Oh Comely Industries case study

Oh Comely Industries case study - blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to complete your work on the Oh Comely magazine CSP. There are plenty of questions here but you will be given lesson time to start this and will find the reading gives you a brilliant insight into a vital aspect of media - the power of independent institutions.

Iceberg Press

Visit the Iceberg Press website - particularly the Who Are We page and the Why Are We Here page. Read the content and then answer the following questions:

1) Why did the people behind Iceberg Press set it up?

Iceberg Press was set up to provide the public with present material in a changing fresh social age.


2) What is the Iceberg Press mission statement? (It's on the Why Are We Here page and is a series of statements).

• The Iceberg mission statement reads:
• It's all about the audience
• Chase the work, not the money
• Compromise isn't our friend
• We will always make time for ideas
• We are stronger when we work with others
• Every year we will help a cause that matters
• We want good people to work in a good place
• We believe in a thing called print

3) What are the two magazines that Iceberg Press publishes?

The two magazines are: The Simple Things and Oh Comely.


4) What similarities do you notice between The Simple Things magazine and Oh Comely?

Both magazines appear to be extremely minimalist in design, with very few cover lines featured at the bottom of the cover, with both mastheads in lower case letters, neither magazine using ' star power ' to attract mainstream audiences, and both magazines using similar, minimal, natural color palettes

5) What differences can you find between Hearst UK, publisher of Men's Health, and Iceberg Press?

Through its mission statement, Hearst tries to appeal to a much broader, more mainstream audience, offering typical content and magazines with very standard designs, while Iceberg Press primarily targets a very particular audience of females with particular content and unconventional design for their magazines.


Writer's Edit journal article

Read this excellent Writer's Edit academic journal article on the independent magazine industry and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of an independent print magazine?

An autonomous print magazine is a magazine that is published without any economic assistance from bigger organizations or companies.

2) What does Hamilton (2013) suggest about independent magazines in the digital age?

Hamilton called the media industry a ' worldwide niche, ' autonomous magazines can use a wide internet presence to collect an audience and encourage their magazines. This allows more creative license to be available to creators and editors.

3) What is the aim of Kinfolk magazine and what similarities can you draw with Oh Comely?

Kinfolk magazine's objective is to help readers find ways to "simplify their life, cultivate community, and spend more time with their friends and family," similar to the objective of Oh Comely to encourage readers to discover their own creativity and become more socially conscious.

4) Why does the article suggest that independent magazines might be succeeding while global magazine publishers such as Bauer are struggling?

Independent magazines have been able to take advantage of new digital media by creating an online presence to help promote and distribute their magazines to a loyal audience, while global magazine publishers have been unable to adapt and find it difficult to maintain a stable print audience.

5) How do independent magazines launch? Look at the example of Alphabet Family Journal.

Independent magazines have been able to take advantage of new digital media by creating an online presence to help promote and distribute their magazines to a loyal audience, while global magazine publishers have been unable to adapt and find it difficult to maintain a stable print audience.

6) What does the article suggest about how independent publishers use digital media to target their niche audiences?

Independent publishers can use digital media to target their niche audiences by interacting with social media audiences, inspiring crowdfunding donations and a general interest in the magazine, as well as establishing the magazine's online retailers.

7) Why is it significant that independent magazines are owned and created by the same people? How does this change the creative process and direction of the magazine?

It is significant because this makes it possible for independent magazines to be truly specific with their content to directly target a niche audience, specifying the direction of the magazine and sometimes being the only magazine to talk about a particular subject.

8) What does the article suggest regarding the benefits of a 'do-it-yourself' approach to creating independent magazines?

The paper indicates that this strategy would benefit if the magazine were fundamentally original and could specifically appeal to an audience with the same opinions described in the magazine, and in the cooperative strategy to these journals, it operates to expand these opinions rather than restrict them.

9) The article discusses the audience appeal of print. Why might audiences love the printed form in the digital age?

Because of its aesthetics, it has a retro attraction and appeals to a millennial, hipster crowd, audiences may prefer the printed form of a magazine in the digital era.

10) What are the challenges in terms of funding and distributing an independent magazine?

Autonomous magazines must be by and by subsidized and dispersed, which can be hard to accomplish as the creation procedure is expensive. This implies some autonomous magazines need to depend on companions or crowdfunding so as to kick begin their magazine and afterward depend on memberships and high spread costs to help continue the business.


Irish Times feature

Now read this short feature in the Irish Times on the growth of independent magazines and answer the following questions:

1) Why are independent magazines so popular?

