Influence in Media "Agenda Setting Function theory"

The agenda setting function theory explains that the media cannot influence the way that people think but that the media can influence on what people think. This means that if someone reads a magazine and they look at the cover, whatever is on the cover to them is what is most important on the magazine. The looks on the magazine cover will give the people an idea of what will be on the magazine but this doesn't mean the audience agrees on the viewpoint and this theory proves this. The theory may help me because it shows me that in the sport magazine, the cover might be the most important aspect and I have to make it as appealing as possible so that the reader gains interest. Also, this will get the magazine in the readers head and want them to find out what the article is about even if the article does not change there mind but at least they want to read the article.


Source:

• MEDIA, http://www.mediaknite.org/agenda-setting-function-theory/.

Influence of Media "Two Step Flow Theory"

In this post I will be describing the two step flow theory and how it affects society. This theory explains that people have a bigger impact on society by influencing others with there opinion than the mass media. This mostly occurs where famous people spread their opinion on a particular matter and there supporters tend to believe in the same matters as them and the audience feels that what those peoples opinions are is the correct way of thinking for that event. This theory contradicts that media is a big role in society. So, this relates to my magazine because if my magazine was to be seen by someone popular and they express there viewpoint on any social media platform than there supporters will have the same view points and then my magazine will start to spread with most people having the same opinions.


Sources:

• Spinda, John. “Elihu Katz.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 27 May 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elihu-Katz.

Influence of Media "Hypodermic needle"

The media is very influential in people's viewpoints today. The media may alter peoples mind when describing the event because there play of words is very persuasive to explain there side. This process of having the media have a major role in societies mind is called the hypodermic needle. In this theory the media is being seen as one having power where the society is seen as weak so the media will have an effect on society and the effect here is the influences. A great example of this theory in action would be in the first World War since the media effected people viewpoint of the world and it made society gain support for the war through media. This theory may help with my magazine because it can help convince the media about my particular player or team in a positive or negative viewpoint, depending on the way the article is written.


Source:

• Team, Texthack. Media Studies 101, BCcampus, 28 Feb. 2014, https://opentextbc.ca/mediastudies101/chapter/the-hypodermic-needle/.

Representation in Media

They are various aspects in the media world. In media you have different social groups which tend to buy a particular type of magazine. Also these groups of people have the same way of thinking for a particular event. The representation of a group can be the way of thinking that they have and there beliefs for them are what are considered true. An example is through politics where one party view a viewpoint differently than the other side but both sides see their viewpoints as factual information. Also the media may inform the public gaining supporters for one particular side. The media plays a big role in getting the information out to the public and then the public tends to all have their own opinion on each event that the media represents it. Especially since different type of media companies express the same event in different ways.

Props used in Sports Magazines

Props in magazine covers are used to show the audience the type of sport that is being represented. For example a basketball might be shown in the photo to show what sport the magazine will be talking about. The props may also be used to show the important things that happened to that event.

A great example would be in this magazine:



In this cover above that was created by sports illustrated you may tell that the sport is about basketball because of the persons shirt. Also the person they posted on the magazine is well known in the NBA league. In the magazine they used two props which were the hat that he is wearing that says "champions" and the trophy that the NBA gives the winning team. So, just by looking at the cover you may tell that the magazine will be about the Finals and how the Warriors basketball team had a great season which ended up from them winning it.

Another example would be:


In this cover you have one of the greatest basketball players on the front and they use three props to give you the idea that he had one of the best seasons in his career. He is holding the Finals Most Valuable Player trophy and the winner of the NBA finals trophy. In this image they also confirm that they won the finals because the hat he is wearing says champs so if someone did not know what the trophies meant then they may read off of the hat.

Company Magazine Mood Boards

In this post I will be posting mood boards about magazine company and the way there magazine looks compared to each other.

• SLAM magazine

• Sports Illustrated magazine 

In these magazines you may compare how the two companies have there differences and similarities in their magazines.

Genre Magazine Mood boards

In this post, I will be posting mood boards of different types of sport magazines.

• Baseball

•  Basketball

• Football 

• Soccer 

Sport Photographers

Some photographers that I am studying so that I may have an idea of what type of images I should use. The photographers name are:

• Vladimir Rys- He does images of all types of Olympic sports for the magazine companies and most of his shots are action shots.

• Mark Rebilas- He focuses on NASCAR and football photos and is one of the best photographers for what he does.

