Magazines: History and Future (Half Term Homework)

1. Magazines started circulating the UK in the 18th Century. The Scots Magazine, The London Magazine, The Spectator, The Scots Magazine and The Monthly Review are some examples of the magazines that were published in the UK. Back then, the magazines were printed using large hand-engraved blocks.
2. Magazines were thought to be important because they are distributed to the public either daily, weekly or monthly to deliver messages, news and information to the larger audience. This is extremely useful as technology wasn't as advanced as today meaning television and the internet wasn't invented to distribute the information.
3. There is a range of different types of magazines: Teen, Gossip, Gardening, Video Games, Fashion, Football, Health and Music.
4. Both of the Vanity Fair magazines have the masthead at the top of the front page as well as having the main coverline at the bottom. Furthermore, they both present women in the magazines. However, the 1896 front cover has a painting of two women by the sea whereas the 2017 cover has a printed image of Meghan Markle. This is because coloured printers weren't invented at the time, therefore, people have to physically draw to make a front cover. The 2017 cover has adopted the colour scheme from the 1896 cover. They both feature a red and black font colour, however, the 2017 cover has a 3 colour scheme with the added colour of white. Both covers express femininity with Meghan Markle using direct address to grab the attention of the audience. This technique is used so that for the audience, they would think and feel that the magazine is made for them which will persuade them to actually read the magazine. On the other hand, the 1896 cover does not use direct address however it does have two women that were drawn onto the front cover so it does still appeal to women however it is not as effective as the 2017 cover. The 1896 cover portrays two white women so this establishes that at the time this magazine was made, Britain still used women deliberately for men's pleasure as patriarchy was still in society. This is when men have dominance to do anything and they get obeyed by women to stay at home, clean, wash and take care of the children. They were only limited to do one job and that is to be a housewife. As Vanity Fair is clearly a magazine towards women, I am not certain that women were able to read it or to feature in it. Whereas on the 2017 cover, it has a mixed race women engaging with a person from the Royal Family (Prince Harry) which is dominated by white people. This engagement conveys that society is changing; individuals are not following the traditions that were made hundreds of years ago but in fact, they are revolutionising them and setting these new traditions as the norm. Furthermore,  the magazine now shows that women have equal rights with men; they have the will to do whatever they want. Instead of being controlled by men, they have a choice in their careers and modelling for a magazine cover is one of them. 
5. Each magazine has a circulation, readership, mass audience, niche audience and a subscription. The number of copies the magazine sells is the circulation of the magazine. The mass audience is the readership (the total number of people and not just who buys the magazine) on s very large scale whereas the niche audience is the narrow group of readers with a particular interest. A subscription is a process when the reader pays for copies of magazines at a lower price and the audience will receive them by post. Each magazine has a plug, masthead, puff, cover star, main coverline, banner and skyline. The masthead is simply the tile of the magazine and the plug is the text that 'plugs' a feature that will appear inside the magazine. The cover star is normally featured on the cover and the puff is a story that is given prominence on the cover. The skyline is the text that runs across the top of the cover whereas the banner is the text that runs across the lower section of the cover. Finally, the main coverline is the text that anchors the main image and gives it meaning.
6. If magazine circulation had dropped in the last 20 years, the magazine companies will find other ways to distribute their messages, news and information such as social media feeds, e-readers, making their own websites, e-zines and freemiums.

BBC Research Task (Half Term Homework)

1. How old is the BBC?

• The BBC was made on the 18th October 1922 making it 96 years old.

2. Who is Lord Reith and what connection does he have with the BBC?

• John Reith (1889-1971) was the founder of the BBC.  He was its first general manager when it was set up as the British Broadcasting Company in 1922; and he was its first director general when it became a public corporation in 1927.  He created both the templates for public service broadcasting in Britain; and for the arms-length public corporations that were to follow, especially after World War Two. Reith fought off the politicians' attempts to influence the BBC, while offering the British people programmes to educate, inform and entertain.
• But in a working life that stretched over 60 years, Reith was at the BBC only 16.  This is the story of a towering figure – physically as well as metaphorically - who was never satisfied with life and who said 'What I was capable of compared with what I've achieved is pitiable.'
• "Being a son of the manse I was made a good deal of, but I had no friends of my own" - John Reith

3. When did it start broadcasting Radio 1?

• BBC Radio 1 started broadcasting on the 30th September 1967 in the United Kingdom, making it 51 years old.

