Tuesday, June 02, 2026

Magazines: GQ - Audience & Industry

The second part of our GQ case study explores Audience and Industry contexts.


Audience

To explore the Audience context for GQ we need to think about who reads GQ and what audience pleasures might be linked to the brand.

GQ: numbers
GQ (UK edition) had a circulation of around 69,000 in 2025 (a decline on the 85,000 in 2022) which included 20,000 free copies (e.g. provided to airport lounges/Eurostar). GQ’s total readership is around 200,000 meaning each copy is read on average by 2 or 3 people. 

Definitions: Circulation is the actual number of copies printed and distributed. Readership is an estimate of how many people read the magazine in total (also known as readers-per-copy). For GQ, copies in an airport lounge may be read by many different people.

Circulation figures are provided by the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC) and readership estimates by the National Readership Survey (NRS).

Demographics and psychographics
GQ has a largely middle class readership:

ABC1: 61%

With an average household income of £138k, GQ attracts wealthy readers with money to spend. This encourages top-end brands to advertise with the magazine.

The GQ Media Pack focuses on products that reflect a certain lifestyle such as fashion, watches, grooming and cars. This would suggest targeting the Aspirer and Succeeder psychographic groups.

Audience pleasures
There are many potential audience pleasures for GQ readers. Applying Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory, two in particular would be:

Personal identity: Readers enjoy having their lifestyle reflected and endorsed through reading the magazine.

Surveillance: GQ focuses on offering a range of content to help their readers be informed about the world – particularly in terms of politics, fashion and culture.


Industries

To explore the Industries context for GQ we need to study publisher Conde Nast and look at the impact of digital media on the print magazine industry. 

This means interrogating why the internet has had such a devastating effect on certain print brands and why some other magazines are continuing to survive in the digital age. We also need to spend some time on the GQ website and study social media and video content to see how the brand is expanding beyond print.

GQ publisher: Conde Nast

Condé Nast was founded in 1909 in New York. It describes itself: 

“Condé Nast is one of the world's most renowned media companies creating and distributing every type of media today — print, video and film, digital, audio and social – widening our influence through technological innovation and by fully leveraging the global infrastructure we've built for over a century.”
 
Its revenue was just under $2billion in 2021 but in previous years had been losing $100m a year.

Condé Nast is owned by Advance Publications which makes it a case study in conglomerate ownership. Advance Publications is also a major shareholder in website Reddit and Warner Bros. Discovery.

The impact of digital media on the magazine industry

Suggestions for SWOT analysis of the impact of digital media on magazines:
  • Strengths: Magazine brands are well established to diversify online, audiences already know and like them.
  • Weaknesses: Print publishers do not have the expertise or knowledge of digital – it is a very different medium.
  • Opportunities: Magazines can find new audiences online.
  • Threats: Audiences will stop buying paper products and expect everything online for free. 
Ultimately, it is this threat that has had the most devastating impact on the industry: 
  • Print sales fell by 42% from 23.8m to 13.9m between 2010 and 2017. 
  • Back in 2000, sales were over 30m – signalling a 55% decline in just 17 years.
  • Advertising in consumer magazines fell from £512m in 2010 to £250m in 2017. 
  • Google and Facebook now dominate online advertising (they account for 65% of the UK digital ad market).
As a result of these changes, many magazines have closed.

GQ and diversification

The decline in print media has meant traditional print publishers like Condé Nast have had to diversify on to digital platforms and live experiences.

This means social media and video and streaming content is crucial to the GQ brand alongside the GQ Heroes summit held in Oxfordshire each summer. It is described:

“GQ Heroes is a premier event for top-tier business and creative minds, bringing together some of the world's most influential figures to discuss the evolving nature of industry and creativity in a world that's changing by the second.”

 


GQ - Audience & Industries blog tasks

Audience

Look through the GQ Media Kit and answer the following questions: 

1) How does the media kit introduction describe GQ?

2) What does the media kit suggest about masculinity? 

3) Pick out three statistics from the data on page 2 and explain what they suggest about the GQ audience.

4) Look at page 3 - brand highlights. What special editions do GQ run and what do these suggest about the GQ audience?

5) Still on page 3, what does the video and social series section suggest about how magazine audiences are changing? 


Media Magazine feature: GQ
Go to our Media Magazine archive and read the article on GQ (MM82 - page 12). Answer the following questions:

1) What are the elements that go into choosing a cover stars for GQ? 

2) How is the magazine constructed to serve the target audience? 

3) What does the article suggest about GQ's advertisers and sponsorships - and what in turn does this tell us about the GQ audience? 