Autonomous magazines must be by and by subsidized and dispersed, which can be hard to accomplish as the creation procedure is expensive. This implies some autonomous magazines need to depend on companions or crowdfunding so as to kick begin their magazine and afterward depend on memberships and high spread costs to help continue the business.

2) Why is the magazine publishing industry set up to favour the big global conglomerates?

Worldwide aggregates have all the more financing and along these lines can print more duplicates at a lower cost, and contact more crowds, and can more effectively promote than independents.

3) What does the article suggest regarding finding an audience for an independent magazine?

Independents will in general discover little yet steadfast spectators because of their specialty content and are effectively ready to adjust to new media to further their potential benefit.

4) What are the challenges for magazine distributors?

Magazine merchants face the test of the expenses to dispatch magazines to sell and furthermore the expenses of being delivered back on the off chance that they don't sell numerous

5) The article suggests that many independent magazines only make money by diversifying into other products. What examples do they give?

Model given incorporate occasions put on by magazines, selling prints and dress product, and setting up web based life records to stream substance connected to their magazine.

Oh Comely Language and Representation

Oh Comely Language and Representation: blog tasks

Language: close-textual analysis

Work through the following tasks to complete your close-textual analysis of the Oh Comely CSP pages:

Front cover

1) What do the typefaces used on the front cover suggest to an audience?

The primary typeface used for the title is a non-serif scripted font that appears to imitate handwriting, offering the magazine a private and direct feel for the public, and is rarely discovered on magazine covers.

2) The words under the title introduce the content and topics addressed. What do these suggest about the potential audience of Oh Comely?

The content and topics discussed suggest that this magazine is aimed at those of a creative nature who are interested in social issues and different views on such issues.

3) How do the cover lines use narrative to create enigma? What do the cover lines suggest about the magazine's content and audience?

The cover lines use alliteration, which is a conventional feature of magazines, but the use of adjectives is to create enigma codes of the content of the magazine, instead of explaining what exactly is in the magazine, this highlights the focus of the articles instead of ' Power and Poise ' as a juxtaposition may allude to the article ' Speaking Out. '

4) Write an analysis of the central image.

The central image features female, as seen through her hair and makeup, outfit and posture, with a blur between femininity and masculinity and a confident and empowered attitude that is not typically seen in women's magazines

5) What representation of gender can be found on this front cover?

Gender could be seen as a performance.


Feature: Speaking Out

1) What does the headline and standfirst suggest about Oh Comely's feminist perspective?

The title indicates that the females featured ' speak out ' about essential feminist problems or identity problems that might have been socially relevant

2) What do the interviewees in this feature suggest about the values and ideologies that underpin this magazine?

The interviewees in this feature are all females of color, and many of the characteristics deal with particular gender female problems and provide voices to those from minority groups, thus enabling the feature to be addressed to the middle class, educated, socially conscious public.

3) How conventional is the page design in this feature? Why?

The layout of the page is unconventional, with lots of white space, indicating a full focus on each interviewee, not overloading the page with conflicting material that may attract attention away from the significant topics being discussed.

4) Pick out specific aspects of this feature that subvert the stereotypical representation of women in the media. Are they different to what we may find in conventional women's lifestyle magazines such as Glamour or Cosmopolitan? Why is the absence of men a key feature of Oh Comely?

The pictures used for each interviewee subvert the standard representation of females in other lifestyle magazines, with each woman posing smiling for the camera, yet having a grounded, frank aspect, introducing them to the crowd as well as removing the element of the male gaze Mulvey, not working to current females in any other manner than how they wish to be represented.

5) How does the photography offer a fresh or unusual perspective on women?

As mentioned above, photography enables females to be presented as they are, without airbrushing or particular touch-ups, demonstrating a much more realistic and natural women's representation.


Feature: More than gender

1) How does this feature offer a fresh perspective on gender and identity?

This characteristic portrays a transgender individual as they start talking about gender fluidity and sex oscillation within their identity.

2) What is the significance of the writer and photographer? How does this fit with the Oh Comelybrand?

The writer is the sister of the individual who has moved, and the photographer is the son of the individual who has relocated.

3) What style of photography is used in this feature?

The pictures used are candid pictures that enforce the article's family aspect.

4) What representations of the transgender lifestyle can be found in this feature?

Once again, the candid, natural photography demonstrates a private and related perspective of this tale in relation to its audience.

