Oh ~ previously Oh Comely

Focuses on environment and lifestyle rather than celeb gossip.

Its representation of femininity reflects an aspect of the feminist movement which celebrates authenticity and empowerment

INSTITUTION

OH Comely was first published in 2010 and sold, after being sold it became more like normal women magazines.

Reach of 100,000 people.

In contrast to Men’s Health magazine, Oh Comely is an independent magazine published by Iceberg Press, a small London publisher which publishes only one other title. It is a bi-monthly British magazine published by Pirates Ahoy! (a conglomerate of Iceberg.

• So this is a case study of Iceberg as an independent media company.
• Presenting new strategies for institutional development and creative working practice. As well as suggesting ways for keeping print popular and relevant – Iceberg’s branding includes a commitment to print over other media forms.

REPRESENTATIONS

The magazine is to do with gender, primarily femininity but can also be understood in how this affects the representation of men. As such, a comparison with Men’s Health is really pertinent. As:Oh Comely constructs a representation of femininity with its focus on creativity and quirkiness.

The focus is on women as artists, entrepreneurs, athletes and musicians and female empowerment is a major theme.

The absence of men as part of the representation of masculinity in Oh Comely magazine.

Representation of social groups: Oh Comely constructs a lifestyle through its focus on culture and the environment. This analysis would offer the opportunity to question some of the messages and values constructed by the magazine.

Theories of representation including Hall

Feminist theories including bell hooks and Van Zoonen

Theories of gender performativity including Butler

Previously known as ‘oh comely’ – Oh is a women’s magazine covering food, recipes, film, fashion, music, art and culture.

key stats/facts

• Social Media Reach: 100,000
• Readers Per Issue: 25,000
• Average Age of reader: 27
• Sold through independents, WHSmith and international outlets

The Independent identified Oh Comely as part of a change in magazine publishing led by younger editors launching print titles for a generation of readers raised on digital media.

Ownership

Oh magazine is a bi-monthly (twice a month) British magazine published by Pirates Ahoy! a subsidiary of Iceberg Press, publisher of The Simple Things magazine.

Iceberg press brought oh comely from Adeline media in 2016.

Iceberg press

• only make two of their own magazines – oh and the simple things.
• they have a separate website (www.picsandink.com) to sell smaller independent magazines
• an independent publishing company
• founded in 2014 by three friends working for a bigger publishing company who quit to start up their own

representation

• focus’s more on women’s well-being rather than celebrity gossip and inspires creativity which makes it different and stand out compared to the typical women’s magazine
• published by younger publishers helps engage with younger target audiences audiences

The first issue of Oh (previously known as oh commonly) was published in 2010 by an independent comapny called sdeline media, Iceberg Press purchased Oh Comely from Adeline Media in 2016.

OH Comely focuses on representation of femininity with its focus on creativity and quirkiness, women as artists, entrepreneurs, athletes and musicians and female empowerment is a major theme.

After the sale to iceberg press oh comely was changed to oh and became a lot more mainstream than the previous look of the magazine. this may be to keep the magazine popular and relevant.

‘Oh Comely’ is part of a development in lifestyle and environmental movements of the early twenty first century which re-brand consumerism as an ethical movement.

Is a contrast to Men’s Health magazine

Independent magazine published by Iceberg Press

New technology mean that small companies can also use the internet to communicate and target audiences.

Oh is trying to keeping print popular and relevant.

The key areas of representation suggested by the magazine are to do with gender, primarily femininity

Used to understood in how this affects the representation of men

Oh magazine constructs a representation of femininity with its focus on creativity and quirkiness.

The focus is on women as artists, entrepreneurs, athletes and musicians and female empowerment is a major theme. There is an absence of men in the magazine.

Stuart Hall can be used for representation as a key theorist.

Bell Hooks- feminist who believes that race, class, and sex is involved. Feminism is wanting females to be equal to men however in the 1980’s not all men were considered to be equal.

“The first issue of Oh Comely was published in 2010 and co-edited by Des Tan and Liz Bennett, with Rosanna Durham and Dani Lurie as art and music editors. Collectively the four worked as Adeline Media. Oh Comely publishes craft, DIY, creative non-fiction, photography and illustration, as well as reader submissions. In 2014, The Independent identified Oh Comely, alongside Delayed Gratification and Apartamento, as part of a change in magazine publishing led by younger editors launching print titles for a generation of readers raised on digital media. Iceberg Press announced their purchase of Oh Comely from Adeline Media in 2016.”