4. What are the BBC's five Public Purposes, as set out in the Royal Charter?

• To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them - The BBC will provide accurate and impartial news, current affairs and factual programming of the highest editorial standards so that all audiences can engage fully with issues across the UK and the world.
• To support learning for people of all ages - Educational content will help support learning for children and teenagers across the UK, whilst audiences will be encouraged to explore inspiring and challenging new subjects and activities through a range of partnerships.
• To show the most creative, highest quality and distinctive output and services - Innovative content covering many different genres will be provided across a range of services and platforms, setting the standard both in the UK and globally.
• To reflect, represent and serve the diverse communities of all of the United Kingdom’s nations and regions and, in doing so, support the creative economy across the United Kingdom - The lives of the people in the United Kingdom today will be accurately and authentically portrayed in the BBC’s output and services to raise awareness of different cultures, contribute to social cohesion and invest in the development of each nation’s creative economy.
• To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world - High quality, accurate, impartial news coverage will be delivered to international audiences, aiding understanding of the UK as a whole.

5. What is the BBC's Mission?

• To enrich people's lives with programmes and services that inform, educate and entertain.

6. What is the BBC's Vision?

• To be the most creative organisation in the world.

7. What are the BBC's Values?

• Trust is the foundation of the BBC: we are independent, impartial and honest.
• Audiences are at the heart of everything we do.
• We take pride in delivering quality and value for money.
• Creativity is the lifeblood of our organisation.
• We respect each other and celebrate our diversity so that everyone can give their best.
• We are one BBC: great things happen when we work together.

8. What does the licence fee cover?

• Over 90% of the licence fee is spent on BBC TV channels, radio stations, BBC iPlayer and online services.

9. How is the BBC regulated? How long as this body regulated the BBC and who regulated it before?

• The BBC is regulated by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT), the European Commission, and Ofcom. Ofcom also regulates some other aspects of the BBC, for example, the BBC is covered by Ofcom's Fairness Code.
• Ofcom is the UK’s communications regulator. Our relationship with Ofcom is set out in a Memorandum of Understanding.
• Ofcom started regulating the BBC on the 3rd April 2017 and it became BBC's first external regulator.

Task 5: 4 pages of fashion magazine

Task 8: Wix Site

Here is the link to the Outburst website: https://nicholask10.wixsite.com/outburst

Task 7: Planning the web pages

Initially, I have started with a 4 colour scheme the website of my magazine which is purple, blue, white and black (excluding the yellow borders on the buttons). I decided to choose that because I felt that those 4 colours contrast with one another and the colours will attract the target audience. The models on the home page have buttons underneath them that are linked to different pages of the website. There is a subscription box so that the users of the website can receive a monthly dose of the magazine. I decided to add a row of social media on the header of the website so that the audience will get transferred to the different profiles of the brand Outburst.

Task 4: Photography

Here is the contact sheet of some of the photography that I have taken for my magazine. 

Task 1b: Audience Profile

Task 1a: Case Studies

Both of these magazines will be used as my inspiration to help produce my magazine. For the cover page, the masthead needs to be clear and bold and it can be placed anywhere on the page however it is convenient to place it at the top of the page and aligned to the centre. It is a must for my models to have a direct address towards to audience as it will grab their attention. Both of the magazines have a two colour scheme on their front covers however i'll be using 3 colours instead because using two colours is very limited which will make the text colours repetitive and dull. Furthermore, for the contents page, I'll need to add columns to write my contents list on a white background for the magazine to gain that sophisticated look. The issue month needs to be visible with headings to categorise articles (for example fashion) and unlike the example above, I'll include two pictures on each content page so that there is more to look at for the audience. The colour for the headings are determined by the primary colours that was used for the content page. Different colored fonts are used for the different issues. 

Task 9: Final Statement of Intent

Task 2: Audience Profile

Task 2 Audience Profile by Nicholas Baptiste

Audience Feedback

Cover Pages
Pros:

• Good colour scheme/theme
• The position of the models are nicely put
• Great recurring font and font size

Cons:

• Tweak on the positioning of the cover lines
• Change the styling of the magazine. Make it look more professional

Content Pages

Pros:

• Nice choice of pictures
• Interesting positions of the pictures

Cons:

• Change the position of some pictures
• Change the colour scheme/theme
• Change the styling of the magazine (columns). Make it look more professional
• Reposition the issue numbers of the accessories

Task 6: Draft Statement of Intent

Brief chosen:

Two Magazines and a Website – Producing a front cover and one contents page for 2 of the new fashion magazine that has been brought up by Outburst and a website for the magazine