5) Why is the biographical information at the end of the article significant? (Clue: the writer is also an editor of a niche, creative magazine called Entitle).

The biographical information at the end adds personal approach elements together with opening readers to similar content from the same editor.


Representation and identity

Work through the following questions on representation and Oh Comely:

1) How do representations in Oh Comely challenge stereotypes? 

Representation in Oh Comely challenges stereotypes as they subvert the anticipated beauty norms for cover models by using an androgynous model and use candid style pictures throughout the magazine, such as in the talk-out post, featuring individuals smiling and looking straight into the camera that is typically not seen in magazines.

2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature?

All the females featured are females of colour, a Somali, a Muslim woman talking about FGM, a British Jamaican-Scottish poet, an American Body Positive Blogger, an Immigrant activist, and a British coder.

3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely?

It can be found that women and femininity are created as non-linear, and that there is no binary definition of femininity.

4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors).

The magazine is aimed at females, and as a feminist magazine, the lack of males in the magazine enables their target audience to have targeted material that would have a more direct impact on the problems being discussed than on males.

5) Does Oh Comely fit into the possible fourth wave of feminism? Or is it evidence of post-feminism - that feminism is no longer needed?

Oh Comely certainly fits in with the concept of the fourth wave of feminism as it has a definite objective of female empowerment and through characteristics with Body Positivity Bloggers raises awareness of the internet's use of feminism and feminism.

6) How does the 'More than gender' feature challenge Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory of binary opposition?

The characteristic ' more than gender ' introduces the whole aspect of gender as a spectrum, challenging the idea that gender is a binary notion (Strauss), and indicates that gender opinions are built socially.

7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features. 

The feature ' More than gender ' specifically reinforces Judith Butler's concept of gender being a performance, and although the talk-out function somewhat reinforces the aspect of femininity on its own, although the article itself concentrating on women's empowerment could be viewed as gender being a performance, as seen by the British coder, removing gender as an element of her job sector.

8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way. What differences can you find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour? 

Oh comely removes the concept of the masculine gaze, or presenting the woman as something to be wanted visually, concentrating more on the tales of females themselves rather than on how a magazine like cosmo would present females.

9) David Gauntlett argues that identity is becoming more fluid, media representations change over time and that there are generational differences. Does Oh Comely support this viewpoint?

Oh Comely supports Gauntlett's hypothesis, it reflects gender fluidity through the many gender representations throughout the print, but there is a limited variation in age representations, and because of the millennial audience, this might suggest that it's just time to create the tolerance required to make this magazine a success.

10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding/reception theory) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. Do you agree with this view? Why?

I agree with this view, since Oh Comely has a variety of content and many readers have also submitted content, the idea of ' readers as writers ' and vice versa, not just a clear indication of Tolson's changing dynamic theory, suggests that interpretation negotiation is the preferred reading, in relation to Hall's theory.

Oh Comely - Audience

Oh Comely - Audience blog tasks

Read the Oh Comely website page on advertising and audience to get a good idea of the demographics and psychographics for the Oh Comely target audience then answer the following questions:

1) How does Oh Comely introduce itself?

Oh Comely is a powerful mix of words and pictures, stylishly presented and much loved by its readers. It provides an alternative to the ‘pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap’ aesthetic of mainstream magazines for young women, and this is why it has carved a loyal niche of fans. It is a breath of fresh air for a creative audience desperate to find something that speaks to them directly in an accessible, intelligent and interesting voice.

2) How do the print circulation/readership statistics for Oh Comely compare to Men's Health?

Oh Comely has an average readership of 25,000, while Men's health is much larger, with about 1,047,000 average readership

3) How is Oh Comely distributed to the audience? 

Through WHSmiths.

4) What do you think the target audience demographics for Oh Comely might be? Some details are provided by the magazine (e.g. average age 27) but make an educated guess on further demographic details.

21-35

5) What psychographic groups might be attracted to Oh Comely?

Reformers and explorers.

6) What social class classification would you expect most Oh Comely readers to be? Why?

Readers are potentially fitting into the AB demographic (Educated)

7) What level of education would you expect for most Oh Comely readers? Why?

A elevated educational level owing to the magazine's text-heavy nature and the complex language used throughout.

8) What audience pleasures are offered by Oh Comely?

Personal identity, Personal relationships and Surveillance

9) It has been suggested Oh Comely is a “magazine about people, their quirks and creativity rather than money and what it can buy”. How does the design and advertising content of Oh Comely support this view?

