1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed?
Gilroy suggests that racial identities are constructed through historical means such as slavery and colonisation
2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism?
He believes that race does bot cause racism, instead, racism creates race. Racism isn't natural, it is instead the defining of difference through oppression by historic events
3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it?
Ethnic absolutism is essentially the process of differentiating humans by race, and opposes it due to it countering his argument of racism causing race
4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity?
Gilory does not see diaspora in a traditional sense of it being purely national, instead he sees it as translatic diaspora, where groups across the Atlantic share the same cultural practises.
5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)?
To quote Gilroy "external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation." what this means is that in order to accept the cultural identity of black britons, we must first reject the negative stereotypes of black people at the time.
6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this?
some negative examples would be exclusion, exposure to negative and regressive ideologies and marginalisation.
7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity? E.g. digital media - offer specific examples.
The trailer for hidden figures puts the black identity into one of Americas most defining moments, this is an example of trying to negate the feeling of black diaspora by enforcing the idea that american history and black history is not mutually exclusive
8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity?
Gilroy suggests that slavery was important due to its significance on the american capitalist system and the normalisation of that view/identity is what formed the modern day diasporic identity of black america.
9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US?
The idea of double consciousness is that of split identity into different facets; not split into the say a different personality like D.I.D, but split in the sense of not really belonging to any one specific area, type and or society. This idea may be continued to be presented to black individuals within the UK and US through the media presenting different views of Africa, African culture or even different facets of black US and UK citizens. These different identities being represented can conflict with the identity that the people who watch the shows/media already have.
10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women.
Hidden figures tries to cement the idea of black America, an attempt to establish that for black Americans, America is home, that is where their identity is. And this is double so for female black Americans.
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Thursday, October 17, 2019
LR - Baseline assessment Y13
1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential)
WWW: This is superb - a joy to read! There's real command of the debates, the wider industry, and the two institutions in Q3 brilliant.
EB1: It's = It is always
Make sure you provide evidence for all your points with specific reference to the CSP's
Revise Life Hacks a little
Q2 question focus: "how useful"...make sure you are using this phrase in your answer and address both sides of that question.
2) Focusing on the BBC Life Hacks question, write three ways it helps to fulfil the BBC's mission statement that you didn't include in your original assessment answer. Use the mark scheme for ideas.
Inform: They inform listeners to problems they may be facing in their own lives
Educate: Allows listeners to text or call the hosts, fulfilling the educating aspect
Entertain: They play music in different segments3) Question two asked you how useful media effects theories are in understanding the audience response to War of the Worlds. Complete the following:
Psychographics
better essay writing
better reasoning
WWW: This is superb - a joy to read! There's real command of the debates, the wider industry, and the two institutions in Q3 brilliant.
EB1: It's = It is always
Make sure you provide evidence for all your points with specific reference to the CSP's
Revise Life Hacks a little
Q2 question focus: "how useful"...make sure you are using this phrase in your answer and address both sides of that question.
2) Focusing on the BBC Life Hacks question, write three ways it helps to fulfil the BBC's mission statement that you didn't include in your original assessment answer. Use the mark scheme for ideas.
Inform: They inform listeners to problems they may be facing in their own lives
Educate: Allows listeners to text or call the hosts, fulfilling the educating aspect
Entertain: They play music in different segments3) Question two asked you how useful media effects theories are in understanding the audience response to War of the Worlds. Complete the following:
- Gerbner's Cultivation theory: useful or not useful? Why?
- Useful as audiences began to respect the radio as an authoritative figure
- Frankfurt School's Hypodermic Needle model: useful or not useful? Why?
- Not useful, proved to be an obsolete theory even with a dated example like war of the worlds
- Stuart Hall's Reception theory: useful or not useful? Why?
- The entire panic could be seen as an example of reception theory, the fact that different people reacted differently to the same thing, so yes, it is useful
- Introduction: one sentence answering the original question and laying out your argument clearly.