4) What is GQ Hype - and how does it reflect the impact of digital media on traditional print media?
 
5) Finally, what does the article say about additional revenue streams for print magazines like GQ?  


Industries

Your industries contexts are divided into three areas - Conde Nast, GQ's website and social media content and the impact of digital media on print industries.

Condé Nast

Read this Guardian news article on editorial changes at Condé Nast and answer the following questions: 

1) Who was previously GQ editor for 22 years? 

2) What happened to the 'lads' mag' boom magazines such as Nuts, Maxim and Loaded? 

3) What changes have been taking place at Condé Nast in recent years and why? 


Read this Press Gazette article on Conde Nast. Answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest about Condé Nast's recent strategy? 

2) How does chief executive Roger Lynch describe Condé Nast and why? 

3) What does Adam Baidawi say about Condé Nast, GQ and culture? 



1) How is Condé Nast moving away from traditional print products?

2) What examples are provided of Condé Nast's video and streaming content?

3) What does the end of the article suggest modern media audiences want? 


GQ website, video and social media content 

Visit the GQ website, Instagram and YouTube channel. Note that some of these may be blocked in school. Once you have looked over GQ's online content, answer the following questions:

1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?

2) Analyse the top menu of the GQ website (e.g. Fashion / Grooming / Culture). What do the menu items suggest about GQ's audience?

3) What does GQ's Instagram feed suggest about the GQ brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?

4) In your opinion, is GQ's social media content designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?

5) Evaluate the success of the GQ brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?


A/A* extension tasks

You can read more about the GQ Heroes event here. What does this suggest about the GQ audience - and how brands are diversifying away from print? 

Read this Guardian feature on the struggles of the UK print magazine industry to find out how Google and Facebook took advertising revenue from print products and how magazines are responding.

Find out more about Conde Nast and the people in leadership positions on their website here. 

Read more about GQ in this Gorkana media briefing.

Due date on Show My Homework
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Monday, June 01, 2026

Magazines: Front cover production task - learner response

The magazine cover production task was a brilliant introduction to Adobe Photoshop/InDesign and the kind of work we will be doing for coursework next year. 


Thank you for your patience in receiving feedback on this - we've been snowed under with coursework marking and exam preparation so you may have waited a while for your mark.

Depending on lesson timetabling and staff availability, you will receive this feedback either via email or verbally/handwritten in class. It will be marked out of 15 using the NEA (non-exam assessment) mark scheme. This divides up your mark using the different Media concepts: Media Language, Media Representations, Media Industries and Audiences. For this front cover assignment, we are only using the mark scheme for Media Language:


Magazine front cover - Learner response

Create a new blogpost called 'Magazine cover learner response' and complete the following tasks:

1) Add your finished magazine cover as a JPEG image.

2) Type up your feedback from your teacher. If you've received this by email, you can copy and paste it across - WWW and EBI. You don't need to include a mark or grade if you don't want to.

3) Consider your mark against the mark scheme above. What are the strengths of your production based on the the mark scheme? Think about magazine cover conventions and the media language techniques you have used to communicate with your audience (e.g. mise-en-scene, camera shot etc.) Notice the focus on narrative in the mark scheme for Media language.

4) Look at the mark scheme again. What can you do to move your mark higher and, if required, move up a level?

5) What would be one piece of advice you would give a student about to start the same magazine cover project you have just completed? 

Complete for homework - due date on Show My Homework.
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Advertising & Marketing assessment: Learner response

The Advertising & Marketing assessment was a great opportunity to keep learning the skills we'll need in your next set of mocks and in next year's exams.


The first part of your learner response is to look carefully at your mark, grade and comments from your teacher. If anything doesn't make sense, ask your teacher - it's crucial we're learning from the process of assessments and feedback.

Learner response blog tasks

Create a new blog post called 'Advertising & Marketing assessment learner response' and complete the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential). For the EBI (write down each bullet point for each question)

2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully (find this on your class Google Classroom). Identify at least one potential point that you missed out on for each question in the assessment.

3) Look at your answer and the mark scheme for Question 1 (Diamonds advert unseen text). List three examples of media terminology or theory that you could have included in your answer.

4) Look at your answer and the mark scheme for Question 2. What aspects of the cultural and historical context for the Score hair cream advert do you need to revise or develop in future?

5) Now look over your mark, comments and the mark scheme for Question 3 - the 9-mark question on Sephora 'Black Beauty is Beauty'. List any postcolonial terminology you could have added to your answer here and link this to a moment in the advert.

If you do not finish your learner response in the lesson your work is returned, this needs to be completed at home - due date on Show My Homework.