• Jorge Jimenez- His images are used more for advertising big races and he does his own personal projects for himself.

• Graham Watson- He is know for his images in books and most of his images are also action shots of famous cyclist.

Cover page Potential Models

Market Research Double Page Spread

This is the final responses that I received on the double page spread and I will be giving another summary of there responses so that I have a better understanding of what I need to edit on the next magazine.

Summary:
 The responses for this page was very simple since there is not much on it. To start off, the image on the left needs to improve but they say that it is fine to have an image take up a whole page space but they would like to have a better photo. Then the article needs to improve and be longer. The article should also have more quotes and definitely have more information and be more about the player. They want to see the players life and what motivates him to play the sport. The article needs to be more personal and give the audience of the featured players life. Finally there should be a title of the article and not just the players name.

Market Research Table of Contents

While doing this research I have seen different styles of this page being done but here is a summary of the responses that I have received from multiple people.

Response Summary:
The comments received on the page is that they do like the grey scale of the image and how it fades but they do believe that the image should be bigger or just to add more photos. Also that I should improve the titles of the articles and to add more articles to the contents. The page should not have that bright red color because they said it bothers there eyes and it does contrast the cover color. They believe that there are too many colors on the page and I should just keep it basic and try to make the image and the letters pop out, not the magazine background. They also said that there should be a little description under each title of the magazine so they have an idea of what the article is about and so it makes them want to read the article.

Market Research On Cover Page

In this post and the following post, I will be posting answers of the questions asked about the preliminary task that I have completed so that I know what I need to fix and make changes to for the final product.

Summary of answers on the cover page:
Through me asking multiple people the question of the magazine, I learned a lot. First of off they had many negatives but I may see this as a way to better my final product. Some positive comments made is that they do like the color scheme of the cover and the Title. They say the masthead is a good side. Now the negatives that they mentioned is that the image is blurry and it should be bigger. Also they believe that it would be better if the background of the image was taken away and that I should not take an action shot for the cover. The shot should me a mid shot or a close shot and I do agree. They also think that there should be a little bit more space taken up with writing. They said the cover should give them a sneak peek of what the article is about and to try to make the cover stand out to the others in some way.

Market Research on sample designs

Having created all my samples, I have decided to conduct a survey that I will collect opinions from my peers on my pieces. In order to get their opinions this is the questions I will be asking:

• What should I improve?
• What stands out?
• Should I add more text?
• Does it look like something you would buy?
• How do you feel about the background colors?
• Is there any editing I should do to the photo?

These questions above are the ones that I will be asking some peers to have their responses so that I may make my final magazine to the best of my abilities.

Double Page Spread Evaluation

Evaluation:

The double page spread I created was a creation that I felt was the easiest to make. The hardest part was probably creating a story. But with the help of my samples, I feel that it became easier for me. But I had noticed that in my page I used the same font for the title and the text. I also need to change the background color because I feel that the all white background does not make the text pop out. Also the image I may alter it a little bit and take away the batter from the image. But since these samples of these task have been improving, the final magazine will turn out even better.

Double page spread Preliminary task

Here is a sample double page spread that I created for the preliminary task.

Double Page Spread Examples

In this post I will post some double page spread examples that I will use as examples to create my own in my magazine.

Contents Page Evaluation

Evaluation:

During creating my content page I was unsure of the background color but I chose to go with red which matches the color of the team. Then to contradict the color I put the image in grey and black and the lettering in black so that they pop out. The title of the page is in blue as the team I am doing is the American Patriots. I also did a 1 image content page because I felt that it was the best way for the page to look. Also the image is a baseball picture but the story titles have to deal with every sport so that there is a variety of stories for the people to choose from.

The next time I do a content page I will put what issue the magazine is and the date on the page. I will also add a lighter background and a little description under each article name so that it gives the reader an understanding of what the stories will be on.

Preliminary Task (Content Page)

I have designed my first content page.

Table of Content Examples

In this post I would like to provide some sample content pages that I will be basing my ideas off of. In all these following images they are all one page table of content samples and they all have one main image and multiple smaller images to catch the readers attention and engage them into the story.
In my sample design I will probably use a large main image and 2 or 3 smaller images that correspond to the other articles.

Sample Cover Evaluation

Evaluation:
The preliminary task has allowed me to gain an understanding on how to approach the cover, table of contents, and double page spread. It has also allowed me to use different samples from the internet so that I am able to create my own samples to then creating the actual original magazine. To create the cover I used a website called poster my wall and I have became comfortable using the website and now it gives me a variety of options to use like indesign when creating my magazine.

