Attitude Flashcards
(21 cards)
When was attitude launched?
1994
who is their target audience/demographic
ABC1 - adverts feature high end brands (disposable income), formal language not slang/colloquialisms
Young single gay men - lots of stories with pictures that sexualise men, relatable content (coming out, bullying etc), lack of content about families or kids
LGBTQ community - magazine primarily features stories about lgbtq so would feel represented, use of gay celebs
Aged 25-55 : the celebs they feature fall into the age category, or would be people in that age band would recognise
who originally published the magazine? what happened to them? who publishes it now?
Northern and Shell
They started to suffer financially and sell off their assets
Stream Publishing bought Attitude
Who are stream publishing? who owns it?
Small independent publishing company - less than 30 employees
They are vertically integrated so that can write, edit, design, print and distribute their own products
Darren Styles - hes gay and felt that offering a niche LGBTQ magazine was important
Stream also owns a Netherlands based gay magazine called Winq, and attitude was one of winqs main competitors so Stream decided to buy out attitude to eliminate competition (horizontal integration)
Attitude is a _________ magazine
non mainstream
how many digital copies are sold a month?
11000
How many users does the website attracts per month? how many followers do they have across their social media?
1.7 million users
1.2 million followers
where does the revenue come from in the print editions
advertising
So they have to offer brand opportunities (eg banner adverts, sidebar adverts, competitions, sponsor content) on their website in order to maintain that revenue
what is the Attitude Magazine Foundation?
A registered charity which raises money to distribute to lgbtq communities around the country eg running youth groups, pride festivals etc
After they raised more than £300,000 for the Elton John Aids Foundation, they decided to branch out and create their own charity
It is their way of giving back to the wider LGBTQ community
what is meant by symbolic annihilation?
The absence of representation, or underrepresentation, of some group of people in the media (often based on their race, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, etc.)
how does the product relate to curran and seatons theory?
Attitude isnt owned by a conglomerate so they can still be creative because thyeyre small and independent - they can afford to take risks
Not all about making profit - the foundation is about giving back to the community
how does hesmondhalghs cultural industries relate to the product
Minimises risk by creating global editions of the magazines (Thailand, Belgium, Netherlands, Vietnam) - popular format
Vertically and horizontally integrated
Attitude is notorious for securing many exclusive interviews with high profile celebrities which helps to draw in audiences who are fans of the celebs eg Prince William, Tony Blair, Tom Daley, McFly, Daniel Radcliffe
Website maximises audiences
HOWEVER, creating magazine of a niche genre is risky
how does regulation theory relate to the product?
Website is regulated by OFCOM so must adhere to their guidelines
Stream publishing has set out their own ethics policy on their website which details their own rules and regulations that they will abide by (self regulation) - attempt to avoid controversy and offence
Difficult to regulate due to minimal check being done on social media content - some of the more adult content uses algorithms to censor content (people have to sign into accounts to prove they are 18+)
Hard to regulate the website in countries where laws about lgbtq are stricter
how does butlers gender performativity relate
magazine challenges traditional ideas of masculinity
how does shirkys end of audience theory relate
‘Get in touch’ link is the only way people can interact on the website (people cant comment directly on articles) - this could be due to concern about reactions from homophobic people (streams attempt to create a safe space online for lgbtq audiences and protect its readership)
Comments can only be made on youtube videos and other social medias
Use of convergent media technology to engage audiences and promote brands online during covid - ‘Attitude Pride at Home’ was a 9 day digital festival which included lots of videos, talks, workshops bc the actual pride festival could not happen due to covid
how does gauntletts identity theory relate?
Audiences feel more secure in their own identity because the magazine fills a gap in the market by openly representing the lgbtq community positively
May help some people come to terms with their own sexuality
How does van zoonens feminist theory relate?
women are not sexualised and are not seen as ‘objects’
How does mulveys male gaze relate?
the magazine is designed to appeal to male audiences, but instead from a male perspective (sexualisation of male models)
How has the magazine adapted to technological change?
They have a website
Digital editions for phones and tablets are available to download through kindle, App Store etc
Range of social media accounts (twitter, instagram, facebook)
Targets a modern audience who are spending more time on technology and can reach a global audience
How does the magazine show that their target audience is older (25-55)
The celebs they feature fall into the age category, or would be people in that age band would recognise
Number of references to 90s would appeal to people over age of 30 and make them nostalgic
They use social media’s like twitter and Facebook instead of Snapchat or tiktok
Lots of political content / current affairs which it is assumed that young people aren’t as interested in - suggests audience is more mature and educated
Very little interactive content on the website
High promotion of the print editions hints at older audience who still consume print products
How might some people respond negatively to the magazine
It is marketed as an lgbtq magazine but some may feels that the focus is on gay men and that other members of lgbtq community are neglected
Homophobic people may not like that there is a magazine that positively represents lgbtq people