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Wednesday, May 20, 2026

Year 12 Media exams: revision and preparation

Your Year 12 Media exams will be a great opportunity to practice exam skills and work out what progress you need to make next year to reach your targets.

Your exams will be two mini-versions of the real exams you'll do next summer. Below is a full guide to what you need to revise for each section of the exam. Please note that the current topic of Magazines will NOT be tested in these exams as we have only studied one of the CSPs. Instead, we'll give you a baseline assessment at the start of Year 13 that will focus on Magazines and Radio.  

Know your exams

One of the most important aspects of preparing for examinations is knowing exactly what topics could come up in each exam. For your A Level Media exams, your Year 12 content will come up in the following places:

Paper 1

Paper 1 Section A: Language and Representation
Your real exam in Year 13 will also contain a 20-mark essay evaluating theory linked to either the Advertising or Music Video CSPs but this will not be part of your Year 12 exam due to time limitations.

Paper 1 Section B: Audience and Industry
Your real exam in Year 13 will again contain a 20-mark essay on Film, Radio or Newspapers but this will not be part of your Year 12 exam.

Paper 2

Paper 2: in-depth topic areas

Practice questions
As requested, here are some practice questions for the upcoming Year 12 exams. Some are similar to assessments you have done previously while others are new. You'll need your Greenford Google login to access these.

How to revise
Revision is a very personal thing and everyone has different techniques. Think back to your GCSE exams and which systems worked for you. If you're open to new techniques, here's a video on YouTube with top tips for A* A Level revision: 


Personally, I strongly recommend using flash cards (they are often called record cards if you are trying to buy them online or in WHSmiths). The simple act of distilling topics into a few key words or phrases to put on the card will seriously help in remembering the key information in the final exams. I have spare flash cards in DF05 if you'd like some.  

In summary, you need to revise the following for your Year 12 Media exams:
  • All media language and theory learned throughout the course so far - look back particularly at the extended MIGRAIN Introduction to Media unit as this contained a lot of key terminology and theory e.g. genre, narrative, industry theory, gender theory etc.
  • All our CSPs and associated theory - and focus in on the areas YOU ideally want to write about in next year's exams e.g. politics or postmodernism for TV, Gilroy, double consciousness or postmodernism in Music Video etc.

Good luck with your revision and give these exams your best shot!
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Magazines: GQ - Language and Representation

Our first Magazine Close-Study Product is men's lifestyle magazine GQ.


We need to study this across all four key concepts but will begin with a focus on language and representations.

Notes from the lesson

GQ was launched in the UK in 1988 as a monthly men’s lifestyle magazine.

The magazine evolved from two American magazines: Apparel Arts was launched in New York in 1931 and later evolved into Gentleman’s Quarterly – which was then shortened to GQ.

It is published by international media giant Condé Nast.

GQ: cultural significance

GQ represents a notable social and cultural shift in expectations of contemporary masculinity (compared for example with the Score hair cream advert). 

For example, the influence of fashion, consumerism, diversity, body image and changes in what society deems acceptable and unacceptable when it comes to masculinity.


Will Welch – new editorial direction

GQ’s global editorial director Will Welch introduced significant changes to the magazine’s approach. He placed less emphasis on print and instead focused on web, social media and video content. 

Welch also championed the concept of ‘New Masculinity’ and explored of how traditional notions of masculinity are being challenged and overturned. GQ has since featured a number of celebrities, including Brad Pitt, Pharrell Williams, and Robert Pattinson, in cover shoots that defy gender stereotypes. He also said that the magazine has been moving from giving general style advice to offering examples of self-expression.


Representations

GQ's new editorial direction gives us plenty to think about regarding representations and masculinity. Revise the theories we have covered:

David Gauntlett on masculinity
“The mass media is a force for change… The traditional view of a woman as a housewife or low-status worker has been kick-boxed out of the picture by the feisty, successful 'girl power' icons. Meanwhile the masculine ideals of absolute toughness, stubborn self-reliance and emotional silence have been shaken by a new emphasis on men's emotions, need for advice, and the problems of masculinity.”

“Views of gender and sexuality, masculinity and femininity, identity and selfhood, are all in slow but steady processes of change and transformation.”

Raewyn Connell: hegemonic masculinity
Hegemonic masculinity is a concept of proposed practices that promote the dominant social position of men, and the subordinate social position of women. According to Connell, hegemonic masculinity is:

“The configuration of gender practice which embodies the currently accepted answer to the problem of the legitimacy of patriarchy, which guarantees (or is taken to guarantee) the dominant position of men and the subordination of women.”

