Question 4 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Representation is the way of communicating to a decoder using signs and symbols. These signs include images, text, video and many others. Representation is important in all forms of mainstream media, including magazines, films, radio and prime time television. No representation is completely true, with all signs and symbols going through a mediation process before they are fully suitable for the encoder’s use in their media product. Every sign is a choice and is a result of a sometimes long selection process. After learning about the mediation process I understood that it was important that I selected signs that would ensure the best possible outcome of a product that was suitable for my target audience. Taking my target audience’s social class into consideration, I selected images that I felt were suitable for representing what they could understand.

My magazine represents people from the ABC1 range in terms of social stratification, just like my target audience. Although it is a magazine that would include all sorts of music by people from different backgrounds, it is a magazine that also includes articles which often include emotional subjects experienced by certain people being interviewed, as shown in my interview with Sacha.

Social stratification is widespread across the UK, with magazine companies creating and publishing media products the represent every social group around. Magazines represent people from the ‘’chav’’ end of the scale to people of a much higher class. An encoder can make it clear to the decoder which social class is represented in their magazine by the signs chosen on the front cover. This is why it was important that I selected the appropriate signs to use in my magazine – so my target audience knew the social group that the people in the magazine belonged to.

All representations go through a mediation process, as the original sign is taken and altered until it becomes the representation the encoder wishes to use. This can take a long time to get right, and is based on the assumptions made about the target audience. These assumptions will affect everything from the modes of address to colour scheme of a design. For example, I chose to keep my colour scheme simple, using only three colours. This was so that the mistake of using too many bright colours wasn’t made, which could have resulted in the magazine looking cheap and tacky. Similarly, the photos I used of Sacha focused on natural beauty, rather than altering her image and risking changing the overall representation.

As the encoder of the magazine I felt it was important to make sure I put my own personal opinion forward through the use of the signs I chose to use. My message to the decoder was that although the music industry often represents people who are at the lower end of the social class scale, they are respectful people who simply want their music to be heard and don’t cause trouble. I feel I got this message across with the images I chose to use of Sacha – her beauty and unique presentation signify to the decoder that fame doesn’t always mean the dodgy ‘’rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle’’ that many singers become accustomed to. This message fits perfectly for the social group that this magazine is aimed at. I read similar magazines, so I feel the way I have chosen to produce my media product is suitable for my target audience. My magazine signifies a positive representation of young middle-class women, which is the exact group that it is aimed at, increasing the chance of gaining a preferred reading from the decoder.

The brief was to produce a front cover, double page spread and contents page for a music magazine. Although this was a good selection of items, it was challenging to fit everything I wanted to into these three pages. It meant I had to make sure I selected the most eye-catching images and signs to use to gain the decoder’s interest, as they would not be viewing much of the inside of the magazine. From the numerous photos I had taken, it was difficult to reduce them to a small group I could use. Out of the 15 photos I had taken in preparation, only 7 were used. It was difficult to choose which photos were the most suitable, but it allowed me to experience the often challenging selection process that encoders have to carry out all the time when producing magazines and other media products.

The software I used to create all sections of my magazine was the programme CorelDRAW Graphics Suite. This programme includes all the tools I needed to edit and alter all the signs I chose to use in my media product. Photos could be edited in a variety of ways, there was no limit to whereabouts I could move them and there was a wide range of font styles to choose from. This was definitely the best programme to use for my magazine. There were to limitations to what I could do and I could preview my design in all sorts of ways. I could also zoom in very far to ensure all details were as accurate as I could get them.

During the design process I used intertextuality to help me decide which of my designs was the most suitable for my target audience. I researched a variety of music magazines to see what kind of signs they used and to view their chosen style of layout. Collating all the information I found allowed me to come up with my own unique design and layout for my front cover, contents page and double page spread.

My overall representation is largely denotative. Most of the images of Sacha are simply there to give the decoder a representation of what she looks like. However, other images of her offer connotations for the decoder to read. For example, one image may show her beauty at a first glance, but at a second glance the decoder will be able to see the deeper meaning – her confusion/loneliness.

