C2- Online: Attitude

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

-Attitude was originally published by ‘Northern & Shell’. Northern & Shell used to publish a range of magazines and newspapers but they were quite tabloid-sque and gossip-based.
-Stream Publishing brought Attitude. They are an independent publishing company but do have a range of other magazine titles. They have a workforce of ~30 people.
-The website attracts ~1.7m users a month and has over 1.2m followers across their Facebook page, X (Twitter) page, Instagram page, and YouTube page.
-The digital copies sell over 11,000 a month.
-They are famous for securing huge interviews with people thay may not have been reachable by other companies before, like the Royal Family and Prime Ministers. When Prince William did an interview with Attitude, it was the first time a Royal had done an interview with a magazine.
-Stream publishing runs events such as the Attitude Awards and the Attitude Magazine Foundation, which is a registered charity that raises money and funds to distribute to LBGTQIA+ communities and charities around the UK and internationally.
-Has diverse representation of men, and sexuality stories seems to be focused on gay men, with little coverage for lesbians, bisexuals, etc.
-The magazine targets quite a midle class audience.
-The target audience seems to be primarily British through it’s anglo-centric perspective, but does contain elements of targeting a global audience also.
There’s also a lot of formal, complex language not a lot of slang or colloquialisms. This might indicate that an ABC1 demographic is being targeted.

