OCR Media Studies, Centre Number, 16607, Candidate Number, 6040

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? (approx. 400 words)

After researching into current affair magazines and analysing other Dennis publishing products, (for example, ‘The Week’ magazine). I identified the generic conventions through-out its print and online formats in the hopes to utilise these conventions to make my product an authentic Dennis publisher magazine. In terms of media language, I discovered that a strong brand identity throughout all products not only engages readers, but it makes all products easily recognisable. In my product, I will use the same masthead design throughout both editions with “VOUS” being in the same font and the same colour palette being used to make my magazine’s more recognisable, hence creating a strong brand identity. I will further use media language to evoke a sense of realism to the audience by producing a “raw” main image with a lack of editing to portray a representation of realism which will influence the viewer that the topics covered by the magazine are very real and important subjects to be taken seriously. To also portray a realistic representation and a sense of seriousness to audiences, I will use a direct mode of address with the models in my product – this will also apply as a generic feature of current affair magazines. I will also use models who are of a similar age to the target audiences to add an element of relatability. My magazine will cover conventional current affairs topics which include sexual abuse/assault and race issues which further shows how these serious topics should be covered in a realistic way. This adheres to Steve Neale’s genre theory as I will adhere to conventional current affair magazines conventions, as discovered in my research into the industry, such as a striking main image and strapline to draw the reader’s attention to the issue that is being covered and to encourage the audience to engage with my product. My aim is to shine a light on stereotypical “taboo” topics e.g. representing black men positively with my main image and empowering them with my strapline – which opposes Gilroy’s postcolonialism theory in which he suggests that black people are represented as “other” and “dangerous” etc. Intertextuality is also used in my front page with the coverline “this is the new black Britain” which refers to the book “Black Britain” made by Stuart hall and Paul Gilroy who is later referred to in one of the articles on the content page. This may be recognised by a culturally aware readership.

Product 2:

For my online product, I gathered from my research that a generic convention and one of the most important features of a current affairs magazine’s website is the encouragement of audience engagement. I will have this throughout my website for example, a feature allowing audiences to subscribe and hyperlinked social media links to encourage audiences to engage with my product further which will further appeal to the target audience of 16-25-year olds who are most familiar with these platforms. I will include a segment where people can find their tweets and interact with others to further audience engagement. This adheres to Shirky’s end of audience theory where audiences can now “talk back” as now audiences are active and not just passive. I will keep the colour scheme consistent within all my products to create a stronger sense of brand identity, making my magazine easily identifiable. I will further use welcoming imperative language such as “buy now” and “join the family” to create a sense of belonging which will gain subscribers to the company which is essential for new current affairs magazines as they rely on subscribers to elevate in the industry due to the new decline in print sales – now magazines are more reliant on other platforms e.g. digital magazines. In regard to representation, I aim to present marginalised groups and give them a platform e.g young people, women, ethnic minorities and people from the LGBTQ community. This is significant as in media, these groups are commonly not represented positively and by this, I will be fulfilling generic conventions of a current affair magazine.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production? (approx. 100 words)

Through my research, I have found that digital convergence between my print and online products is very important. I will achieve this with call to actions beckoning readers to the website. For example, I will offer an opportunity in my print front cover in which people can share their experience with the #VousExperience where readers can share their tweets and stories with other readers and interact and view stories from the community on the website. To further make my products digitally convergent, I will make sure that from print to online I will uphold the same house style by using the same font on my website used in my magazine masthead. I will also include an Easter eggs in which will promote this sense of digital convergence where readers get a sample of a story in the print edition and are subtly directed to a specific hidden part of the website where they are gifted with a downloadable version of the full story.