A level magazine research

1. Brief 3 magazines and
online- Research

2. Requirements of the brief
 You work for an independent media production company. You have been
given the task of producing one front cover and the contents page(s) of
the first two editions of a new entertainment magazine that is being
launched by Hearst Magazines UK and the working website for
magazine.
 Contents pages can be either single or double page spread.
 The web pages must promote the new magazine to its target audience
and enable fans to interact with the content.

3. Statement of intent
 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?
Product 1
 For my magazine I intend to use the four areas of media theoretical framework which are industry, audience,
representation and media language to meet the requirements of my brief. The style of my magazine will be an
entertainment magazine, but I want it to be all inclusive and not look like its just targeting one type of social
group, I want it to be a more luxurious and easy to read magazine, I will uses light colours and font for the
masthead and coverlines that stand out on the page. 16- 25 is the target group for my magazine so to make sure
that I’m appealing to this group the models I’m using are of both genders and ages in this age group so people
are seeing people their age on the front cover and not people who are older or younger. I have researched
closely at Hearst magazine to get a good understanding of what they expect from their magazines and have took
close consideration into my own, I will need to make sure that on my covers that it draws the reader to the
imagine and not a loads side-lines on the cover. Magazines normally target the mass audiences to maximise
profit so they typically represent all different social groups e.g. ethnicity and age in a positive way so I intent to
do the same in mine. My research has influenced my ideas because now I have more consideration of the images
on my magazine and the mise-en-scene and the editing then magazines elements like the coverlines.
Product 2
 For my magazines website I would like to make sure that the magazine and website flow together and look
connected so my style will be luxurious by focusing on the pictures and having simply but effective font and easy
to follow. I have also looked at Hearst magazine websites and they are quite minimalistic with helpful icons
which take you to other pages for more information, I will include this style into my own website as it flows the
house style and I think it is effective for the target demographic. Which is 16-25, who now are more likely to go
online and read articles then go and buy one so need to make sure it is something that appeals to them and is
easy to follow. Websites normally represent different social groups in a positive way so I will do the same in my
own magazine as I’m showing all different type of ages and genders in my magazine.

4. Statement of intent
 How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your
knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your
media production?
 I will link my magazine and website together to show my understanding in
many different ways. I will use the same models and images on both magazine
and website to show the connection of the two, and include a short video on
my website showing a ‘behind the scenes’ element from my photoshoot so
this will show digitally convergent nature because I’m using all my types of
media-print, online and video which appeals to my target audience as young
people like choice . I will also make sure that they both have the same style
so the same colour scheme etc and will have the same type of elements like
the title and logo. Readers will also be able to use social media links to
interact with the brand to fell more inclusive.

5. Mood board – front cover

6. Mood board – content page

7. Very minimalistic
– only photo is
Ariana Grande
and the title of
the magazine also
an introduction to
her article
Masthead - Writing in
bold writing all down
the side of the cover in
a pink bold writing that
stands out and is also
behind a dark
background which
makes it stand out
more
Headline -
Introduction of
Ariana's article in
magazine which
people will want to
read about because
she is a popular
singer
Date and issue of
the magazine in
small writing
underneath
Main and only photo is
of the singer so people
who like her are likely
to buy but doesn’t
target other people
because it’s a very
targeted cover
Dark background
which makes all
the writing and
image stands out

8. Prince harry and
Meghan photo –
smaller in the
corner but bold
writing underneath
so still stands out
Very close up shot
of Meghan so focus
you in to the
image
Headline - Big bold
writing on a coloured
background in white
so stands out
Black writing
underneath telling
you about article
Selling lines - True
story which people
might wat to read
about and not all
about celebrities
Selling lines - Body
positivise image on
front cover of women
and true stories of
there experiences
Masthead - Bold
lettering at the top in
purple and white that
takes up a lot of he
background
Crown on top of
the details so it
links to the royals

9. Vanity
fair
Quite minimalistic
back background
makes you focus on
the picture
Masthead - Bold big
orange lettering
pulls you towards
Captions - New
film at the time
which was popular
which people will
want to read on
Headlines -
Introduction on the
cover star – who is
and picture. Main
focus on the whole
front cover is
Michael and quite
plain back ground so
he stands out
Selling lines - All the
black writing pops
out on the
background even
though is small
writing
Selling lines- Article
about trump –gets a
lot of publicity in the
media so people
might want to read
the article

