Magazines: Magazine cover production learner response

You will receive feedback on your magazine front cover production work in the next few days.

Depending on lesson time 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 new specification mark scheme for coursework. 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 EBIs.

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.)

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 next exam lesson.

Radio: War of the Worlds (1938)

Our second CSP for radio is the 1938 CBS broadcast of War of the Worlds.

This is a famous broadcast of Orson Welles's radio play - an adaptation of HG Wells's science-fiction novel of the same name. It is a text of historical significance due to a long-running debate over the effect the broadcast had over audiences at the time.

Narrative and background

War of the Worlds, a science-fiction novel by author HG Wells, was first published in 1898. It is a story of alien invasion and war between mankind and an extra-terrestrial race from Mars.

The original 1938 Orson Welles broadcast is available here:

Hybrid genre

Orson Welles was initially reluctant to adapt War of the Worlds, describing it as 'boring'. He was persuaded by the prospect of using recent developments in radio news reporting to create a hybrid-form radio play designed to sound like a real breaking news story. The broadcast begins with a music performance that is increasingly interrupted by breaking news of martians invading New Jersey.


Historical context

In 1938, the world was on edge as Germany mobilised to invade Europe and populations feared gas attacks from another world war. In the weeks leading up to the 1938 broadcast, American radio stations had increasingly cut into scheduled programming to bring news updates from Europe on the chances of war. This meant Welles's use of radio news conventions had more of an impact on listeners who were unaware that it was a fictional radio play.

Media effects theories

The War of the Worlds radio play has become a much-studied text with regards to media effects theories. The initial reported reaction from audiences provided evidence for the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory - that suggests people believe whatever they see or hear in the media. However, later studies suggest the audience reaction was exaggerated by the newspaper industry (under threat from radio at the time) and that audiences are more sophisticated consumers of media than first thought.

You can also apply Gerbner's Cultivation Theory, the two-step flow model and Stuart Hall's Reception Theory to Orson Welles's War of the Worlds broadcast.
Radiolab podcast on War of the Worlds

The American podcast Radiolab looked back on the significance of the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds and later attempts to recreate the effect. It's a brilliant summary of the context and reaction from the audience alongside clips from the broadcast and transcripts from interviews at the time.

War of the Worlds: Blog tasks

Media Factsheet

Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet #176: CSP Radio - War of the Worlds. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets - you'll need to save the factsheet to USB or email it to yourself in order to complete this at home. Read the factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the history and narrative behind War of the Worlds?

2) When was it first broadcast and what is the popular myth regarding the reaction from the audience?

3) How did the New York Times report the reaction the next day?

4) How did author Brad Schwartz describe the the broadcast and its reaction?

5) Why did Orson Welles use hybrid genres and pastiche and what effect might it have had on the audience?

6) How did world events in 1938 affect the way audiences interpreted the show?

7) Which company broadcast War of the Worlds in 1938?

8) Why might the newspaper industry have deliberately exaggerated the response to the broadcast?

9) Does War of the Worlds provide evidence to support the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory?

10) How might Gerbner's cultivation theory be applied to the broadcast?

11) Applying Hall's Reception Theory, what could be the preferred and oppositional readings of the original broadcast?

12) Do media products still retain the ability to fool audiences as it is suggested War of the Worlds did in 1938? Has the digital media landscape changed this?


Analysis and opinion

1) Why do you think the 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds has become such a significant moment in media history?

2) War of the Worlds feels like a 1938 version of 'fake news'. But which is the greater example of fake news - Orson Welles's use of radio conventions to create realism or the newspapers exaggerating the audience reaction to discredit radio?

3) Do you agree with the Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle theory? If not, was there a point in history audiences were more susceptible to believing anything they saw or heard in the media?

4) Has the digital media age made the Hypodermic Needle model more or less relevant? Why?

