The Gentlewomen - audience and industry

Question 1

What are the different types of magazines in terms of ownership structure? What type of magazine is the gentlewomen

Answer 1

mainstream: owned by conglomerates and focused on profits
independents: owned by small groups/individuals and focuses on people’s stories and creativity

Gentlewomen is an independent magazine

Question 2

Who owns the gentlewomen?

Answer 2

It’s independently published and distributed by Dutch publishers Gert Jonkers and Jop van Bennekom

Question 3

When was the gentlewomen launched?

Answer 3

2010

Question 4

Where is the magazine based?

Answer 4

London based - associated with trendy Soho

Question 5

How many times a year is the magazine published?

Answer 5

twice a year

Question 6

How can Hesmondhalgh and cultural industries theory be applied to the gentlewomen?

Answer 6

Risk:
- There is a higher level of risk from the gentlewomen magazine because they target a niche audience and have a narrower audience reach by excluding men from target audience

Risk averse:
- However, biannual distribution ensures a higher cover price covers costs of production and a high quality product, also containing star power.
- Given they are independent, they have more control over content, allowing for creativity which fulfils the needs of a niche audience
- they target an affluent audience with more disposable income - they may even join the gentlewomen club

Question 7

What’s the cover price of the gentlewomen?

Answer 7

10 pounds (used to be 8)

Question 8

What are the revenue streams of the magazine?

Answer 8

Cover price
Subscriptions of the magazine
Brand partnerships - sponsors
Events
Advertising
Social media content - for example Instagram

Question 9

How many copies do they sell on average per edition?

Answer 9

100,000

Question 10

Who is the gentlewomen’s sister publication and what’s the significance of this?

Answer 10

Fantastic man magazine - this increases audience appeal and reach, reducing risk

Question 11

How are magazines regulated?

Answer 11

Both the gentlewomen and GQ are under jurisdiction of IPSO

Question 12

Why is IPSO not as powerful as OFCOM?

Answer 12

• they are less powerful in terms of regulation before publication and primarily deal with complaints after publication
  -there are no age restrictions on Magazines in the UK - except pornographic ones

Question 13

What can IPSO do if a company fails to meet the editor’s code of practice?

Answer 13

impose a fine of up to 1 million

Question 14

Which type of regulation as according to Livingstone and Lunt may be more appropriate for the gentlewomen?

Answer 14

Consumer based regulation, focusing on consumer choice. This is likely to be because the audience is slightly older (given the career-based content) and so less vulnerable and the magazine is sophisticated so unlikely to publish anything inappropriate anyway with the main aim to be inspiring women

Question 15

How does Curan and Seaton apply to the magazine?

Answer 15

They argue that media has become more concentrated, appealing to the mass audiences, limiting creativity and representation.

However the gentlewomen is an independent magazine and so doesn’t have to benefit any commercial interests/profits. They pride themselves in creativity, shown by subversion of magazine conventions and look to champion minorities, including women and black people. They therefore subvert their theory (although the gentlewomen is ultimately still based on the drive for profit).

Question 16

What are the marketing appeals of the magazine based on?

Answer 16

• The ethical movement veil in an age of consumerism
• Championing of minorities
• Feminist empowerment and authenticity
• Focus on print - response to ‘internet fatigue

Question 17

What is the gentlewomen’s internet presence like?

Answer 17

• The website has a minimalist approach consistent with the magazine, showing convergence, but seeks to invite consumers to subscribe to a regular newsletter and gives information on ‘club get-togethers’.
• In essence, it gives enough to the readers to make them interested but little enough that they still feel a need to buy the magazine to known more info.
• It also features collaborations with renowned individuals, providing synergy as it promotes stars and the magazine; it gives the magazine acclaim by promoting these stars.
• Finally, it has a shop selling merchandise, tickets to events, subscriptions and individual magazine copies

Question 18

What % of their readers are in the UK?

Answer 18

51%

Question 19

What’s the tagline of the magazine?

Answer 19

‘a fabulous magazine for modern women of style and purpose’

Question 20

What’s been happening to the print magazine industry in recent years?

Answer 20

It has struggled with the move online with print in long term decline and digital sales not making up for this

Question 21

Which magazines have struggled most in print sale decline and which have stayed more resilient?

Answer 21

Men’s and music magazines (89% and 90% decline between 2017 and 2021) have been hard hit by visual platforms like Instagram while news and current affairs magazines have stayed more resilient - these accounted for 60% of magazine subscriptions in 2021. Women’s magazines have only fallen in that time by 45%

Question 22

What has happened to sales revenue in the magazine industry as a whole since 2012?

Answer 22

In 2012, magazine revenue was £880m, but in 2023, it was only £205m. In the same time, digital revenue had only increased by £100m

Question 23

What has happened to the number of magazines circulated in the UK since 2000?

Answer 23

In 2000, 1.6bn were circulated. By 2021, this was down to 565m (with a clear drop during the pandemic)

Question 24

What % of consumers say they think magazines are trustworthy?

Answer 24

91%

Question 25

Is the magazine industry more based around subscriptions or one off, single edition purchases?

Answer 25

In 2021, subscriptions accounted for 27% of magazines circulated (up from 20% before the pandemic). This means while subscriptions may have increased, the industry is still geared towards single - editions

Question 26

Who are some of the gentlewomen’s main advertisers?

Answer 26

Celine, Miu Miu, Balenciaga, Guicci and Prada

Question 27

What’s some examples of other gentlewomen front cover stars?

Answer 27

Adele, Beyonce and Simon Biles

Question 28

What’s the median age of a gentlewomen consumer?

Answer 28

32

Question 29

What class and social status is the gentlewomen aimed at?

Answer 29

AB with a high level of education

Question 30

Which psychographics is the magazine aimed at?

Answer 30

Reformers
Explorers
Succeeders

Question 31

What is the key target like and what are they interested in?

Answer 31

-modern culture, art and fashion
-like to explore alternative styles and genres
-ambitious and confident
- financially independent
-care for the quality of products

Question 32

What kind of audience is targeted and why?

Answer 32

Nice audience - alienates mainstream audiences through it’s subversion of magazine conventions

Question 33

How can Jenkins be applied to the gentlewomen?

Answer 33

• audience members are invited to join the gentlewomen club
• there are over 39,000 members who have like minded goals and values
• loyal subscribers are invited to elite events to share cultural and social experiences

Question 34

Which uses and gratifications can be applied to the gentlewomen?

Answer 34

Identity - similar interests, beliefs and attitudes - women presented are seen as people to aspire to
Education - broadens the audience’s perspectives thanks to insights and opinions of the individuals

Question 35

How does the gentlewomen invoke an emotional response in different ways to other media?

Answer 35

There’s a lack of sensationalist language and instead more authentic and intellectual language is used. Any emotional response is likely to be because of stories of overcoming and the audience feeling inspired by genuine stories

Question 36

What are the various readings of the gentlewomen?

Answer 36

Preferred- women are powerful and influential and can have the same opportunities of male counterparts
Negotiated - some women are given opportunities to be just as powerful as men, but these women have likely accessed this through their celebrity status
Oppositional - women featured are minority voices and have little impact on society

Question 37

How does the magazine fit in with fourth way feminism?

Answer 37

The notion that females are in conflict with the male gender is outdated; conflict or opposition to men is not given any space in the magazine
The gender identity of those featured is far more fluid and unclear rather than following fixed male and female binaries