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How do you intend to use the four areas of the media theoretical framework to communicated meaning and meet the requirements of your chosen brief?

I intend to create a magazine which appeals to a 16-25 year old middle market audience that likes to be entertained. The institution being independent enables me to represent multiple social groups as there’s not a particular remit given by the publishing company. I will also aim to include a range of different music genres to appeal to everyone, particularly, pop, R&B and rap, as my audience research suggested the most popular artists listened to by the target demographic fit into these genres, for example, Billie Eillish and Drake. The masthead ‘Pulse’ is simple yet impactful, reflecting the pulse of a song. The tagline ‘keep your finger on it!’ also refers to the saying ‘keep your finger on the pulse’ which insinuates the magazine will help audiences stay updated on any news about music. My research also revealed that music magazines often use intertextuality and celebrity culture as a shortcut to appeal to audiences and create value transference to the artist and magazines brand. For example, in my cover featuring a mixed ethnicity male artist, the shot type of will be a low angle long shot with graffiti of other black artists in the background that the model has taken inspiration from in his music. Similarly, my second front cover featuring a Caucasian female will have intertextual references of barbie through her pink outfit and the coverline, ‘she’s everything’ which is part of the barbie movie tagline. This represents the female artist as a feminist, due to the storyline of the movie, and creates value transference to the magazine itself as supporting this movement. Representing the model in this way challenges Van Zoonen’s theoretical idea of the ‘male gaze.’

For my website, I will aim to create a visually appealing and enticing product that that shows coverage of pop culture particularly about music, linking heavily to the magazine and maintaining the brand values. Considering the decline in print sales, it is essential that my two products display a high level of synergy, but the website must also offer something different in order to entice readers further. My website will feature more extensive articles and many more photographs than is possible in the print magazine. I will also include audio and audio-visual content which can not be accessed in a print version. I intend to include features webpages on content encouraging audience interaction, as my research suggests the target demographic are no longer passive audiences. I will do this by including competitions and encouraging audiences to go onto other platforms, such as Instagram. The website will be easy to navigate and its house style and fonts will remain consistent with those of my magazine.

How do you intend to link your media products to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the digitally convergent nature of your media production

It is essential that my magazine and website coincide to ensure the products have a clear sense of brand identity and can be used to mutually promote each other. I will do this by ensuring my fonts, colour schemes and models are consistent throughout the products, creating a house style, which is bright and engaging to appeal to the demographic. I will also use call to actions, such as competitions in my magazine, that prompt readers to go onto the website and ensure the website shows where the magazines can be purchased. Moreover, all the products will link with the brands social media platforms, particularly TikTok and Instagram, which are most popular for the target demographic, using hashtags to promote audience interaction.