10. Masthead - big bold
letters and catching
eye colour (red) so
puts the reader to the
title
Price of the magazine
and barcode
Date and issue
number
Headlines - Article about a
new film that has come out
which people are likely to
want to read reviews about
because the first film was
popular
Image is of the actor in
and out of the costume so
people are able to
recognise his character
and him as an actor – it is
also a close up shot on a
white background which
stands out on the page
Selling lines- Information
on a popular film sequel
Film review on a high gross
film and marvel empire
Both will attract readers
because people are very
popular and target
different audiences
Discount code which
people will be interested
in – stands out in bright
yellow and different
colour writing and is also
close to the main image
so its something that
catches your eye
Celebrity endorsement
because his name is in
bold big yellow letters
which stands out so
people who like him will
read

11.  After analysing the 4 different front covers of different entertainment
magazines I found that in every one the front covers the main focus was on
the celebrity in the pictures and the image would be very focused on them
with either a plain background or a close up shot of them.
 Another common theme was a the title of the magazine was in big bold
lettering which you could tell what magazine it is and didn’t get lost behind
the images or other texts.
 They all also include additional text on the front covers some do have more
than others but its more extra writing than extra pictures linking to the
article. Personally on my own magazine I would like to include extra images
on the front cover but I will also consider adding more text around the side.
 Another feature is that all the magazines have a good use of bold colours
which aren’t over powering and still focus on the main image and article the
magazine which you a drown to when first looking at the magazine
Analysis of the magazine front covers

12. Name of the magazine at
the start of the website
Logo
Menu bar of the different icons
which link on to other pages
Sell lines of
stories which
are to do with
celebrities
which people
can click on
and read more
Sell lines of style
tips which would
link to new trends
Advertisement of a
popular shop and the
model in the advert is see
as relent at the time so
people will wan to visit
the shop when they see
someone famous there
Use of light colours
– targeted to
women as it is seen
as feminine
After analysing a Hearst magazine
cover I've found that it is quite
minimalistic but it is easy to use and
easy to follow. It also links to the
magazine with have the same font
title and using the same colour
theme, it also uses the same points
of interest on the magazine and on
the website front page to interest
the readers. This shows that them
type of articles is what there
readers are interested in.

13. Title and logo of
the magazine
Image of a model
on the content
page
Number of the pages
next to a description
of what is on that
pageArticles spilt into
columns with
titles on what
type of topic the
article is about so
it makes it easier
to look and find
what you want to
read about
Editors note stating
about the magazine
and the cover
After analysing this Hearst
magazine content page of
ELLE I’ve found that in my
own content page I want to
include of this one has the
different titles on the
different topic areas because
I think it makes an easy to
follow magazine which I want
mine to be.

14. Target audience
 My target audience is 16 to 25 year olds, to make my magazine appeal to this
audience I need to include elements that will interest them. To do this I made a
questionnaire which I gave to people in this age group to see what they like to see
on a front page of a magazine. I asked 10 people to fill out the questionnaire, 5 girls
and 5 boys, and compared the results to get a common interests in the both genders
and age groups.
 I also did research online to find out what people are interested in and what other
magazines that target like age group include. I looked at magazines like teen vogue,
billboard and entertainment weekly.
 From the research I found that to make my magazine to appeal to this range I need
to include headlines and sell lines which are about celebrities, latest trends in
fashion and selfcare e.g. makeup and articles about healthy foods and healthy living
as now more people are interested about living a healthier life.
 I will also need my magazine to stand out so it will make people in this age group
want to buy it because even though I'm making a website as well I want people to
buy my magazine and younger adults and teens aren’t bothered about buy
magazines anymore.
 My target audience is also for a fun-loving demographic in this age range, to include
this in my magazine to appeal to them I need to make sure that my magazine isn’t
boring and add articles that aren’t as serious and on lighthearted topics e.g. style
tips

15. Questionnaire

16. Questionnaire Analysis
Age
16-18 19-21 22-25
Do you read magazines?
Yes No
What type of magazines do
you enjoy?
fashion entertainment car
sport gaming other
Do you think it's important for a
magazine to have a website?
Yes No
4
7
3
5
2
2
8
2
1
1
8
3
7
What do you find more interesting,
stories about celebrities or general
public?
Celebrities General public
8
2

17. Questionnaire Analysis
 I made sure I included at least one person from all the age ranges to get
a better understanding off what the different mixture of ages liked in
magazines.
 The majority of the group that I asked said that they didn’t read
magazines which shows that younger people aren’t interested in
magazines anymore.
 More people cared more for stories about celebrities than the general
public so on my front cover I need to include articles about celebrities so
people are more likely to pick them up and read them.
 The question about what magazines people like was a multiple choice so
I could see what magazines the range of people enjoyed but the most
popular answer was entertainment magazines. The second and third
magazines that people found interesting was sport and fashion magazines
so I will include elements of theses two type of magazines in my own.
 Most people said that it is important for a magazine to have a website,
this is good for me because it shows that people are interesting when a
magazine has a website.