Question 2

Media language

Answer 2

• The layout is significant on the Attitude website as on 7/4/25, there features three main stories above the fold. This shows how the editors want to show that they are a ‘serious’ publication and contain factual information, but also that it is a uplifting magazine through it featuring large images and less text. On this day, two out of the three stories focused on culture and TV, about Celebrity Big Brother and The White Lotus, showing thier target audiences’ interests, and one stories on world news, about the Trump Administration’s efforts to deport people to El Salvador Prison. The layout is also significant when looking at the ‘trending’ section, to the right of the secondary stories above the fold. This section features five stories, three of which are the main and two secondary stories, and then a story of a motivated hate attack at a trans picnic event in Manchester and a story on pop star Kesha campaigning for trans rights. These stories might’ve been placed together to present juxtaposition and to show the realities for trans people in the UK and how we should rally around them.
  -Additionally, the layout is also important to analyse the menu bar at the top of the website. ‘News’, ‘Culture’, ‘Style’, ‘Life’, and ‘Newsletter’ appear, in that order. This is signifcant as it shows Attitude wanting to be taken seriously with ‘News’ listed first, but this could also have been done to reflect that there isn’t much news content on the homepage. Next, the fact that ‘Newsletter’ appears on the menubar shows Attitude as a magazine that is trying to stay connected with an older audience, by allowing them to receive newsletters to their email, but also attracting a younger, more digitally advanced generation with links to social media sites and the website as a whole.
  -In the camera shots and angles and images of the photos featured above the fold, two of them seem to be selfies or photos took from personal archives, showing Attitude trying to operate independently without rely on larger photo agencies. However, the photo of AJ Odudu seems to be more professional, like it’s from a photoshoot. This can be deduced through the lightning, hair and makeup and clothing. This is reionfrces by the word ‘exlcusive’ in the masthead of the article, shwoing that this interview isn’t being shared anywhere else, and is a piece of journalism that has been some time in the making.
  -The setting of the articles provides Attitude with a global perspective. The main story features a Lithuanian actor, playing a Russian character on The White Lotus Season 3, which is set in Thailand. The story about AJ Odudu, is about Celebrity Big Borther, airing in the UK, as well as her being a British TV personailty with Nigerian heritage. Finally, the story on the MUA deported by the US administration is Venezulan, being send to a prison in El Salvador, in Central America. The only continent not represented in these stories is Oceania. This contient is represented further dwon the homepage however in the form of New Zealand rower Robbie Manson.
  -Expressions and gestures are conveyed through the three stories above the fold on the homepage through quite a positive lens. With only the story about the deported MUA being the negative story. This could’ve been done to show that the ediotrs at Attitude know people need escapism and an outlet in times when we are seeing rollbacks in rights for the LGBTQIA+ community, see the reelection of Donald Trump.
  -Colour is used on the Attitude website to draw you into the deported MUA story, as the photo anchoring the article is them posing in front of rainbow balloons, showing a lot of colour and drawing your eyes to the picture and the article. This is reinforced by the other two stories above the fold on the homepage seemingly featuring quite neutral colours in comparison.
  -Costume is used on the top three stories as a way of constructing binary oppositions between real-life and the constructed celebrity life. The deported MUA and the White Lotus actor are wearing quite normal, day-to-day clothes, whilst the photo of the White Lotus actor in character in the show and AJ Odudu in a photoshoot show this glamourous lifestyle, as an alternative to the dark realities, as shown in the deported MUA story.
  -Hair and makeup are used through the three main stories as a way of fitting into societal standards (White Lotus, AJ Odudu), but also showing the strength of people following their passions (deported MUA).
  -Attitude’s mode of address is direct but informal, showing how they want to be factual and show their audiences they are providing them with helpful information, but also treating their audience like a family, and therefore having a slightly more informal tone about their headlines and articles.
  -The structre of the three main stories seem to be chronological, such as the White Lotus actor’s article, where they begins talking about the crazy messages he has recieved, moving onto more about that season of the White Lotus before moving back to the messages and the actor talking about him understanding this frenzy is a part of the industry. The article about the deported MUA begins by providing factual information about his case, before moving to information about the current administration’s plans to deport people, then onto specifically why he was deported, and the explanation for why these aren’t reasons, then onto how he was treated and why they are worried for him, before a final plea for him to be released. Finally, the article about AJ Odudu begins talking about the new season of Celebrity Big Brother, before talking about the show and it’s location, before asking her what challenge she would like to see the contestants do, and her favourite previous housemates style, before more information about rumoured casting, the show’s spinoff and digital links, and the time and location of the show.
  -Under this we feature the Editor’s pick, which is important for the layout as it shows that they believe the readers will regard highly what the ediotr thinks is the best article at the time. We also have two exclusive’s one with Olly Alexander and with with Renee Zellweger, as well as an article about Trump limiting HIV medication. These articles could’ve been placed here as a way of showing what they think their target audience will want to read about: about music and film, but also informing them over the rollback of rights happening accross the world.
  -Similar to above, the camera shot and angles, images, composition, and setting are used to show a balance between professionalism (two articles about Olly Alexander seem to be from a photoshoot, uses Trump’s official President portrait), and other ways of obtaining photos (the photo of the campaigner arguing against Trump’s decision seems to be from another photoshoot, probably not done by Attitude or took from their social media, and the photo of Renee Zellweger is a screenshot from the latest Bridget Jones movie).
  -The expression and gestures used through the articles all seem to be of a serious nature. The Olly Alexander articles seem to be neutral and posed, what is expected of a photoshoot, as they discuss their newsest album and reconnecting with a past lover, the Trump HIV medication articles feature two serious gestures from the people in the photos as this reflects a serious issue and the article is there to spread awareness, and the screenshot from the latest Bridget Jones movie sees Zellweger in like a shocked, unsure expression, as this shows her apologising and fixing the mistake of the earlier Bridget Jones movies from the 90s and early 00s.
  -Colour is also used on this row of stories as three out of the four seem quite grayscale and monoschromatic in style, whereas the story on Trump and HIV medication seems bolder, almost drawing readers attention to it, and showing how it differs in tone from the other stories.
  -Costume and hair and makeup are used in this section to show professionalism (through the stories on Olly Alexander), harsh contrasting fun, but both showing seriousness (Trump and other person talking about administration and HIV medication) and normality (Renee Zellweger being made to look like a normal person, as if to connote that ‘everyone makes mistakes’ and that we should change our minds on the issue that she is discussing in the article).
• The mode of address and structure is similar as above, and is direct but informal, showing how they want to be factual and treating their audience like a family, therefore having a slightly more informal tone about their headlines and articles. structure of these stories, and typical of the rest of the website it that they are quite chronological, seemingly adressing the headline, providing some extra information, before bringing it back to the issue at hand and trying to resolve it. This is also typical of a lot of magazines. Attitude’s article vary in size, with some shorter reads, potentially designed for people in a rush or catching up on the latest affairs whilst communting, and some longer ones, maybe for more in-depth weekend analysis.
  -The website it typically quite PG at the top of the page, which could’ve been done as a safeguarding measure in case any children or young people accidentally click on the website, but as you scroll down, such as currently in the ‘news’ ‘style’ and ‘Attitude loves’ section, there is more raunchy content, which is there to appeal to their target audience.
  -The website homepage features a ‘news’ section, a ‘culture’ section, a ‘style’ section, an ‘Attitude loves’ section and a ‘life’ section in that order. This could’ve been done to reflect how they perceive their target audience but also through the sections that need updating/have been updated the most recent towards the top.