- Oh Comely is more successful but what it means to be successful is relative to the size
- Paragraph 1 content:
- Talk about Oh Comely,
- What they do right, in comparison, give reason and evidence
- What their audience is
- Why it matters
- Paragraph 2 content:
- What they don't do right
- They're not as big as men's health
- Why?
- Paragraph 3 content:
- Men's health, are they successful? Why? Give evidence.
- go back to relativity
- not as successful as they were before, but does that they're not successful anymore
- Paragraph 4 content:
- Both unsuccessful as neither revived the magazine market, but the fact they're still surviving is impressive. Oh Comely is growing while Mens Health is diminishing.
- Paragraph 5 content:
- -
- Conclusion: sum up your argument a final time in one sentence
- Finally, in conclusion, success is relative, but taking that into account, Oh Comely is successful by still having a working business model in a diminishing market, but Mens Health has a massive online presence
Psychographics
better essay writing
better reasoning
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
OSP: Teen Vogue - background and textual analysis
1) What was the article that announced Teen Vogue as a more serious, political website – with 1.3m hits and counting?
The article was "Trump is gaslighting america" by Lauren Duca
2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?
The original Teen Vogue was launched in 2004, and it mainly contained content about fashion and celebrity gossip
3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?
Welteroth decided to break the rules of what was established would sell, she did by creating a front cover that featured exclusively black unknown models. She was told it won't sell, it became their highest selling issue that year
4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?
They post around 50-70 issues a day, which can vary from the political or beauty tips/fashion
They post around 50-70 issues a day, which can vary from the political or beauty tips/fashion
5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?
I believe he was a very dominant force when it came to the editorial direction of the magazine
I believe he was a very dominant force when it came to the editorial direction of the magazine
6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?
Teen Vogues audience demographic is unapologetically young with a main focus on Gen Z and millennials. The word woke refers to someone being socially aware
Teen Vogues audience demographic is unapologetically young with a main focus on Gen Z and millennials. The word woke refers to someone being socially aware
7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?
Teen Vogue user interest I imagine can be quite varied; some will be more interested in something than someone else e.g. some would be more interested in fashion that another one would while same goes for politics etc. But given the fact that being "woke" has become a trend of fashionable, an underlying interest in awareness when it comes to what's going on around you may be more common than we may think.
Teen Vogue user interest I imagine can be quite varied; some will be more interested in something than someone else e.g. some would be more interested in fashion that another one would while same goes for politics etc. But given the fact that being "woke" has become a trend of fashionable, an underlying interest in awareness when it comes to what's going on around you may be more common than we may think.
8) What does Tavi Gevinson suggest regarding the internet and ‘accountability culture’ with regards to modern audiences? Can you link this to our work on Clay Shirky?
9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?
Broad question, first you have to understand that success would be relatively broad in this context due to political opinions varying what it means to be successful, but if we were to take a liberal, left-wing approach; it can be argued that Teen Vogue has been quite successful, this is evident with how they have approached Trump and the LGBTQ community. Examples of this being done would be the gaslighting article and the overall inclusion of the LGTBQ community.
Broad question, first you have to understand that success would be relatively broad in this context due to political opinions varying what it means to be successful, but if we were to take a liberal, left-wing approach; it can be argued that Teen Vogue has been quite successful, this is evident with how they have approached Trump and the LGBTQ community. Examples of this being done would be the gaslighting article and the overall inclusion of the LGTBQ community.
10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?
I think most if it's readers see Teen Vogue has accepting, modern, truthful and I'm sure some would consider it as inventful and inspirational
Teen Vogue textual analysis and example articles
Homepage analysis
Go to the Teen Vogue homepage and answer the following:
1) What website key conventions can you find on the Teen Vogue homepage?
2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?
