The document discusses the target audience for a media product described as a magazine aimed at young black males interested in rap music. It profiles a sample 17-year-old male target reader named Jermaine who lives in East London, studies media and music, enjoys hanging out with friends, and aims to become a successful rapper. The document then considers expanding the target audience to include late teen and early twenty-something females, profiling a sample 15-year-old female target reader named Kia who enjoys rap magazines, smoking weed, and hanging out with friends.

1. Media Evaluation
Katie O’Neill

2. I wanted my media product to appeal to males between the
ages of 17 and 24. My ideal audience would fit the criteria of
something similar to this portrayal of a young black male:
This is Jermaine ‘shottah’ Ivers; he’s 17 years old
and 9months. He lives in Hackney East London
and attends Barnet College. He studies Media,
BTEC National Award in Music Production
(recording) Business studies and Physical
Education. He listens to rap, bashment, Afro
beats and grime. Jermaine lives at home with his
mother and his younger brother. He enjoys
hanging out with his friends in the block of flats,
recording at the studio and scribbling lyrics
down. His fashion consists of snapbacks, jeans
and air forces. He doesn’t have a job as he’s too
busy spending time chasing his dream of
becoming a successful rapper. He shops in top
man and JD and is continuously looking for the
latest fashion trends to look “swag” (swag is a
slang term for fashionable) He often uses his
student discount, because let’s be honest, we all
love a bargain! He downloads his music illegally,
and rarely buys cd’s. If he goes to a gig,
merchandise is not brought as the music he
listens to talk about being the first and not the
next best. He aims to dress like his swagged up
idols

3. Jermaine’s ‘swagged’ up idols

4. Favourite films
His favourite films are 8 mile, kidulthood, adulthood and notorious, he
likes watching them at home with his closest mates - Whilst eating his
chicken from the chicken shop. His favourite TV channels are BBC
Three, comedy central and MTV. He enjoys watching the news, family
guy, celebrity big brother, Fresh prince of bel air ant MTV cribs. These
shows prove that even though he may wear stereotypical “bad boy”
clothing that he does care about what’s happening in the world, he
enjoys comedy and wants to see himself on MTV in the future. He’s
motivated to his work, dedicated to his family and aiming to be
successful in the future. I think my magazine will appeal to him, as he is
a stereotypical wannabe rapper whom of which my magazine is aimed
at.

5. Ideal target audience
My ideal target audience however would be slightly different. The
age of my target audience would be late teens to early twenties
(However, my magazine could attract an older audience due to all
types of rap being mentioned. It is unlikely though) the sex of my
target audience would be aimed at predominantly males, but could
attract females. The ethnicity and religion of my readers does not
matter. However, the social class would be aimed specifically at
working class. Purely because rap is a stereotypical working class
music genre. My target audience would keep up to date with the
music by illegally downloading it, sending songs via Bluetooth and
maybe using iTunes. They would obviously have to listen to rap as
it is a rap magazine. Home life would consist of living at home with
parent/guardian/s, flat-mates or living home alone. They would
attend college, thinking up ways and schemes of “how to get rich
quick” and would be motivated on succeeding in the music
industry, spending any free time that isn’t in the studio, writing
lyrics and “spitting bars”

6. Research into female audiences
After researching “VIBE” magazine I discovered that my audience
could have been widely targeted as young females also brought
vibe magazine due to the fashion and female artists included. My
initial idea was that attracting a female audience would have been
difficult to do and if I were to try that, I felt it would be hard to
ensure that conventions were followed as rap magazines are
stereotypically for young black males. After contemplating this, I
decided to make up another ideal reader this time, a female one

7. Kia Lawson
This is Kia ‘Mystique’ Lawson; she’s 15 years
old and lives in Brixton with her dad. She
smokes dope (weed) as often as she can and
doesn’t bother going school as it’s a “waste
of time” She lives for the vibe magazines and
likes to “spit bars” in the studio, amazing
guys with her unforeseeable talent. She
enjoys hanging out with her guys and girls,
usually chilling outside a cinema and
attempting to sneak in. She likes to drink KA
and loves to eat junk food as often as she
can. Even though she doesn’t enjoy school,
she got A Grades in Music, Media, Drama and
Business.