Question 3

Representation

Answer 3

-Attitude is clearly a magazine that’s aimed at a male target audience so the representations of men are fairly typical and they are created in a way to target that male target audience- so men are presented as powerful, successful and wealthy, in a celebrity or political way.
-Physically, there’s a lot of images of men looking strong, muscular, broad, etc. There’s a lot of topless photos of men that show that hyperbolic shape of men that we’re often shown in the media.
-A lot of the articles talk about factual things rather than hold any emotional values which is fairly typical of content aimed at a male target audience- representing men as emotionless and assuming men don’t have feelings which is something we see a lot in the media.
-However, some articles like those that feature Gok Wan and Dr. Ranj Singh’s actually do explore the emotional impacts of coming out and how it an affect realationships in your life. These articles may also represent men in a victimised way and this challenges dominant ideologies of gender, and would be identifiable for gay men who may have been through homophobic abuse.
-We are used to seeing men represented in a masculine way, but Attitude has articles about men who behave in a more effeminate way, such as men who use makeup, talk in a softer wat, men in drag, etc. This does argues that Attitude does represent men in a broader way than just masculine.
-Men are sexualised on the website, which is unusal in the broader media as women are more often sexualised, and the audience is almost pushed to view men in a sexual way.
-The representation of sexuality is very focused on gay men rather than the whole LGBTQIA+ community- people who are lesbian, transgender, bisexual, etc. are often left out- there are a few examples featured but there is much more for gay men specifically. There’s lots of representation of LGBTQIA+ issues and events on the website, featuring a lot of rainbow imagery.
-The representation of gay men in a regular, positive, powerful and normalised way, fills a niche gap in the market, where gay men are often under or mis represented in other media products.
-The website includes a range of ethnicities, perhaps reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of modern Britain. However, many of the stories about other cultures and countries are quite negative, representing them as homophobic, discriminatory, and places to be avoided. This is specifically centred around African countries. We’re encourgaed to see these countries as ‘backwards’, reflecting the fact that the target audience is primarily British and also reflects the cultraul and political contexts of gay rights in some countries.
-Attitude’s staff are mostly members of the LGBTQIA+ community themselves, which might explain why the representations of sexuality are sympathetic and diverse. Having people who work for them who come from those backgrounds means they’re able to represent themselves in a more positive way. Most of the staff is male, further suggesting why gay men are represented more than other members of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Question 4

