Magazine Exam Questions - Half Term Homework

1. How can magazines be aimed at a range of audiences? (for example, MOJO is aimed at a range of audience e.g. a more niche, older, predominantly male audience with an average age of 41) (5 marks)

Most magazines are aimed at a type of audience. For example, MOJO is for people who take interest in rock music. MOJO use cover stars such as Pink Floyd and Sex Pistols, to attract rock music consumers. The most common personnel used on MOJO front covers are white men. This is because the magazine is aimed at an audience of white men, and MOJO does this by including these artists on the cover. The rock culture is mainly for older, white men, and including older, white men in the magazine will attract more buyers. This can come under uses and gratifications theory, as one reason why people consume media, is to relate to others.

2. State one audience category that is more likely to read MOJO (go into detail about demographic and NRS) (5 marks)

One audience category that is more likely to read MOJO are male. In the rock industry, particularly a few decades ago, was mainly all men. This could mean that most songs that are produced at the time were aimed at men, so mostly men would listen to the music. Men also have a better foundation to relate to other men than women, so they might be able to better understand the artists and their music. Also in those days, it was more socially acceptable for a man to listen to hardcore rock music. For MOJO magazine, they know that mostly men are incorporated in the rock genre, therefore they aim their magazine at men. Because of this, 83.5% of MOJOs buyers are men.

3. Explain how readers may get pleasure from reading magazines. You may wish to refer to the uses and gratifications theory (10 marks)

Readers read magazines for many different reasons. Four of which come from uses and gratifications theory, which looks at why people consume media, which can be applied to magazines. One point of uses and gratification theory. One aspect of uses and gratifications theory is to get information. People read magazines to get information and use it as a good source. For example, if they read MOJO, they can get exclusive insight into rock music. Another aspect of uses and gratifications theory is to seek out self identity. This gives them pleasure as it helps them find out out more about themselves, and relate to other people. For example if they read MOJO, they can relate to people that they might not be able to find outside a magazine, due to psychedelic rock being very much a sub-culture. Another aspect of uses and gratifications theory is for entertainment. When people look at magazines, magazines often state impressive or extraordinary things, which can be very entertaining for people to read. Another aspect of uses and gratifications theory is for social interaction and integration. The magazines give people a talking point about their common interests. This gives them pleasure as they can talk about something that they love, which isn’t common amongst the interests of others. Another way readers can get pleasure from magazines, which doesn't come under uses and gratifications theory, can be applied to when some people don't have friends, a weekly or monthly magazine can fill in the role of essentially 'keeping the reader company'.

4. Analyse the representation of musicians, from any MOJO magazine front cover you have studied (10 marks)

On the front cover of MOJO magazine, the psychedelic rock band, Pink Floyd are featured as the main stars. Pink Floyd is a band made up of four white men. They represent the psychedelic rock culture well, as the people within it are mostly white men. Pink Floyd are also a bit older than your common pop artist, which is a reflection of MOJO's majority buyers. We know that 83.5% of MOJO's buyers are male, and we also understand that 65.1% of MOJO's buyers are at the ages of between 39 and 55 (mean age of 30). MOJO using an all-white, all-male and older band targets their majority audience, as the band is a true reflection of their fans and culture. However,in the top right corner of the front cover, it stars Patti Smith. Patti Smith is a female, psychedelic rock artist, which is quite uncommon. Another thing intriguing about the featuring of Patti Smith is the quote under her photo: "I have no fear". This could be referring to the idea of Patti having fears around being a woman embracing the psychedelic rock culture, and being successful doing so. This shows Patti as a brave figure, and could be showing strength towards her, and potentially other women in psychedelic rock. Including Patti Smith on a MOJO magazine cover, could be MOJO's attempt to broaden their audience, as at the minute, we know 83.5% of MOJO's buyers are male. This would benefit MOJO magazine's income, as putting Patti Smith on the front cover allows the inclusion of more women to read MOJO magazine, which means intriguing new buyers of the product. Women may feel inspired by the quote "I have no fear", leading them on to read more. Another benefit is the snowball effect, which leads to uses and gratifications theory, as women could potentially recommend the magazine to their friend, and they can talk about the magazine together.

5. Identify the regulator for magazines in the UK (1 mark)

The regulator for magazines in the UK is the Independent Press Standards Organisation.

6. State two ways that a print magazine can gain revenue (2 marks)

A print magazine can gain revenue by including advertisements in their magazine. They can also gain revenue by using globalisation, to sell the magazine all over the world.