The magazine has plenty of white room (empty space), with the minimalist style indicating an attitude to ' quality over amount. '

10) Why do you think Oh Comely has been able to build a loyal audience of subscribers in the eight years since it launched? Think about audience demand, rival magazines and the overall media landscape in the digital age.

I think Oh Comely has been able to create a loyal subscriber audience because of its niche, focused content that appeals to a very particular segment of individuals, and how the magazine has become more important as society has progressed.

Men's Health - Industries case study

Men's Health - Industries case study blog tasks

This is a comprehensive case study covering a range of Industry contexts. It is divided into three sections: Hearst publishing, the impact of digital media and Men's Health online platforms. You will need to allow for at least two hours to work through the following tasks.

Hearst publishing

Research Hearst publishing by looking at the Hearst UK website and the Wikipedia entry for parent company and conglomerate Hearst Communications.

1) Hearst UK is part of Hearst Communications. What is Hearst Communications and where is it based?

Hearst, is an American mass media and business information conglomerate based in New York City.

2) What media industries and brands make up the Hearst Communications conglomerate?

Hearst owns newspapers, magazines, television channels, and television stations, including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Houston Chronicle, Cosmopolitan and Esquire. It owns 50% of the A&E Networks cable network group and 20% of the sports cable network group ESPN, both in partnership with The Walt Disney Company.

3) What was the global revenue for Hearst Communications (in dollars) for the most recent year on record?

The global revenue for Hearst Communications was $10.8 billion (2016).

4) Focusing on Hearst UK, what other magazine brands are part of Hearst UK publishing? How many UK people do they reach in print and online?

Bicycling
Car and Driver
Cosmopolitan
Country Living
Dr. Oz THE GOOD LIFE
ELLE (US and UK)
Elle Decor
Esquire
Food Network Magazine
Good Housekeeping
Harper's Bazaar
HGTV Magazine
House Beautiful
Marie Claire
Men's Health
Nat Mags
O, The Oprah Magazine
Popular Mechanics
Prevention
Red
Redbook
Road & Track
Rodale's Organic Life
Runner's World
Seventeen
Town & Country
Veranda
Woman's Day
Women's Health

Hearst Books (in partnership with Sterling Publishing)


Read this Campaign interview with Hearst UK CEO James Wildman.

5) What is James Wildman's plan for Hearst UK? 

His aim is to grow share in print to stem decline, accelerate growth in digital, diversify revenues through events and partnerships, and look at acquisitions. That will be tough when consumer magazines are facing ad declines of more than 10% this year, money is flowing to Google and Facebook, and online influencers are chipping away at print brands.

6) What percentage ad decline are consumer magazines facing?

Over 10% decline.
7) What Wildman think about premium content and paywalls?

He thinks premium content should be commercialised. 

8) How has Hearst used diversification to grow the business?

Hearst used diversification to grow the company by running more events each year and moving to larger activities involving the Esquire Town house and dealing merchandising with other magazines such as dealings with Olay and approval of beauty businesses to expand to wider audiences.

Read this Hearst UK press release for their late 2018 ABC figures.

9) Is Men's Health increasing or decreasing in circulation?

Increasing circulation.

10) What does the press release say about recent successes associated with Men's Health?

The  MendTheGap campaign helps remove the tabou between mental health and physical health, along with Argos ' home exercise gear becoming one of their best-selling ranges of tools.


The impact of digital media on the print magazines industry

Read this BBC website feature on the print magazine industry and then this Guardian feature on the demise of NME magazine and print magazines in general.

1) Why are traditional print magazines struggling?

Due to everything discovered online with ease, information and content are no longer exclusive, making it difficult for print magazines to make a profit.

2) What genre of magazines is currently bucking the trend and increasing sales? Why is this?

Global news and political journals are growing revenues in different places owing to the evolving political climate, creating a market for outlets that teach readers around the world about present circumstances, and they appear to be more reliable than online media.

3) In contrast, what magazine genres are struggling? Give examples of magazines that have declined or stopped printing altogether.

Tabloid and gossip magazines

4) Look at the Guardian article in detail. What statistics are provided to demonstrate the decline in the print magazines industry between 2010 and 2017? What about the percentage decline from 2000?

From 2010 to 2017, sales of the top 100 regularly purchased print magazines fell by 42 percent, and since the increase in digital media, it has been suggested that this decrease is around 55 percent from the original 30,8 million from 2000 to 2010.

5) What percentage of ad revenue is taken by Google and Facebook?

