Case studies

Gender
- Taking the plunge! Jennifer Lopez showcases her cleavage in low-cut gown on dinner date with toyboy Casper Smart.

Age
- Newly-single Louis Tomlinson invites five girls back to his hotel room after a boys' night out in London.
- The Inbetweeners TV show, based around 4 teenagers who go out drinking and up to no good.
- Grandmother sobs in court as she's sentenced to 55 years for murdering husband, chopping up his body and taking it with her when she moved.

Ethnicity
- Knife-wielding criminal who dodged the bullet that paralysed five-year-old girl in botched hit is jailed for ruthless break-in (a black man).
- Wayne Rooney, David de Gea and Louis van Gaal meet ill fans in 'Dream Day' organised by the Manchester United Foundation.
- Downton Abbey TV show, based predominantly around the middle and upper class, while set around WWII.

Events
- Jihadi John and ISIS are creating a cult of misfits, thugs and the mentally ill says Britain's top anti-terror commander.

Issues
- Caught on a cyclist's helmet cam: The dramatic moment criminals on a moped SNATCH a mobile phone from a woman walking on the pavement.

National and Regional Identities

- Shameless TV show, set on a council estate. Set in the North of England, in a working class area.

- Journalist spends the day with a giant blond guinea pig wearing odd socks who, despite a car crash personal life, is mobbed wherever he goes. Mr Johnson received lots of attention from female fans in election run-up. Britain’s most popular politician stepped out with David Cameron this week.

- You've been warned! Dad puts his muscly picture on a t-shirt for his daughter to scare the boys away (AUS).

- Where your computer goes to die: Shocking pictures of the toxic  'electronic graveyards' in Africa where the West dumps its old PCs, laptops, microwaves, fridges and phones.

Example: Germanwings Crash

The Times newspaper

The audience for this particular media is those with a higher reading ability. Despite being a moderate newspaper, it often supports the Conservative Party in particular. It is intended to be read by people who are more focused on specific information, and generally uses fewer images, with the page being dominated by narrative, suggesting a middle class audience.

It uses more complex language than a lot of liberal newspapers and focuses more on text than images.  There is only a very small image of the pilot present, while there are many paragraphs of information either side of it.

It addresses its audience in a very serious way, highlighting the dangers of flying. The headline reads: "Killer pilot 'had made plans to go down in history.'"

It seems like there is a split between the victims and the killer being represented in the text and therefore both share an amount of control. However because of the title, it suggests more attention on the pilot as opposed to the victims' families.

Ideologies being represented are to show the dangers of people in society and that even people with high authority and a level of responsibility, can commit mass murder. It is warning people of threats they may face, while highlighting the issues trying to be solved in order to make their flying experience safer.

AS Media Report

Pre-production

The style of magazine that I will be creating is of a professional looking sports magazine for older and more experience audiences. A good example of this is  "FourFourTwo". Both my research through the survey and textual analysis has given me a good understand of how my production will look.

The survey that I created featured 10 questions, ranging from 7 closed questions such as "How often do you buy magazines?" to 3 open questions like "What qualities does there need to be in a magazine to make you want to buy it?". The reason I chose 7 closed questions was to get quick and simple responses that would help me get a clear understanding of what makes a good magazine. The 3 open questions were more time-consuming for the person answering, however game me more personal and in detail information which is subsequently equally as important for good research. 

From my research I learned a number of things for how to present my magazine. For example, I was told that magazines are becoming less popular than reading online for many different reasons such as it being a lot easier and comfortable to get information from online compared to going out and buying a copy. Also that in order for someone to want to pick up my magazine it had to be bright and exciting to the reader, even though “FourFourTwo” is more of a professional looking magazine compared to another football magazine like "KiCK!" However I know that there is a much greater chance of someone wanting to pick up the magazine if it attracts your attention with bright colours and bright texts. The cover must also feature a well-known celebrity or icon that attracts your attention, preferably through eye contact. Along with this should be bold and exciting headlines to make you want to open up the magazine and find out information as opposed to reading it online. As for the prices for magazines, 9 out of 15 of the people I asked said they were willing to spend £5 or more for a good quality magazine. This suggests that if they were willing to spend that much on a magazine then it would have to contain sufficient and interesting information.

From my textual analysis, I know that the presentation of magazines like "FourFourTwo" make them stand out among other sports magazines as having a good amount of information but also a professional looking design, hence the reason why it is aimed at a much older and mature audience. These types of magazines use much longer and complex words for its audience rather than with magazines like "KiCK!" which are clearly aimed at children because of its use of such words as 'cool' or 'wicked'. However the reason why my magazine will be very different to this is because its presentation is much clearer and professional looking. This would be different to a kid's magazine, which is often very messy or filled with pictures of well-known footballers. Instead, my cover will feature just one main image, with a classic and smart looking title and attractive headings. This is because my target audience is going to be very similar to "FourFourTwo" because of its professional look. It will also feature a lot less images. Something that a child would not be particularly interested in and more bored with compared to something like "KiCK!” My target audience specifically is people aged 17-40. However this is very flexible because while a lot of older people prefer to read things like newspapers, some would still read my magazine. Therefore I would place the audience anywhere from the 'C' to 'A' groupings because of age rating and the type of information you get from the magazine. 

