ATTITUDE-ONLINE MEDIA

Attitude:

Media language-

Conventions of online magazine- high image to text ratio, lede intro (includes who, what and where for the article), white space, teaser headlines, list article/articles in bullet points, emotive language, foreground adverting, wraparound advertising, sponsored content 

Levi-Strauss theory of structuralism- focus on the LGBTQ+ community presents the idea of conflict, the community being the 'good' whilst those against it being the 'bad', forming the opposition 

Front cover- 'The Masculinity Issue'- dark background and pink title, bold title, central image breaks conventions through the use of a man wearing makeup and having painted nails, use of a celebrity- Jake Shears lead singer of Scissor Sisters

Zanzibar article- shows community around the world and the news, reflects how the magazine not only writes 'fun' articles but also hard hitting news, 'suspicion of being gay' presents how being gay is still seen as a 'bad' thing in other places in the world and can lead to imprisonment or death, the word 'catch' is also used dehumanising the men and reflecting the inhumane treatment, 'encouraged citizens to report people suspected of being gay' turns people against the community again reflect Levi-Strauss' theory, 'these men must be released immediately' is emotive language reflecting how the readers of the article are likely to feel for those going through this

Title being Attitude- they have a strong moral compass. Important part of brand identity. All in lower case- element of equality, doesn't have a name because of no capital letter so is more like a characteristic

Colour- black and white/binary opposites which has an effect: minimalist. Colours associated with newspapers- serious journalism

Navigation bar- subjects that the demographic would enjoy

Image driven

audience encouraged to scroll

house style- rectangular image with bold typography, sorted in date order- show they keep up to date with the 'news'. grouped by genre (colour line underneath article)

Subscribe buttons- giving a number of different ways of consumption

Representation-

• Represents a whole different group of people that the mainstream usually avoid, arguably the way the community is constructed presents a stereotype of how you must look and act, this is reinforced by the lack of presentation in the mainstream media
• Gauntlett's identity theory- 'Attitude' does not show straight forward ideas about identity, agrees that the media is now more diverse allowing readers to pick and choose their identity 
• Butler's gender performativity theory- breaks conventions of gender norms reflecting how gender is a social construct 
• Gilroy's post-colonial theory- presents people of colour and their struggles, their sexuality is presented as their minority rather than their ethnicity, reduces colonial power through the construction of a different 'other'

Industry-

• Does not produce mainstream content
• Owned by Stream Publishing Limited
• Sold worldwide as a physical magazine- the bullet pointed articles and teasers acts as snippets for the magazine, using the website as a marketing strategy for the product
• Stars that have been included- Boy George, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Tom Daley, Prince William 
• Former conservative party leader David Cameron has also appeared on the cover
• Magazine is often themed incorporating reader's other interests 

Audience- 

• Target audience-
• male- factual writing style, high image to text ratio
• 26-55- celebrity culture for this generation
• ABC1- sponsorships, language is formal
• reformer/aspirer- comments on social issues, aspirational feel
• Interaction can occur through Facebook and Twitter, little interaction compared to Zoella, reflects how this is a company and not an individual 
• Gerbner's cultivation theory- repeated exposure of views normalises the LGBTQ+ community in the media, the use of celebrities reinforces this, pushing this community into the mainstream spotlight 

Roland Barthes- Semiotics

Attitude: The use of the rainbow colours on the homepage reinforces the LGBTQ+ content of the magazine as it has become a symbol for the community. The use of colour has connotations of inclusivity and  welcoming for those in the community.