Layout:
The layout of the cover sample I created was taken by a sports illustrated magazine that I had seen at the stores. Also the image used was from a player of the American Senior High School team. Also through my surveys the students would love to see the schedule so I inputted some upcoming games so that the students may go out and watch the games.

Text Style and Photography:
Through my own research I used the colors of the school for the magazine and for the text. The use of the font and color is to engage the reader as the color makes the words pop out in front of the main image. I also made the image the biggest part of the magazine because through my research, images is what engages the audience. But what I learned through the process is that the image should have no background and the next time I create my cover I will ensure that I fix that issue.

Preliminary task (Cover)

Here is a sample magazine cover that I have created.

Athlete Cover Examples

Through my research and survey responses, I have decided to go with a single athlete on the cover or the "game changers" of a team which is a maximum of three athletes and make him/them pop out so that it stands out to the consumer. The image will cover most of the page and will make the audience focus on that player while a team image on a cover will have less emphasis and will need more content to describe the team.  I may also combine different types of elements to the cover and more smaller images which is what the consumers want according to my survey.

Here are some single athlete cover examples:


Here are some covers with the teams "game-changers" on the magazine:




*Game changer are players who are big components of a team and are the stars that help the team win.

Magazine name

Through my research I have done, I have found four names that have interested me for the title of the magazine.

The four names are:

1. Bench Report
2. Locker room
3. Primetime
4. Mr. Clutch

With these name my team and I have decided to go with Locker room as our name of the magazine. I felt like this was the best title because in the locker room is where all the inside player talks happening and where players may be themselves with nobody interrupting. That is what the magazine will be about, the inside stuff that interest the audience and grabs there attention.

Response Analysis

Through my responses I have learned a lot through them.

• To start off my first question it showed me that most people have read or seen a sports magazine which is a plus for me since that is the genre I am doing. 
• In the second question I learned that in my magazine I will be using more images and less words because that attracts the eye more. 
• The level of sport that I will be focusing on is high school. I agree with that as well since students want to know what is happening in the sports of their school so that they can go out and support.
• The response for the sport I should do is baseball. So the magazine I will be doing is on the sport baseball.
• In the magazine I will add statistics of the team and their standings so that the students may see what their team that represents the school is doing.

These responses will help me shape my magazine and my next task is to find a name of the magazine my team and I will come up with.

Market Research Responses

Here are the responses of the people who took the survey.

Question 1: Have you ever read a sports magazine?

Question 2: What attracts your eye in a Magazine, the content or images?

Question 3: What level of sport should the magazine focus on? High School, College, or Professional?

Question 4: What sport should the magazine be on? Baseball, Soccer, or Football?

Question 5: Would you want to see statistics of the featured player or team that the magazine displays?

Market Research Questions

In this post I will be focusing on the questions I will be placing on the survey.

Questions:

1. Have you ever read a sports magazine?
2. What attracts your eye in a Magazine, the content or images?
3. What level of sport should the magazine focus on? High School, College, or Professional?
4. What sport should the magazine be on? Baseball, Soccer, or Football?
5. Would you want to see statistics of the featured player or team that the magazine displays?

Market Research

To gain a better understanding of the audience I will be making the magazine for, I decided to conduct a survey to my classmates and use their responses to help me have a better understanding on how to create the magazine. I will be able to see what they look for in the magazine and why would they even look into a magazine.
Their responses will also let me know the color scheme I will be using for the magazine and what level of sport I should use while writing the main article.

In my next post I will be posting the questions that I will be placing on the surveys.

Double page spread Idea

Through the research done in my last post, I have chosen that the best fit for my magazine will be the page that has the image on the left page and on the right page have the content.

An example is:

Reference

• Pin on layout design. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/344455071478804016/.

Double page spread layout research

In this post I will identify all the different possible layouts when writing the main article that is placed on a double page. The layouts differ on the amounts of content needed to place in those pages and the size of the image that it needs to be placed.

The different layouts are:

• Their may be an image on the left side of the paper and content on the right paper.
• The image is placed on the top of the left page and the rest of that page and the other one is full of content.
• The image can be faded and cover both pages and the content is placed over it. 
• The pages can have content and just a big title.
• With a lot of content there can be a small image so that the content may fit.