My magazine goes against the pluralist idea that no representation can ever impact the way a decoder thinks. I believe the signs I have chosen to use in my media product show that the way in which we use the mediation process to create something a decoder understands can have a big impact on the way my target audience will decode the signs and understand the representation. Although there are thousands of representations of the same social group out there, I think my representation has a unique message to offer.

Question 3 - In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions or real media products?

Every piece of media text follows simple guidelines that allow it to be designed and produced in a way that decoders will be familiar with. Media products are put into categories that a target audience will easily recognise due to the similar use of key elements and techniques used by the encoder. These categories are related to as genres. For example, T.V murder dramas will often have similar settings and storylines that have elements that have been used before. This is an example of intertextuality – links have been made from previous media texts to produce a new one. Music magazines follow the same pattern. All music magazines will use the same techniques and include the key concepts that encoders use to fully represent what they want to their target audience.

Many music magazines are focused specifically around one type/genre of music. The encoder will use this genre and design sections of the magazine based on what a decoder would expect to see in that particular magazine.

Numerous music magazines will include a story about a well-known musician, whether it’s about their music or something interesting having happened in their personal life. I have taken this and used it in my magazine – forming an interview with a singer.

Music magazine often have a tag line next to or beneath their title, stating they are a popular magazine or have won some kind of award. I have also used this element on my magazine front cover. This will represent the magazine’s status and popularity to the decoder, allowing them to understand the success of the magazine they will potentially be purchasing.

Another element of magazine design I have used on the font cover is having an offer for the decoder to have an opportunity to see a singer live in concert. This is placed at the bottom of the front cover to take the decoder’s attention as they look down it.

Every magazine, whether music or fashion, will include a barcode on the front or back cover. I included a barcode at the bottom of the front cover. I chose this position because it does not interfere with the main cover image or overall design of the cover, but still completed the look of the magazine.
The masthead for Key Change is placed at the top of the front cover, as with most music magazines. This is so that it’s the first thing the consumer sees when looking at the front cover, drawing their attention to the remainder of the cover.

I have also included the price and issue date on the top left hand corner of the front cover. Most magazines put the issue date and price on the front cover so it is easy for the consumer to see when they are viewing it.
tuart Hall’s Encoding and Decoding Model states that a decoder can decode a piece of media text. They can either have a preferred/dominant reading, negotiated reading or an oppositional reading. A preferred reading, where the decoder fully understands the decoder’s code and accepts the message, is the reading I wanted the decoders to take from my magazine.

As Modes of Address are also an important part of the encoder’s responsibilities, I made sure the signs and the way I wrote in various sections of the magazine communicated in the most suitable way for my target audience. As my magazine would be read by late teenage to young adult years, anchorage was not as important as it would have been if my media product was aimed at a younger audience. Some images included text underneath e.g. quotes from an interview, but most of my images spoke for themselves and would allow the decoder to read and understand the connotations within the images. Language used in the introduction to the interview was not simple, nor heavily complicated, as my target audience is a well educated young woman.

My media product remained within the usual guidelines of magazine design and followed the principles of the Encoder/Decoder Model. The choices I made with regards to images, text and other signs were made based on my target audience and the way in which I wanted them to read my magazine. All these signs went through a mediation process to make sure they represented exactly what I wanted to the target audience. Intertextuality was a large part of the design process, as I wanted my target audience to feel familiar with the overall magazine layout.

Question 2 - How did you attract/address your audience?

Modes of address are important while designing a media product. The media product must communicate in a way that’s suitable for the target audience, be it teenage girls or adult males. To do this successfully, the encoder must make assumptions about their target audience, such as annual income, interests and hobbies. These assumptions about the target audience can sometimes be detected while decoding a piece of media text.

As my magazine is aimed at women aged from late teens to early twenties, it was not important for me to communicate didactically to my target audience. Images could talk for themselves most of the time, so I didn’t need to anchor them.

On the front cover of my magazine, I used a single image that took up the majority of the page and was linked to my main feature article. I chose this image because it’s a sign that represents the star’s personal style and emotions. As the interview contained a subject that was emotional for the singer, the black and white image was the most appropriate to represent her mood, but still signified her individuality and style through a close-up of her face.