Audiences: General

Answer 4

-The magazine targets quite a midle class audience. Adverts are for high-end brands like Gucci, an indication te target audeince must have enough money to perhaps buy those brands and designers. The use of adverts to target particular audiences associated with wealth.
-The target audience seems to be primarily British through it’s anglo-centric perspective.
-In terms of demographics, there is a lot of focus on looking good, building muscle, etc. This appeals to a metrosexual audience of ‘aspirers’.
-There’s also a lot of social justic stories which target ‘reformers’ who want to change the world.
-Additionally, there is also a lot of emphasis on political stories, issues with racism, homophobia, transphobia, etc., all also appealing to ‘reformers’.
-There’s also a lot of formal, complex language not a lot of slang or colloquialisms. This might indicate that an ABC1 demographic is being targeted, we tend to assume this demographic and the people in it are perhaps more educated and more likely to use that formal language.
-Obviously, the target audience for Attitude are primarily those who are gay, so there’s lots of stories about the LGBTQIA+ communities, particularly gay men, but there are more representations now. There are lots of stories about gay celebrities in order to target this gay male audiences, such as Elton John and Dan Howell.
-There’s a lack of stories about families or having kids, which implies the audience are single or child-free. The entertainment is all about having fun and holidays, so indicative that the readers of the Attitude magazine are carefree.
-They’ve made an attempt to appeal to global audiences because they’ve got a lot of global content, which they’ve syndicated from other websites online. There’s stories from around the world which help branch out.
-The website provides audiences with a lot of informative and educational content, and it also provides audiences with a lot of entertraining content. There’s very little on the market in terms of online magazines that are targeted particulatly at LGBTQIA+ audiences, so Attitude fills this niche gap in the market.
-Audiences may fill that sense of identity with Attitude, it may be comforting to feel that others are going through the same thing as them.
-Some may feel that the magazine doesn’t represent them at all. Whilst it markets itself as a gay magazine, some audiences may feel that the focus is on gay men and that neglects the focus on other members of the LGBTQIA+ community, such as lesbians being featured rarely on the website.

Question 5

Audiences: Gender

Answer 5

-The main gender targeted is male, as a lot of the content online is quite factual and avoids deep emotional responses, which may target its primarily male audience. This is because of the stereotype that men aren’t very emotional.
-Even when men do interviews, it’s about the history or opinions on that person and not anything emotional.
-There’s many clickbait article headlines to highlight any salacious/risky content, designed specifically for audiences to click further into the websites (cost-per-click, advertisements, etc.)
-Another stereotype used to target the male audience is the idea that men are less likely to read as much as women, so Attitude’s website is simple, easy to read, with small chunks of text, large images and lots of white space.
-Men are targeted through the number of stoires about men and male issues.

Question 6

Audience: Age

Answer 6

-The main age group targeted is 25-55
-Images convey this age group-recognisable figueres. Also a big focus on retro 90s fashion,, muslic, film, pop culture, etc. A lot of that age range live through the 90s period or are familiar with it, it gives them a feeling of nostalgia and engages them in a way other magazines might not.
-We tend to assume that very young audiences might not be interested in political content, so the amount of political content on the Attitude website might appeal to an older audience.
-There is very little ‘interactive’ content on the website, which might reflect the slightly older target audience too.
-They promote the print magazine on the website a lot, with lots of pictures, references, and links to subscribe, which provides us with another indication that the target audience is older, who still consume print products, whereas young audiences might’ve already transitioned away from print magazines.
-Their choice of social media integration is through Facebook and X (formerly Twitter), over Snapchat and TikTok reinforces that their target audience is within the 25-55 age range.