It's clear to read, that combined with the fact that there is content everywhere results in a website that is easy to engage with. The design is also just quiet attractive in general
It's clear to read, that combined with the fact that there is content everywhere results in a website that is easy to engage with. The design is also just quiet attractive in general
3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?
The advertising appears on the sides and top of the website
The advertising appears on the sides and top of the website
4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?
It's a clear view of their brand "Thigh-High Politics" a combination of both fashion and politics
5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?
28-29 articles can be seen on the homepage if you scroll right to the bottom, and it scrolls down quite far, more than I assumed it would
Lifestyle section
Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue (in the Identity section) and answer the following:
1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?
2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.
Almost all of the articles on the lifestyle section include examples of people needing something to make their lives better, e.g. "This is the Only College Packing Guide You Need" is an instance of Teen Vogue trying to make people feel like they need something.
Almost all of the articles on the lifestyle section include examples of people needing something to make their lives better, e.g. "This is the Only College Packing Guide You Need" is an instance of Teen Vogue trying to make people feel like they need something.
3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?
They are quite clickbait esk, this can be seen with as the before mentioned example of the articles stating that we the audience need what they're saying
They are quite clickbait esk, this can be seen with as the before mentioned example of the articles stating that we the audience need what they're saying
4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?
5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – why do they fit the Teen Vogue brand?
"
Lelo is Having a Vibrator Sale for Amazon Prime Day And We are Treating Ourselves
No stigmas here!"
Clear example of Teen Vogue taking liberal views.
"Amazon Is Making It A Lot Easier to Stock Up On Dorm Room Essentials
Get your checklist ready!"
An example of Teen Vogues focus on trends and fashion
"Traveling After College: 6 Reasons You Should Travel After Graduation
Don't rush into the "real world" just yet."
An example of Teen Vogues brand new focus on helping teens with their eductaion
Five key articles
Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below for EACH feature.
For each article:
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
Donald Trump is gaslighting America:
Laura Duca- How Trump is emotionally controlling America
The New Face of Teen Activism:
Alexis Manrodt - The effect of digital media and the internet on activism.
Black Teens Have Been Fighting for Gun Reform for Years:
Lincoln Anthony Blades - About the struggle teenagers have had when it comes to getting gun control.
Netflix and Strong Female Leads:
De Elizabeth - About the changing stereotypes of women in media and how there are more strong female leads nowadays
How to Break Away from Gender Binaries:
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
Often times a similarity between the different articles is that it paints the readers as either a victim/princess that needs saving or a hero that needs to save someone or something. I used propps theory of narrative to help give me examples, and I feel like it's the most relevant one to use.
Often times a similarity between the different articles is that it paints the readers as either a victim/princess that needs saving or a hero that needs to save someone or something. I used propps theory of narrative to help give me examples, and I feel like it's the most relevant one to use.
3) Why is this article significant?
Again to round up all the articles into one paragraph, each article highlights very real and very present issues that face the (in this case American) population; when I say American I mean to specifically point out the guns reform article, the article is a clear example of a serious issue that physically targets the American population, but is mentally relevant at an international scale by reflecting both guns and the nature of racism globally
Again to round up all the articles into one paragraph, each article highlights very real and very present issues that face the (in this case American) population; when I say American I mean to specifically point out the guns reform article, the article is a clear example of a serious issue that physically targets the American population, but is mentally relevant at an international scale by reflecting both guns and the nature of racism globally
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
Monday, October 14, 2019
OSP: Teen Vogue - Industry and social media
Industry: Condé Nast
1) Research Teen Vogue publisher Condé Nast. What other magazines do they publish and how much money did they make last year?
Vogue, GQ, wired are their main ones.
Conde nast actually lost profits of up to 14 million
2) What are Teen Vogue’s main sources of income?
Teen vogues main source of income would advertising since they're not only online but they can't rely on people buying their magazines. But Teen Vogue also does host events that undoubtedly help with their profits. Their YouTube views also play a major part in this as well
3) How are traditionally print-based products like Teen Vogue diversifying to create new income streams?
