media studies

1. TASK 4
1) What typesof magazine andtarget audiences hasTimesInc(formerly IPC)beenassociated with
overthe years?
1800s – 1900s
The Fieldstartedin1853 and itbecame the largestnewspaperinEurope. The newspaperwas
basedon the CrimeanWar, whichincluded personal opinions andaccountsof people whowere
part of the Charge of the LightBrigade. The target audience forthismagazine would have been
malesaged25+ whowere inmiddle class. Thisisbecause duringthiseramenwere mainly
associated withwar. Inaddition tothis, inthe late 1800s 8 furtherIPCtitles were produced,
whichare still beingpublished tothisday. CountryLife, Horse &Hound, ShootingTimes,
YachtingWorld, AmateurGardening, CyclingWeekly, AmateurPhotographerandThe Railway
Magazine are specialistmagazines, whichfocuses onlifestyle andhobbies. The targetaudience
for thismagazine wouldbe white middleclassmen, whohave adisposable income. These
patrioticmagazines show thatthey are specifically aimedatmales. Therefore, thisportraysthat
whenIPCwas firststartingout, itwas mainly targetedatmales. However, fromthe masthead
‘AmateurGardening’ itmaybe aimedat females asthiswasthe type of housework they did. In
1889, the magazine Answers offeredmany sensational prizes. Thisisbecause competitions were
a key role in salespromotions forIPC. Inaddition tothis, otherdealswere offeredsuchasa £1 a
week forlife toany readerwhocouldguess the amount of foldandsilverinthe Bank of England
on a givendate. Thisintrigues the readerasthey are able to getsomethinginreturn. This
demonstrates thatwhenthe company wasfirstintroduced promotions were involved, which
attracts the audience.
1920s – 1940s
Duringthisperiod of time the company broadened theirtargetaudience, whichengagedmore
readersandalso made theircompany grow. In1920, Odhams launched the new monthly ‘Ideal
Home’ inopposition toNewnes’ ‘Homes &Gardens’. ‘Woman&Home’ entered the marketin
1926. Bothof these magazines were aimedatmiddle classwomen. Thisisshown through the
masthead‘WOMAN andhome’. In1932 the launchof ‘Woman’sOwn’ wascreated. Thisis
directly targeted ata specificgenderdue tothe word‘Woman’ beingusedinthe masthead,
whichindicates tothe readerthatthe audience isfemales. Furthermore, in1937, the firstissue
of ‘Women’ wasthe wasproduced;whichwasthe firstfull-colourmagazine (pricedat2d). This
enables ustosee how technology hasdeveloped overthe yearsandhow magazines startedto
become more professional. Inthe 1940’s IPC’s‘Women’s Weeklies’ gave essential information
service onbehalf of the government. Duringthistime perioditshows thatTimesIncwantedto
keepupthe morale of Britishwomen, astheirhusbands hadgone intowar.
