My EvaluationLoanna Katana

Magazines Similar to Baseline

Baseline Magazine Comparison

In what ways does your media product use,

develop or challenge forms and conventions of

real media products?

I believe the key ingredients of a music magazine are an effective design and layout, attraction of your target audience and correct presentation of ideas and image for your magazine. My front cover uses conventions of a typical magazine. I have used four main colours across my magazine pages, blue white black and pink. I intended to use these colours as a house style across all issues of front covers of Baseline magazine. I have included the essential components of a front cover which are a brand name, cover lines and an image. I have tried to develop these typical conventions by using various layouts and designs to add my own personal touch.

The magazine represents my own view of music, the genres which I enjoy listening to and wish to share with potential readers.

Front Cover

My Contents page uses in my opinion more modern designs which can be seen in magazines such as Vibe or NME. I wanted the focus of this page to be the content information and also images which I had taken for the magazine. My Contents Page uses a higher proportion of text to image because I think that this is typical of modern Content Pages, it allows only a few main pages to be highlighted rather than a general overview of all pages. In my opinion this is more appealing to the readers.

Contents Page

My double page spread uses a typical idea of an exclusive artist feature. I felt this was appropriate for the magazine, as it allowed me to create an artist which I would listen to and express her views towards music and life within the music industry. This would allow her to grow closer to her fans as they are enabled to see how music became apart of her life. The layout for my double page spread follows conventional ideas of a balance between image and text using a page for each. I chose to use this format because I felt my main image was strong enough to stand alone. It is an endearing picture which makes the text appear interesting to the reader.

Double Page Spread

How have you pushed the boundaries of this form?

I have pushed the boundaries with my magazine as I have created a music magazine which features mainstream and hip-hop music but may not necessarily appeal to all mainstream fans. My magazine features artists aged 17 years which is within its target age group however I feel that teens tend to enjoy artists more who are older, have lots of experience and can be idolised e.g Rihanna. However I don’t feel that this will stop teens from enjoying and listening to artist of a similar age.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The magazine uses more images than text as I think that the majority teens prefer to see artists and images rather than reading as they tend to lose interest. In my opinion this supports the idea that teens are quite lazy and unproductive. Music plays an important role in their life whether through singing, dancing or listening. The magazine does use stereotypical ideas of teenagers, teenage artist feature Teri is asked about any bad habits which she has. However this was intended to make the interview appear personal and funny.

The magazine positively represents teens and their hobbies standing against typical media representations. The magazine shows that teens are strong group in society. They have interests and hobbies which are a big part of their life. They are able to unite with other teens who share similar interests of music or interests and make a positive impact on the society. This magazine represents late teens who are mature and they have a strong interest in successful people around them and seek advice and gossip from them. The magazine is primarily aimed at fans of mainstream and hip-hop music who are represented as being very social able and up to date with the latest ideas and trends.

The magazine shows us that in the music industry there is equality between male and female artists. The music industry accepts artists from all classes and ethnicity and offers them a chance to reach success. Which is why fans and teens idolise those who have reached success and are often keen to enter the industry. The growth of the music industry shows that there is a place in everyone’s life for music which enables to reach a large scale audience.

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A media institution likely to publish Baseline magazine is InterMedia Partners which is a private equity investment firm founded in 2005. They have expanded largely due to their publication of Vibe magazine in 2009. Vibe is a hip-hop magazine which runs online. It is similar to Baseline magazine in the image which it portrays of music. It makes music not only appear to be a hobby but a way of life. An expression of the mind which can be used in life to benefit fans in many ways. InterMedia are held to great credit for maintaining the reputation of Vibe as it currently only works online so requires

A large scale of online advertising to reach its readers and attract new readers. InterMedia would benefit from publishing Baseline magazine because it is a new, fresh magazine which will appeal to teens and young adults unlike Vibe which tends to target adults. Baseline offers mainstream music with an element of hip-hop allowing it to appeal to a wide audience. It is exciting and attractive as it has the potential to unveil new artists to the music industry. As the magazine grows and gains more experience it has potential to be very attractive to large audience therefore leading to great success.

It is a profitable magazine which will benefit the Inter Media Investment firm. There is a gap in the market for a new, young and controversial magazine which gives its readers everything they could wish for in the music industry.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Baseline is a music magazine which is aimed at teens aged 15-18 years old who enjoy listening to a range of music genres. These readers are fans of mainstream music however they like the music of some artists in other music genres so can challenge media content with their demand for music. These readers enjoy fashion, are conscious of the clothes which they wear and the image they portray, they look up to certain celebrities with a good style of fashion. They tend to own popular gadgets and are aware of  the latest trends. The average Baseline reader is confident and works hard in all aspects of life in order to reach their own goals in life.

Parents of readers are likely to be in the C1 category with a few classed in the B category. This means that readers will not be receiving income and therefore relying on their Parents to give them finance for things such as magazines. There maybe exceptions as some readers may have part-time work outside of their education or be in full time work afford this item.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I was able to identify how to attract my target audience using a questionnaire why I had conducted in the early stages of product. The results of my questionnaire allowed me to identify the key areas of interest which my target group most enjoyed. What features they liked and disliked this indicated to me things which I should include in the magazine. For example a majority of teens dislike long boring articles and the use of many adverts. A review of the questionnaire on my blog is shown on the next slide.

I identified that the front care was the most important indicator when deciding whether teens would or would not buy the magazine. 90% of readers would not read a music magazine which does not catch their attention and admitting this may be part of the reason they have not read many magazines. Within my front cover I included elements which would attract the reader, lots of celebrity references, music related features for 2012 and an element of drama. From my own teen experiences and the feedback of other these factors make an issue exciting and create gossip which is a strong way to hook readers. I was aware that the correct mode of address was necessary to truly connect with readers. Short pieces of exciting information using informal language and lots of pictures.

Baseline magazine aims to talk to its readers as a friend or an advisor offering gossip about artists and the music industry. A reader would like to buy this magazine as it offers all the latest news about your favourite artists and upcoming events of the music industry. Baseline recognises that not everyone has a close connection to music but is suitable to readers with various levels of interest in music. It offers more than just artists but their personality, humour and advice to readers.

What have you learnt from the process of constructing this product?

The process of creating this product has reinforced basic skills such as organisation of time to enable me to meet deadlines and work at a suitable pace. Also being prepared with the correct instruments necessary in order to make the best use of the time available. For me the most interesting part has been learning new skills in order to use I.T. Programmes and objects for example digital recorders which I could not previously use.

I have been able to develop several new skills which have enabled me to use a scanner, Photoshop, InDesign, Publisher, Blogspot, Digital Cameras and transfer documents using different file labels.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Preliminary TaskStudent Magazine

Main TaskMusic Magazine

Gaining experience from my preliminary task allowed me to begin my main task with a clear idea. My main aim was to make the pages look professional by using realistic features ideas and working on the design and layout carefully to make sure everything is well presented. I was aware this involved detailed planning and spending time on all aspects of the pages. I have been able to increase my knowledge about the magazine industry as I now have some understanding of what is involved when producing media products and expressing your own ideas through them. Both tasks have shown me the importance of information and research carried out during producers and the target audience

which then needs to be successfully transferred into the media product. The tasks require lots of ideas and skills, they allow you to gain a better understanding of your own preferences of a magazine and how it can vary between different types of magazines e.g. Student magazines and music magazines. I have been able to develop my practical skills and produce a better quality of photos. I have become aware of the importance of components in the foreground and background of images. It has overall widen my technological skills and I have been able to produce magazine pages which I am happy with and would use in my own magazine.