The editor's main concern is the magazine cover. The cover attracts consumers and tells us all about the magazine. It is the face of the magazine and establishes a brand image; regular readers will be aware of the conventions and a consistant magazine will be easy to spot on the shelf.
On a Kerrang! cover, the "main sells" are exclusive 'freebies' such as posters, free stickets, calenders, etc. The editor of Kerrang covers all aspects of music on the cover to appeal to all of its readers; even though it is a rock magazine, it often features subgenres such as punk and indie music. As the target audience is teenagers, special-edition promotion magazines are often published to attract new consumers and engage the old ones; e.g. collect 5 issues, each one with a different member of the group My Chemical Romance on it.
A cover-mounted CD makes the magazine more desireble and can boost sales of 40.000 purchases; magazines then try to maintain those extra 40,000 consumers by enticing them with less-expensive freebies. Mixmag magazine always features a CD in each issue which raises the costs of production and thus raises the price of the magazine, it is very time-consuming to produce a desireble CD and eventually, people will begin to expect the free CD's.
The two most important areas on a magazine cover are the lofo and the 'sweet spot'. The logo is necessary for recognition, a well-established magazine can then progress on having images cover the logo as people will still identify the magazine. A 'sweet spot' is the place where the reader's attention is drawn to first, to tempt the reader into buying the magazine. Magazines try to reassure you with their front cover yet still attempt to do something different.
Wednesday, 7 October 2009
Monday, 5 October 2009
Magazine Publishers
Task 1 - Researching Publishers
1. IPC MEDIA - http://www.ipcmedia.com/
IPC Media is split into five distinct publishing divisions that manage different parts ot IPC, they are; IPC Connect, Inspire, Ignite, Southbank and TX. Between them they publish 80 magazines as well as contribute to the production of other forms of media. IPC publishes both niche and mainstream magazines as this is a large company and covers all sorts of magazines. This publishing company claims that 26 million UK adults read an IPC magazine, that's over 44%. It works with magazines on TV listings, music and film, lifestyles, health, country, men's interests, etc. Examples of these magazines are:
- The railway magazine, NME, Country house, The field, Caravan, Classic boat
Evidently, many of the magazines IPC publish focus on the country side, health and lifestyle. This shows that the target audience would be the middle-aged and the older generation who are interested in a "healthy living". This also would make IPC a niche publisher, as it focuses primarily on one aspect. IPC only covers one other form of media, websites:
- http://www.housetohome.co.uk,/
- http://www.countrylife.co.uk/,
- http://www.nme.com/,
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Bauer has established itself as the largest consumer magazine publishing company in the UK, working with over 282 magazines. It publishes magazines on women’s interest, lifestyle, TV listings, puzzles, music and film, men’s lifestyles, etc, they cover magazines for all types of different demographics. This variation of publications makes it a mainstream company; however there are a few examples within the company of niche. Some examples of the magazines they produce are:
- Kerrang, FHM, Mojo, Q, Empire, Heat, Take a break, Grazia, Closer, Zoo
In terms of brand image, I think that Bauer have a music-based image, because their music magazines are the most popular, however they work with many "womens" market leading magazines too. This publication company has a wide, general audience ranging from middle aged women to music rock fans. Bauer has links between production of magazines and other forms of media such as:
- TV channels; “The Box”, "4music", "Smash Hits"
- Radio stations; “Magic” and “Kiss 100”
- Websites; http://www.heatworld.com/ ______________________________________________________________
3. BBC MAGAZINES - http://www.bbcmagazines.com/
BBC magazines is a niche publisher, focusing on the home, garden and education. The well-established company is a world-recognized publishing organisation that claims to produce "a range of quality publications you can trust". Some of the magazines that BBC publish are:
- Top gear, Wildlife, Gardener's world, Sky at night, Top of the pops
Most of their magazines evolve around nature and the home which highlights a particular audience for BBC publications; the older audience with an interest in a health, lifestyle and sporting. However, there are anomolous magazines that have a completely different audience, e.g. top of the tops is targetted at children. This shows that BBC cover a wide range of magazines but their expertese lies with healthy living and the home. BBC covers many other parts of media, in fact publishing magazines is not even their main concern:
- Radio: "BBC Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.."
- Websites: http://www.bbc.co.uk/, http://news.bbc.co.uk/
- TV; "BBC 1 + 2", "CBBC", "Cbeebies", "BBC News"
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4. DEVELOPMENT HELL - http://www.developmenthell.co.uk/
Development Hell has a brand image of being a a small publishing company in north London that publishes niche magazines. The company only publishes two magazines, both of which are music-based:
- The Word and Mixmag
The company targets consumers that are interested in music. Both magazines have a more specific target audience, such as, The Word aims at people who are interested in older music, so preferably adults or just anyone with an interest in oldies. The only link that Development Hell covers with other media is a matching website alongside both of its magazines:
Monday, 28 September 2009
Representation of Jennifer Lopez
InStyle is a fashion magazine that features beauty, entertainment and celebrity lifestyles. Jennifer Lopez is presented as a powerful woman. Her image covers a part of the title which establishes her importance, perhaps even more important than the magazine itself. Her appearence also conveys a sense of power and control; the monochromic dress suggests sophistication and the harshly pulled back hairstyle portrays dominance as this particular hairdo is often assosiated with businesswomen. In complete contrast, her facial expression is a smile which welcomes the reader. This sense of friendliness is also reflected in her standing postion; the fact that she is facing to the left is a much softer pose than if she was facing forwards. However, her hand on her hip reminds us again of her high status, power and dominance.