Levi-Strauss- Structuralism

Attitude: The focus on the LGBTQ+ community presents the idea of conflict, the community being good and all those against it bad, forming the opposition of good  vs bad. The fight

‘Attitude’ is presenting forms a conflict and opposition

David Gauntlett- Theory of Identity

Attitude: ‘Attitude’ does not present straight forward ideas about identity and breaks gender norms through the presentation of men in makeup and other feminised pieces. This agrees with the theory that the media today offers a more diverse range of stars

Judith Butler-Theory of Gender Performativity

Attitude (online media): Gender norms are broken through ‘Attitude’which often presents men as feminised or with makeup, in heels, etc. This reiterates the idea that gender is constructed by society and can be broken.‘Attitude’ is breaking the repetition of gender norms

Paul Gilroy- Theory around Ethnicity and Post Colonialism

Attitude: ‘Attitude’ is seen presenting people of colour and their struggles or victories with their sexuality. This is reducing colonial power as it is presenting a different minority. The idea of ethnicity seems less relevant as something else has been placed as the ‘other’

Gerbner- Cultivation Theory

Attitude :The repeated exposure of the views shown in ‘Attitude’ normalises the LGBTQ+ community in mainstream media. The inclusion of mainstream celebrities helps this and begins the integration of the community within traditional media

​Banner - This Attitude cover has a banner at the top of the page promoting their 'best-ever print subscription', this coupled with the words 'take advantage' conveying to the reader that it would be in their best interests and beneficial to them to subscribe whilst these 'best-ever' offers are available.  

Body Copy - The main body of text within this page is about a new film called 'Girl' which is directed by Lukas Dhont and is about a transgender ballerina, which is something that has not been covered before in film as a narrative. By presenting 'Girl' with its 'never done before' narrative, this could show 'Attitude's' identity and brand ideas. That they support and like to cover ground-breaking actions, but also stories that will grasp the attention of a modern audience. 

Demographics - Attitude covers many different subjects, many of which are becoming spoken about more and more within society, such as sexuality, gender, race and human rights in general. Examples of this would be the secondary stories down the left side, which contain headings such as 'Man left with broken nose after homophobic attack by a mob of 10 people' and 'Andrew Rannells reveals Catholic priest forced open his mouth to French kiss him as a teenager'. As well as other articles such as 'Gays on TV: Your guide to the week's best LGBT TV and film' and 'BBC LGBT correspondent Ben Hunte to join Attitude and student pride panel on racism in the gay community'. By looking at all of the stories covered, Attitudes demographic can become very clear. That it is one focusing on open-minded people, who appreciate, understand and champion the changing idealisations surrounding the subjects covered, in modern society. Considering this, a younger audience is who they try to reach as the youth of today are the one's creating this change and supporting and pushing the development of traditionalist ideals. 

Flash Animation - This 'Attitude' magazine spread does not use flash animation. This is because the use of flash animation could be seen as 'gimicky' and could 'play-down' the subjects being covered as a flash animation is quite a playful thing. If it was used the important subjects such as race and gender being covered may seem to not be fully respected by the creators. 

​Genre/Web pages, as well as Skyscraper -  The genre of the content and Attitude itself is rather unclear, as it covers many different points and stories, it could be said that it is a socialist magazine with knowledge and acceptance as its currency. The layout of Attitude however relates to that of a tabloid/newspaper, seen with the large bodies of text and use of the skyscraper along the left side of the page. This opposes websites such as Zoella where the layout does not echo this idea. This could be due to the fact that the ideas and connotations of this website are involving the 'real', literal world, where as Zoella's website can be seen to represent a constructed and possibly fabricated identity and personality. 

A hypersexualised representation of men - Most images of men are topless, and often in provocative poses

Article critical of lack of representation of different body types

On Attitude, a singular, muscular build seems to be favoured

Articles are generally focused on grooming, holidays, fashion and celebrities: a heavy emphasis on appearance and extrinsics - reinforces a gay stereotype

Normalisation - majority of articles feature gay and LGBT related issues

Articles featuring prejudice and attacks on gay men reinforce the ideology that to be gay still means being in a marginalised and threatened group - close up of mans injured head

Even straight actors are represented and codified in a way that specifically appeals to a gay male audience. For example, the voyeuristic shots of Cristiano Ronaldo in tight fitting underwear presents an appealing fantasy to the gay target audience.

An escapist fantasy for a gay audience. Stereotypically attractive gay men, hypermasculine and strong. Even if an audience lacks this body type, they are able escape in to a homoerotic fantasy.

Offers the audience an escapist fantasy where everybody is gay, a hyperreal fantasy, a utopia!