The main way they've diversified would be how they went online and continued to make online products in the form of videos and social media posts. Other than that they remain relatively traditional
4) Why is sponsored content and ‘advertorial’ particularly important in media linked to the fashion industry?
It not only helps fund these various media institutions, but it helps these media industries gain a better reputation and build themselves up. The same applies to the fashion industry, there isn't much difference.
5) Do you view Teen Vogue’s content as a form of public service media or is Condé Nast simply interested in clicks and profit?
This question is one that depends on the cynicism of the reader; while personally I believe that most things in most industries are done for financial gain, as a means to garner as many sales as possible and to grow. A part of me also wants this to be a genuine attempt to give to the people, although such a selfless act from a massive conglomerate almost seems like an oxymoron.
Closure of print edition research
Read the following short articles to learn the background to Condé Nast's decision to close the print edition of Teen Vogue in 2016 and then answer the questions below:
BBC: Teen Vogue: How will going online-only affect readers?
New York Times: Condé Nast Ends Teen Vogue’s Print Run
Folio: Your Teen Vogue Hot Takes Are All Wrong
1) Why does the BBC suggest “Teen Vogue’s digital game is strong”?
Their prominent in the three main forms of internet usage in the form of websites, social media and YouTube; these three forms of internet are vital for a strong "digital game".
2) What does the BBC suggest is responsible for the Teen Vogue website’s success?
The fact that they offer clear and accessible political information and analysis to younger viewers made the brand less intimidating for younger readers. That combined with the already established brand they've set means that they can no be viewed and understood by a wide range of people.
3) How did Teen Vogue justify the closure of the print magazine?
They justified its closure by the fact that sales were decreasing, that and the fact that the internet was clearly the set path for future entertainment industries
4) In the BBC article, David Hepworth suggests there is a risk to going digital-only. What is it?
The risk of just becoming another website on the internet, failing to regain the once dominant brand they had on paper.
5) How do online-only publications make money?
They mainly make their money through advertising; but they can also make money through the selling of data and the selling of products. But majority of it comes from advertising.
6) What does Sarah Penny suggest regarding audience consumption for print and digital – and how might it be changing for Generation-Z?
Penny states that generation Z were the first generation that has grown up in the digital revolution, and due to that, they have a natural affinity towards that. This means, trying to appeal to this generation with print products is quite difficult to do.
7) What does the New York Times say Conde Nast is known for?
New York Times state that Conde Nast were originally known for it's lavish spending and visually rich glossy magazines.
8) The New York Times states that Conde Nast expects to bring in less revenue in 2017 than 2016… by how much?
its estimated to be around $100 million less in revenue
9) The Folio article also looks at the switch from print to digital. Pick out a statistic that justifies the digital-only approach.
the switch from 2 million monthly readers to 9 million readers is a justifiable reason
10) Finally, Folio also highlights some of the aspects we have studied elsewhere. Pick out two quotes from the article that link to our work on the Teen Vogue audience, representation or design.
"world is rejecting the mainstream media’s identity politics and Hollywood liberalism" - Showing a shifting change in the populations opinion and political opinion.
“Activist Mommy” Elizabeth Johnston — who famously burned a print edition of Teen Vogue in July over an online-only article informing readers about anal sex"- this shows the still traditional values that many people have, and explains why they resent the magazine.
Social media analysis
Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Teen Vogue's social media presence:
1) Look at the Teen Vogue Twitter feed (you don’t need to sign up to Twitter to see it but may need to log-in at home). How many followers does Teen Vogue have?
Teen Vogue is currently at 3.3 million followers
2) Now look at the content. Classify the first 20 tweets you can see using the sections on the Teen Vogue website: News & Politics, Fashion, Entertainment, Beauty, Lifestyle, Wellness and Homecoming. What does the Twitter feed focus on most? Does this differ to the website?
vast majority of the tweets made by Teen Vogue are fashion/celebrity related, but clear examples of liberal values are present in their tweet. e.g. "Fuck Christopher Columbus #indigenouspeoplesday" is a very clear example of that.