– https://en.everybodywiki.com/Oh_Comely_(magazine)

Oh is about new ways of looking inside ourselves and out at the world – http://ohcomely.co.uk/magazine

• bi monthly publishing
• Made in London
• Set up by 3 people who previously worked in big media industries

Iceberg press

• Iceberg press produces oh comely and the simple things magazines

“It’s all about the audience.

Chase the work, not the money.

Compromise isn’t our friend.

We will always make time for ideas.

We are stronger when we work with others.

We want good people to work in a good place.

Every year we will help a cause that matters.

We believe in a thing called Print.“

-http://www.icebergpress.co.uk/about-us

Lisa Sykes:

-Editorial

-Used to edit national news stand magazines

-Moved on to work at the Sunday times before working for country living magazine

-Lisa then spent further stints at Hearst Magazines UK, working as Deputy Editor of Coast Magazine, as a senior editor on Good Housekeeping, and as Editor of Prima, one of the largest circulating women’s titles in the UK. 

-She joined The Simple Things as Editor in November 2013

David Parker:

-David Parker is a highly successful publisher with a track record of growing brands and working every avenue and margin in the business. He published three of the largest magazine brands in the UK: Country Living, Prima and House Beautiful, alongside AllAboutYou.com, a website with over one million unique users every month.

When considering media institutions we should look at some key media language firstly conglomerates are powerful influential groups that own various businesses examples of this is Walmart in America and State Grid in China. Vertical integration is when a production company owns the means of production, distribution, and exhibition of their film and are of the same company, because of this they will receive all of the profit a good example of this would be a solar power company that produces photovoltaic products and also manufactures the cells used to create those products. Horizontal integration is when the business has the same chain of production and command. An example of this would be Pixar as it operated in the same animation space as Disney, but its digitally animated movies using technology as an innovative vision.

When looking at Men’s Health and consider the idea of Institutions we should think about who owns Men’s health, what is the conglomerate Hearst, before exploring Hearst we should consider what is a conglomerate? Conglomerates are powerful influential groups that own various businesses and Hearst is the largest men’s magazine brand in the world with 35 editions in 59 different countries. It also has a digital magazine which ranges from “Harper’s Bazaar” what is about woman’s fashion to “Runners World” an “essential guide to anyone who runs”. Men’s Health dominates an ideology of the negative stereotype of how men should be strong and independent, which in a sense they are not negative qualities, but men should also be allowed to have the qualities that women are stereotyped for, like being kind and nurturing, being able to be “feminine” and when relating back to stereotypes, the stereotype of women being kind and nurturing is called a positive stereotype. By Men’s health pursing this ideology it narrows the way that men can publicly be portrayed and creates a stereotype which is limiting, and from this when men stray from this stereotypical man ideology they can be seen “abnormal” in the sense they are straying away from the norm and this isn’t great as men can feel like they are un-masculine or “weird” from wanting to do something that isn’t socially conventional, However, the idea of Men’s health is to portray men of different ages, mainly middle-aged or younger, at peak psychical performance as an idea of what men should strive to look like and idolize but with their negative ideology can have negative effects on men and how they perceive themselves and how they should be. Other theorists that relate to this point is Mulvey as he suggests that gender is fixed and is created through institutions like Hearst’s, men’s health who creates and fixates on the stereotypical fixed idea of how men should be perceived ie Strong, built, and large whereas Butler believes that gender is fluid and so it is fixed and like fluid is ever-changing and in motion, adapting and evolving

