print magazines conventions
case study 1 - Vogue
genre conventions and media language:
. masthead
- there is a masthead which is a convention for magazines
- the masthead is partially obscured by Rihanna's head, which is conventional for Vogue itself, as well as many other style magazines. The branding of Vogue is so iconic that readers would be able to recognise the magazine, even without being able to see the masthead
- the partially obscured masthead also implies that Rihanna is the most important part of the cover, and should be the main focus of the audience, emphasising her power and prestige. This provides value transference for both Vogue and Rihanna, as Rihanna is seen as stylish and a global authority on fashion and culture. Vogue is seen through this value transference as being powerful and 'fearless', like Rihanna.
cover lines
- there is a primary cover line, as well as 4 secondary cover lines
- the cover lines primarily focus on fashion, a convention for style magazines, and this reflects their target audience of affluent, fashion conscious women who are 18+
- both celebrities who are mentioned (Kaia Gerber and Rihanna) are women, once again reflecting Vogue's target audience of women, as the audience can then identify with the celebrities mentioned.
high quality photography
- a convention of high end style magazines
- Vogue's target audience is 'affluent women' is reflected here as in order for the magazine to appear high end, the quality of the photos must be high.
stars
- Rihanna is an a-list celebrity who is known globally
- this reflects celebrity culture
- the use of a celebrity also encourages audiences to buy the magazine, as it is attention grabbing, and also allows audiences to identify with Vogue if they are fans of Rihanna's star persona
mid shot
- the mid shot is used to allow the audience to see Rihanna's clothing
- this is common for style magazines and it fulfills the purpose of the magazine: to show current and fashionable clothes to the affluent and fashion forward audience
typography
- all of the cover lines are sans serif font
- this is a convention of magazines, and sans serif connotes impacfulness and boldness, reflecting the values and aims of Vogue
- the masthead is in a serif font, and this is also conventional, as it implies that the magazine is prestigous and has a long history of traditions and power
Intertextuality
'The jacket strikes back'
- possibly a reference to 'The empire strikes back', the Star Wars film
- the film is about the return of the empire after a period of absence
- due to the issue of vogue being released in November, this may indicate that jackets have been out of style due to the summer weather, but now they are back as winter begins
- this can refer to Blumler and Katz's uses and gratifications theory, as the audience will get gratification from recognising the intertextual reference to the film. This would therefore make them more likely to by the magazine, if they can get gratification out of the product
celebrities
- the use of Rihanna and Kaia Gerber could be considered as intertextuality
- audiences who recognise the celebrity names would be more likely to buy Vogue, as they would get entertainment from it if they are reading about a celebrity who they are a fan of
- this fulfils Blumler and Katz's uses and gratifications theory for entertainment
case study 2 - Elle
genre conventions and media language:
masthead
- there is a masthead which is a convention for magazines
- the masthead is partially obscured by Rihanna's head, which is not unusual for Elle itself, as well as many other style magazines. The branding of Elle is implied to be so iconic that readers would be able to recognise the magazine, even without being able to see the masthead
- the partially obscured masthead also implies that Rihanna is the most important part of the cover, and should be the main focus of the audience, emphasising her power and prestige. This provides value transference for both Elle and Rihanna, as Rihanna is seen as stylish and a global authority on fashion and culture. Elle is seen through this value transference as being powerful and 'crazy beautiful', like Rihanna.
cover lines
- the secondary cover lines refer to fashion, skincare and lifestyle products
- this is typical of style magazines, as it reflects the audience who buy the magazine in order to see and embrace the newest styles
- the cover line that refers to skin creams all women must try reflects Elle's target demographic of 20 - 40 year old women. this is because the skin cream is clearly aimed at women as the cover line states that 'every woman need to know about' them. the target age is also reflected here, as wrinkles typically begin to occur for people in their late 20s and early 30s, so the magazine is clearly pushing products that will be likely to be bought by the target demographic.
- the cover lines '70+ gifts' and '12 products every women needs to know' show the advertisment in the magazine, another convention of style magazines
website link
- in the bottom right corner, there is a link to Elle's website
- due to technological advances and digital convergence, this has become a convention of style magazines in recent years, as it is a way to reach a wider global audience
- this mulitmedia content allows more dynamic story telling through embedded video, audio, animations and hyperlinks
high quality photography
- a convention of high end style magazines
stars
- Rihanna is an a-list celebrity who is known globally
- this reflects celebrity culture
- the use of a celebrity also encourages audiences to buy the magazine, as it is attention grabbing, and also allows audiences to identify with Elle if they are fans of Rihanna's star persona
- this fulfills Richard Dyer's star theory
mid shot
- the mid shot is used to allow the audience to see Rihanna's clothing
- this is common for style magazines and it fulfills the purpose of the magazine: to show current and fashionable clothes to the affluent and fashion forward audience
typography
- all of the cover lines are sans serif font
- this is a convention of magazines, and sans serif connotes impacfulness and boldness, reflecting the values and aims of Elle
- the masthead is in a serif font, and this is also conventional, as it implies that the magazine is prestigous and has a long history of traditions and power
rhetorical questions
- this is common for magazines, as it makes the audience want to buy the magazine in order to find out the answers to the questions
- it helps to pull the audience in
- the rhetorical questions could be called enigma codes when considered from the point of view of Barthes semiotics theory, further emphasising that they help to grab the audiences attention by asking a question
intertextuality
celebrities
- the use of Rihanna as the 'star' could be considered as intertextuality
- audiences who recognise the celebrity names would be more likely to buy Elle, as they would get entertainment from it if they are reading about a celebrity who they are a fan of
- this fulfils Blumler and Katz's uses and gratifications theory for entertainment
- it seems that use of celebrities and their star personas on the front covers is the most common type of intertextuality for style magazines
case study 3 - Vanity Fair
genre conventions and media language:
masthead
- there is a masthead which is a convention for magazines
- the use of Princess Anne as the 'star' could be considered as intertextuality
- also Trump and Jack Dorsey
- audiences who recognise the celebrity names would be more likely to buy Vanity Fair, as they would get entertainment from it if they are reading about a celebrity who they are a fan of
- this fulfils Blumler and Katz's uses and gratifications theory for entertainment
- it seems that use of celebrities and their star personas on the front covers is the most common type of intertextuality for style magazines
the Daily Mail
- references another publication
conventions of Conde Nast
- both Vogue and Vanity Fair are owned by Conde Nast
- conventions appear to be:
. high quality photographs
. featuring celebrities and their star persona
. stories about life styles and social issues as well as fashion
. direct address
. the target audience is affluent people who are well educated as well as being interested in fashion
website conventions
case study 1 - Vogue
- features fashion heavily on the options section
- this appeals to their affluent, fashion forward audience
- however they do also feature sections about lifestyle E.G 'living', 'culture' and 'weddings'
- the use of the image allows more dynamic story telling
- many sections promoting products for audience to purchase, both directly forom Vogue (subscription option) or from other brands (Prada bags, Zara skirts)
- displays digital convergence
- advertising is common in style magazine website
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