Media Language - appealing to the audience

1. To begin with, remind yourself of the terminology you can use when discussing magazines. (See Mr Eason's post about this http://mreasonmedia10.blogspot.com/2019/04/magazines-glossary-of-terms.html)


2. Next, identify examples of this on a page from Mojo magazine. Start on the front page and then work your way through the magazine. Make notes of these examples of terminology in your exercise book.

For example: The masthead of the magazine is MOJO. It is written in bold capital letters on the front page. They use the same font every time so that it becomes a recognisable brand.



3. Now, choose any page from the magazine and write about how it appeals to the audience. You must consider:

• images
• content
• headline
• celebrities
• wording
• features
• anything else

For example: The magazine appeals to people who like to purchase vinyl records by including articles about vinyl records. There is a particular article about Flexi-discs, a niche and rare form of record that collectors of records might find particularly interesting. To go along with this, there are images of old records that appear to be from the 1980s or earlier. This suggests that the audience may be interested in older things: they, themselves could be old, or they just like old music...

4. When you have finished this, have a look through the magazine. Write down anything of interest. For example:

• How many adverts are there?
• What is being advertised?
• Which bands have you heard of?
• How long is the longest article?
• How much swearing features in the magazine?
• Is it grouped into different sections?
• etc.

Appealing to Mojo's audience

A question you might be asked in the exam would be something like: Explain how and why magazines appeal to different audiences. Refer to Mojo magazine to support your answer.


To do this, firstly, you will need to identify who the audience are for Mojo magazine. You will also need to understand:

• What are their wants and needs?
• How do they expect to be addressed?
• What content do they expect to find?
• What features will appeal to them?

TASK: Copy this into your books...
Mojo magazine is mainly read by males, with an average age of 41. They like classic rock music and take their music seriously. They value craftsmanship, quality music, substance over aesthetics, but it still needs to look stylish and cool.

They will see themselves as musical experts, so do not want to be patronised. There will be references to shared knowledge about things they already know.


EXTENSION TASK: Write anything else you can tell about the average Mojo reader:
THE MOJO READER DAVE, 42, is a passionate and discerning individual who loves the good things in life. A professional with high disposable income, music has soundtracked every major event in his life so far and continues to define him. A child of the ‘70s, he missed out on punk but admires its confrontational spirit, which inspired the likes of THE SMITHS and the indie music that he listened to in his teenage years. As he entered his twenties, he also began to explore the most timeless, enduring rock bands – THE BEATLES, DYLAN, BOWIE, PINK FLOYD, LED ZEPPELIN, NEIL YOUNG and THE ROLLING STONES. 
Dave continues to seek out the best in modern music, baulking at his daughter’s love of manufactured pop and yet enthusiastically sharing his son’s burgeoning interest in bands like the ARCTIC MONKEYS. A worldly-wise, well-read man, these days he is thrilled when he hears new folk music or the latest African outpouring. While he believes vinyl is the most authentic of music formats (51% of MOJO’s audience listen to music this way), he still values CDs. He will often want to listen to his favourite bands in his car or at home on his CD player, with friends and family. CD is still king for Dave and his fellow MOJO readers, with 77% regularly listening to them. 
Dave has grown to become a frequent user of streaming services too (43% of MOJO readers use streaming services as a music source). Listening to music through SPOTIFY, YOUTUBE or AMAZON MUSIC simply encourages him to buy more music that he’s heard, on CD and vinyl. His iPod, iPad and iPhone are all impressively loaded with everything from Motown to ‘60s garage punk and even the latest in bedroom electronica. A heavy gig-goer and massive fan of live music (71% of MOJO readers have been to a live-music gig in the last year) these days he prefers the more ‘boutique’ festival experience of LATITUDE or GREEN MAN, which often have the mix of old and new music that Dave most appreciates. A few years ago he discovered THE WAR ON DRUGS in MOJO and, through his journey discovering new and exciting music, he recommended the band’s Lost In The Dream album to all his friends and a few colleagues at work. He feels proud now that the band have won a Grammy award. Besides the latest WAR ON DRUGS album, other recent purchases include LCD SOUNDSYSTEM’S AMERICAN DREAM and ROBERT PLANT’S CARRY FIRE.
Taken from: https://www.bauermedia.co.uk/uploads/jTHJtNqMlIvTPAms.pdf

Now, you need to find examples of how they are appealed to.
Looking at the contents page, what specific examples of all of this can you see?


TASK:
How do the pages in Mojo magazine appeal to the reader?

The contents page appeals to the reader through...
(Write about the content, the phrasing, the references, the colours, the images, anything else.)


TASK:
Using another page from the magazine, can you see other ways that this appeals to the audience?


TASK:
Write up your notes from today's lesson in your exercise book.


Use these sentence starters to help you if you are unsure:

• The average reader of Mojo is...
• The average reader will like...
• The magazine appeals to them through...
• The most effective way the reader is appealed to is...

Front cover analysis

https://hnutsfordmedia.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/marie-claire1.jpg