Production

For my production, I created a double page spread to go along with the front cover of my magazine. My magazine is similar to “FourFourTwo” as it aims primarily at experienced readers, with detailed information and original photography. As mentioned earlier, my magazine would mainly be purchased by those placed in categories ‘A’ to ‘C’ because of how expensive the magazine is and the type of detailed information it possesses.

My double page spread is focused on footballer Ryan Bird, a former Derby County player who has made a big-money transfer move to one of the biggest clubs in Europe. It uses quick and interesting information to attract the audience. It is also laid out in the style of an interview to simulate what is seen in “FourFourTwo” magazine. This gives a good ideology as it is showcasing a new and up-coming talent in English football and meets the needs of whoever picks up the magazine. Interviews are very popular and so it will make the magazine unique, especially as the player is just making his big leap to stardom.

Along with the interview are a number of short, yet informative sentences, giving the reader an insight into one of the brightest young talents around. Having read this, the reader is more likely to want to read on as it supplies them with a huge amount of answers and insight about the player. This is exactly what you would expect from a magazine like “FourFourTwo”, confirming to the audience that their money is well spent.

The headline: “England’s Next Wonderkid” is bold and exciting. It draws the audience’s attention and makes them want to read on, due to its unique nature. Rarely would you see such a confident statement about such a young player. Therefore it is very exciting for the reader. The main quotation is: “It’s been a crazy two years since making my debut for Derby… and I’m just looking forward to aiming high and playing good football with the best team in the world.” It stands out across the page, showing Bird as a young and exciting talent who is not afraid to speak out. This is often associated with articles on young players to show them as the next best thing, and therefore the layout of the quotation achieves this. The information seen at the top of the page is to give the reader a good level of insight into the player, before reading more about them in the interview below. The interview is placed in the bottom left corner, while putting the main attention of the reader on the main photo, headline and quotation, as is often done in magazines like “FourFourTwo”.

The striking photography introduces Bird to the audience, especially as he is making eye contact, showing he means business. This is very common in high-end magazines as opposed to something like “KiCK!” which probably wouldn’t even take original photography if interviewing a player. This gives a very professional look and helps to attract the audience.

Strengths in the double page spread are that it supplies the reader with the kind of information someone in the ‘A’ to ‘C’ category would want to see. While it isn’t a huge article, it still establishes Bird as an individual and answers a lot of the audience’s questions. The photography is also good as it attracts people’s attention through eye contact and presents a professional layout, with good fonts and quotations. Disadvantages may be in the fact that there are only six questions or perhaps lack of photos. However it is common to see only one big image on a professional article like this one. The questions may also be quite short, but are answered in great detail by the young footballer, once again satisfying the audience.

Production

For my production, I created a double page spread to go along with the front cover of my magazine. My magazine is similar to “FourFourTwo” as it aims primarily at experienced readers, with detailed information and original photography. As mentioned earlier, my magazine would mainly be purchased by those place in categories ‘A’ to ‘C’ because of how expensive the magazine is and the type of detailed information it possesses.

My double page spread is focussed on footballer Ryan Bird, a former Derby County player who has made a big transfer move to one of the biggest clubs in Europe. It uses quick and interesting information to attract the audience. It is also laid out in the style of an interview to simulate what is seen in “FourFourTwo” magazine. This gives a good ideology as it is showcasing a new and up-coming talent in English football and meets the needs of whoever picks up the magazine. Interviews are very popular and so it will make the magazine unique, especially as the player is just making his big leap to stardom.

Along with the interview is a number of short, yet informative sentences, giving the reader an insight into one of the brightest young talents around. Having read this, the reader is more likely to want to read on as it supplies them with a huge amount of answers and insight about the player. This is exactly what you would expect from this, and magazines like “FourFourTwo” confirming to the audience that it is money well spent.

The striking photography introduces Bird to the audience, especially as he is making eye-contact, showing he means business. This is very common in high-end magazines as opposed to something like “KiCK!” which probably wouldn’t even take original photography if interviewing a player.

Strengths in the double page spread are that it supplies the reader with the kind of information someone in the ‘A’ to ‘C’ category would want to see. While it isn’t a huge article, it still establishes Bird as an individual and answers a lot of the audience’s questions. The photography is also good as it attracts people’s attention through eye-contact and presents a professional layout, with a good fonts and quotations. Disadvantages may be in the fact that there are only six questions or lack of photos. However it is common to see only one big image on a professional article like this one. The questions may also be quite short, but are answered in great detail by the footballer. 