For this cover, a mid-shot has been used; which is a perfect shot to highlight her outfit yet still notice her facial expression. The white background presents a photo shoot setting to keep the focus on the model. The strong colours of her appearance; black, white and red are the themed colours for this cover. The limited amount of colours adds sophistication and control to the magazine. Also, the magazine is about fashion and therefore the anchorage text for the image is small and cornered as the topic it is not about fashion. Besides, Jennifer Lopez dominates the page and a large anchorage is not neccessary for her to demonstrate her power and importance.
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Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women that focuses mainly on beauty, sex, relationships, fashion and health.
In this magazine cover, Jennifer Lopez is portrayed as a sexually confident woman. The themed colours of red, yellow and orange clearly represent a fiery and fiesty attitude. These are the colours of her dress and as they symbolise love and passion, it is evident that Jennifer is presented to hold sexual power. The colours also hint at the Spanish flag, to remind us of her culture and the "Latino Heat" she posesses. Her summer floral-like dress, grabs our attention instantly and builds on sex appeal; her cleavage and bare leg show Jennifer in a sexy light. She is lifting up her dress and directly facing the camera, which combined with the colours show us just how sexually confident she is. However it is a relaxed pose, and so together with the bright colours and almost-floral dress, it consequentally reminds us of summer and holidays.
Her facial expression is a natural, relaxed one. Her hair is fanned back, which reveals a wild side to Jennifer, however is also allows the reader to appreciate her subtle make-up. Jennifer's image here also covers the title of the magazine, implying that she is more important and has more power. The anchorage text for Jennifer is small and barely visible, for her image alone is dominating and seductive. However, the other text surrounding her is mainly about sex, and therefore the readers will subconsciously put two and two together and believe that Jennifer Lopez is sexy.
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FHM, 'For Him Magazine', is a magazine for men focusing on areas of their interest such as sports, cars and sexy females.
Here, Jennifer Lopez is portrayed as a sex goddess. Her very exposing outfit of a pale blue bikini is attention grabbing and heightens her sex appeal. The audience of this magazine, men, would find this outfit very appealling. This outfit combined with her body language emphasizes her sexual power. Jennifer is highlighting her curves by having her hand on her hip, this also establishes her sexual authority and dominance. However, Jennifer is kneeling on the floor which is a more passive and less powerful position, which perhaps suggests that she is slightly submissive as well as powerful. Her facial expression here also heightens her sex appeal, as her seductive pout and direct eyes tempt the reader into the magazine. Like in the previous magazines, her image covers the title of the magazine, however here it is only a fraction of the title, implying that she is only slightly more important than the magazine, or perhaps even of equal status.
Jennifer Lopez is presented in a beach setting; the blue backdrop mimics a perfect blue sky, which combined with the sand and soft lighting creates a beach environment. Such an idealistic setting reminds the readers of the romance and sex that could occurr at such a place, which could be a fantasy for men. A long shot has been used here to show the whole body which is attention grabbing and appealling to men who appreciate perfect bodies. The anchorage text is bright red, large and dominative; which could be a reflection of Jennifer's attitude. The actual word "goddess!" states straight away that Jeniffer is a sexy woman. The text next to her head "sex mad" allows the reader to view Jeniffer as a sex symbol instead of a person, which could be seen as degrading rather than faltterring.
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People is an American magazine for men and women, that focuses mainly on stories about celebrities that are of interest to the public.
This magazine shows Jennifer in a totally different light. Instead of her being portrayed as a sexy goddess like usual, she's now an ordinary mother. Her costume is subtle and ordinary, which allows the readers to focus on the babies instead. The brown colouring of her t-shirt as well as her messy hairstyle shows her maturity and sophistication, hinting that perhaps she puts motherhood in front of her career now. This creates an effective connection between her and the other regular mothers reading this magazine. Her body language also heightens her love for her children; she is cradling them in a comfortable position which shows how happy she is doing this. Her facial expression shows Jeniffer smiling and looking geniunely happy. This also shows the friendly side of Jeniffer and it invites the reader to "talk to her" and read the magazine.
For this shot, a casual setting has been created. Jennifer is sitting on a sofa, which is inviting and welcoming. The subtle lighting and gentle colours of nature create a calm atmosphere. The babies are sleeping which emphasizes that sense of peace. A mid-shot has been used for this frame which ensures that the babies are centered; they are the key focus of the magazine and the reason for the story being published. The anchorage text goes into a reasonable amount of detail, nearly all the text around her is talking about her. Also, her image is covering the title of the magazine which shows her importance. All these features of establishing importance hint that to Jennifer, being a mother is now one of the most important things in her life.
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