The Big Issue Flashcards
Product context
- publisher: Dennis and the big issue ltd
- genre: independent/ current affairs/ entertainment/ street magazine
- first published: 1991
- creators: John Bird and Gordon Roddick
- cover price: £2.50
- current circulation: 82,000
- distribution: vendors buy for £1.25 and sell for £2.50
- magazine is part of the big issue ltd alongside with the BI foundation, invest and shop.
Typical topics
LGBTQ representations
Sense of equality and freedom
Independent / current affairs
Entertainment
Politics
Target audience
• Target audience is very diverse- wide variety on gender, age and race.
• It is for people who feel the need for social change within society.
• The magazines content includes success stories of people who were previously homeless- representing a sense of hope
• Magazines audience are from all walks of life- depicting that homelessness can affect anyone in society
Media lang and rep in main article “moving on”
- The positioning of the headline shows that it is in bright red in order to draw attention to the article.
- The sub-articles are positioned to show a variation of success
- The colouring is bright red in order to create a sense of urgency with the text.
- The main image is depicting Marvina Newton looking empowered. The angle shot is low-angle to create a sense of power that she has created.
- mise-en-scene uses different locations to show that all the people are from all different cultures. Highlighting that homelessness can affect anyone but also showing the changes that The Big Issue have made in relation to changing peoples lives.
- There is a positioning of using a young man dressed in a business suit to highlight that he is in a good financial position. This is also juxtaposed with the story that the man was previously homeless. Every image on the article is to empower homeless people and to encourage them not to lose hope.
- Emotive language: “youre the superhero in the story”- showing that homeless and disadvantaged people should be empowered and should not lose hope as they can be as successful as the people shown in the article.
- The narrative that has been established is a positive and encouraging narrative of ‘not losing hope’, highlighting that people can make a difference.
Quotes from contents page
Contents:
- hello my name is donato
- I’m honoured to feature in the 25th anniversary of the big issue
- it made a big difference to my life when I needed it
- i now have a roof over my head
- old man smiling, direct eye contact w badge
- manifestations, we believe in a hand up not a hand out
Quotes from bakery article
- homeless trainees depicted in mid long shot smiling satisfied, one holding cake, one ab to eat. Direct eye contact. Official jackets w big issue logo
- “and who better to look to than the inspiring homeless trainees at rise bakery”
Quotes from editorial
- The big issue has pulsed and grown. Our focus has remained true. A hand up not a hand out. That’s it.
- the big issue changed the publishing world. Before we came along, newspapers were sold on the street, but not magazines, and certainly not by homeless people.
- and while the move to digital is hurting many fine old print titles, we’re on the up.
- we enjoy being a rogue element, a raised rebel voice that challenges orthodoxy and standardised received notions
- there is work to be done. We hope you stay with us.
Quotes from my pitch
- the big issue gave an old man like me a sense of purpose again” headline, bold black text
- quarter of page taken of donato selling magazine, with smile, both hand on magazine, mid shot.
- facts about me… where I like to go, the British museum.
- I’m still alive after all my troubles
Quotes from letter to my younger self
- “at 16 I was a complete mess”. “I wish I had the emotional intelligence”. written in bold text.
- begins with “I was already a transvestite by the time I was 16”
- 2 small images in centre, “ Grayson Perry built a house from Essex with FAT architecture
Consider how the magazine represents the issue of homelessness and the stigma that is often attached to it? How can it be seen to respond to the under-representation and misrepresentation of homeless people?
The magazine presents an element of issues within it, from homelessness to self-identity the reader is put through a journey. Yet every article is written from a positive perspective, rejecting certain stigmas surrounding them, that they shouldn’t be pitied but rather helped by society.
Structuralism
Levi strausss
The magazine’s tagline, ‘a hand up not a handout’ sets up a series of binary oppositions, most notably between charity and social enterprise, begging and working, dependency and independence.
This is fundamental to the magazine’s ideology and the work it does in transforming the lives of the street vendors who sell the magazine and changing public perceptions of homelessness
Cultivation theory, gerbner
The Big Issue can be applied to this theory through the use of repeated patterns of trans-representations within the media in the recent years. Stars and celebrities such as Caitlyn Jenner have come out as trans. This community is also reflected in other media platforms such as YouTube, with Nikita Dragun.
By creating positive reps of vendors, it cultivates the idea that homeless people are not lazy or stupid, they are willing to work for a better life and future for themselves
How is inclusivity shown
Represents a wide social group- reflecting the indiscriminative ethos of the brand whilst also looking at the right to citizenship. ‘Letter to my younger self’ refers to this.
Hand up not a handout
Reflects the ethos of the brand- that the magazine is attempting to help the homeless- it is also politically neutral which means that this would appeal to audiences as they wouldn’t be bombarded with political views and representations that they don’t agree with.
Distribution
The Big Issue’s model of distribution is empowering people through giving them a physical purpose on the streets, it means that they feel no longer ignored by the general public and instead are able to socialize with them and interact more, giving them essential skills. Likewise they are able to make the homeless have a sense of hope and a way ‘off of the streets’.