1950s - 1970s
For these 20 years, the magazine whichwere produced mainly focused onmusicandmergers. In
the 1950s TimesInc. wantedto broaden theirtargetaudience evenfurtherbyproducingtheir
firstevermusicmagazine ‘New Musical Express’ (NME). Thisbroadened theirtargetaudience
because notonly didthey introduce musicitself, butthey alsoopened upthismagazine toboth

2. malesandfemales. Inaddition tothis, the targetaudience wouldbe people whoenjoy listening
to musicand gettinginformation ontheirfavouriteartistsandbands. Thismeansthatmore
clientswould be purchasingthe magazine because they have widened the targetaudience. In
addition tothis, ‘TV Times’ wasproduced, whichfocused onany genderwhowere interested in
TV and watched iton a daily basis. The coverstars were Lucille Ball andPatriciaDainton, this
may give the impression thatthe targetaudience isforfemales becausetwowomen have been
put onthe front. Therefore, IPCwasfurtherdevelopingitstechnology because ithadlinkedwith
TV, which meansmore people wouldbe purchasingmagazines. In1960, IPCintroduced 3 other
companiesintothe publishingbusiness thesewere ‘Newnes, Feetway andOghamsPress’. This
indicates thatthey are expandingboththeirbusiness andtargetaudience, whichmakesthem
more popularas magazine producers. In1969, ‘Shoot’ wasintroduces, whichfocuses on
football;therefore, showingthatthe magazine isformaleswho’sinterests are watching
football. Furthermore, ‘Rugby World’ and‘WorldSoccer’ were produces, whichshowsthatthe
target audience wasmainly middleclassmales, whoenjoyedwatchingorplayingsport. IPC
demonstrates thatthey are comingupwithmore magazines sothat they can broaden their
target audience andappeal toeveryone;whichmakesthemmore popular. In1970, The Reed
Group acquires IPCto create the giantglobal corporation, ReedInternational. Then, IPC
welcomed the QueenandDuke of Edinburgh toit’sKingsReachTower. The Queendecides to
visit‘Horse & Hound’, ‘Country Life’, ‘Woman’ and‘Woman’sOwn’ - thismaypersuade more
people topurchase the magazine due tocelebrity endorsementof the Queen. Prince Phillipalso
visited‘Angler’s Mail’ and‘YachtingMonthly’ - thismaygive the indication thatthese magazines
are aimedforhigherclasspeople. In1976, IPC introduced avideodivision, whichportrays that
IPCare up to date withtechnology, andthey are usingdifferentpiecesof technology toengage
theiraudience.
1980 - 2000
In thistime period, IPCfocused onEuropean anddomesticexpansion, whichrelatestotarget
audience because itlinksinwithethnicity andlifestyle. IN 1980, IPCannounces the formation of
European Magazines Ltd. thiswas jointwithMarie Claire tolaunchthe UK edition of the
international title Marie Claire in1988. Thisshowsthat theirtargetaudience andcompany was
growingbecause they were goingglobal. IPCdecidedtoproduce the ‘Editorial Awards;which
was a sell-outincountries suchasFrance. Later on inthat year, IPC produced magazines suchas
‘Mizz’, ‘Wedding&Home’, ‘ClassicBoat’ etc. Thisallowsme tohave faithin the publishing
company because eachof those magazines mentioned have differentgenres andaudiences. In
1991, TV Listings startedtobe included inmagazines, due tothe popularity of the TV. In1996,
IPCacquired ‘Here!’ andmergeditinto‘Now’. Thistime period, wasalsoimportantforthe
magazine ‘NME’ because itbecame the firstmajorUK music title togetitsown website (shows
that they are developingtechnology further). Lateroninthe year, IPC Magazines were soldto
Cinvenfor£860m in 1998, whichwas one of the largestbuyouts inUK history, whichshowsits
importance. In1999, IPC Magazine develops further, asthey formed 5limitedcompanies, this
showsthat they are unique andindividual, whichmakesthemstandoutfromotherpublishing
companies. In2000, there wasa majorchange for the publishers becauseIPCMagazines
renamed themselves toIPCMedia, thiswasa strategy tohelpthemwithbranding. InJanuary
2004, Ignite!launches theirvery firsmen’sweekly magazine‘Nuts’, whichwasthe biggest
launchinIPC’shistory, whichportrays thatit was an importanttime forthemandit enhanced

3. theirpublishingalotas at thisstage theirtargetaudience wasfocused onthe male gender. In
May 2004, IPC announces thatafter 30 years inKing’sReachTower, they are goingto move to
new offices nexttothe Tate Modern in 2007. The launchof ‘TVeasy’ wasproduced inApril 2005,
whichwasBritainsvery firstcompact paid-forTV listingsweekly. Itwasalsobackedupby a £10
millionmarketinginvestments, whichshows how the company isgrowingandhow itisreaching
out to itsaudience. The gamingwebsite ‘Mousebreaker’ waspurchased in2008, whichindicated
that the target audience isaimedatthe youngergeneration andpeople who’slifestyles include
gamingon a daily basis. Also, they would be middleclassbecause they wouldneedtobe able to
have enough money toplay the games.