Oh, the magazine is formerly known as “Oh comely” is published by “Pirates Ahoy’ what is owned by “Iceberg press’ who also own “the simple things” and their magazine “celebrate slowing down, enjoying what you have and making the most of where you live.” Oh describes themselves as a “magazine that explores lifestyle and environmental movements of the early twenty-first century which rebrand consumerism as an ethical movement. Its representation of femininity reflects an aspect of the feminist movement which celebrates authenticity and empowerment” So let’s break this down. What they mean by this is firstly a “magazine that explores lifestyle and environmental movements of the early twenty first century which re-brand consumerism as an ethical movement”, they are trying to differentiate themselves from the consumerist, Gossipy, negative magazine’s that focus on scandals, sex, Secrets and these 3 S’s grab the “trash Gossipy culture” that are designed to grab our interest and intrigue, for example cosmopolitan magazine has these three S’s and is designed bold and bright with a vary of bold simplistic colours to grab our attention and reel us in with one of the three S’s with the help of a “pretty poster girl” celebrity to grab our interest even more, we Can relay this to Katz and Blumer uses and gratification theory, what is an approach to understanding why and how people actively seek out specific media to satisfy specific needs and for example Oh is used to satisfy feminist ideals with their woman empowerment or a way to enjoy and appreciate life as much as possible. Secondly when breaking it down again is says “Its representation of femininity reflects an aspect of the feminist movement which celebrates authenticity and empowerment” as once again they are trying to stray away from the negative idealistic ideas of showing unrealistic woman body types and focus their good bodies to attract readers to be “perfect” like them but instead showing the beauty and power of the girls themselves cropping out their bodies. (like below) By doing this they enforce the ides of empowerment through beauty without sexualised or idolised bodies which could cause negatives ideas which could be unrealistic for most to achieve so by Oh demonstrating a more positive empowering view of women as it helps break down the objectification and sexualisation of woman.

• Oh Comely is part of a development in lifestyle and environmental movements of the early twenty first century which re brand consumerism as an ethical movement.
• it’s a contrast to men’s health magazine
• Oh shows how developments in new technology mean that small companies can also use the internet to communicate and target audiences.

Post colonialism is a massive factor in how the audience views the media. Theorists such as J McDougall and Natalie Fenton look at the link between society and media. J McDougall wrote a book called “Fake News vs New Media” and N.fenton quoted  from the book “I’ve always said you can’t understand the world without the media nor the media without the world”. N.Fenton is suggesting from this quote that the media today is so powerful that it persuades and shapes ideologies. For example the media has shaped what the female and Male stereotype is. It also suggests that the world wouldn’t be as it is today without the media as the media has shaped how the world views things and how the world sees and interprets everything. 

The music videos “Letter to the free” and “Ghost town” both challenge social ideologies and show post colonialism in contrasting ways . Firstly, letter to the free is about speaking up about racism and trying to end the black and white divide in society. In contrast to letter to the free being about trying to create equal rights, Ghost town refers back to the economic depression and the employment rates going up in London which went spiralling out of control. Both these music videos can be seen to be radical because they are challenging social ideologies and are trying to enforce change against discrimination and to fix the economic chrisis. 

Paul Gilroy and W.E.B. du Bois proposed the idea of “Double consciousness” .Double consciousness defining itself as the internal conflict experienced by subordinated or colonized groups in an oppressive society. This links to both the music videos because the setting in Ghost Town is in the UK during the economic crisis, which left people without jobs. Similarly, Letter to the Free is set in an oppressive society in America because black people are experiencing discrimination. The term also referred to Du Bois’s experiences of reconciling his African heritage with an upbringing in a European-dominated society, In his book “Black Atlantic” about a distinct black Atlantic culture. 

Post-colonialism helps us to be able to understand the concept of “the other”. A theorist that explores this is Jacques Lacan who came up with the mirror theory. The mirror theory is the young child’s identification with his own image. In simpler terms, when a child first recognises themselves in a reflection in the mirror, (what Lacan terms the “Ideal-I” or “ideal ego”), a stage that occurs anywhere from 6-18 months of age. However this also means that we never see ourselves as a whole, we simply see a reflection to judge what others would see us as and who we are. This links to Letter to the Free and Ghost Town because everyone has a different interpretation of the music videos, not everyone will view them the same way. By understanding and exploring “the other” we are also understanding and exploring ourselves. 

Furthermore, it is significant that music videos can change cultures and show the struggles they are facing. Louis Althusser talks about the Ideological state apparatus which is used to describe the way society structures itself to a line with its ideologies of identity, and right and wrong. Althusser suggests the way in which a subject’s identity is formed corresponds to the dominant ideology. Similarly, Gramsci came up with the theory of hegemony, which can illustrate how certain culture forms predominate over others, meaning that certain ideas can be more influential than others.

