Media Messages Magazines

A magazine is a periodical publication containing a collection of articles targeted at entertaining or informing a particular audience

They share some of their characteristics with newspapers, however magazines are

•Usually printed on high quality paper

•Usually stapled or bound

•Published weekly/monthly/quarterly

The importance of front covers.

Front covers in magazines are vitally important as a shop window, it is the first part of the publication that the reader will see.   Therefore it must do the following: -

•Indicate who the magazine is intended for, appealing to the attention of the audience.

•Indicate the type of magazine it is

•Help the magazine stand out from its competitors, by conveying a clear sense of brand.

ABOUT  THE MAGAZINE

The Big Issue magazine was launched in 1991 with the aim of transforming the lives of London's homeless through it’s mantra “a hand up not a hand out”

The magazine is often referred to as a street newspaper.  It supports the homeless and those seeking to escape poverty.  Vendors buy the magazine for £1.25 and sell it for £2.50.  The Big Issue has helped over 100,000 people since it began.

The Big Issue reader is likely to be

•University Educated

•Be interested in politics and popular and high culture

•Have a limited disposable income

•Want to help make a difference to the society we live in

The front covers, and content must attract this type of reader (Audience).  The use of media language and representations it constructs must also appeal to the reader in order to insure that the street vendors can sell each issue and make money.

Crisis UK states that

•People become homeless for lots of different reasons. There are social causes of homelessness, such as a lack of affordable housing, poverty and unemployment; and life events which cause individuals to become homeless.

•People can become homeless when they leave prison, care or the army with no home to go to. Many homeless women have escaped a violent relationship.

•Many people become homeless because they can no longer afford the rent.

•And for many, life events like a relationship breaking down, losing a job, mental or physical health problems, or substance misuse can be the trigger. Being homeless can, in turn, make many of these problems even harder to resolve.

Representations of poverty and underclass

• Portrayal usually negative and stereotypical,

• Portrayed in the form of statistics in news bulletin such as figures of unemployment,

• Recent media interest in the labelling of the poor such as “chavs” which according to

•Shildrick and MacDonald (2007) suggest that the poor are undeserving of sympathy,

•Hayward and Yar (2006) – the term chav is used as an amusing term of abuse for young poor people

•Butsch (1992) – working class portrayed as flawed individuals (benefit cheats, etc)

•Newman (2006) argues that when in the media working class are often depicted in a very non positive light

RIGHT WING MEDIA TABLOIDS SUCH AS THE SUN, THE MAIL AND THE DAILY EXPRESS  REGULARLY PORTRAY THE POOR/ WORKING CLASS AS SCROUNGERS/IRRESPONSIBLE/FECKLESS

Representation refers to the representation of an issue, event, social group or person from the particular point of view of the person who constructs the representation.

Common representations in the magazine industry tend to support the dominant social group, as they are usually the media owners and producers.   This means that the media representations often serve to reinforce the social status quo, so that those considered to be in minority or subordinate groups remain stuck in those social roles

This links to Gramsci’s theory of hegemony and consequently the poor are often marginalised since they have little agency (power) over the middle class and elites who are the dominant voice in society.

The Big Issue is a charity that, through the magazine aims to help those who are marginalized in society and subsequently misrepresented or under represented in the mainstream media.  It aims to provide a platform for social issues that are of national and global importance.

IRONY

a situation in which something which was intended to have a particular result has the opposite….

Definition of SATIRE:

the use of humour, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

  Hamilton-

   How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore
And a Scotsman, dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot
    In the Caribbean by providence impoverished
In squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?

The ten-dollar founding father without a father
Got a lot farther by working a lot harder
By being a lot smarter By being a self-starter
By fourteen, they placed him in charge of a trading charter

And every day while slaves were being slaughtered and carted away
Across the waves, he struggled and kept his guard up
Inside, he was longing for something to be a part of
The brother was ready to beg, steal, borrow, or barter

Then a hurricane came, and devastation reigned
Our man saw his future drip, dripping down the drain
Put a pencil to his temple, connected it to his brain
And he wrote his first refrain, a testament to his pain

Well, the word got around, they said, this kid is insane, man
Took up a collection just to send him to the mainland
Get your education, don't forget from whence you came
And the world is gonna know your name
What's your name, man?

Alexander Hamilton
My name is Alexander Hamilton
And there's a million things I haven't done
But just you wait, just you wait

When he was ten his father split, full of it, debt-ridden
Two years later, see Alex and his mother bed-ridden
Half-dead sittin' in their own sick, the scent thick

And Alex got better but his mother went quick

However the magazine owners (hegemony)  and target audience can be seen to fall into this dominant group in that they are white,, male, middle class and middle aged.  This suggests that the Big Issue  is likely to offer complex representations that possibly both challenge and support those seen in mainstream magazines

America is a nation of immigrants

Trumps position on immigration and immigrants-

As a man was holding a sign saying Immigrants built America, it took his attention for a while however this was just reflecting what his views on it are, which is quite negative as he doesn't like them and feels that they are ruining the reputation of America, with the aspect of racism being that it says that they bring in drugs etc
.

Issues-

Mental health, Trumps political ability, the impact of US culture and poltiics on the UK


The mental health aspect of Trump is that as he's quite confident with himself the link of anxiety comes out following having a meltdown from the stress of the pressure he has that comes with his job as being president, because everything he says will always have some kind of backlash in any situation, he can't make everyone happy there is always going to be someone with polar opposite views to the so he mainly has to think off the majority and not the minority in this instance. If he gets abused and publicly made fun of as well it's hard for him to say what he actually thinks. Which relates to when he came over to England because we see that and focus on that rather than the true facts behind what he is saying.