Question 7

Media industries

Answer 7

-As an online Magazine, Attitude be updated more regularly than a print magazine, therefore providing it with an advantage in the market.
-Attitude has integrated social links, to help engage a younger audience.
-Attitude has a navigation bar, and features ‘sticky’ navigation: when the bar stays at the top of the website when scrolling.
-Sidebars: Attitude features segments on their home page to make it clear and appeal to different audiences, such as the ‘trending’ section and ‘news’ section.
-Hyperlinks: Attitude features hyperlinks such as clicking the title taking you back to the homepage.
-Attitude was originally published by ‘Northern & Shell’. Northern & Shell used to publish a range of magazines and newspapers but they were quite tabloid-sque and gossip-based. They also owned some adult TV channels and magazines as well as Channel 5. They starting selling assets in the 2010s, showing the decline in print readership. Stream Publishing brought Attitude. They are an independent publishing company but do have a range of other magazine titles. They have a workforce of ~30 people.
-Stream Publishing, whose owner is gay, (Darren Styles) previously brough Winq, a Netherlands-based gay magazine. Attitude was one of the main competitors to Winq and therefore this may have influenced their buying decision, and they then owned both leading gay magazines in Britain and Europe.
-They can write, edit, design, print and distribute their own products due to vertical integration, as they aren’t owned by a conglomerate.
-There are a variety of other global print editions for Attitude that all include their own websites.
-The Attitude wesbite, and the existence of the digital editions for phones and tablets, targets a modern audience who are spending more time on converged technology.
-Stream publishing uses a variety of digital platforms and sites to distribute Atttitude’s digital versions to readers.
-The website attracts ~1.7m users a month and has over 1.2m followers across their Facebook page, X (Twitter) page, Instagram page, and YouTube page.
-The digital copies sell over 11,000 a month. With the print magazine, they were earning a large chunck of revenue from advertising. So they have to offer brands advertising oppotunties online too. They sell banner adverts, sidebar adverts, as well as allowing companies can sensor sections of the website, they can ‘take over’ a page, create advertorials that look like articles, etc. A wide range of advertising oppotunites that can generate Stream more revenue.
-Being a website with digital editions means that they are able to distirube their product globally, it’s no longer limited to a British target audience. Articles offer stories about global travel, other cultues and global LGBTQIA+ issues. There’s a high focus on celebrities and star appeal over the digital and print editions. A lot of the pages contain names that would be familiar with the audiences, which makes the website more attractive. They are famous for securing huge interviews with people thay may not have been reachable by other companies before, like the Royal Family and Prime Ministers. When Prince William did an interview with Attitude, it was the first time a Royal had done an interview with a magazine. High-profile celebrities have helped maintain a brand-identity and USP.
-They use social media to target a resonably modern audience, and a global one too. Lots of social media post about things happening in other countries- broadens out audience so it’s not just for British readers. There are several countries around the world where being apart of the LGBTQIA+ community is illegal and Attitude is not allowed to be sold in it’s print version. Having an online website means they can offer this content to people in those countries even if LGBTQIA+ communities are illegal by law- those communities can still access the website in most of those countries. This demonstrates how online technology can be used to bypass traditional forms of regulation and censorship.
-Every social media posts redirects the viewer back to Attitude’s website. It’s all about driving traffic to the website, to increase their revenue by advertising. Most of their content includes ‘scantily clad’ male models but some of the more adult content use X (Twitter) or Facebook algorithms to censor the content so that they are at least trying to keep it away from much younger audiences. That way people have to sign-in with accounts to try and ‘prove’ they are over 18. But obviously, there are no real checks done on social media so regulation is extremely difficult.
-Attitude also have an issue that not everyone who comments or looks at their social media posts is actually supporting of LGBTQIA+ communities, there are several comments that may be seen as hateful, offensive, and discriminatory. Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, etc., are supposed to be helping to tackle this but are finding it difficult. This is perhaps why Attitude has very little options for audiences to share/engage with particular images and articles online. It could be that they’re concerned about reactions they might get from people who are homophobic or transphobic. This could be Stream attempting to protect their readers and the people in their articles form online hate, perhaps creating a more safe online space for LGBTQIA+ audiences.
-Stream publishing has set out their own ethics policy, where you can see their rules and regulations that they say they will abide by, reflecting this idea that some companies now are trying to self-regulate in an attempt to avoid controversy and offence.
-Stream publishing runs events such as the Attitude Awards to build the brand identity amongst audiences and industry professionals. They’ve also set up something called the Attitude Magazine Foundation. which is a registered charity that raises money and funds to distribute to LBGTQIA+ communities and charities around the UK and internationally. They run youth and support groups, events, donate money for Pride festivals, etc.
-During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Stream ran an ‘Attitude Pride at Home’ festival because there wasn’t any Pride festivals taking place in real life, so their created their own 9-day digital one. This uses technology to reflect current social and cultural contexts of what’s going on in the country to try and keep their readers engaged and offer something different surrounding the Attitude brand.