Advertising - targeted to gay male audience. Advertorial "your dream home awaits" helps to normalise homosexuality. "your dream home awaits" is perhaps stereotypically feminine, reinforcing  a gay stereotype of enjoying interior design (reinforced by shows like Project Runway and Queer Eye For The Straight Guy)

Extremely stereotypical throughout! Pop music, west end theatre, home improvement, and buff guys. Many commonly held, stereotype of gay men are presented here... but why?

Conformity to stereotype of vain men: article specifically on weight loss and improving muscle definition. A focus on aesthetics.

Represented as vulnerability. References to the 'coming out' narrative. 

Hypersexualised! beyond sexualisation, big focus on openess and 'out-there' sexualisation...

...however, the magazine and website have a definite target audience, and may go 'hidden' in the general populace.

Article on gay rugby team focusses on the team's body image as opposed to their sporting prowess, again reinforcing an emphasis on aesthetics.

Extravagant and with exotic lifestyles

Proud and self-confident. Gives audience the confidence to come out and to live with pride

Singular and stereotypical representation of men

Lots of conformity to stereotypes for men being quite vain specifically on weight loss and improving muscle definition. A focus on aesthetics.

Example Article - Want to improve your weight loss, muscle definition, and conditioning? Crossrope has the answer.

Hyper sexualised - The models are posed in such a way that you couldn't think its not about sex, it tells us that the representation of gay men is that they are open and in your face.

Example Article - Meet the ridiculously beautiful boys of e4's 'shipwrecked' reboot.

...however, the magazine and website has a definitive target audience, and may go 'hidden' in the general populace so it isn't in your face its only if you look for it you will find it.

Articles focusses on the team's body image as opposed to their sporting prowess, again reinforcing an emphasis on aesthetics.

Example Article - Gay rugby players of the King's Cross Steelers strip off to talk body image.

Extravagant and with exotic lifestyles - maybe regarded as camp

Example Article - Thailands best spots for a romantic escape.

Proud and self-confident. Gives audience the confidence to come out and to live with pride

Example Article - AJ Pritchard wants to be the first professional dancer on 'Strictly' in a same-sex couple.

Gay men are sexualised most of the models have ab's and muscles so they are stereotypically attractive. They are encoding straight men such as Cristiano Ronaldo to look homosexual, it is a singular and stereotypical representation. Rather than just making them out to be a celeb for what they're famous at they're showing that they are attractive aswell.

Example Article - Here are Cristiano Ronaldo's hottest ever moments to celebrate his birthday.

In this website we see a singular, stereotypical representation also like Woman magazine. However, the difference is that Woman magazine is not made to want people to sleep with them and more to appeal to woman for inspirational purposes rather than sexual purposes.

Heteronormativity - We assume that people are straight - however we have the opposite here and see a specific representation of masculinity.

There is a great extent of singular stereotypical representation of masculinity as it is all over the website of these big muscly stereotypically attractive guys this could make males feel inferior and intimidated as this is adopting feminist standards. Hyper-masculinity goes beyond the stereotypical male.

Stereotypical gay people are usually deemed as feminine skinny and not very manly. However, these guys on Attitude magazine are the complete opposite which leaves the primary audience confused due to these stereotypes being completely broken.

If this is all we see on Attitude being the gay primary audience seeing the same body type over and over again, not being able to see anyone without that body type. It creates a cultivation of what males need to look like, this could send the primary gay audience into a bit of a panic and they may become intimidated.

The actual purpose of Attitude Online is to promote the magazine and selling it. This is an example of Digital Convergence. This is an example of the push pull effect, people are being pushed away by the technology and internet however the producers are pulling them back in by advertising the magazine all over the homepage.

By the magazine being online it lets gay men who are closeted to look at the content without needing to admit what they are however a gay man who is closeted wouldn't want to go out and buy the magazine as they will be afraid that their sexuality will come out.

Attitude is not offering a diverse representation of men.

