1. UNIT 01 – AO1
Investigate and explain how different genres have developed for contrasting
media products
TRADE
Kine Weekly
Began in 1889 as Optical Magic Lanter and Photographic Enlarger – change to
Kine Weekly n 1907. Lasted until 1971. Owned by Odhams
It contained trade news, advertisements, reviews, exhibition advice, and reports
of regional and national meetings of trade organisations. Influencial due to its
indeing of the box office data.
Today’s Cinema
This was the American owned rival to Kine Weekly that begun existence as Daily
Cinema in 1957. The content was similar to Kine Weekly in that it was designed
to appeal to mainly those who worked in the film industry – either in production
or exhibition. This continued until 1975 when it was rebranded…
Screen International
Started in 1975 from the rebranded Today’s Cinema which had bought and
absorbed Kine Weekly. It became a weekly B2B brand reporting on industry
specifically for the UK film industry but also developments globally. Currently
owned by EMAP and now has a website: screendaily.com.
This remains the UK’s main industry paper with it’s rivals being the US based
Variety and Hollywood Reporter.
FAN
Motion Picture Story Magazine
This was a very early fan magazine that serviced the silent movie going audience
and ran from 1913-14. Rather than providing news and reviews, this reproduced
the stories of the current films – allowing fans to hear the plot without actually
seeing the films. In the late teens the magazines moved to focus not on the films
but the stars themselves.
Picturegoer
With the emphasis on the stars rather than the films Picturegoer was aimed at a
female audience. It started as a serious record of films on in the UK but focused
more on the glamour through the 40s and 50s. As TV became the main source of
entertainment for women from the 50s onward, Picturegoer merge with a pop
music titled called Disc Date. It ran from 1913 until 1960.
Empire
Today the focus is partly on star but also about serious appreciation of film – the
result is the more male orientated magazine such as Empire which began in
1989 as a review driven magazine but drew on influences from games mags

2. through the editorship of Colin Kennedy to become more male orientated.
Currently has an ABC of 194,000.
HIGH BROW
Monthly Film Bulletin
This ran from 1934 to April 1991. It began as a comprehensive listing magazines
for what was on in the UK cinemas and inform cinema managers of what was
coming up, but changed its remit to a more critical stance in the 1950s under the
editorship of David Robertson. This develop throughout the ‘70s taking on
auteur and Marxist film theories give it an arthouse audience and intellectual
tone. MFB merged with Sight and Sound in 1991.
Sight and Sound
Sight and Sound is published by the British Film Institute which is a charity
who’s remit is to promote the art of film and moving image in the UK. It began in
1934 and has always had a serious tone compared to fan magazines, but more
opinionated than the trade papers. Sight & Sound merged with Monthly Film
Bulletin in 1991. It is a highbrow critical magazine that treads the line between
consumer magazine and academic journal.
Little White Lies
The first issue of LWL was created as the final degree project of co-founder
Danny Miller in 2001. The first issue was released in February 2005, printed in
edition of 2500, and distributed only in UK Borders stores. Now the circulation is
16,000 and is part of the Church of London portfolio. It takes the same ‘film as
art’ approach as Sight & Sound but is far more design led and focusing on
independent rather than arthouse cinema.
NICHE
Supernatural
Supernatural, created by an independent publisher in Devon, was one of a
number of magazines released to attempt to cash in the success of the Hammer
Studios in the Horror and Sci-Fi genres. Rather than focusing on the latest
releases this focused on a specific type of film giving in depth coverage to the
making of the films and the ideas behind the monsters. This is the idea of a
‘narrow but deep’ subject matter.
Fangoria
Fangoria is a US magazine that was first published in 1978 to focus on Sci-fi
films, but became specifically horror focused as the success of the film Dawn of
the Dead. It rode the wave of success created by the video-nasty phenomenon of
the early 80s and has since broaden it’s media output to include radio, film
production and film festivals. It moves beyond just the films and focuses on the
culture surrounding the genre.
SFX
SFX began in 1995 and specialises in sci-fi and cult entertainment – both film and

3. television. While still niche it has the remit to go beyond a specific genre and
caters for the target audience that enjoys alternative films, fiction, literature,
game and comics. The official website explains that the SF stands for Sci-fi but
the X could stand for anything. Much like all Future magazines, it is design for a
hardcore audience but for entry points for the mainstrea
OTHER MEDIA
The FILM programme
This has run form 1972 to present day on BBC1. It was made famous by Barry
Norman (years 72-98) and has since been presented by Jonathan Ross (1999-
2010) and Claudia Winkleman (2011-present). The tone of the program is partly
news based with industry news, talent interviews and previews, but at the heart
of the program is the reviews section which is of course directed by the taste of
the presenter. This has changed somewhat with Winkleman as she holds a
discussion journalist Danny Leigh which offers a more open set of opinions.
Moviewatch
This was an early evening Channel 4 film review show, presented by Johnny
Vaughan and ran from 1993-97. Compared to BBC Film is was far more light-
hearted in tone, aimed at the multiplex audience and focused on the mainstream
releases of the week. It was dominated by the loud humour of presenter Vaughan
and included the views of cinema goers.
T4 Presents
These are presentations focused on specific event films that tie in with T4 target
audience such as The Hunger Games, Twlight and Snow White the Huntsmen.
The show is not news or opinion based but acts as part of the promotion for the
films focusing on cast interviews, backstage access at the premiere and behind
the scenes footage.