These layouts are a few of many but these are the ones that I found in my research and I believe that I will choose one of these.

Double Page Spread Research

A double page spread is in the center of the newspaper and is usually given to the main article. It talks about the person on the cover or has some relevance to the cover. The double page spread may have a small picture on the left side so that there is more space for content. The other layout is to have the image on the left side of the page and content on the right.

In the rest of this post I will mention some conventions of the double page spread.

• Headline: a quote from the artist received through an interview.
• Image: Can be on one page pr go across and take up some space of both pages.
• Color Scheme: Usually the same as the cover of the magazine.
• Informal language: used to engage the reader.
• Pull quotes: Placed in the center of the writing in bold with space in between the other texts to show importance.

Reference

• ellagart Follow. (2015, October 6). Codes and conventions of double page spread. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/ellagart/codes-and-conventions-of-double-page-spread.

Table of Contents Idea

Through my research I have chosen to use a table of contents similiar to the sports magazine one but it will be original and I will create it from scratch. The sports genre looks a little simple compared to the other genre examples. The sport genre has a main image that is put on the cover. Also I will add a few sport theme logos to give the page some uniqueness. The page might feature an editors piece to give a background about the editor. In the table of contents there will be a little subscription about each article to give the reader a sense of what the story is talking about. The subscription will make the reader want to read the article because I will try to leave you on a hook so the audience wants to turn to the articles page and read it. Fianlly the colors of the page will be basic and will be the team colors of the team that is being features. For example if the Patriots football team is the main article then the colors of the page will be red, white, and blue.

An example of a sports magazine table of contents is on the last blog post if you would like to see how it might look.

Examples of Table of Contents Pages

In this post you will see the different examples of table of contents. You may notice the similarity of each one but each table of contents will have something a little different depending on the genre. The images, story lines and font might be different because they are trying to attract a different audience. A sport maagzine might talk about the Patriot offense while a fashion magazine might talk about the newest release of an outfit. So, the sport magazine will have less color but the image will be of a famous player of the Patriots while the fashion magazine will have the newest outfit with a model wearing it and colors around the magazine so it becomes eye appealing.

Reference:

• ESPN magazine sept 2016 contents: Design: Magazine layout design, Magazine design, Yearbook design. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/119556565091156782/.
• Posted by StyleSampleMag on March 25, 2009 at 11:42am V. B. (n.d.). Style Sample Magazine Launches in April! Retrieved from http://www.fashionindustrynetwork.com/profiles/blogs/style-sample-magazine-launches?overrideMobileRedirect=1.
• Shaunanigans. (2012, May 1). Evaluation of table of contents. Retrieved from https://shaunbmedia.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/evaluation-question-1-in-what-ways-does-your-music-magazine-use-develop-or-challenge-forms-and-conventions-of-real-music-magazines/.

Table of Contents Research

The table of contents page can be a two page spread or in one page. It all depends on the amount of information in the magazine. In the table of contents you will find the title of the story and the page number it begins on. This page also organizes the magazine into sections. It allows the reader to find what page they are looking for through a easy step which is looking through the page. This page is organized in order of the page number the story are in and it is NOT alphabetically.

Here are the conventions of a table of contents page:

• At the top of the page you have the name of the magazine, the issue date, and the word "Content" or the words "Table of Contents". 
• There is also a editors piece sometimes or the editors contact information but these items are not always placed in the magazine.
• An image that is used on the front cover but just smaller.
• The Contents is organized into sub sections and is in order by page number.
• The article names have sublines to give the reader an idea of what each article talks about.

Reference

Baker, K. (2012, May 14). Codes and Conventions of a magazine contents page. Retrieved                          from https://prezi.com/agmdkkvonnne/codes-and-conventions-of-a-magazine-contents-page/.

liam-lim-horgan Follow. (2012, January 16). Codes and conventions of a magazine front cover.  

          Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/liam-lim-horgan/codes-and-conventions-of-a-                      magazine-front-cover-11085506?next_slideshow=1.

My Magazine Idea

Through my brief research, I have decided to do a sports magazine. The sports magazine will have a mid shot of an athlete of my sport of preference.

Here are some examples of sports magazine. These magazines give me an idea to create my original sports theme magazines. These magazines show the reader what the topic is for each magazine by just using a single image. But the image shows someone important to that certain sport.

References

bruin805. (2009, June 9). Michael Jordan Slam Magazine August 2009. Retrieved from

          https://www.flickr.com/photos/bruin805/3609799196.