To conclude, it is clear that the idea of post-colonialism can be applied to both Letter to the Free and Ghost Town. The music videos are heavily influenced by racial status, social class and culture. For example, a letter to the free is all about black people’s inequalities which is therefore telling us that the point in the music video is to simply ask for equality amongst all people no matter their race, age, gender or social class. Ghost Town is also trying to get a point across which is to bring awareness to the economic crisis and its severity and the impact it had on people. 

Murdoch- Rupert Murdoch owns a large percentage of the British, Australian and american media including the times, fox news the sun, etc.

David Hesmondhalgh- he analysis’s the relationship between the media work and the media industry.

‘the distinctive organisational form of the cultural industries has considerable implications for the conditions under which symbolic creativity is carried out’The Culture Industries (Sage, 2019, p.99)

media power and control

The Murdoch dynasty controls the UK government by bribing potential prime ministers with the support of the times and the sun. For example the new labor Parliament This links to Althusser theory because he talks about the state controlling the public through isa

• Media concentration / Conglomerates / Globalisation (in terms of media ownership)

• Media Concentration – Process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media

• Media Conglomerates – A company that owns numerous companies involved in mass media enterprises, such as television, radio, publishing, motion pictures, theme parks, or the internet

• Media Globalisation – The phenomenon of expanding multinational corporate media investment, resulting in the emergence of a global oligarchy ( a small group of people having control of a country or organization. ) of first tier corporations, which own and operate a variety of mass media content and distribution technologies including: television, radio, film, music

• Vertical Integration & Horizontal Integration
• Vertical Integration is where companies own or control its suppliers, distributors or retail locations to control its value or supply chain. Benefits companies by allowing them to control process, reduce costs and improve efficiencies.
• Horizontal Integration is the process of a company increasing production of goods or services at the same part of the supply chain. This may be done through internal expansion, acquisition or merger. This process can lead to monopoly if a company captures the vast majority or the market for that product or service.

• Gatekeepers – A person who controls access to something, e:g via a city gate/bouncer, granted access to a category or status. They asses who is in/out

• Regulation / Deregulation

• Regulation – A rule or directive made and maintained by an authority
• Deregulation – The removal of regulations or restrictions, especially in a particular industry

• Free market vs Monopolies & Mergers

• Free market – An economic system in which prices are determined by unrestricted competition between privately owned businesses

• Monopolies – The exclusive possession or control of the supply of or trade in a commodity or service.

• Mergers – A combination of two things being changed/moved into one, merging of one estate/title in another

• Neo-liberalism and the Alt-Right

• Neo-liberalism – The 20th-century resurgence of 19th-century ideas associated with economic liberalism and free-market capitalism. The term is rarely used by proponents of free-market policies.

• Alt-Right – An ideological grouping associated with extreme conservative or reactionary viewpoints, characterized by a rejection of mainstream politics and by the use of online media to disseminate deliberately controversial content

• Surveillance / Privacy / Security / GDPR

• Surveillance – Close observation

• Privacy – A state in which one is not observed or disturbed by other people

• Security – The state of being free from danger or threat

• GDPR – General Data Protection Regulation, agreed upon by the European Parliament and Council in April 2016, will replace the Data Protection Directive 95/46/ec in Spring 2018 as the primary law regulating how companies protect EU citizens’ personal data

Media ownership and structure:

• Paul Gilroy could be a related theorist as he talks on the theme of double consciousness, eg in Bombshell everyone thought the CEO of Fox News Roger Ailes was this successful and nice guy but he turned out to be someone no one expected. There’s a hierarchy within the organisation and many women lived in fear due to Roger and his ways (this is because he had the power, he could do what he wanted), in order to be successful and get promotions one had to do something Roger had asked because they wanted/needed that promotion. Manufacturing consent comes into play here (Chomsky)
• Horizontal integration which is where a company can spread their company/business further and spread their ideas further, this means they can reach more people
• Chomsky focused on manufacturing consent, eventually people will believe what they’re reading. Cultivation theory comes into play as well
• With ownership comes power, Media outlets are able to manipulate people in order to get them to see their views or believe something that may not be true

Murdoch Media Empire