Industry - magazines

Question 1

Vogue Industry

Answer 1

• ECONOMICS: dual revenue stream (advertising+ cover price/subscription)
  -have to attract advertisers as well as readers.
  -Hearst UK cut Cosmopolitan’s cover price from £3.80 to £1 in 2015, so circulation rose by over 50% and reestablished it as the brand leader in women’s lifestyle.
• REGULATION:
  -issues with self regulation= no real standards to adhere to and no official guidance for media producers/consumers.
  -CMA could bestow statutory reg which creates a strict code of ethics for institutions, prevents smaller institutions, from being ‘swallowed up’ by a larger conglomerate
  -IPSO knows that regulation has been made more difficult with digital tech, eg photoshopping- which misleads audiences. Members of the IPSO have to publish annual statements showing the complaints they received and how editors comply with it.
• OWNERSHIP:
  -Horizontal integration reduces competition but also reduces variety.
  -High-quality printing = color images and HPV important to vogue target audience, edge over the competition, reinforces the brand identity of elegance style. n
  -Conde Nast is a media conglomerate- owned by Advance Publications. AP was a newspaper publisher and diversified in 1950s into publishing and broadcasting.
  -acquired a large number of American TV stations and magazines via horizontal integration to become a conglomerate.

Question 2

Vogue Industry Theory

Answer 2

Power and media- horizontal integration reduces variety and concentartes ownership
Cultural industries- High quality printing

Question 3

The Big Issue- Industry

Answer 3

• Alternative and mainstream- alternative and niche brand identity, features mainstream personalities (celebs) that are likely to attract a wider demographic- Sir Alex Ferguson, and Arctic Monkeys.
• Under threat- digital tech allows consumption on alternative platforms of multiple industries (magazines, TV). Drastic decline in physical circulation of newspapers due to the internet and apps
• Benefit of digital tech- easier for magazine publishers to reach specialized audiences on both a national and global scale, less time persuading retailers to stock, cost-effective distribution, no wasting paper or ink.
• TBI benefits from tech- enabled audiences who live remotely without vendors to read the mag and the revenue goes to helping vendors earn an education and shelter.

Question 4

TBI industry Theory

Answer 4

• Power and Media - The Big Issue are not made purely for commercial gain so they are more selective than mainstream magazines in terms of the advertising they choose.
  -maintain the integrity and identity of the magazine, which is more important than maximising profit.
• Regulation- magazines now publish and distribute across multiple platforms, The Big Issue can be downloaded internationally but they are not subject to regulation by the IPSO but are subject to UK laws around defamamtion.