Does GQ magazine contribute to maintaining the dominant position of men in society?

bell hooks: “normalised traumatisation”
Feminist writer bell hooks has highlighted the corrosive, damaging effect of toxic masculinity on both men and women.

She builds on Judith Butler’s work, agreeing that gender roles are constructed, not ‘natural’. In fact, she suggests that patriarchy (a male dominated society) indoctrinates people from an early age so “gender becomes a set of connotations that have become naturalised”.

This then results in “normalised traumatisation” – meaning the damage caused by these representations is simply accepted as part of society.

Van Zoonen: “sex role stereotypes”
Liesbet van Zoonen suggests that the media reinforces sex role stereotypes, helping to construct gender roles. She gives examples of reinforcing sex-appropriate behaviours and the use of airbrushing to change appearances.

She accepts that the media sexualises both men’s and women’s bodies but highlights key differences. The representation of women’s sexuality is generally submissive and disempowering. In contrast, representations of male sexuality are based on strength and power. 

Some of GQ's video content is clearly inspired by the 'new masculinity' that Will Welch has pushed such as this Netflix Heartstopper feature. Does this mean that GQ challenges the gender theories we have learned?
 


GQ - Language & Representation blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'GQ: Language and Representation' and complete the following tasks:

Language: Media factsheet


1) What are the different magazine genres highlighted on page 2 and how do they link to our magazine CSPs?

2) Look at the section on GQ on page 2. How do they suggest that GQ targets its audience?

3) What does the factsheet say about GQ cover stars?

4) Pick out five of the key conventions of magazine front covers and explain what they communicate to an audience.

5) What is a magazine’s ‘house style’? How would you describe GQ’s house style? 

Extension tasks: Look at the final pages of the magazine factsheet that focus on creating magazine pages for coursework. What can you take from this to help future coursework projects? 


Language: CSP analysis

Use your annotated CSP pages to help answer the following questions. You can find an annotated copy of the GQ pages here (you'll need your Greenford Google login).

1) Write a summary of our annotations on the media language choices on the cover of GQ - e.g. colour scheme, typography, language, photographic codes etc. 

2) Identify three specific aspects/conventions/important points (e.g. cover lines, colour scheme, use of text, image etc.) from each page/feature of the CSP that you could refer to in a future exam. Explain why that particular aspect of the CSP is important - think about connotations, representations, audience pleasures, reception theory etc.

Front cover: Robert Pattinson image - Art & Fashion issue

Inside pages: Jonathan Bailey feature and fashion shoot

 
3) Apply narrative theories to GQ - Todorov's equilibrium, Propp's character types, Barthes' action or enigma codes, Levi-Strauss's binary opposition. How can we use narrative to understand the way the cover and features have been constructed?

4) Analyse the cover and inside pages of GQ. Does this offer an example of Steve Neale's genre theory concerning 'repetition and difference'?
 

Representations: applying theory

We have already covered many relevant theories in our work on Advertising and Marketing (for example, David Gauntlett's writing on Media, Gender and Identity). We now need to apply these theories and ideas to GQ and specifically the CSP pages allocated by AQA.

1) How can Gauntlett's ideas on masculinity, gender and identity be applied to the GQ CSP pages we have analysed?

2) How could van Zoonen's work on feminist and gender theory be applied to GQ? Does the magazine challenge or reinforce these ideas?

3) Does bell hooks's work on 'corrosive masculinity' apply to GQ? 

4) How does the Jonathan Bailey feature represent masculinity and sexuality? 


Representations: wider reading - GQ and the new masculinity

Read this CNN feature on how GQ is redefining masculinity and answer the following questions:

1) Which GQ issue is discussed at the start of the article and what was notable about it? 

2) How did Will Welch view GQ when he took over as Editor-in-Chief and what did he want to offer readers? 

3) How has publisher Conde Nast responded to changes in the magazine industry and how did this impact GQ?

4) What did the GQ New Masculinity edition feature? 

5) What did journalist Liz Plank say about toxic masculinity?

6) How did Welch respond to suggestions GQ was responsible for toxic masculinity?


Finally, read this short GQ feature on masculinity and answer the following questions:

1) What does the article suggest masculinity involved at the start of the 20th century?

2) What social change occurred from the 1930s?

3) What is suggested about masculinity today?

4) Why does it suggest these changes are important? 


A/A* extension tasks

Read more of GQ's New Masculinity issue - you may need to register (for free) with the GQ website to access this. How is masculinity and identity discussed? Can you link it to any of our theorists? 

From the same issue, this is Will Welch's Editor's letter where he discusses the new direction for the magazine.

