Conventions of a magazine contents page

Conventions of a double page spread

Learning Objectives: To create a rough out of a DPS in preparation of MS2 coursework.

Key terms: Image, quote, celebrity, stand first, by lines, colour scheme

Codes and conventions of a double page spread

Task 1: 

Rough out a DPS and submit for feedback if you plan to create this for your pre production or production.

For this double page spread on Adele, a large image has been used that covers more than half of the page. This striking image will capture the reader's attention straight away and invites them to read this interesting article. A simple title in black offers a brief overview of what is included in the next couple of pages; the readable font shows the idea that text can be interesting and informative at the same time. 

Audience Categories - Young and Rubicam (4 C's)

Learning Objective:  

How different audiences expect media texts to satisfy their wants and how to categorise these audiences.

• Key words: Young and Rubicam, Cross Cultural Consumer Characterisation, Four C’s.

THE FOUR C’S (cross-cultural consumer characteristics): 

This is one of the earliest, but still most popular, ways of profiling audiences. It profiles the audience in terms of wants and needs, not simply demographic. The model divides audiences into 7 types but there are four main categorise for us to consider.

• Mainstreamers

• Aspirers

• Reformers

• Succeeders

The categories can be defined as follows:

 • Mainstreamers; this is the largest group. They are concerned with stability, mainly buying well-known brands and consuming mainstream texts.
People that follow the crowd.

• Aspirers; seeking to improve themselves. They tend to define themselves by high status brands, absorbing the ideologies associated with the products and believing their status alters as a result.
People living a 'champagne lifestyle on a lemonade budget'

• Succeeders people who feel secure and in control – generally they are in positions of power. They buy brands which reinforce their feelings of control and power.
People with lots of money and can afford more high class products

• Reformers; idealists who actively consume eco-friendly products and buy brands which are environmentally supportive and healthy. They also buy products which establish this ‘caring and responsible’ ideology. Individuals (highly media literate, expects high-production advertising and buys product image not product, requires high-profiling sophisticated advertising campaigns).
-People who are worried about ethical issues/want to change the world

Task 1:

Assess which of Young and Rubicams 4C's are being targeted in the print based ad

Audience Theory - Two Step Flow

Learning Objective:

Key terms: Opinion leaders
These are people in society who may affect the way in which an audience interprets the media. For example politicians, teachers, celebrities and parents

Two Step Flow theory 
The idea that ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders, and from them to a wider population.
This theory reinforces the idea that audiences are sophisticated in their responses, they are individuals, active not passive.

An audience may not have witnessed an actual event themselves, hence the two step flow  but may be influenced by the opinion leader. 

For example the reviews in a newspaper by recognised film critics and similar quoptes on film posters will influence an audience who have yet to see the film in question. This is particularly true if they trust and value the opinions of those commenting on the text.

Politicians commenting on a newspaper story may influence an audience who have not actually read the article themselves.

Task 1:

Write a paragraph which includes the following words about the newspaper front page below.

Opinion leader, editor, mediation, selection, omission, construction, moral panic.

Audience Theory - Pick and Mix (David Gauntlett).

Learning objectives: 
To consider David Gauntlett's Pick and Mix theory in relation to

Key words: Sophisticated audiences

This is another theory that understands the autonomy of the audience. It couteracts the theory that all audiences are affected by what they read. 
Gauntlett focuses on the way in which magazines and advertisements attract and represent audiences. His suggestion is that audiences are sophisticated and use texts to satisfy their needs. They pick the bits of the text that are appropriate to them and their lives and ignore others. 
This challenges the theory that women, for example, will be adversely affected by the unrealistic images they see on the front covers of women's magazines. They may read the magazine, ignoring the articles relating to sex and relationships and 'pick' the articles on fashion and beauty.

To conclude, Gauntlett talks about a highly sophisticated media user that isaware of what they want and don’t want from media texts and is also aware of themselves as a consumer.

Task 1:
Apply Gauntlett's pick and mix theory to the magazine front cover below

Task 2: 
List the modes of address and language used on the cover.

Audience Theory - Uses and Gratification

Learning objectives: 
To apply Uses and Gratification theory to 

Key words: 
Diversion, Information, social interaction, Personal identity.

Uses and Gratification Theory. Blulmer and Katz.

Uses and gratifications theory (UGT) is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs. UGT is an audience-centered approach to understanding mass communication. Diverging from other media effect theories that question "what does media do to people?", UGT focuses on "what do people do with media?"

• Diversion (escape from everyday problems - emotional release, relaxing, filling time etc.)

• Personal relationships (using the media for emotional and other interactions e.g. substitution soap opera for family life OR using the cinema as a social event).

• Personal identity (constructing their own identity from characters in media texts, and learning behaviour and values – useful if trying to fit into a new country/culture)

• Surveillance (information gathering e.g. news, educational programming, weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains etc).



Task 1:
How could you apply Uses and Gratification theory to the feature film Harry Brown?

Task 2: Apply Uses and Gratification theory to the text in your own coursework investigation.

Audiences - Responses

Learning objectives:


Key words: Stuart Hall

The positioning of audiences by media texts suggests that the audiences shouls accept the messages contained within the text and decode the text in the way expected by the text's producers. However, audiences do not all respond to the texts in the same way.
They may accept or challenge the messages encoded within the text.
Stuart Hall accepted that audiences were active, not passive and suggested that there were three main ways in which audiences may respond to a media text.

There are a few important things to remember about the three different positions that we can take.

Preferred Reading

Is not just about 'liking' a text - you must understand what the purpose of a text is and agree with its ideologies and the messages it carries.

Oppositional Reading

Is not just 'disliking' a text - there are many reasons why someone may take an oppositional reading - but whatever these reasons are, the audience member must understand what the intentions of the text are, but reject them.

Negotiated Reading

Can be the case whereby an audience member agrees with some ideologies and not others, but it can also be the case where the audience doesn't fully understand the intentions of the text - or is confused about the purpose of the text.

Task 1:

Discuss reasons for the three different possible readings of the trailer below.

Bullet points.
* This text can be your specific example for the exam.