Component 2

Readership: An estimate of how many readers a publication has

Circulation: A count of how many copies of a particular publication are distributed, including subscriptions.

Readership and Circulation

The National Readership Survey (NRS) provide publishers and advertisers with vital data on readership and circulation.

The NRS categories audiences using demographic variables- gender, age, social grade etc

Social grade method of classifying readership is the most widely used- since 1956

In this system, readers are given a grade based on the occupation of the chief income earner in their household.

NRS Social Grades

A- High managerial, administrive or professional (4% of the UK)

B- Intermediate managerial, administrive or professional (23% of the UK)

C1- Supervisory, clerical and junior managerial, administrative or professional (29% of the UK)

C2- Skilled manual workers (21% of the UK)

D- Semi and unskilled manual worker (15% of the UK)

E- State pensioners, casual or lowest grade workers, unemployed with state benefits only (8% of the UK)

Why is this used?

There is a strong correlation between social grade and income-useful for publishers and advertisers. For example, magazine which target AB or ABC1 readers often carry more expensive brands, whilst those which target C2DE readers are more likely to endorse everyday brands.

Vogue 2018 Figures

1,147,000- Readership (includes digital)

190,032- Circulation (physical circulation of magazines), (monthly figure)

Average age: 38

Target Social Grade-

AB- 35%  C1- 32%

ABC1- 67% of readers

Possible readers within C2DE- Aspirers

vogue media pack

Uses and Gratifications Theory

Blumer and Katz’s uses and gratifications theory suggests that audiences actively seek out media products in order to satisfy particular needs.

P- Personal Identity: Audiences relates to characters

I- Information: (surveillance needs)

E- Entertainment: Diversion, escapism and entertainment

S- Social Interaction: Integration and interactions about the product they are consuming

To explore the uses and gratifications theory, it may be helpful to ask the following questions:

• What particular information or advice does the magazine offer to its readers?
• In what ways could the magazine be seen to distract or divert its readers from the routines of everyday life? What particular pleasures does it offer?
• How might the magazine be used to construct a sense of identity?
• In what ways might the magazine be seen to facilitate a sense of belonging? What opportunities does it provide for interaction with others?

Changing roles of women in the 1960s (Context)

In what ways could changing roles of women and gender norms in the 1950s-60s impact the Vogue magazine?

The changing roles of women in the 50s/60s impact the Vogue magazines articles and representations. Vogues current main editor is Anna Wintour who regulates what goes into the magazine. Images in the magazine are mainly of women with fashionable clothing which appeals to a mainly female audience.

Title: Vogue July 1965

Background Information:

Publisher- Conde Nast

Editor: Beatrix Miller

Genre: Luxury Fashion Magazine in print edition

Target Audience:

Style and fashion conscious women aged between 30-45. Audience uses Vogue as a luxury product and consumers buy the product reguarly.

Main Articles Featured:

Example of articles

• Feature: ‘Money: Questions and Answers’ by Shelia Black (pg 14,18)

This article is about dealing with finances in relation to the readers of Vogue and budgeting with clothes.

• Feature: ‘Picnics Probable and Improbable’ (pg 34-35, 36-37, 40-41, 42-43, 50-51)

This article talks about their experiences (Antonia Frasers) with picnics as well as black and white photographs of historical picnics

• Fashion Feature: ‘Heatwave Holiday: Clothes new in the shops now’ (pg 58-59, 60-61, 66-67)

These pages are dedicated to fashion in relation to going on holiday and the hot weather. This issue was released to the audience in July, the summer in the UK and the US. The articles include large photographs of upcoming popular fashion pieces with captions that underline where the audience can buy the items.

How is the magazine constructing and appealing to the target audience?

The magazine focuses almost entirely on fashion, status and clothing. The articles reflect historical fashion trends as well as makeup and clothing. The magazine provides to the audience a place of escapism where they can imagine themselves owning such luxury items. The magazine presents these women as powerful, however there is a sense of misogny with the inclusion of an ‘Imperial Leather’ advertising the soap in comparison to babies skin. With the picture of a mother and her child, this strongly suggests the assumption that the audience have children of their own.