The magazine editors has chosen to represent Donald Trump as harsh considering the his social issues, the Big Issue reflects the values of the magazine and appeal to the social and politcal interest of the audience.
Capitalism view, not the type of person to give out money.


Positive and negative stereotypes-
Showing Trump as a white, male, middle-class middle aged and conservative memeber of the dominant group, he could be used to show a positive message in the media.
When a newspaper/magazine wants to reinforce their views they construct that negative stereotype of him as a political figure for the public to laugh at him.


Social groups-


C- High class
A- middle age
G- white male
E- American, 99p represents Britain
D- Mental health, not shown but in the brain
Keep women in tow


Impact on industry-
It gives a deeper meaning to the message behind it, gets the message sent out and across quicker as production costs are lower.
Industry context-
Long history of illustrations/cartoons , British people can take humour


Representation construct versions of reality-
Trumps melting face looks like he is melting under pressure and not looking to his visit to the UK, the producers are able to satirise and invite readers to question his motives, social and political values and the impact of his visit.


Representations make claims about realism-
Flake news, producers construct a representation of Trump that claims he is an unfit president. The representation of ice cream caricatures him and constructs a message that he cannot be taken seriously in reality.

Magazine has clear social agenda which includes social welfare, current affairs,politics, culture,the environment, finance, health, food and sport.




An ideology is a set of normative beliefs and values that a person or other entity has for non-epistemic reasons. These rely on basic assumptions about reality that may or may not have any factual basis. A

system of ideas and ideals, especially one which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Your viewpoint is the particular way you see the world, or your distinct perspective on things. It's literally your point of view! To stop arguing with someone, try to see things from their viewpoint so you can kiss and make up. Use viewpoint to talk about a person's individual attitude about things.

Capitalism- an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit, rather than by the state.
Individualism is all about taking care of yourself; it is the belief and practice that every person is unique and self-reliant. In particular, the United States is known for having a strong bent towards individualism because it was founded by people who sought the freedom to practice whatever religion they chose.
Post Modernism- also spelled post-modernism, in Western philosophy, a late 20th-century movement characterised by broad scepticism, subjectivity, or relativism; a general suspicion of reason; and an acute sensitivity to the role of ideology in asserting and maintaining political and economic power.

Socialism- a political and economic theory of social organisation which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
Consumerism- is a social and economic order that encourages an acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts


Out of the above, I feel as though socialism relates to The Big Issue as it relates to people as a whole.

Social welfare- A social welfare system offers assistance to individuals and families in need, with such programs as health care assistance, food stamps, and unemployment compensation.

Current affairs- events of political or social interest and importance happening in the world at the present time.

Politics- the activities associated with the governance of a country or area, especially the debate between parties having power. activities aimed at improving someone's status or increasing power within an organisation.

Culture- the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a particular people or society.

The Environment- the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.

Viewpoints and ideologies-
The big issue can seen to be counter to right-wing politics which do not value progressive social welfare politics but instead value individual and financial profit from business above access to social provision and equality leading to the idea of socialism.
Even though the owners are white male, middle aged and middle class their viewpoint is creating opportunities to support social welfare and values. This is achieved by the use of satire, which is events issues and social groups and the society we live in and the other is communicating the magazines ideological values to care about all social groups and not just the ones with political, social and cultural power, gives the point of view to the audience from the producer.

Audience interpretation-
The producer could say, they want them to read it in a preferred way however the audience may have different views and read it in another way that the producer didn't intend.
The reader could have cultural capital and experience to understand the inter textual references made by front covers, the front cover relies on the audience to have experience or knowledge or to be interested in the context.
The reader shares the same ideological values as the producer of the representation, the audience would have to be actively seeking to buy the magazine from street vendors, while doing that they contribute to social welfare and development of vendors.
The reader enjoys satire and is interested in social, political and cultural figures, issues and events, the target audience is left wing with the occupations being in the civil service , charities or government suggesting they will see the satire constructed in the media language, relevant to values and social experiences. Will appeal to social and political conventions and also their education levels.

Intertextuality- Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC since 1963. The programme depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called "the Doctor", an extraterrestrial being, to all appearances human, from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor explores the universe in a time-travelling space ship called the TARDIS. Its exterior appears as a blue British police box, which was a common sight in Britain in 1963 when the series first aired. Accompanied by a number of companions, the Doctor combats a variety of foes while working to save civilisations and help people in need. However the show got relaunched in 2005 and since then it has been produced by BBC Wales in Cardiff. Thirteen actors have headlined the series as the Doctor. The transition from one actor to another is written into the plot of the show with the concept of regeneration into a new incarnation, a plot device in which a Time Lord "transforms" into a new body when the current one is too badly harmed to heal normally. Each actor's portrayal is unique, but all represent stages in the life of the same character, and together, they form a single lifetime with a single narrative.

The tagline 'The doctor doesn't leave you' gives us the idea that everyone who has played the doctor and even if someone comes and becomes the new one, the element of the doctor is always in them and what they will be known as, this is why the tagline is used in the magazine because David Tennant wanted to be portrayed as a normal person and who he is rather than just the Doctor because with that it gives him a sense of being public property and he wants to escape from that and be free while still having a piece of the Doctor in him. 

Discuss how the ideology of Individualism is an important aspect  in the construction of the magazine- The ideology of individualism is important in the construction because the people who see it will react to it as 'that's the doctor' because that's what many people know him from however with the construction he wants to be seen as a normal person and branch into making the people realise that its him straight away but with his real name and not the character in the television show. This is where the idea of individualism comes from because he wants to break from that stereotype and with the fear of him being public property this characteristic really is important in differentiating the positives and negatives of being in the public eye, even though its been ten years since he's been the doctor the show is still popular and has relevance to the old doctors suggesting that it all links together in the end and the other doctors go through the same thing but this time its actually being addressed on the cover of the Big Issue magazine.