5) Do you agree with George Gerbner's Cultivation theory - that suggests exposure to the media has a gradual but significant effect on audience's views and beliefs? Give examples to support your argument.

6) Is Gerbner's Cultivation theory more or less valid today than it would have been in 1938? Why?


Complete for homework - due Friday 28 June.

Magazines: Oh Comely - Audience

Our second Magazine Close-Study Product is the niche women's lifestyle publication Oh Comely.

We need to study both the target audience for Oh Comely and the audience pleasures that readers get from the magazine.

Notes from the lesson

Oh Comely magazine is a niche women’s lifestyle publication with a strong feminist perspective. It launched in 2010 and publishes six issues a year. It describes itself:

“Oh Comely is a curious, honest and playful independent magazine. It’s a place to meet strangers, hear their stories and look at life a little differently – where our readers are our writers and our models, too.

“Each issue we pick a theme and see where it takes us. We try something old, something new and something that scares us a bit. Then we present our findings in a beautiful, artbook style, putting new writing, photography and illustration talent at the heart of it.”

[Source: Oh Comely magazine website]

Oh Comely audience

Social Media Reach: 100,000 
Readers Per Issue: 25,000 
Average Age of reader: 27 
Sold through independents, WHSmith and international outlets


Oh Comely offers: “Access to a difficult to reach and highly-targeted niche demographic of creative women who spend money on the things they love.”

“Oh Comely is a powerful mix of words and pictures, stylishly presented and much loved by its readers. It provides an alternative to the ‘pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap’ aesthetic of mainstream magazines for young women, and this is why it has carved a loyal niche of fans. It is a breath of fresh air for a creative audience desperate to find something that speaks to them directly in an accessible, intelligent and interesting voice.”

[Source: ohcomely.co.uk/advertise]

Psychographics

Oh Comely magazine's description of itself would suggest targeting the Reformer and Explorer psychographic groups with an emphasis on creativity, self-discovery and a rejection of consumerism and commercialism.

Audience pleasures

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

Personal identity: Readers enjoy having their quirky, creative lifestyle and feminist viewpoint endorsed and reflected by the magazine.

Personal relationships: Oh Comely is presented in a particularly personal way. It is the creation of three university friends, the magazine offers background on the contributors and readers are encouraged to ‘get to know’ the editorial team.

Surveillance: Oh Comely deliberately looks to inform its readers about niche stories, events and people.

Oh Comely - Audience blog tasks

Read the Oh Comely website page on advertising and audience to get a good idea of the demographics and psychographics for the Oh Comely target audience then answer the following questions:

1) How does Oh Comely introduce itself?

2) How do the print circulation/readership statistics for Oh Comely compare to Men's Health?

3) How is Oh Comely distributed to the audience?

4) What do you think the target audience demographics for Oh Comely might be? Some details are provided by the magazine (e.g. average age 27) but make an educated guess on further demographic details.

5) What psychographic groups might be attracted to Oh Comely?

6) What social class classification would you expect most Oh Comely readers to be? Why?

7) What level of education would you expect for most Oh Comely readers? Why?

8) What audience pleasures are offered by Oh Comely?

9) It has been suggested Oh Comely is a “magazine about people, their quirks and creativity rather than money and what it can buy”. How does the design and advertising content of Oh Comely support this view?

10) Why do you think Oh Comely has been able to build a loyal audience of subscribers in the eight years since it launched? Think about audience demand, rival magazines and the overall media landscape in the digital age.

Complete for homework - due next week Friday. 

Reminder: ongoing homework is to revise for your Year 12 Media exam on Thursday 20 June!

Radio: Life Hacks

Our first CSP for radio is the BBC Radio 1 show Life Hacks.

Our key concepts for Radio are industries and audience so these are the contexts we need to consider when studying the texts.

Previously on: The Surgery

Before being merged into Life Hacks, The Surgery was an evening radio show on BBC Radio 1 that ran between 1999 and 2017. Most recently, it was on every Wednesday at 9pm and ran for 60 minutes. It featured presenter Katie Thistleton and advice from Dr Radha Modgil.