Advertising

• Revlon: ‘The applied art of eye-making’ (pg 17)

Revlon is a makeup brand which has an advertisement in the Vogue magazine. The advertisement focuses on eye makeup and pressures the audience into the social construct of beauty which is reflected throughout the magazine. It defines ‘making eyes has always been a great feminine art’. It creates a tutorial for the audience

• Cutex ‘Bare Essentials’ (pg 23)

• Imperial Leather (pg 27)

Crime Film

Horror Film

Thriller Film

Music Magazine Idea

International Publishing Corporation

• International Publishing Coporation (IPC) formed in 1963
• IPC was formed following the merge between The Mirror Group(Newspapers/Publishing Companies) Odhams Press, George Newnes and Fleetway.
• This therefore saw further concentration of media ownership, IPC established itself as the largest newspaper and periodical printing group in the world.
• Major media companies often consolidate their power by moving into other sectors of the media= Diversification
• Conglomerate- A comapany that is made up of subsidiaries. Subsidiaries are smaller companies in their own right but still operate under a conglomerate.
• Unlike Conde Nast, The IPC is a vertically integrated company. (Vertical integration is where a company can control the production, distribution and consumption of its products) IPC media kickstarted the production of their products with their own printing plants.

Conde Nast

• Owned by Advance Publications (USA) since 1959
• Conde Nast publishes Vogue, it remained highly competitive in other sectors of the consumer magazine market
• It was one of the first publishers to launch international editions
• Vogue was orginally an American publication, with the British Edition released in 1916. The primary audience were all there due to the start of WW1.
• Unlike the IPC, Conde Nast do not own printing plants in the UK. However, they have a long term contract with Sun Engraving Company-highest quality printing press.

Apply Curran and Seatons theory of power and media industries of the magazine industry

The patterns of ownership and control in the media industry. The Curran and Seatons theory of power and media industries provides critical framework in this regard. The key elements of this theory is that:

• The media are controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power
• The general trend in media industries is towards a greater concentration of ownership.

Concentration of ownership is often as a result of horizontal integration. The theory claims that this generates a negative impact on media industries and audiences, and that it inhibits and restricts quality. For instance, Vogue is owned by Conde Nast, a large publishing company which own several different and popular magazines. In the September Issue (2009), Vogue’s editor Anna Wintour restricts creativity of the product of Vogue because of her picky vision of the covers.

In what ways could a recession or economic downturn impact on a magazine’s revenue streams?

Economic downturns of a magazine can result in the production value being affected. It potentially means that photography and editing is not of the best quality and therefore less likely to maintain a loyal audience. The consumers have a less disposable income and as a consequence is less likely to buy because Vogue is a luxury item. The distribution of the products would be on a smaller scale and as a result would not reach the target audience. Due to low quality production, advertisement revenue would decrease due to the damage to their brand identity. The income and expenditure of the magazine would be reduced and consequently a lower product outcome and potentially a redundancy to the entire magazine itself, affecting other businesses as well as other media links to the company.

Why Vogue has attracted and maintained an audience for over 100 years

Vogue has been an American magazine for many generations, therefore making it recognisable to many different audiences. It was founded in 1892 and British Vogue began in 1916, at the start of war- It became a form of escapism for readers at the difficult and uncertain time in society, it brought hope to the public.

Vogue became popular for its distinctive photographs which are of high quality. Nast hired the best photographers and editors in order to produce the best outcomes and occasionally revolutionary. In the 30’s Vogue became one of the first magazines to begin printing colour on the covers. In the 60’s the magazine reimagined the look of female models to highlight gender-neutral physiques. Vogue’s August 1974 was the first cover to picture an African American model.

When Anna Wintour became the editor of Vogue in 1988, she immediately transformed the look of Vogue covers by emphasizing the woman’s body, rather than only her face. She also frequently incorporated celebrities as opposed to traditional fashion models. In 2009, the film documentary The September Issue, which documented the production of the magazines record breaking 840 page September 2007 issue, was released.

What makes the Vogue brand unique?

The Vogue brand has thrived for over 100 years throughout the toughest time in
British history, from WW1 and WW2. It kept the British spirit alive in fashion. Over time, Vogue incorporated celebrities on their covers which help promote the brand as well as the celebrities themselves.

How has the brand changed over time?

The Vogue brand has changed over time as it adapts and shapes the current fashion industry. It reflects modern society and the industry at the time.

What changes in particular occured in the 1960s?

The focus on pop culture in the 1960s changed fashion. The Vogue magazine did many covers on this and therefore 60’s fashion changed because of this. From this point on, Vogue illustrated the movement of feminsim in each edition.