3) How are the tweets and headlines written? Can you find examples of clickbait?
There is a lot of "all your questions will be answered" type of headlines, but some also are examples of making the audience seem that they should be interested in the content that Teen Vogue is putting out there. an example of one would be " All the answers to your most pressing questions about dark spots"
4) How does the Twitter feed use videos and images?
It uses a combo of both, a smart move to attract as many people as they can. This is not an a technique that Teen Vogue pioneered, it's an already established method of attracting viewers.
5) Analyse the Teen Vogue Facebook page. How many ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ do they have?
Teen Vogue has 5.8 Million likes, but I cant seem to be able to see how many people follow it
6) Click on the Videos link on the left-hand menu. What type of content do the videos feature? Does this differ to the website or Twitter feed?
They're both quite similar, but the biggest difference between facebook and twitter although is quite clear, there are far more political and mental health-related videos on their facebook page
7) Now look at the Events tab to explore past events. What are these events and what do they tell us about how audiences interact with the Teen Vogue brand?
There are a lot of "Meetups", a meetup was popularised by the internet; so this could be an example of them trying to appeal to a younger generation of people by using the terminology used and familiar by them.
8) Go to the Teen Vogue Instagram page. How many followers do they have on Instagram?
They have 2.7 Million followers on Instagram
9) How does the Instagram feed differ from other social media channels?
Their content seems more female-centered and is almost entirely media-based (pictures, videos etc) but it also seems slightly more personal, this is evident by dedicating a post as a birthday message for a model.
10) What examples of digital convergence and synergy can you find on Teen Vogue social media including the Teen Vogue YouTube channel? (E.g. opportunities to engage with the brand across different platforms).
Direct feedback through Instagram comments, that and the like/unline button offer direct feedback too for Teen Vogue and that is pretty much the case throughout all their social media
1) Research Teen Vogue publisher Condé Nast. What other magazines do they publish and how much money did they make last year?
Vogue, GQ, wired are their main ones.
Conde nast actually lost profits of up to 14 million
2) What are Teen Vogue’s main sources of income?
Teen vogues main source of income would advertising since they're not only online but they can't rely on people buying their magazines. But Teen Vogue also does host events that undoubtedly help with their profits. Their YouTube views also play a major part in this as well
3) How are traditionally print-based products like Teen Vogue diversifying to create new income streams?
The main way they've diversified would be how they went online and continued to make online products in the form of videos and social media posts. Other than that they remain relatively traditional
4) Why is sponsored content and ‘advertorial’ particularly important in media linked to the fashion industry?
It not only helps fund these various media institutions, but it helps these media industries gain a better reputation and build themselves up. The same applies to the fashion industry, there isn't much difference.
5) Do you view Teen Vogue’s content as a form of public service media or is Condé Nast simply interested in clicks and profit?
This question is one that depends on the cynicism of the reader; while personally I believe that most things in most industries are done for financial gain, as a means to garner as many sales as possible and to grow. A part of me also wants this to be a genuine attempt to give to the people, although such a selfless act from a massive conglomerate almost seems like an oxymoron.
Closure of print edition research
Read the following short articles to learn the background to Condé Nast's decision to close the print edition of Teen Vogue in 2016 and then answer the questions below:
BBC: Teen Vogue: How will going online-only affect readers?
New York Times: Condé Nast Ends Teen Vogue’s Print Run
Folio: Your Teen Vogue Hot Takes Are All Wrong
1) Why does the BBC suggest “Teen Vogue’s digital game is strong”?
Their prominent in the three main forms of internet usage in the form of websites, social media and YouTube; these three forms of internet are vital for a strong "digital game".