Analysis of Research for Pre-production

Dominic Joy

Analysis of Research for Pre-production

The style of magazine that I will be creating is of a professional looking sports magazine for older and more experience audiences. A good example of what I will be basing my design on is of "FourFourTwo" magazine. Both my research through the survey and textual analysis has given me a good understand of how my pre-production will look.

The survey that I created featured 10 questions, ranging from 7 closed questions such as "How often do you buy magazines?" to 3 open questions like "What qualities does there need to be in a magazine to make you want to buy it?". The reason I chose 7 closed questions was to get quick and simple responses that would help give me a clear understanding of what makes a good magazine. The 3 open questions were more time-consuming for the person answering, however game me more person and in detail information which is equally important in good research. 

From my research I learned a number of things for how to present my magazine. For example I was told that magazines are becoming less and less popular than reading online for many different reasons such as it being a lot easier and comfortable to get information from online compared to going out and buying a copy of a magazine. Also that in order for someone to want to pick up my magazine it had to be bright and exciting to the reader, even though FourFourTwo is more of a professional looking magazine compared to another football magazine like "KiCK!". However I know that there is a much greater chance of someone wanting to pick up the magazine if it attracts your attention with bright colours and bright text. The cover must also feature a well known celebrity or icon that attracts your attention through eye contact. Along with this should be bold and exciting heading to make you want to open up the magazine and find out information as opposed to reading it online. As for the prices for magazines, 9 out of 15 of the people I asked said they were willing to spend £5 or more for a good quality magazine. This suggests that if they were willing to spend that much on a magazine then it would have to have sufficient and interesting information.

From my textual analysis, I know that the presentation of magazines like "FourFourTwo" make them stand out among other sports magazines as having a good amount of information but also a professional looking design, hence the reason why it is aimed at a much older and mature audience. These types of magazines use much longer and complex words for its audience rather than with magazines like "KiCK!", which are clearly aimed at children because of its use of such words as 'cool' or 'wicked'. However the reason why my magazine will be very different to this is because its presentation is much clearer and professional. This would be different to a kid's magazine which is often very messy or filled with pictures of well known footballers. Instead, my cover will feature just one main image, with a classic and smart looking title and attractive headings. This is because my target audience is going to be very similar to "FourFourTwo" because of its professional look. Also it will feature a lot less images, something that a child would not be interested in and more bored with compared to something like "KiCK!". My target audience specifically is people aged 17-40. However this is very flexible because while a lot of older people prefer to read newspapers, some would still read my magazine. Therefore I would place the audience anywhere from the 'C' to 'A' groupings because of age rating and the type of information you get from the magazine. 

Magazine Textual Analysis

FourFourTwo

This particular magazine is aimed at people in the 'C+' category as it is more expensive an professional than other such magazines. As it is a football magazine, the main audience will be men but also some women that are interested in football, with a general age of 18-40. However this can vary as football is popular among all ages but you would expect an older audience to be buying the magazine because of its level of information and price. People over the age of 40 could also buy the magazine because it has a lot of information relating to a sport that they like, even if it is a lot more modern than alternatives such as newspapers. It may also appeal to different people due to the different cover lines. For example it may only appeal to an England fan because of the article about England, rather than the main image. The masthead "FourFourTwo", is the visual branding of the magazine and is done in a very specially designed typeface. In this case, the text is in red to stand out amongst the rest of the contents on the cover and the pale background colour. It is also written at an angle to make it look more modern and exciting in relation to football and how the game is always changing. It could also be like this to match the action of the player on the cover and to show that he is ready to play. 

There are many cover lines written all over the page, surrounding the player. This is done to capture the audience's attention but also not to detract too much from the main image itself, as this is often a big mistake made by magazines as the text runs over the image. These cover lines are all distributed around the player and are also at angles. These include things like players names in red to match the masthead and stand out. This is because players such as Sneijder, Ozil and Canales are popular people and are more likely to make the reader want to pick up the magazine than if they see regular sentences as they want to find out about them. There are also phrases like "New Look!", "New Playing Section!", "42 Things We Know About Footballers Thanks To Twitter" and "Free Mag Inside: The Future Of England - Part 1". These all use exciting words and phrases to get people's attention and make them want to buy the magazine. For example, people will want to know what the 42 things are as they are fans of football. Many of the readers are from England which means they will be interested in finding out about England's future or how to improve performance through the "New Playing Section!" 

The dateline of the magazine is important as it guarantees the audience up to date information and news about football. This month's edition is September and is near the beginning of the season when football comes back. This is why along with things like the cover lines and main image, will probably be enough to grab people's interest in the magazine. 