65%

6) What strategies can magazine publishers use to remain in business in the digital age?

By creating a big internet presence and providing exclusive internet content, such as the numerous magazine stories on snapchat, they use multiple advertising possibilities as well as adjusting to the increase of social media.

7) Why does the Hearst UK CEO James Wildman suggest that the magazine industry is not dead?

Magazines still make some gain, through print magazines and a widespread online readership as well as a broad reach on social media, demonstrating that magazine content is still being consumed, now through a fresh platform. Magazines still make some profit, through print magazines and a widespread online readership as well as a broad reach on social media, showing that magazine content is still being consumed, now through a new platform.

8) What examples from the Guardian article are provided to demonstrate how magazines are finding new revenue streams? What is the Men's Health branding used for?

The examples given include brand agreements and content-related activities, as well as re-branding Men's Health as fitness / lifestyle and using it to promote and sell their branded fitness equipment.

9) What signs for optimism might there be for traditional magazine brands?

It is possible to adapt to internet services and social media, such as engaging with viewers through Twitter or Youtube that can generally have read through traditional copies.

10) How does Men's Health fit into this picture? Why do you think Men's Health has remained successful in the digital age? Do you think Men's Health will continue to publish for many years to come? Why?

Men's Health has a big internet and print readership with printing online now ; it has succeeded as a long-established magazine by appearing as a staple in a evolving culture, still providing the same traditional opinions and articles.


The Men's Health website and social media

Visit the Men's Health website, Twitter feed and Instagram. You may need to complete this part of the case study at home if it is blocked in school.

1) What similarities do you notice between the website and the print edition of the magazine?

In order to make it recognizable, each profile utilizes the same profile images and descriptions as well as providing the same information across each page.

2) What is the Men's Health daily newsletter and what does it include? How does this help Hearst UK to make money?

The Men's Health Daily Newsletter is an email newsletter that offers weight loss and health advice and news and workouts to its subscribers, as well as occasional promotions, helping Hearst UK create cash as it enables them to advertise their products and deals to their target audience, enabling them to create profit.

3) Look at the menu bar along the top of the website. What are the menu options? What does this suggest about the representation of men and masculinity associated with Men's Health?

The menu bar involves mental power, style, nutrition, fitness and workouts that suggest a more progressive masculinity path than years before

4) Choose one of the menu sections and write a list of the features in that area of the website. What target audience are these features aimed at?

The section ' Style ' involves present trends in fashion, grooming tips and suggestions for tools, and a variety of treatments depending on appearance.
5) Do you think the Men's Health website is trying to sell the print version or simply build a digital audience? What are the advantages and disadvantages of a 'digital first' strategy?

I think that the Men's Health website is attempting to create a digital crowd by enhancing the use of social media and online magazine ads ; this may disadvantage them as it may result in a absence of print promotion and cause physical sales to decline or become outdated, but the benefits include the fact that most individuals are now using their online media, so ' digital '

6) How does the Men's Health Twitter feed use 'clickbait' to try and get users to click through to the magazine's website? Give examples of tweets that are designed to get the audience to click through.

Men's health utilizes enticing headlines of article and characteristics of celebrity / influencer to encourage individuals to click through, whether to read the article in full or for a particular piece of material displayed as clickbait.

7) How does the Twitter feed uses images and video content alongside text and links?

In order to inspire click-throughs, the Twitter page utilizes celebrity pictures or videos, as well as sexually suggestive pictures or fitness pictures that demonstrate aspiration to many of the supporters.

8) What does the Men's Health Instagram suggest about the Men's Health brand? Is this appealing to a similar audience to the print version of the magazine?

Much more appearance and physical fitness are focused on the Instagram page, targeting a more fitness-oriented audience, rather than the print version including elements of lifestyle.

9) Is the Men's Health social media designed to sell the print magazine or build a digital audience? Why?

I think it is essential to try to create a digital crowd, as it obviously appears to be the future for mass media, as print as a whole appears to be dying out, and fresh digital media such as blogs and youtube videos providing comparable content to print magazines, but interactive and free print magazines make printing magazines fundamentally pointless, while internet audiences are more likely to engage with the mens health online page.

10) Evaluate the success of the Men's Health brand online. Does it successfully communicate with its target audience? Will the digital platforms eventually replace the print magazine completely?

I believe that Men's Health has, for the most part, been effective in communicating with its target audience, as it has continued to promote and publish fitness and appearance articles for a wide variety of men, while also creating topical material for its target audience.