – (Guerrilla – On streets its been promoted, so a spray print of Simpsons, which then go online, and goes viral. This is a good way of marketing and happens a lot.)

Target Audience 

C1 would read The Big Issue

Magazines / Semiotic analysis – Contemporary

http://resource.download.wjec.co.uk.s3.amazonaws.com/vtc/2016-17/16-17_1-32/_eng/unit2/2h-semiotic-analysis-big-issue.html

 

Ronald Barthes would say…The ’25’ in LED lights creates a ‘Hollywood’ / ‘Broadway’ sense of glitz and glamour which promotes an exaggerated perception of success and achievement

 

Vogue vs The Big Issue: What is the difference?

Vogue is a mainstream magazine and The Big Issue is alternative, made by a small company.

What is the difference in the cover?

Vogue is a fashion magazine so having a celebrity (star persona) on the front cover is their theme, to have popular artists who are good looking in order to attract their audience. Whereas The Big Issue cover is celebrating their 25th anniversary.

How do they reflect each text’s audience context?

Vogue is those for example, targets AB or ABC1 readers often carry more expensive brands, while those which are C2DE reader are more everyday brands. Whereas, C1 would be The Big Issue. Vogue is made for those with more disposable income, whereas The Big Issue is about helping those in need and making a difference.

 

Vogue: Contents page analysis

Dolce Vita is an italian film, and Vogue has italian links.

Dolce Vita means good life. The term

 

Feature Article Analysis WS – EloiseFeature Article Analysis WS (Ballantyne, Grace)Feature Article Analysis WS (Garthwaite, Thea)Feature Article Analysis WS.- me and LucyThe Big issue – Daisy, Harry, KateVogue analysis

 

 

Read and take notes on pages 182-3 (30 min)

5-Student-Notes-Media-Audiences_U2

Fanfiction is a common theme in Henry Jenkin’s theory. This example show how fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorised by the original producers. A key element of Jenkins’ theory.

Jenkins sees fandom as part of the broader phenomenon of participatory culture. The idea that fans are active participants in the production and circulation of textual meanings challenges the notion the audiences are simply passive consumers of media content.

For Jenkins, the type of meaning-making that fan engage in has a vital social dimension. This has been facilitated to a significant extent by the growth of digital technologies as fans are able to interact with one another in a variety of ways. For example, the rise of social media platforms such as Tumblr have made it easier for fans to share and exchange gifs, memes and other user-generated content online. This is something that AMC, the American network that co-produces Humans, actively encourages, as fans are invited to upload their own Humans artwork to the official AMC Tumblr.

As Jenkins points out: ‘media industries have had to embrace more participatory strategies in order to court and maintain relations with their fans’ (2013). Social media has played an important role in this regard as Twitter and Facebook are widely used to facilitate audience interaction.

The use of hashtags is a notable feature of marketing materials such as trailers and posters. Hashtags have also become increasingly prominent in the programmes themselves as audiences are encouraged to participate in online discussions about the programmes while they watch.

The responses posted by audiences on social media provide broadcasters with valuable information about who is watching their programmes and how they are being received. Companies such as Nielsen and Canvs analyse behavioural insights into the audience. For example, Canvs uses semantic analysis technology to track and categorise emotional reactions to television products as revealed through posts on Twitter.

Apply Stuart Hall’s Reception theory to both Life on Mars and The Bridge. (15 min)

Hall argues that all representations are constructed through signs and codes that are understood by the audience. He asserts that stereotyping reduces people and social groups to a few simple characteristics that are recognised to a audience because they are reinforced over time.

The Bridge

• Preferred reading – a “quality” crime drama, driven by enigmas and a classic investigative narrative. Will be enjoyed by fans of Nordic noir in particular.
• An oppositional reading may struggle to find Saga a sympathetic character. Audiences may view her apparent autism with concern, or find it difficult to connect to her emotionally as her responses are so different to our expectation and she lacks humour.
• Negotiated reading – A more conservative audience may respond negatively to the Swedish liberal attitudes to sex, gender and political correctness. But agree with other parts of the show such as Saga’s character.

 

Life on Mars

• Preferred reading – Those who enjoy 70S cop shows, like sweeny and might suggest that the 70s representation is intended to be ironic and should be accepted as such, in the belief that a contemporary audience viewing this would question and challenge these values, thus challenging the dominant social values of contemporary society.
• Oppositional reading – may struggle to find Hunt a sympathetic character. Audiences may view his attitudes and values as extremist and unacceptable for a modern audience, even in a historical setting. They may deplore the fact that Hunt clearly has elements of the flawed hero (Achilles) archetype
• Negotiated reading – traditionalists/resigneds may admire Hunt’s “old-fashioned
  values” without seeing him (through Tyler’s eyes) as flawed. They may see his hardline policing style as valid and accept his racist and sexist ideas. The same audience is likely to dismiss Tyler as a “wimp” and admire the “rugged” masculinity of Hunt.

 

Apply Henry Jenkins’ Fandom theory to both Life on Mars and The Bridge. (15 min)

Jerkin’s work is focused on open participation on circulation of textual meanings. Fans appropriate texts and read them in ways that are not fully authorised by the media producers. Fans construct their own social and cultural identities through borrowing and inflicting mass culture images, and are part of a participatory culture that has a visual social dimension. Life on Mars has been released into the public allowing fandoms to be created and therefore, items like fanfic have been created based on the show. In ‘Before I Walk Away’, a story that was posted on FanFiction.net by serenawyr in April 2015, Gene Hunt is said to be ‘struggling to come to terms with urges he can’t understand’ as he explores his growing attraction to Sam. The use of fanfiction in this case shows Fans interpretation to the show, it may also reflect how they wanted the show to be like or end. The fans have made the characters homosexual which can reflect on the fact they would prefer more representation in the show. However, in contrast, these fans making fanfiction on them could be because of ‘queer baiting’, TV shows do this in order to gain more audiences.  Furthermore, Henry Jenkins argues that fans form part of a ‘participatory culture’ in which audiences are active and creative participants in a text.

 

MILD – Review your notes

Review your lesson notes and ISP mind-maps alongside the relevant section in the textbook. Is there anything you can add and or amend so that your notes make more sense to you?

I have created a folder of all my media notes done handwritten as well work given in class, so it will be easier to revise as well as going through my work and amending things, testing my knowledge and what i need to cover/practice. I need to work on my PEETA paragraphs, i do the paragraph, however i don’t always do it in order, (note to self – maybe check that one out;?) I also found that i need to revise the theories in the sense that i need to know which is media, industry…etc and to make sure that i know which theory to apply for each question better.

The Bridge

Life on Mars