Zoella

 Blog Homepage - The garland of light bulbs gives the home-page a very homely miss-en-scene which may links to beauty bloggers often blogging from their home or bedroom. The font of 'Zoella' is almost like handwriting, add personalisation/ personality may represent this as possible physical diary. She has her social media links on the blog, which may suggest that she is currently has platforms. The section hearers (beauty, food, life, places, style, shop) show that she covers a lot of things. she is versatile and can facilitate all kinds of audiences. The colour palette is pastel which are feminine and soft that represents calming and that she is a soft character, very main stream and very representative of her audiences. 

Blog Posts - Reviews are all positive and represent her as happy, positive individual with a good outlook on like, however, this may last authenticity. She also talks about anxiety and keeping calm in one of her posts which shows that she doesn't support negativity and might also represent a raw side of her personality which shows to her audience that she is real. Many of her posts are just displaying her 'perfect' life which may lack authenticity as it is not possible to live an actual perfect life. She posts a lot about baking which can come across as very stereotypical as it ties to the stereotypes that women are always in the kitchen and baking is a women's activity. The thumbnail images are very bright, something which contrasts against the pale colours of the top of the homepage. This causes them to stand out individually and attract readers. 

Community Comment Section - The fact that she has a community comment section on her blog allows her fans to interact with her content and each other. It allows her fans to give their opinion and become active in the blog. Giving their opinions may help Zoella in making her blog better and to relate it to her viewers better and more effectively in a way which they have asked for. It allows fans to give requests for what they want to see across all platforms including Youtube and her blog. The colour is simple, with grey text. 

Zoella Youtube - Zoella's main channel homepage ties in well with her overall aesthetic as it is very simple and white with only a few pop of colour . The gold of the banner really stand out and connotes a feeling o luxury to the viewer. Digital influencers have a large effect on sales so companies are willing to pay lots of money for them to promote their products. Creators can be paid a set fee or they can be paid according to the amount of views or number of people who click to the promoted page from their web page. Advertising is one of the main ways in which content creators generate revenue, and examples of this Youtube partners programme enables creators who have achieved a certain numbers of channel views to monetise the content they produce by running advertisement alongside their videos. Displayed ads or banners generally appears beside or below the video that being played. Overlay ads these are placed over the top of the video content in the lower portion of the video. 

George Gerbner’s Cultivation Theory

An important aspect to consider regarding Zoella’s audience is how their own values, attitudes and beliefs might be shaped by viewing or interacting with her online products.

Gerbner’s theory is very important to attach to the study of Zoella, not only with her online products, but her wider influence on her audience and how this might manifest itself.

Gerbner states that repeated or prolonged exposure to any form of media will influence the audience to follow or replicate the messages, values and attitudes of the media text. In terms of Zoella this might be related to the amount of time any one of her subscribers spends online and the level of engagement – for example, does someone follow her through all her media platforms and affect their day-to-day experiences. This might relate to buying the products she promotes or is affiliated to, or at the extreme, to live their own lives through constant engagement with hers.

This can be seen through Gerbner’s theory relating to ‘resonance’. This would refer to how a Zoella media text matches the everyday reality of the individual’s own life. And possibly shape their view of the world.

Representation (Stuart Hall)

• The idea that representation is the production of meaning through language, with language defined in its broadest sense as a system of signs.
• The idea that the relationship between concepts and signs is governed by codes
• The idea that stereotyping, as a form of representation, reduces people to a few simple characteristics or traits
• The idea that stereotyping tends to occur where there are inequalities of power, as subordinate or excluded groups are constructed as different or ‘other’ (e.g. through ethnocentrism).
• A key part is self-representation which Zoella does through being her own gatekeeper, fulfils female stereotype through makeup, fashion, pastel colours, comes across similarly to women's magazines, use of makeup arguably teaches young girls that they must wear it
• Zoe is her own gate-keeper and represents herself in a way she  wants to be represented. She reinforces gender norms with her pastel colours and female

 Identity (David Gauntlett)

 

