Main Task Research and Planning

Here, I have annotated magazine covers to get a strong understanding of the codes and conventions needed for my arty magazine. I have chosen other magazines than just music magazines as I want to widen my knowledge especially as these magazines clash with my target audience. By looking at these magazines I am able to understand and use the codes and conventions such as pugs and slogans as well as other page furniture so I get the highest marks and to ensure my magazine looks realistic so that it could compete with these big branded magazines. 

I then proceeded to research music press to find out what it was and by widening my knowledge then the better my products will be. I made a power-point ( see below).

I then annotated Kerrang Magazine front covers and contents poage to look at the correlation between the two. This allowed me to identify house styles that Kerrang are famous for, again, this helped me to apply this to my final magazine so I could be as successful. 

For research, I took out a questionnaire for my music magazine. I found this helpful as it allowed me to get primary information from my target audience as well as seeing their points and what they want from my magazine. this market research was handed to my vertical tutor class to ensure that the results were mixed and accurate. This way it isn't biased and I get a good overview of peoples preferences. 

I mocked up two magazines, one not a music magazine I did this to test what looked good and what I preferred. By doing this it gave me a good idea of what looked good and where to put codes conventions, this really helped me as it pout ideas in my head as well as getting me to think about possible stories and getting used to different programmes. 

Bauer Research

This Bauer research is a good way to learn about institutions and Kerrang- a product of Bauer. By researching the conglomerate I am more prepared for the exam and I am able to notice institutions like Bauer and understand their background. By doing this about Bauer I know more about it and I am able to learn about magazines, this is knowledge I can apply to my exam answers and my magazine. 

What significance does the continuing development of digital media technology have for media institutions and audiences?

‘Magazine chiefs urge industry change from burning platform to growth’ this was said by Marcus Rich the chief executive of Marie Claire whom is trying to prove that the magazine industry is a ‘burning platform’ this is because magazine sales in the UK plummeted from 1.21 billion to 781 million sales last year proving that the magazine industry is ‘burning’ and that they have to change to growth in order to avoid the huge decline in sales.

The reason that magazine sales is on the immense decline is because of the recent peak of social media, due to social media and different media platforms many people no longer need to go out and buy magazines as they can access the same information and a lot of the time, even more information on their smartphones or throughout the use of social media. This way, one button can refresh the page and immediately new information comes available, this isn't equally the same case for magazines as many people think they are now ‘out dated’.

An example of an institution that continually develops the digital media technology they use is Bauer Media. Bauer Media is a division of the Bauer Media Group which reaches over 22 million adults every week and is Europe’s largest privately owned publishing group. The conglomerate Bauer Media, owns around 300 magazines in 15 different countries. This is significant as it shows that they reach lots and lots of people, this is done by development of digital technology. Due to their thrive for profit, Bauer want to ensure that they cater for everyone on every level so they allow their services to be reached a variety of ways, this includes social media.

Bauer Media owns the famous ‘Kerrang!’ brand. This brand has a USP in every issue, with its passionate title it has brand credibility and promotes their products on a wide variety of media platforms, examples of this could be on a Friday the TV channel Kerrang allow uses to watch and interact with the brand through social media (Twitter) in order to have a say on what channel is going to be played next. Apps on the Apple store and Google play can also be downloading, allowing their audience to get a 24 hour view of what the company have to offer. By doing this they are a successful company and by being up to date with technology it allows them to be flexible and change when technology does. This way they can reach their maximum target audience and get the maximum n umber of sales in order to keep them a conglomerate.

This section B question shows I have researched Bauer. By answering this question with my knowledge and the statistics and facts of Bauer I allow myself to both learn the facts and statistics and also practice answering exam style questions. This is helpful as it allows me to look at my errors and learn from them, allowing me to get the higher marks.