Magazines case study: The big issue Flashcards
Who founded the Big Issue and what was it a response to?
-John Bird and Gordon Roddick in 1991
-response to the increasing number of homeless people in London
Is the Big Issue part of a conglomerate or an independent magazine?
-an independent magazine company so it isn’t part of a larger conglomerate
What does the organisation do?
-supports people who are homeless, unemployed long term or in need of extra cash to avoid falling into debt
->working with them to overcome homelessness, poor health, addiction or other symptoms of poverty and social exclusion which previously held them back
-they are the worlds most widely circulated street newspaper
When was the first issue?
-September 1991
What countries is it in?
-UK
-Australia
-Ireland
-Japan
-South Africa
-South Korea
-Namibia
-Kenya
-Taiwan
-Malawi
How did Covid impact the company?
-started using card payments instead of cash
-had to remove all of the vendors which created a big impact within the organisation->protect the health of the homeless->they had less people selling the issues and having their jobs at risk
-needed to make sure their sellers still had a way to make money and provide for themselves
How was the company founded?
-inspired by Street News (a newspaper sold by homeless people in NYC)
-Gordon Roddick encountered a homeless man who was selling the worlds first homeless paper->he bought a copy and they chatted->decided he would start a magazine that homeless people could buy cheap and sell
Who is it written and run by?
-professional journalists
What is their UK readership like?
-over 400,000
-most widely read street magazine in the world
How many homeless people have they helped?
-92,000
How does it help homeless people?
-helps them earn an income to help then have a stable job that proves then with an income to help them survive without the need of begging people for money
-creates a feeling of independence for them
What are the conventions of the Big Issue?
-always had a main big image of usually a famous person, politician or celebrity
-mixture of images to create meaning was their older style
-the colour palette references the mood of the main image
-combination of colours used to try and make the magazine stand out
-large masthead which is split sandwiching the page/photo
-niche magazine with very targeted small readership
-comedic and sarcastic
-sans serif->informal
-sell lines are usually in the skyline
-love to use intertextual references in their covers
Where is the strapline?
-bottom line of a magazine
What is the anchorage text?
-holds our main image in place or gives it a meaning
What is a puff?
anything that looks like a sticker