• The idea that the media provide us with ‘tools’ or resources that we use to construct our identities.
• The idea that whilst in the past the media tended to convey singular, straightforward messages about ideal types of male and female identities, the media today offer us a more diverse range of stars, icons and characters from whom we may pick and mix different ideas.
• An idea of sharing media as stories is evident through her blog, by sharing personal stories online she is imposing meanings on the things her audience experiences in their own day to day lives, audience uses the narrative they see on her vlogs to frame their own experiences 
• 'Attitude' does not show straight forward ideas about identity, agrees that the media is now more diverse allowing readers to pick and choose their identity 
• It presents people of colour and their struggles, their sexuality is presented as their minority rather than their ethnicity, reduces colonial power through the construction of a different 'other'
•  Audience’s see Zoe’s perfect lifestyle and may want to shape their lives around hers, especially if they have placed her in a role model position. Zoe also conveys typical female stereotypes with her content surrounding makeup, fashion, etc. She reflects a typical female magazine

Performativity (Judith Butler)

• The idea that identity is performatively constructed by the very ‘expressions’ that are said to be its results (it is manufactured through a set of acts).
• The idea that there is no gender identity behind the expressions of gender.
• The idea that performativity is not a singular act, but a repetition and a ritual.
• It reinforces gender norms repeating them and reinforcing them in society 
• Butler's gender performativity theory- breaks conventions of gender norms reflecting how gender is a social 
• Zoe’s blog reinforces
• gender norms through her female typical content including makeup, fashion and soft pastel colours on her blog. Her personality of being friendly, bubbly and cheerful is also female typical. Zoe is repeating female stereotypical acts, reinforcing what is expected for each gender.

Roland Barthes- Semiotics

Zoella: Used to help convey ideas about that person via colour, typography etc. However, this can cause the audience to focus on static elements of the text and ignore the dynamic features that separate online media from other texts

Levi-Strauss-Structuralism

Zoella: Binary oppositions are normally constructed in  videos to create the idea of conflict and therefore a narrative and excitement, for example British vs American.

Jean Baudrillard-Postmodernism

Zoella: The media has become so saturated it is impossible for audiences to experience the natural or real world. Online has become a simulacrum or hyperreality where everything appears perfect. Although Zoella strives for an authentic aesthetic she still only conveys the parts she  wants to show, offering a perfect, constructed lifestyle. What the audience see from them is not entirely real and is constructed for an audience, similar to a fictional product

Paul Gilroy-Theory around Ethnicity and Post Colonialism

Zoe’s content is mostly white people, unlike traditional media she cannot cast other ethnicities however, her content still reflects the idea of colonial power even if it is not intentional

Hesmondhalgh-Cultural Industries

Uses horizontal integration through her multi-channel network, also uses  vertical integration through her manager Dom Smales who works at the company Gleam

Henry Jenkins-Fandom Theory

Zoe has fan art, fan fiction etc written for her frequently, showing examples of textual poaching and allowing her audience to take her content into their own hands. Zoe is also imitated creating a subculture inspired by her and her content

The representations feel less constructed and therefore more real. She makes a real effort to keep her vlogs as authentic and ‘real’ as they can be, showing all of her life rather than just the positive aspects.

With it being a self-representation there is obviously a sense of biasness as she is unlikely to present herself in a negative light. However she is representing herself as the way she would like to be portrayed. 
The representations feel less constructed and therefore more real. She makes a real effort to keep her vlogs as authentic and ‘real’ as they can be, showing all of her life rather than just the positive aspects.
 
With it being a self-representation there is obviously a sense of biasness as she is unlikely to present herself in a negative light. However she is representing herself as the way she would like to be portrayed. 

Representation- Represents a whole different group of people that the mainstream usually avoid, arguably the way the community is constructed presents a stereotype of how you must look and act, this is reinforced by the lack of presentation in the mainstream media

AUDIENCE

We have established that Zoella’s key target audience might be teenage girls between the ages of 13 and 17, we should consider how this audience is targeted through the content and appeal of the online media product she produces

Equally we should consider how this audience is targeted through the ways in which online media products are marketed, distributed and circulated.