Coen, M. (n.d.). The Best ESPN Magazine Covers. Retrieved from https://www.ranker.com/list/best-            espn-magazine-covers/damemaggie.

Athlon Sports. (n.d.). 15 Things to Watch During the 2017 NFL Season. Retrieved from

          https://athlonsports.com/nfl/15-things-watch-during-2017-nfl-season.

Magazine Research: Conventions

This post will focus on the conventions in a magazine cover. I will research the conventions and give a brief description of each to show my understanding of the research.

Conventions:

• Masthead- It is what tells the reader what type of magazine is. it is also the largest text on the magazine cover.
• Main Image- The image is usually a medium shot and it gives a visual of what the magazine topic is. It is also what engages the reader to read the magazine.
• "Buzz Words"- The buzz word is something that makes the customer want to see the magazine. A major word is when the magazine is "free".
• Coverline- Goes with the picture and it also gives a brief description of what will be in the magazine.
• Barcode- Placed in the cover of the magazine because in the back, the magazine is covered by advertisements.
• Tag (Puff)- When the magazines gives the reader something for free and is placed on the cover.
• Edition- The date the magazine was created.
• Header- Gives the reader an idea what the entire magazine is about.

Here is an example of a cover with a few labels of conventions:

Reference

McNulty, J. (2011, July 1). The generic conventions of magazines cover. Retrieved from        

          https://www.slideshare.net/jenmcnulty/the-generic-conventions-of-magazines-cover.

O'Brien, C. (2011, September 26). Magazine Front Cover Codes and Conventions. Retrieved from                https://prezi.com/ssdxz8zweofa/magazine-front-cover-codes-and-conventions/.

Magazine Research: Genre

To start my project of creating my own unique magazine, I need to find what genre the magazine is going to be and how the layout of the magazine needs to be. In this post I will be talking about consumer magazines that may interest me and I will name and explain each different type of consumer magazine genre.

Magazine Genre:

• Fashion: A fashion magazine is used to promote society into purchasing the certain type of clothing. In this magazine they usually use famous actors and singers to promote their clothing line. Also most fashion magazines have the website or number that you need to call to make the purchase and in one of the last places they add discounts so that people feel that they should buy the clothing because it is made cheaper. 
• Sports: A sport magazine can be specified to a particular sport and it is mostly done when it is the season of that sport or the magazine can be broader and talk a little bit about each sport. The sport magazine talks about the big stories like a well known team making the playoffs or the biggest rivalry in baseball is playing like the Red Sox vs. Yankees. The magazine cover is the best person in that sport. An example would be in a baseball magazine, the cover is usually Mike Trout. In sport magazines they have stories of the game of the week and the player of the week. 
• Music: Music magazines include news, articles and photos on artist. In this magazine you may also find concert reviews which may let you know if the artist is worth going to see. This magazine is used to inform people who like specific artist or want to find out about a popular concert that will be coming near them. The magazine covers all genres on=f music and usually has its top charts on the magazine as well. The front cover of a music magazine may let you know what music genre the magazine is mostly going to talk about.
• Cultural and lifestyle: The cultural and lifestyle magazine is very broad. It can talk about entertainment to health and fitness. This type of magazine talks a little bit about everything. It also varies on the region you are in. For example the magazine in Miami, Florida will be different than the magazine in Orlando, Florida because the cultural is very different, The magazine in Tampa talks about the amusement parks while the magazine in Miami talks about the beaches. This magazine highlights the activities and the most famous places to go in the area you are in.

Reference

zoetoase Follow. (2017, March 27). Magazine genre research. Retrieved from 
          https://www.slideshare.net/zoetoase/magazine-genre-research-73743822.

Welcome

Hello, my name is Brandon and this is my welcome blog post.

I am taking a Media Studies class and I have chosen to create a magazine with a cover, content pages, and a double page spread. I will be working with a team but as part of a team, I will be making my own individual product for the coursework.

The brief from the specification that I am following to create this is:

Main Task:

• I will create a front page, content page, and a double page spread of my new magazine. 
• The images and text that are being used will be original and edited. There will be at least 4 images. 
• These task will be followed by the preliminary exercises which will help me understand conventions and develop my skills with the equipment needed.

In this project I will focus on creating the magazine by using the tools needed and using research, and creativity to create the magazine. I will also use this blog to plan out my ideas and develop the magazine so I can make the magazine the best of my abilities.