The image I chose to use as the main sign on the interview page was chosen because again it represents the singer’s beauty, but at the same time signifies her confusion and inside emotions associated with the content of the interview. A polaroid effect was added to the photo to compliment the casual and stylish nature of both the magazine and the singer being interviewed. Anchorage was used on this sign by placing her name under her photo. This wasn’t to tell the decoder who it was, it was more of an introduction to the interview, as it is likely to be the first thing the decoder sees and they would recognise the name from the text on the font cover.

Other images included on the double page spread included black and white shots of the singer in a park, displaying poses that signified her thoughtful state of mind. Again, these were edited to include a polaroid effect and included quotes of what the singer had said in the interview. I chose to use the most significant quotes from the interview, to grab the decoder’s attention and deepen their interest in reading the full interview.

On the lower left side of the double page spread I included an image that was not taken during the interview, but one that had been taken at a separate photo shoot. This image is polysemic, as the decoder may see it as a representation of the singer’s confidence, or a representation of confusion and or a sense of sadness or loneliness.

My magazine’s colour scheme was made up of three colours; black, pink and white. I chose these colours as I felt they fit in well with the nature of the magazine – being a pop/retro magazine, black and pink complimented each other and are usually seen as being a modern combination of colours for many media products. White font was used for text on black backgrounds, as it is the easiest colour to read and provided an aesthetic contrast for the decoder. This colour scheme was used in all three sections of my work.
As well as using images from my main cover story on the contents page, I included an image from an article that would also be included in another section of the magazine. The article would have been about the Irish pop singer, Ronan Keating. I included this image in the contents page to give the decoder a visual representation of what kind of signs they would find if they read the article. I took this image myself at a concert and edited on Windows Photo Gallery.

Question 1 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my magazine would be a young woman interested in popular music. She would be fashionable, have a well paid job and would be interested in the latest events in the music industry. Taste in music would vary from R&B to Rock. I chose this target audience because it gave me a wider choice of design styles for my front cover, contents and double page spread for the magazine.

To allow the best possible result for my media product I devised a questionnaire to find out from other students what they thought about my products so far and if they thought it matched the personality of the imaginary entity. The results of the questionnaire enabled me to create a lifestyle profile for the imaginary entity. They highlighted the aspects of the products that would work well for the imaginary entity and those that would need to be altered to make sure they met the needs of the target audience.

From learning about the Encoder and Decoder Model I knew how important it is for the encoder to take into account every bit of information about an imaginary entity. The encoder must consider the age of the target audience, their social class and the type of media product it is. I studied Stuart Hall’s idea about the three ways in which a decoder can decode a piece of media text. While designing my media products I did everything I could to ensure they would receive a preferred reading from my target audience. When I showed my preliminary attempt at the front cover to my focus group, general feedback was positive, with only a few suggestions being made about changing some of the colour schemes and altering/shifting font style or size.

Representation of Disability

- the term ‘’disabled’’ generally gives a negative feeling, meaning that people often behave negatively towards the disabled without meaning to.

- the term ‘’disability’’ is a too broader term to use. Producers need to be careful when producing a media text, to make it clear that they are not intentionally insulting the ‘’disabled group’’.

Goffman’s theory of stigma

- stigma – an ascribed status

- it is a perceived fault (often a disability)

- it is impossible to remove the stigma from oneself

- if you are born with a disability, it is described as congenital. It is not your fault you have the disability

- there are different levels of blame and pity for people with congenital disability and those who are viewed to have the disability as a result of their own activity


There are two types of stigma:

Discredited stigma - it is obvious that someone has a stigma

- there is often tension when an able-bodied person meets a disabled person for the first time

- there is a gap between the ideal situation and the actual situation

- disavowal - a tactic used by able-bodied people to ease the awkwardness when with a disabled person. They pretend the stigma is not there and talk politely as they would to an able-bodied person. The disability is not mentioned.

Discreditable stigma – where the difference between the ideal and the real is difficult to spot

Disability is often used in the media to represent three main feelings / situations:

- disability used for humour
- disability used to represent the ‘’baddies’’
- disability used to cause pity towards a character

Contents Page

Music Magazine Contents Page - Mock-Up