There is also a New York Times interview with Will Welch which covers GQ's new approach to masculinity. The New York Times has a paywall but you can usually read the first article you click on for free. 

Due date on Satchel One.
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Tuesday, May 19, 2026

Music Video: end of unit index

We need to produce a final index for our Music Video unit. 

 As we've established now, keeping an index of all your work is extremely good practice from a revision perspective. This keeps the vital CSP information fresh in your mind and also highlights if you've missed anything for whatever reason. This is particularly important with an end-of-year assessment approaching and remember music video will appear in Paper 1 Section A. 

 Music Video: index

 Your final Music Video index should include the following:
5) Music Video: Postmodernism and music video

For your index, it needs to link to YOUR corresponding blogpost so you can access your work and revision notes quickly and easily. This also means if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in future exams due to gaps in your knowledge.

Due date on Satchel One.
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Friday, May 15, 2026

Music Video: Postmodernism in music video

Our music video CSPs give us a great opportunity to further our understanding of postmodernism.

These ideas are difficult to get our head around but once we understand postmodern references it gives us a much deeper understanding of how media products are constructed and consumed - particularly in the digital age.

Ghost Town and Postmodernism

The hybrid mix of references and music video forms – an experimental combination of narrative (the journey), performance and concept – means that the video can be read through a postmodern approach with reference to intertextuality and hybridity.

 We can see examples of bricolage and pastiche – a merging of British film genres such as social realism and hammer horror in order to create something new (as music videos were in 1981). The lighting, colour and camerawork also create intertextual references to these film genres. Arguably, the narrative offers an example of bricolage - a postmodern take on the 'road movie' but with no destination or quest to complete (which is perhaps why the video ends with them aimlessly throwing stones into the River Thames).

 Finally, it could be argued that the combination of an arthouse film-style with a popular genre of music (the song reached #1 in the British chart) provides an example of Strinati’s definition of postmodernism as a blurring of art and popular culture.

Old Town Road and Postmodernism


Audience theorist Henry Jenkins coined the term textual poaching for sampling or re-editing existing texts – a classic postmodern signifier. The original song was created from a riff Lil Nas X bought for $30 from someone he saw on YouTube. It became famous from Tiktok memes and the ‘Official Movie’ contains many elements designed to be shared separately or imitated online.

The video also taps into celebrity culture. As well as featuring country music legend Billy Ray Cyrus and superstar Chris Rock, the video also stars various names from the music industry such as Diplo, Vince Staples and Rico Nasty. This creates intertextuality and further encourages rewatching and sharing.

Yeehaw movement, bricolage and pastiche

The initial release of the song attached itself to the then emerging Yeehaw movement that was reclaiming the cowboy aesthetic for Black fashion and culture. This could be viewed as a combination of bricolage and pastiche.

Lil Nas X also used footage from the popular Western-genre videogame Red Dead Redemption in promoting the song on TikTok and other social media platforms. The song became a meme on TikTok with viral videos and Yeehaw challenges. The controversy about whether it was a country song then kicked off further debate regarding hybrid genres and what makes something ‘country’.

Playing with reality

Finally, Old Town Road plays with our understanding of reality. With the text on screen announcing ‘Old Town Road 2019’ there is the suggestion it is now based in the present. But is the video offering a genuine representation of modern-day reality or a comment on the lack of racial equality and harmony in American society? 


Postmodernism in music video: Blog tasks

Media Magazine Theory Drop - Postmodernism

 Create a new blog post called 'Postmodernism in music video: blog tasks'. Read ‘The Theory Drop: Postmodernism’ in MM66  (p26). You'll find our Media Magazine archive here - remember you'll need your Greenford Google login to access. Answer the following questions:

1) How does the article define postmodernism in the first page of the article?

2) What did media theorist and Semiotician Roland Barthes suggest in his essay 'The Death of the Author'?

3) What is metatextuality?

4) What is the repeated phrase on the cartoon on postmodernism on page 28?

5) How does postmodernism link to media representations and reality?


Music video CSPs and postmodernism

Now apply postmodern ideas to our music video CSPs by answering the following questions:

1) How does the music video for Ghost Town incorporate elements of postmodernism?

2) What film genres are alluded to in the music video for Ghost Town? Which scenes in particular created these links?

3) How does Old Town Road use postmodern elements in its music video?

4) How does the Old Town Road music video reflect technological convergence and modern digital culture?  

5) What do YOU think Lil Nas X was trying to say about reality and American culture in the music video for Old Town Road?


A/A* extension reading: Medium article

Read this Medium article on the Postmodern Pop Artist. Do any of the ideas in this article apply to Old Town Road or Ghost Town? How? 

Due date on Satchel One
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