2) What does the BBC suggest is responsible for the Teen Vogue website’s success?
The fact that they offer clear and accessible political information and analysis to younger viewers made the brand less intimidating for younger readers. That combined with the already established brand they've set means that they can no be viewed and understood by a wide range of people.
3) How did Teen Vogue justify the closure of the print magazine?
They justified its closure by the fact that sales were decreasing, that and the fact that the internet was clearly the set path for future entertainment industries
4) In the BBC article, David Hepworth suggests there is a risk to going digital-only. What is it?
The risk of just becoming another website on the internet, failing to regain the once dominant brand they had on paper.
5) How do online-only publications make money?
They mainly make their money through advertising; but they can also make money through the selling of data and the selling of products. But majority of it comes from advertising.
6) What does Sarah Penny suggest regarding audience consumption for print and digital – and how might it be changing for Generation-Z?
Penny states that generation Z were the first generation that has grown up in the digital revolution, and due to that, they have a natural affinity towards that. This means, trying to appeal to this generation with print products is quite difficult to do.
7) What does the New York Times say Conde Nast is known for?
New York Times state that Conde Nast were originally known for it's lavish spending and visually rich glossy magazines.
8) The New York Times states that Conde Nast expects to bring in less revenue in 2017 than 2016… by how much?
its estimated to be around $100 million less in revenue
9) The Folio article also looks at the switch from print to digital. Pick out a statistic that justifies the digital-only approach.
the switch from 2 million monthly readers to 9 million readers is a justifiable reason
10) Finally, Folio also highlights some of the aspects we have studied elsewhere. Pick out two quotes from the article that link to our work on the Teen Vogue audience, representation or design.
"world is rejecting the mainstream media’s identity politics and Hollywood liberalism" - Showing a shifting change in the populations opinion and political opinion.
“Activist Mommy” Elizabeth Johnston — who famously burned a print edition of Teen Vogue in July over an online-only article informing readers about anal sex"- this shows the still traditional values that many people have, and explains why they resent the magazine.
Social media analysis
Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Teen Vogue's social media presence:
1) Look at the Teen Vogue Twitter feed (you don’t need to sign up to Twitter to see it but may need to log-in at home). How many followers does Teen Vogue have?
Teen Vogue is currently at 3.3 million followers
2) Now look at the content. Classify the first 20 tweets you can see using the sections on the Teen Vogue website: News & Politics, Fashion, Entertainment, Beauty, Lifestyle, Wellness and Homecoming. What does the Twitter feed focus on most? Does this differ to the website?
vast majority of the tweets made by Teen Vogue are fashion/celebrity related, but clear examples of liberal values are present in their tweet. e.g. "Fuck Christopher Columbus #indigenouspeoplesday" is a very clear example of that.
3) How are the tweets and headlines written? Can you find examples of clickbait?
There is a lot of "all your questions will be answered" type of headlines, but some also are examples of making the audience seem that they should be interested in the content that Teen Vogue is putting out there. an example of one would be " All the answers to your most pressing questions about dark spots"
4) How does the Twitter feed use videos and images?
It uses a combo of both, a smart move to attract as many people as they can. This is not an a technique that Teen Vogue pioneered, it's an already established method of attracting viewers.
5) Analyse the Teen Vogue Facebook page. How many ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ do they have?
Teen Vogue has 5.8 Million likes, but I cant seem to be able to see how many people follow it
6) Click on the Videos link on the left-hand menu. What type of content do the videos feature? Does this differ to the website or Twitter feed?
They're both quite similar, but the biggest difference between facebook and twitter although is quite clear, there are far more political and mental health-related videos on their facebook page
7) Now look at the Events tab to explore past events. What are these events and what do they tell us about how audiences interact with the Teen Vogue brand?
There are a lot of "Meetups", a meetup was popularised by the internet; so this could be an example of them trying to appeal to a younger generation of people by using the terminology used and familiar by them.