It worked like an agony aunt column in old teenage magazines and took on controversial subjects such as gender identity, sexuality, relationships and mental health. It featured texts and calls from listeners and the post-watershed slot meant adult topics could be discussed.

The Surgery > Life Hacks

In November 2017, The Surgery was merged into a new Sunday afternoon show called Life Hacks that runs between 4pm – 6pm presented by Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton. This mostly plays music but offers advice segments with Dr Modgil covering similar topics to The Surgery.

Although both The Surgery and Life Hacks ran in scheduled broadcast slots, in recent years the programme has been available as a podcast and encourages digital consumption and interaction. 

The Surgery



Life Hacks: Stormzy interview



Life Hacks: debt advice feature on BBC Sounds

Listen to this debt advice feature on BBC Sounds.


BBC Radio 1: History

BBC Radio 1 launched in 1967 playing pop music and using jingles in the style of American radio. It was a significant change from previous BBC content and was hugely popular in the 1970s and 1980s (some shows had 10m+ listeners). 

It became available on DAB digital radio in 1995 but not promoted until digital radios were more popular in 2002. It is available via digital TV and online via BBC Sounds.

Radio 1 is famous for events as well as radio – summer Roadshows, Big Weekends and the annual Teen Awards. 


Industries: Radio in decline

Although the BBC still boasts impressive audience figures for BBC Radio 2 and 4, it has struggled to attract young listeners to BBC Radio 1 in recent years.

Since 2010 listeners have declined – and although BBC R1 targets 15-29 year olds the average listener in 2017 was aged 30. Radio 1 is increasingly focusing on digital and social media with 16m weekly YouTube views reached in 2018.

BBC Radio 1 - Life Hacks: Blog tasks

Analysis

Listen to the extracts from Life Hacks above and answer the following questions:

1) What do the titles The Surgery and Life Hacks suggest?

2) How are the programmes constructed to appeal to a youth audience?

3) What does the choice of presenters (Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton) and Dr Modgil suggest about the BBC’s approach to diversity and representation?

4) Go to the Life Hacks iPlayer page and analyse the content. What does this suggest regarding the Life Hacks audience and what the BBC is hoping to achieve with the programme?

5) Go to the Life Hacks podcast episodes page. Listen to a few episodes of the podcast and explain how the topics may a) appeal to a youth audience and b) help fulfil the BBC's responsibilities as a public service broadcaster. 

Audience

1) What is the target audience for BBC Radio 1?

2) Who is the actual audience for BBC Radio 1?

3) What audience pleasures are offered by Life Hacks? Apply Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory.

4) Read this Guardian review of Life Hacks. What points does the reviewer make about Life Hacks and the particular podcast episode they listened to?

5) Read this NME feature on Radio 1 listener figures. What are the key statistics to take from this article regarding the decline in Radio 1 audience ratings?

Industries

1) How does Life Hacks meet the BBC mission statement to Educate, Inform and Entertain? 

2) Read the first five pages of this Ofcom document laying out its regulation of the BBC. Pick out three key points in the summary section.

3) Now read what the license framework will seek to do (letters a-h). Which of these points relate to BBC Radio 1 and Life Hacks?

4) What do you think are the three most important aspects in the a-h list? Why?

5) Read point 1.9: What do Ofcom plan to review in terms of diversity and audience? 

Read this Guardian interview with BBC 1 Controller Ben Cooper.

6) What is Ben Cooper trying to do with Radio 1?

7) How does he argue that Radio 1 is doing better with younger audiences than the statistics suggest?

8) Why does he suggest Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio?

9) Why is Radio 1 increasingly focusing on YouTube views and digital platforms?

10) In your opinion, should the BBC’s remit include targeting young audiences via Radio 1 or should this content be left to commercial broadcasters? Explain your answer.