2010
In January 2010, IPCdecided thatthey were goingtobe focusingon3 key targetaudiences
whichwere:men, massmarketwomen andup-marketwomen. They launched ‘Style atHome’
and ‘goodtoknow Recepies’, whichwere new monthly magazines. These magazines are targeted
at middle classwomen, whomaybe housewives andwhohave family. Thisisdue tothe fact
that the magazines are to do withthe ‘home’ and‘cooking’. InJune 2011, IPC targetedmass
marketmumswiththeirnew brand‘Feelgood games’, whichrewards themwithreal gifts. This
promotes the magazine andengages readers asthey are able to participate insomething, which
isassociated withthe magazine. MarcusRich announces thathe will be unitingthe business as
‘one IPC’. September2014, was anotherbigtime forthe publishingcompany asIPCMediawas
renamed tobecome Time Inc.(UK) Ltd.
2) Why mightTimesIncbe an appropriate publisherfora new musicmagazine?
TimesInc are a very popularandfamous publisher, whichmeansthatthey already have alarge
target audience;sothey canattract readers intobuyingthe new magazine. TimesInccovers all
genreshave made bothmagazines andnewspapers, whichinclude variousaudiences. Forexample
they have targetedspecificgenders, ethnicities, classes, lifestyle etc. Inaddition tothis, asTimesInc.
are already established itportraysthatthey are very popularandthat they are well knownforthe
othermagazine they have produced (suchasWoman’sOwn). TimesIncisan appropriate publisher
for a new magazine because they shipworldwide;thisalsoenhances the widetargetaudienceas
anyone isable to purchase the magazine.Furthermore, TimesInchasa very narrow range of music
magazines as‘NME’ isthe main one, therefore if they were lookingtowidentheirrange of music
magazines, thenthey wouldbe agoodpublisher. Also, TimesInc. are very experienced andthey
have beenrunningformanyyears, whichindicates how successful they have been.
3) What sorts of genresof music/types of magazinesmightthey be likely topublish?
I thinkthat they would publish anygenre of musicinthe magazine, thisisbecause of the wide target
audience thatthey have targetedalready. Inmyopinion, Ithinkthatif they were toproduce another
musicmagazine itwouldbe a differentgenre to‘NME’ because they wantto broaden theirtarget

4. audience evenmore. Therefore, asNME mainly targets‘Pop’ and‘Rap’ music, I believe thatthey
may go forsomethingsuchas Classical, Rocketc. However, onthe the otherhandIPCcouldpublish
a magazine withthe genre focusingandpopandrap. This isbecause they have already made alarge
fan base onthisgenre, and NME isa very popularmagazine. Therefore, byintroducinganother
magazine withinthe same genre, readers would be intrigued andwouldtherefore purchase the
magazine.
4) Why mightalternative publishers likeBauerbe appropriate?
Baueris a good publisheralongwithTimesInc.because ithasbeeninthe publishingbusiness fora
longperiodof time;the business startedin1875. Bauer sell millionsgomagazines onaweekly basis,
whichshows how successful theirbusiness isandhow itis still growing. Bauerowns very popular
magazines suchas ‘Heat’. Heatis a magazine, whichisfocused oncelebrities, fashion andgossip.
Thistargets females, who'slifestyles involvelearningabouttheirfavourite artists. Bauerare also
responsible forproducingmagazinessuchas‘Q’ and ‘MOJO’, whichare twoof the largestmusic
magazines inthe market. Anothermagazine, whichthey have produced is‘Grazia’. ThisisanItalian
magazine, therefore they have broadened theirtargetaudience, due tothe factthat it is linkedwith
ethnicity. The contentsof thismagazine alsoincludes information aboutgossipandnews. This
indicates thatBauerisa successful publishingcompany anddue tothe popularity inthe magazines
they produce;itwould attract more readersintopurchasingtheirmagazine. Ifeel thatBauerwould
be an appropriate publisher, becausethey have produced some of the mostfamous music
magazines till thisdayandthey alsohave a very large target audience;whichintrigues many
readers.