8) Go to the Teen Vogue Instagram page. How many followers do they have on Instagram?
They have 2.7 Million followers on Instagram
9) How does the Instagram feed differ from other social media channels?
Their content seems more female-centered and is almost entirely media-based (pictures, videos etc) but it also seems slightly more personal, this is evident by dedicating a post as a birthday message for a model.
10) What examples of digital convergence and synergy can you find on Teen Vogue social media including the Teen Vogue YouTube channel? (E.g. opportunities to engage with the brand across different platforms).
Direct feedback through Instagram comments, that and the like/unline button offer direct feedback too for Teen Vogue and that is pretty much the case throughout all their social media
Teen Vogue: Audience and Representation blog tasks
1) Analyse the Conde Nast media pack for Teen Vogue. What is the Teen Vogue mission statement and what does this tell us about the target audience and audience pleasures?
“We aim to educate, enlighten, and empower our audience to create a more inclusive environment”. This part of the mission statement attempts to show the target market as more inclusive, rather than being primarily female focused. When talking about the audience they actually attract, it would be safe to say it is primarily young female audience; but with their recent political revolution, I would say they are not attracting a more diverse audience, looking at both age and gender. The pleasures are mainly surveillance and identity, this is seen with the articles and sections within teen vogue that highlight that, but it can be argued that there are instances of diversion and personal relationships as well, with celebrity interviews/articles, with audiences either really liking the celebrity or wanting to be them.
2) What is the target audience for Teen Vogue? Use the media pack to pick out key aspects of the audience demographics. Also, consider the psychographic groups that would be attracted to Teen Vogue: make specific reference to the website design or certain articles to support your points regarding this.
Main target audience: Gen Z/Millennials. Can be seen through the internet celebs they have featured on their website.
Heavy focus on online audiences too as their print is dead. Their biggest medium being video (through YouTube) at 24.4 Million.
3) What audience pleasures or gratifications can be found in Teen Vogue? Do these differ from the gratifications of traditional print-based magazines?
As mentioned before in the previous question, all 4 can be argued due to their content. Due to their content being the determining factor, I can’t see how it has changed. Even with the content being far more political, the pleasures remain the same.
4) How is the audience positioned to respond to political news stories?
It’s positioned to view it from a left wing manner
5) How does Teen Vogue encourage audiences to interact with the brand – and each other – on social media? The ‘tentpoles and editorial pillars’ section of the media pack may help with this question.
It expects audiences to be quite responsive and interact with them, this can be seen with the amount of event that Teen Vogue puts out, expecting viewers to buy tickets and attend
Representations
1) Look again at the Conde Nast media pack for Teen Vogue. What do the ‘tentpoles and editorial pillars’ (key events and features throughout the year) suggest about the representation of women and teenage girls on teenvogue.com?
They all seemed relatively superficial, except for the back to school one. There is a clear focus on beauty and celebrities; and while a Teen Vogue editor would say that you can like both beauty and politics (which is very true) but they way they go about this seems wrong. Can’t change stereotypes if you enforce them.
2) How are issues of gender identity and sexuality represented in Teen Vogue?
Very left wing around the board, open acceptance of the LGTBQ community and does talk about gender fluidity
3) Do representations of appearance or beauty in Teen Vogue reinforce or challenge traditional stereotypes?
They do both, while they do enforce stereotypes that girls will be interested in beauty etc, they represent more than a white view of beauty. And clearly show an attempt to diversify the beauty world.
4) What is patriarchy and how does Teen Vogue challenge it? Does it succeed?
Patriarchy is a view of male dominance, particularly within society. Teen Vogue challenges this by showing that women can make their own voice be heard and dominant within society.
5) Does Teen Vogue reinforce or challenge typical representations of celebrity?