Complete for homework - due Wednesday 26 June.

Magazines: Industries & Men's Health

To explore the Industries context for Men's Health we need to study Hearst publishing 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 thrive in the digital age. We also need to spend some time on the Men's Health website and consider the similarities and differences to what we've found in the print version of the magazine.

Notes from the lessons

Men's Health UK is published by Hearst Publishing UK, a subsidiary of Hearst Communications.

Hearst Communications is an American media conglomerate based in New York that is over 130 years old and is still owned by the Hearst family.

It owns a range of media and business information brands including American newspapers, magazines (e.g. Cosmopolitan), half of the A&E Network TV channel and 20% of US sports broadcaster ESPN.

It employs 20,000 people and its 2016 revenue was $10.8 billion.

Hearst Publishing UK

Hearst UK publishes over 20 magazine titles including Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Inside Soap and more.

Hearst UK brands reach 30% of UK women and 25% of UK men. They sell over 4m magazines a month and have 17m UK digital unique users.

Hearst UK has also diversified into events and other licensed brand extensions (e.g. Esquire Townhouse pop up members club, Country Living sofas and Men’s Health home gym equipment).

The impact of digital media on the magazine industry

Some key questions:

• Why has digital media (the internet) had such a devasting effect on the magazines industry?
• When did YOU last buy a magazine?
• Who IS buying magazines?

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.

Digital media has had a devastating effect on the print magazines 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 has fallen 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.

Digital media: Hearst and Men’s Health

Hearst UK has posted losses in recent years due to the decline in the magazines market.

Men’s Health has also declined in recent years from a circulation high of 228,000 in 2008 to 146,000 now. However, it has moved up and down in recent years (dropping to 160,000 in 2016 before going up to 180,000 in 2018) which shows decline is not necessarily inevitable.


Men's Health - Industries case study blog tasks

This is a comprehensive case study covering a range of Industry contexts. It is divided into three sections: Hearst publishing, the impact of digital media and Men's Health online platforms. You will need to allow for at least two hours to work through the following tasks.

Hearst publishing

Research Hearst publishing by looking at the Hearst UK website and the Wikipedia entry for parent company and conglomerate Hearst Communications.

1) Hearst UK is part of Hearst Communications. What is Hearst Communications and where is it based?

2) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate?

3) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record?

4) Focusing on Hearst UK, what other magazine brands are part of Hearst UK publishing? How many UK people do they reach in print and online?

Read this Campaign interview with Hearst UK CEO James Wildman.

5) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK?

6) What percentage ad decline are consumer magazines facing?

7) What Wildman think about premium content and paywalls?

8) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business?

Read this Hearst UK press release for their late 2018 ABC figures.

9) Is Men's Health increasing or decreasing in circulation?

10) What does the press release say about recent successes associated with Men's Health?


The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry

Read this BBC website feature on the print magazine industry and then this Guardian feature on the demise of NME magazine and print magazines in general.

1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling?

2) What genre of magazines is currently bucking the trend and increasing sales? Why is this?

3) In contrast, what magazine genres are struggling? Give examples of magazines that have declined or stopped printing altogether.

4) Look at the Guardian article in detail. What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000?

5) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?

6) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?

7) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead?

8) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams? What is the Men's Health branding used for?

9) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands?

10) How does Men's Health fit into this picture? Why do you think Men's Health has remained successful in the digital age? Do you think Men's Health will continue to publish for many years to come? Why?


The Men's Health website and social media

Visit the Men's Health website, Twitter feed and Instagram. You may need to complete this part of the case study at home if it is blocked in school.

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

2) What is the Men's Health daily newsletter and what does it include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money?

3) Look at the menu bar along the top of the website. What are the menu options? What does this suggest about the representation of men and masculinity associated with Men's Health?

4) Choose one of the menu sections and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at?

5) Do you think the Men's Health website is trying to sell the print version or simply build a digital audience? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy?

