CSP: MEN’S HEALTH

OWNERSHIP

Men’s Health joined ABC 12 April 1995
It is a consumer magazine
The circulation [average per issue] 89,811
It is a UK brand
Men’s Health is owned by Hearst Publishing. [Conglomerate]
- Hearst Publishing owns a range of brands, such as USA Newspapers and Magazines (Cosmopolitan) along with TV channels [20% of ESPN and 50% of A&E Network]
- Hearst publishes around 20 magazine titles including Men’s Health, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and more.
- Hearst UK is owned by Hearst publishing, indicating that it is a Vertical?Horizontal Integration

AUDIENCE

1816 Adults 15+ read this magazine. This is the main demographic
The magazine has been criticised for its focus on physical health, increasing men’s anxieties about their bodies
As of 2018, reaches over 23.7M+ monthly page views and over $200M+ in total revenue
– Women’s health [owned by Hearst UK] is stereotypical- pink etc

STRATEGIES

They add up to 10% more editorial pages
Over $2500 to feature a double page spread advert in men’s health magazine
Hearst Magazines’ portfolio of more than 25 powerful brands in the U.S. inspires and entertains audiences across all media platforms. Hearst Magazines’ print and digital assets reach nearly 165 million readers and site visitors each month — 70% of all millennials and 69% of all Gen Z over the age of 18 (source: comScore/MRI 1-20/S19). The company publishes over 300 editions and 245 websites around the world and attracts more readers of monthly magazines than any other publisher.

HESMONHALGH AND CULTURAL THEORIES

Hesmondhalgh argues that ‘major cultural organisations create products for different industries in order to maximise chances of commercial success.’
- Conglomerate: the company has more chance of success in business world when they are selling multiple different products to reach very different audiences
Most products are consumed when used and have to be bought again, but media products are bought once and continually used- never wear out. This means that media companies [magazines etc] have to constantly produce new products on a very regular basis to keep an audience.

LASWELL AND LINEAR MODEL

Hearst UK tells men how to be a bigger, better, stronger version of themselves through online magazines and print magazines to men around the ages of 20-55, in hope they want to look like the model on the front cover that they edited to look like that.
The audience are passive consumers as they will see/read the magazine and want to be like that and want to do everything the magazine has told them to do as it will ‘make them look like the guy on the front cover’. They won’t challenge this message as they believe it will work.

LARZAFELD AND THE 2 STEP FLOW MODEL

Hearst UK/Publishing and the editors use the 2 step flow model effectively. For example, on page 6-7, they use a famous celebrity [opinion leader] on the advert of a Hugo Boss cologne. This is so their audience will see that someone they look up to [an idol essentially] is promoting this product and they want to buy it to try it and see if it is as good as the celebrity says it is.

USES AND GRATIFICATIONS

STUART HALL AND THE CODING/DECODING THEORY

Page 25 shows 3 readers:
- Oppositional: People who don’t enjoy working out
- Negotiated: People who understand that other readers want to learn how to correctly swing a dumbbell. They understand the idea and meaning behind the message but won’t use it/don’t think it is helpful.
- Dominant: People who want to learn how to use a Dumbbell correctly and want to use this guide in order to improve

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2023 Media Blog