The main image of the magazine is of Dutch player Wesley Sneijder, in his national team jersey. The main image of a magazine is usually used in a classic way, with certain parts of the person standing out more than others. In this case, the players leg is clearly the centre of attention as he is in a kicking motion. Those who recognise the player or colour kit will be immediately drawn towards them as they stand out more than anything else on the page. As the kit is a prodominantly orange, it contradicts the white, pale background and draws your attention more than anything else on the page. This is why the main image is the first thing that a readers sees when looking at a magazine and is what will hopefully make them want to  read on. Also it is helpful to have someone like Sneijder on as the main image because he is very popular and well known internationally, meaning more people are likely to want to read the magazine whether it be Dutch people or fans of Sneijder himself or the club that he plays for. The main image is linked with the main cover line which is "Return Of The Playmakers". This strongly suggests there are many more players just like Sneijder that are just not mentioned on the cover but conveniently means if the reader wants to find out who the others are then it will mean opening up the magazine. Strangely the player is not making eye-contact with the reader. This is something which is commonly done, especially in fashion magazines so that they feel more related or drawn towards the magazine. In this magazines case however, they do not  need to as he is a footballer and him looking away into the distance is also acceptable to illustrate that he is focussing on paying well as the playmaker that he is.

The main cover line, as mentioned, is "Return Of The Playmakers". However underneath this is a sentence that says "Why football's magician's are taking back centre stage." This along with the main cover line and the image of one such player, catches the audience's attention and is just the right amount of information to make them want to read. They could have chosen to show more of the playmakers on the front cover but have decided not to because it would stop people opening up the magazine and finding out for themselves. The whole text is once again slanted or at an angle to match what the player is doing. Another way that this is done is to have the word "playmakers" smashing or coming apart as the player kicks through it. This makes it seem more exciting than usual as most magazines would just use a more generic main cover line with an image, making someone more likely to buy "FourFourTwo" than any of the others. 

Kick!

This magazine is aimed at a much younger audience, between the ages of 5-14 years. However the category of the boys or girls is likely to be much lower than for "FourFourTwo". However this can vary because it doesn't matter what background the kids come from, they will all still prefer this type of magazine to 'FourFourTwo".  The main reason that it is clear that the magazine is aimed towards kids rather than children is because of the layout. It is clear that doesn't look as professional and is very messy compared to "FourFourTwo". It also uses much simpler language and techniques to attractive kids differently to if they were aiming their magazine at adults. 

The masthead of the magazine is "KiCK!". It looks a lot less professional than "FourFourTwo" because it uses a flying football as the "i". It also is much smaller than on the previous magazine. This is probably because for kids, they will not by the magazine because of where it is from, but because of who and what they see on the cover. This is why players like Suarez and Sturridge slightly over-lap it because they are very popular and are role model to young kids. As for the cover lines, they use much simpler wording and a variety of texts which looks very messy and unprofessional from an older person's point of view. However to a kid, it would be more attractive and exciting, therefore seeing it more as being less boring than the previous magazine rather than seeing it as being messy or unprofessional. It uses much simpler text like "Off To Brazil!", "Wicked Posters!" and "Countdown To The World Cup!". This is to suit the target audience and make it very simple, yet entertaining for them to read the magazine and then want to buy it. The arrangements of the cover lines are also very messy and uses many different and bright colours to get the reader's attention. These are also paired with even more pictures of footballers to try to attract the kids' interests rather than using long sentences. 

The dateline and price are also very different as instead of putting the month and year, it simply has 'Issue 103'. This is much less professional as magazines like "FourFourTwo" use the month and year for their editions. It also has a price of £3.50 on the cover so that people know how much to pay for the content of the magazine. However it is less visible in the previous magazine because many people but it regardless of the price as they know that there will be good content inside. 

The main image of the magazine features 5 Premier League footballers. However in more professional magazines, they would use one image and it may be done in a studio. But in this magazine, it looks like they have just been copied and pasted onto the front cover because it is less important to kids to have a professional image. They just need to put onto the cover players that kids will recognise and to make them want to read the magazine. It also looks like all the players are celebrating to show their excitement and hopefully also to get the kids excited about reading the magazine. They are matched with the main cover line 

Representation

Class (newspaper): The Sun

The representation is a negative one because it shows Prince Harry wearing a swastika and has the heading "Harry the Nazi", suggesting that he is a supporter of the nazis. However we know that he is in fact not a nazi, but is being made to look like one by the media. This newspaper is mainly for lower class people who are not willing to spend much money on reading the news. It uses very simple language for everyone to read.



Gender (tv show): Loose Women

Age (film): Harry Brown

Race (tv show): 

Sexuality (film):