• 

One of the big challenges for the magazine industry in the digital age is that everything is now based online. This causes jobs to be lost such as printing the magazines, stocking the magazines and selling the magazines. However, online, it online takes 1 person to sell it and doesn’t require a physical store. People are using more technology such as ipads and kindles which can store as many magazines as you want, all in one place instead of carrying around 10 plus magazines all at once. Also, having a magazine online, instead of it being in its physical form is saving paper and saving the environment is a major aspect at the moment.

Barthes- An influential French philosopher and literary critic, who explored social theory, anthropology and semiotics, the science of symbols, and studied their impact on society

Pierce- American philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist

Saussure- A Swiss linguist and semiotician

Semiotics- The study of signs and symbols and their use or interpretation

Sign- Something that signifies something else 

Signifier- A sign’s physical form (such as a sound, printed word, or image) as distinct from its meaning (Saussure)

Signified- The meaning or idea expressed by a sign

Icon- Person or thing regarded as a representative symbol

Index- A sign that has a link to its object 

Symbol- Thing that represents or stands for something else

Code-  A system of words, letters, figures, or symbols used to represent others

Dominant Signifier- Main accepted meaning of sign 

Anchorage- Words “pin down” the meaning of an image 

Ideology- Set of opinions or beliefs by an individual or group

Syntagm- A set of linguistic forms that are in a relationship to one another

Paradigm– A typical example or pattern of something; a pattern or model

Signification- The representation or conveying of meaning

Denotation- The literal or primary meaning of a word (Barthes)

Connotation- An idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning

Myth- A widely held but false belief or idea

A Radical test– Text that challenges dominant ideology

A Reactionary test– Text that supports the dominant ideology

This magazine cover for “Boys life” defeats the idea of stereotypes for men. The cover challenges society in a way in which men are wearing makeup and wearing a product that is stereotypically designed for men. The magazine also challenges the role of masculinity in society and how people still believe “make-up is just for women” but shown clearly by Jeffree Star and Manny Mua, it isn’t. The question on the magazine “Can you be the next Covergirl?” is also going against society in the way in which men can also be the Covergirl and it is not only for women. The pink background and Jeffree’s pink hair also symbolises the feminity that is being portrayed by males. I chose Jeffree Star and Manny Mua because they are both males who are beauty influences. This is a lifestyle which usually women would take an interest in.  

Mario is one of the most popular video games of all time. People play this game all around the world and on multiple platforms, whether it’s WII or Nintendo DS. Mario is designed for everyone, young and old and all age groups love it. Parents can pass their childhood Mario games onto their children for them to enjoy just as much as they did. This is why I decided to choose Mario as my magazine cover as it is so popular amongst many, including myself. 

Mario was released in 1983 and created by Shigeru Miyamoto. The character of Mario was first seen in the arcade game Donkey Kong and became an instant celebrity when more than 60,000 arcade machines were sold. Since 1983 various versions of Mario have been released such as the original Super Mario Bros in 1985 (which is the first Mario seen on the front cover of my magazine). New Super Mario Bros Wii released in 2009, Super Mario Bros Galaxy 2, released in 2010 and the most recent game of Mario legacy is Super Mario maker 2 in which you get to design your own levels for Mario to get through. This was released in 2019. This shows that even since 1983 Mario has been a major aspect of many childhoods and will hopefully still remain as big as it currently is, in the future. 

My main idea for the front cover of this magazine was so show visually how Mario has progressed over the 37 years of its existence and how it will continue to improve. This magazine which I have designed in particular is predominantly based for younger children due to the bright colours and eye-catching text. Some iconic features have been placed on the front of the magazine cover to give a full effect of the Mario experience, such as the mushrooms and the Mario background be the blue sky and green grass. The title of the magazine is in the Mario font which is used in all games. The caption “top 10 cheats for 2019” encourages gamers to read the magazine and discover what the cheats are. As it is cheats from 2019 this shows it’s new and current. The pictures of the different Marios on the front cover give a hint of what the magazine will consist of and gives the reader a taster of what they’ll be reading. The front cover also indicates what will be inside that issue and how they will be able to beat the level which they have been struggling with and get useful tips from expert gamers. The two red and white mushrooms are also a key feature of Mario and add to the texture of the front cover.  

This magazine in particular will enlighten the gamers and tell them more about what they are playing than they have ever known before. They will also find out the history of their favourite game and will show them what other Mario games Nintendo has to offer.  

In conclusion, inside this magazine will consist of Mario evolution, tips and tricks, and advice from pro gamers. Children will enjoy reading this magazine and will expand their gaming knowledge further than they could imagine.  

Evolution of Media 

 Printing Press 1440 – This machine was able to print a large amount of newspapers and books which was an effective way to spread information and communicate with people.  

 Magazines 1663 – The earliest example of magazines was Erbauliche Monaths Unterredungen, which was a literary and philosophy magazine, launched in Germany. 

 Radio 1896 – A man called Guglielmo Marconi an Italian inventor, proved the feasibility of radio communication. He sent and received his first radio signal in Italy in 1895. 

 Cinema 1895 – The first to present projected moving pictures to a paying audience were the Lumière brothers in December 1895 in Paris. 

 TV 1927 – The world’s first electronic television was created by a 21 year old inventor named Philo Taylor Farnsworth. 

Video game 1958- Physicist William Higinbotham created what is thought to be the first video game. It was a very simple tennis game, similar to the classic 1970s video game Pong.  

Mobile phone 1973- Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first publicized handheld mobile phone call on a prototype DynaTAC model. 

Computer 1975- Ed Roberts coined the term “personal computer” when he introduced the Altair 8800. 

What is Media?

Media is an online software for creating digital content for different audiences. Using different platforms to advertise different forms of content. Analysing how media can influence people and effect society.

What is the point of Media Studies?

Learning ways in which different media platforms can influence audiences. Learning how to create different media platforms such as creating magazine covers etc. Learning new skills which are required in future jobs and careers.

2 things you want from this course

I hope that i will learn new skills that will help me with my future and to get a good grade at A-Level.