I believe they represent a very typical view of celebrity, but they are branching out with what determines celebrity, with the likes of Liza Koshy (Internet star) making an appearance in one of their magazines
Feature: how Teen Vogue represents the changing nature of media aimed at women
Read this Quartz feature - The true story of how Teen Vogue got mad, got woke, and began terrifying men like Donald Trump - and answer the following questions:
1) How was the Teen Vogue op-ed on Donald Trump received on social media?
It was received very well by the left wing, and was received badly by the right, as is to be expected
2) How have newspapers and magazines generally categorised and targeted news by gender?
They typically tend to be dominated by men, with the female voice being snuffed out more often than not, whether or not this is due to a lack of a female voice or an active attempt by men to not give them a voice is often up for debate.
3) How is this gender bias still present in the modern media landscape?
The most blatant show of this bias would be sexualisation of women constantly seen within the media landscape. (Yes men are sexualised quite often, but still not to the same extent as women)
4) What impact did the alternative women’s website Jezebel have on the women’s magazine market?
Jezebel has the credit of being the magazine that may have started the wave of political females having a voice, this new voice came with popularity, which equated to readership and then money; bigger magazines with a major female demographic may have dedicated aspects of their magazine to cater for this new wave for increased readerships and profit, although this argument relies on how cynical you are as an individual.
5) Do you agree with the writer that female audiences can enjoy celebrity news and beauty tips alongside hard-hitting political coverage? Does this explain the recent success of Teen Vogue?
I believe no one should be judged for their interests, and should not be looked as if their inadequate if the like something too. I do think that they can have an interest in both and the resurgence enjoyed by Teen Vogue is due to this idea, that you can like both.
6) How does the writer suggest feminists used to be represented in the media?
The writer suggests that feminists used to be viewed as a trivial endeavour done by women,to quote Samuel Johnson "A woman’s preaching is like a dog’s walking on his hind legs, It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all.” While the comment is obviously derogatory, it may also be a commentary on the idea that women tend to not take it very seriously hence the "surprised to find it done at all" but that has very much changed in the modern world.
7) What is the more modern representation of feminism? Do you agree that this makes feminism ‘stereotyped as fluffy’?
Feminism like most ideologies or movements has been fragmented into different sub versions of the belief. The most popularised form of feminism would be the extreme "white" feminism that quite honestly tends to be high profile nonsensical movements for relatively no true cause; only being popularised for the absurd things they get up to. But the traditional view of feminism that revolves around true equality for women and men whether it be for work, social rights or rights in general, that view has been solidified in society and in the media
8) What contrasting audience pleasures for Teen Vogue are suggested by the writer in the article as a whole?
The article highlights the idea that while Teen Vogues articles and op-eds can be praised for their journalism, they still remain to be quite beauty centred with light celebrity news still being their most viewed articles.
9) The writer suggests that this change in representation and audience pleasures for media products aimed at women has emerged from the feminist-blog movement. How can this be linked to Clay Shirky’s ‘end of audience’ theory?
Blogs such as Jezebel formed the basis and the basic structure of which Teen Vogue has now popularised to a global scale, so much so that we're even studying the it in a formal setting; but as touched upon in the beginning of this answer, can only be credited to the hard work of writers and bloggers that are not apart of some huge pyramid scheme like business, they were everyday people who utilised the internet to their advantage and began to raise their voice for issues they were passionate about. This is an almost definable example of the end of audience, but as with most revelations, conglomerates have once again capitalised this revolution. This shows that while clay shirkys theory of the end of audience is definitely evident in the modern world, it's not perfect and is still susceptible to the power of the media elite.
10) Is Teen Vogue simply a product of the Trump presidency or will websites and magazines aimed at women continue to become more hard-hitting and serious in their offering to audiences?
I feel that politicised woman magazine are a gold mine that everyone wants a piece of, but the social steam of it will run out eventually, and will once again be a dead trend. But then again I'm no soothsayer, there very well could be a revolution at our doorstep, but as of right now I remain quite cynical (something that could be at my detriment)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)