Half page on:
Audience
| Lasswell | lasswells model of communication in 1927 wrote Propaganda Technique in the World War Hypodermic model (passive consumption) | As Martin Moore notes, Lasswell: believed each government had ‘manipulated the mass media in order to justify its actions’ in World War 1 (2019:122). which focuses on “Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect”. audience injected with media, passive consumers. |
| Lazarfeld | in 1948 he developed the Two Step Flow model of communication. this theory suggests that the audience are ACTIVE NOT PASSIVE | Two step flow communication (active consumption) Relate to mens health as CSP uses Vin Diesel (an Opinion leader to the target audience) |
| Uses and Gratifications | Katz, Gurevitch and Haas (1973) The uses and gratifications theory assumes the audience chooses what it wants to watch for five different reasons. Information and Education Information and Education Personal Identity Integration and social interaction Escapism | This theory recognises the decision making process in the audience themselves. explores our motivation to engage with texts. This information could help producers target their audience more effectively. applied to mens health- Personal needs: understanding self, enjoyment Social Needs- Confidence, self esteem |
| Stuart Hall | He worked at the Open University for a number of years, as a professer of sociology He looks at Encoding, Decoding and how the media represent ideologies. Hall’s work covers issues of hegemony and cultural studies, taking a post-Gramscian stance | ‘He theorized that media texts contain a variety of messages that are encoded (made/inserted) by producers and then decoded (understood) by audiences. Therefore what we see is simply a ‘re-presentation’ of what producers want us to see.’ He said that a message must be decoded before Accept dominant message, negotiate dominant message or reject it. |
Cultural Hegemony:
● Antonio Gramsci: Italian philosopher writing in the 1930s
Key Terms:
● Hegemonic: dominant, ruling-class, power-holders
● Hegemonic culture: the dominant culture
● Cultural hegemony: power, rule, or domination maintained by ideological and cultural means.
● Ideology: worldview – beliefs, assumptions and values
● Cultural hegemony functions by framing the ideologies of the dominant social group as the only legitimate
ideology.
● The ideologies of the dominant group are expressed and maintained through its economic, political, moral,
and social institutions (like the education system and the media).
● These institutions socialise people into accepting the norms, values and beliefs of the dominant social
group.
● As a result, oppressed groups believe that the social and economic conditions of society are natural and
Language
Semiotics
- Sign: A gesture, action or thing that displays information or instruction
- Code: Letters, words, symbols or figures used to represent others
- Convention: A way that something is done
- Dominant Signifier: The main sign
- Anchorage: Words that go with images to give them a specific context
Ferdinand de Saussure:
- Signifier: The thing, item or code that we read
- Signified: The context behind the thing that is being represented
- Syntagm: Sequence; order in which they go and how one sign links to another
- Paradigm: Collection of similar signs; a group of things that are similar
C S Pierce:
- Icon: A sign that looks like its object
- Index: A sign that has a link to it’s subject
- Symbol: A sign that has a random link to it’s subject
Roland Barthes:
- Signification: The process of signifying by signs or symbols
- Denotation: A literal meaning of a word in contrast to the feelings or ideas behind it
- Connotation: A feeling that invokes for a person in addition to its literal meaning
- Myth: Something that is made up and widely false; a rumour
- Ideology: A system of ideas which forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy
- Radical: Challenges dominant ideas
- Reactionary: Confirms dominant ideas
Institution
| Industry and Business | vertical and horizontal integration David Hesmondalgh monopoly mergers Political Compass | David Hesmondalgh said the media business is a risky business. minimise risk, maximise profit. if a media product does well the concept will be used until it stops doing well. relates to blinded by the light, independent film but the smaller studio is owned by warner bros, showing that media power has fallen into the hands of a few conglomerates. |
Production– Making or producing a product
Distribution– Advertising or marketing the product
Exhibition / Consumption-Showing the product/releasing it
Mergers– Combining two or more things into one
Monopolies– When a company owns all the three
Commodification – turning something into an item that can be bought and sold
Regulation– A rule/restriction made by government/authority
Deregulation– When the government restrictions are loosened
Conglomerates– When a business owns a massive group of companies
Vertical Integration– When a company does all 3 production, distribution and consumption
Horizontal Integration– When a company only produces or distributes
Representation
| David Gauntlett | Fluidity of Identity Negotiated identity Constructed identity Collective identity | Gauntlett explores the idea that a persons identity is not fixed and is shaped based off their experiences or the media they consume In Relation to Mens Health Having Vin Diesel in the magazine can help make a constructed identity as he can be seen as an opinion leader so readers may value the advice/articles in this magazine more than they would if he wasn’t there. |
The Male Gaze- Laura Mulvey
Judith Butler- Feminist critical thinking.
About Men’s Health
MensHealth.com averages 118 million views a month
In 2004, Men’s Health began putting celebrities and athletes on the cover
Largest audience of the Men’s Health magazine from April 2019 to March 2020 are adults over the age of 15 with a total of 1,816 and the second largest audience were men with 708 results. The least amount of audience was within women although 365 women bought the product. The reach was lower among households with children, with 391 thousand readers from this demographic reached by the print title or its website during this period.
- Men’s Health is the largest men’s magazine brand and the number one source of information for and about men.
- Has 25 print editions in 35 countries around the world.
- 21 million readers across its social and digital platforms.
- Women’s Health gained 7,239 more copies sold than Men’s Health which was 89,111 and Women’s Health which was 96,350.
per issue 74% of copies are print while the other 26% is digital
per issue 85% of copies go to UK & Rol
Hearst
- Men’s Health is owned by Hearst who own many other companies such as: NetDoctor, Lenny Letter, Delish (25% owned)
- Hearst is a media company founded on March 4 1887