6) How does the Men's Health Twitter feed use 'clickbait' to try and get users to click through to the magazine's website? Give examples of tweets that are designed to get the audience to click through.

7) How does the Twitter feed uses images and video content alongside text and links?

8) What does the Men's Health Instagram suggest about the Men's Health brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?

9) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?

10) Evaluate the success of the Men's Health brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?

There is a lot of work here but you'll have plenty of time to do it (particularly with exams on at present). 

Homework due date: Monday 24 June.

Radio: Introduction to radio

Staying with broadcast media, our next topic is radio.

We have two CSPs to study and also need to consider the place for radio in a digital media landscape.

Radio CSPS

War of the Worlds – Columbia Broadcasting Company (1938)

Life Hacks – BBC Radio 1 (2017-)

These are targeted CSPs and need to be studied with reference to two elements of the Theoretical Framework (Audiences and Industries) and all relevant contexts. 

Example exam questions

Briefly define public service broadcasting (PSB) [2 marks]

To what extent is War of the Worlds a historically significant media product? [20 marks]

Identify two strategies or techniques used by Radio 1 to attract a youth audience. Explain the reason for each. [4 marks]

Explain how regulatory contexts shape the output of media industries. You should refer to your radio Close Study Product, Life Hacks. [9 marks]

Key question: Is radio still relevant in the digital age?

How does radio respond to the digital media landscape we now find ourselves in. Will younger audiences listen to the radio? Does it have influence? Are podcasts the future for younger listeners?


BBC Sounds

BBC Sounds is a new app designed to bring younger listeners to BBC Radio content. It aims to fulfil its requirements as a public service broadcaster while also responding to the demands of the digital media landscape.




The ShoutOut Network

The Shoutout Network is a London-based network of diverse podcasts designed to give a platform for BAME voices. It demonstrates the rise of independent media producers in the 21st century media landscape. The representation of minority voices also arguably provides an element of public service broadcasting.





Introduction to radio: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Radio' on your Media 2 Coursework blog and complete the following tasks:

BBC Sounds

Read this Guardian feature on the launch of BBC Sounds and answer the following questions:

1) Why does the article suggest that ‘on the face of it, BBC Radio is in rude health’?

2) What percentage of under-35s use the BBC iPlayer catch-up radio app?

3) What is BBC Sounds?

4) How do audiences listen to radio content in the digital age?

5) What does Jason Phipps suggest is important for radio and podcast content aimed at younger audiences?

6) Why does the BBC need to stay relevant?

Now read this review of the BBC Sounds app.

7) What content does the BBC Sounds app offer?

8) How does it link to BBC Radio?

9) What are the criticisms of the BBC Sounds app?

10) Two new podcasts were launched alongside the BBC Sounds app. What are they and why might they appeal to younger audiences?

ShoutOut Network

Read this Huffington Post feature on the Shout Out Network and answer the following questions:

1) What is the ShoutOut Network?

2) What podcasts are offered by the ShoutOut Network?

3) What audience do they reach?

4) What are the 2015 statistics on podcast listening in the UK?

5) The article suggests podcasts are ‘picking up more steam’. Do you think podcasts the future of radio?

Complete for homework - due next Wednesday.

Music Video: end of unit index

We have now completed our work on Music Video and need to complete a short index to ensure we haven't missed any vital notes or research.  

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 through absence or trips. This is particularly important with your end-of-year exam approaching. 

Music Video: index

Your final Music Video index should include the following:

1) Music Video - introduction and factsheet questions
2) Music Video theory and This Is America analysis
3) Common - Letter to the Free context and analysis
4) Michael Jackson - Billie Jean context, analysis and MM article

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 you if you have missed anything you can now catch up with the work/notes and won't underperform in the Year 12 exam due to gaps in your knowledge.

Important: your index needs to be completed by Friday. Any missing work MUST be caught up by that deadline too.