18. Hearst research
 Hearst Communications, often referred to as Hearst, is an American mass media
and business information conglomerate based in New York City. Hearst owns
newspapers, magazines, television channels, and television stations, including
the San Francisco Chronicle, the Houston Chronicle, Cosmopolitan and Esquire.
To help me create my magazine which would be suitable for Hearst to produce I
had to some background research into the business to understand more and see
what I would need to include.
 Hearst are one of the biggest publishers of monthly magazines internationally
and have a brand reach of 13.9 million and 58.9 million global readers. In the
UK they have over 14 million adult readers which they say are there target
audience so this means that I have more freedom to create a magazine which
targets my target audience which is 16-25 if Hearst preexisting magazines don’t
target.
 Popular examples of Hearst different magazines are good living, best, ELLE,
country living, good housekeeping, bazaar and many more but the magazine
that I will be looking closely at to try make my magazine like are ELLE and
cosmopolitan. I’ve chose to study these two magazines because firstly if I was
going to buy a magazine in a shop I would chose theses to and I also follow
cosmopolitan on social media, theses magazines also have the same target
group as my magazine so makes them the prefect Hearst magazines to study.

19. Hearst research – Cosmopolitan and ELLE
 Cosmopolitan is the biggest young women’s magazine media brand in the UK and
reaches 1 in 4 millennials. They have a brand reach of 3.5 million, 3.3 million monthly
visitors and 1.1 daily snapchat subscribers. As Cosmopolitan targets a younger audience
they focus on things like social media which people follow day to day and monthly
magazine, on their social media like snapchat they have easy features which offer
advice on how to start the day, tips on to keep healthy throughout it, the latest career
advice, the most current fashion and beauty trends, inspirational lifestyle and
relationship stories. The magazine is published every month where you can buy it in
most supermarkets and newsagents, cosmopolitan posts on their social media everyday
and update their website frequently to keep the younger audience more interested
because they care more about reading online than a paper magazine. Cosmopolitan is
only £2 to buy so it is considered a quite affordable magazine which is good for their
target audience as they do target teenaged girls.
 ELLE is the biggest selling fashion magazine brand in the world with 7.9 million social
media followers, 1.2 million brand reach and 739,000 unique visitors. ELLE has 48 print
editions worldwide and 44 websites. Launched in 1985, British ELLE offers its young,
engaged audience access to world-renowned designers, celebrities, models,
photographers, writers, columnists and stylists. ELLE magazines come out every 30 days
but their social media and YouTube this also includes their website gets updated
frequently to keep the audience engaged and still interested in the magazine as loyal
readers. ELLE is £4.50 it buy which is considered on the higher end because of the price
so this shows that it targets a more sophisticated target audience.

20. Hearst research – House Style
 Cosmopolitans front cover usually consists of one main image of a
celebrity with a plan back ground with writing all around the main image
and the masthead is behind the main image which makes you focus on
who is on the front of the cover. They also use a lot of pinks, purples and
light colours on the front cover, this represents a more feminine image to
the magazine because they use colours that are seen as ‘girly’ and not a
range of different colours. I also looked at the type of style that ELLE
magazine used as that is another one of Hearst magazines and they use
the same type of style as cosmopolitan with one main image covering the
page and writing all around it also with the masthead in the background
which pulls your attention to the main image.

21. Hearst research – Social Representations
 When researching Hearst magazines and especially looking more closely at
Cosmopolitan and ELLE I found that on their front covers that the type of
social groups that they representing are female celebrities and models and
you never see men on the front cover even though the front articles could be
male orientated. They do use a range of different ethnicities and age ranges
but it is mostly younger white women who are in their 20s ad they never
usually represent a woman who is older than late 30s. Cosmopolitan and ELLE
do this because their mass market is young white women so the are more
likely to put someone who is young and see as relevant on the front cover to
get people to read the magazine then someone who is older which a younger
person might not know so wont seem interested to buy the magazine.

22. Hearst research concluded
 From my research about Hearst I found out that I want my magazine to be
similar to cosmopolitan but instead of just targeting young women I want
to create a magazine which is suitable for both genders. Cosmopolitan is
a good magazine to help me with creating my own as the target age is the
same as my own magazine which is 16-25, because they have already got
the same age range I can also use what type of elements Hearst use on
this magazine so I can include the type of style into my own to make it
look like it belongs to the Hearst family. Having the same age range is
also good extra help as cosmopolitan is a successful magazine for the
target age so it will help for my magazine to be successful in targeting
the group and mass market.