How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicate meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief? (approx. 400 words) 

Product 1

I will use media language for my magazine front and cover pages to fascinate to the target demographics C1 and C2, and between the age range of 12-21-year-olds. This will reflect the urban culture that young women have embraced in London and the magazine will be distributed around the United Kingdom to establish this message. Youth’s fashion has changed dramatically over the past decade and that has impacted the culture of how young people are living. Therefore, Outburst adopts this change and implements it in their magazines. Both of the main cover images will be a mid-shot of two young female models, which follows the trend that is used by Vogue which is my style model for the magazine. The cover pages will include two black female teenagers and they will be the focal point of the magazine to represent the most recent changes to Vogue magazines; conveying in each edition the differentials in the race. My models will look directly at the audience for the target audience to understand that youth’s fashion has changed but most importantly, to give women power and authority. The cover lines will correlate with articles that are about fashion and beauty. Furthermore, each model will have their own cover line revealing their names and a title to their own article explaining their story on how they want to be a model. Both of my cover pages will include headlines about fashion, beauty, health, lifestyle, and news and having articles about youth and culture. This information will be applicable to the target audience group of reformers, succeeders and aspirers. The design and the layout of the magazines will be heavily inspired by Vogue. One content page will have 4 columns with articles relating to a heading with a fashion accessory in each column. On the other hand, the other contents page will have Outburst’s phrase at the top of the page, with a large image on the left side of the page and all the articles on the right. Accessories will be at the bottom of the page and all accessories have their individual issue number on both content pages, as well as the articles. Both content pages have a white background with a colour scheme that corresponds to their cover page for the text.

Product 2 

As I am developing a website for the magazine, I will have to create a logo for the Outburst brand with its phrase that was featured in one of the content pages. The home page will have hyperlinks so that the user will click on the links that they want to go to. The links will lead to fashion, beauty, news, lifestyle and health, which is very similar to the headings of the content pages. At the top right-hand corner of the page will feature the social media profiles of the Outburst brands to the platforms Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat. This will perfectly distribute the magazine (as the target audience of 12-21-year-olds can gain access the internet easily) so it can be shared via the reader’s social media profile so that their friends will know the brand and this will start a rinse-and-repeat effect. Additionally, there will be a ‘contact us’ link on the home page so that the users of the website can give feedback to the brand. This makes the website more interactive in what the user expects from the website and what the reader expects from the magazine. If the user wishes to have monthly newsletters from the brand, they will have the ability to click on the ‘follow’ button so that the audience can type in their email address and it will be sent through their email. This process will be free, and it further promotes the magazine. The newsletter will feature the cover page for each monthly magazine edition as well as what to expect from the magazine. From there, the user can click on a hyperlink to the magazine on the website which they will have to pay for the magazine to further increase profits. Female celebrities will be on the news page and it will feature gossip from celebrities such as Rihanna, Nicki Minaj and Cardi B as well as articles on youth and culture which is the main address that the brand wants to portray. For example, Meghan Markle becoming The Duchess of Sussex after she married Prince Harry shows that there is a culture change as she is not British, she doesn’t come from a Royal background and she is black heritage. This means that the Royal family is not standing by their traditional standards, so this article will perfectly grab the attention of the audience. The visuals of the website will be designed to grab hold of the reader’s attention. There will be images of different models on the cover pages of the different magazine editions that will be showcased on the website which reveals cultural diversity in the capital city, London. I will use a mixture of three colours to use for the website; blue which connotes innocence and not being heard although a person has knowledge and wisdom, white which signifies purity of life and red portrays that people want to be heard of with force and passion. With all of these ideas, I will hopefully succeed in building a website for my audience which are 12-21 year olds with a C1 and C2 demographic.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words) 

Creating a brand highlights that a website is made to showcase the magazine. This makes both of the media products being made for the same audience. Some of the website’s features were implemented from the magazine such as the brand’s name and the phrase, headings (fashion, beauty, etc) and the cover pages being on the home page of the website. The website will have a massive impact on the magazine. As more users use the website they will get introduced to the magazine's editions and will make them pay for it. As more readers read the magazine, they will be introduced to the website on the contents page and which they will access and will persuade them to buy other magazine editions. This creates synergy between the magazine and the website to increase the profits of the brand.

Task 3: Planning

Front Cover

Contents Page

Front Cover

Contents Page

 Inspiration

Flatplan 

1st Magazine Contents Page

2nd Magazine Contents Page

Location

Photography Studio

Example of Street Location

Call Sheet