Some of this can be identified through the ‘modes of addresses used to ‘sell’ her lifestyle message. This is sometimes referred to as ‘para-social interaction’

Para-social interaction – the direct mode of address used by Zoella creates the illusion of personal, face to face communication. She uses a friendly, conversational mode of address when talking to her fans, helping to create a sense of intimacy, even though she is potentially talking to over 12 million subscribers.

• Target audience- 13-24 year olds, BC1C2 (youthful and energetic)
• Interaction through comments, polls, social media
• Collabs widen audience 
• Jenkin's fandom theory- fans imitate Zoella creating a subculture, create content inspired by her, fan fiction (textual poaching)
• Shirky's 'end of audience theory'- fan art and fan fiction, 'Scamella' scandal, The Sun article calling Zoe scandalous for posting a relatively innocent photo leading to #westandwithzoe

Festivals, Conferences and Conventions

Big-name vloggers are often promoted through festivals, conferences and conventions, with events such as VidCon extremely popular in the United States, Europe and Australia. Here, vloggers can network with others in the online media industry, but fans also have the opportunity to meet them in person. These meetings are often built around ‘Question and Answer’ (Q&A) sessions, personal signings and meet-and-greet opportunities.

Public Appearances

High profile vloggers such as Zoella, Tanya Burr and Alfie Deyes are often invited to awards ceremonies for a variety media industries and film premieres. This works for both parties as it provides a sense of ‘cutting edge’ for the organisers to have the ‘latest thing’ appear for their event, and for the vloggers to raise their profile by appearing in the mainstream media

These events also allow vloggers to meet their fans, albeit on a very brief basis, often restricted to some selfie opportunities.

Audience Participation and Interaction

Much of Zoella’s success depends on how ‘accessible’ her fans and subscribers find her to be. Being able to leave comments on her YouTube videos, blog posts, Tweets, or on occasions providing content for her sites.

She does ask her fans for opinions on what they might like to see in future videos or blog posts, and in doing so her audience feels ‘active’ and that the relationship goes two ways. The emergence of quicker, faster and sophisticated online and mobile technology allows for this important interrelationship between content creators and digital influencers like Zoella and the fan base.

This demonstrates how Zoella’s audience can interact with her online media products and platforms, but also how they are considered as ‘active’. It shows the interrelationship between media technologies and how these are consumed by her audience and allows for response.

Media language-

• Conventions of online magazine- high image to text ratio, lede intro (includes who, what and where for the article), white space, teaser headlines, list article/articles in bullet points, emotive language, foreground adverting, wraparound advertising, sponsored content 
• Levi-Strauss theory of structuralism- focus on the LGBTQ+ community presents the idea of conflict, the community being the 'good' whilst those against it being the 'bad', forming the opposition 
• Front cover- 'The Masculinity Issue'- dark background and pink title, bold title, central image breaks conventions through the use of a man wearing makeup and having painted nails, use of a celebrity- Jake Shears lead singer of Scissor Sisters
• Zanzibar article- shows community around the world and the news, reflects how the magazine not only writes 'fun' articles but also hard hitting news, 'suspicion of being gay' presents how being gay is still seen as a 'bad' thing in other places in the world and can lead to imprisonment or death, the word 'catch' is also used dehumanising the men and reflecting the inhumane treatment, 'encouraged citizens to report people suspected of being gay' turns people against the community again reflect Levi-Strauss' theory, 'these men must be released immediately' is emotive language reflecting how the readers of the article are likely to feel for those going through this

Postmodernism

• Abandonment of strong divisions of genre or hierarchy
• Characterised by the bending and breaking of rules 
• Style over substance, when the appearance/design/presentation of a media text is seen as more important than its actual content/meaning (link to the psychographic group of aspirers- concerned with how things look and what message this gives out to other people- want to heighten social status)
• Hyper-reality, when a simulated environment seems more real than reality itself. 
• Self-reflexiveness, when a media text makes reference or draws attention to its own artificiality 

The content on YT is diverse and different from the mainstream media in many of Zoella's videos for example, unlike traditional media content she doesn't follow a narrative structure, is unscripted, doesn't form an us and them relationship/ mentality and is overall more relatable and authentic than mainstream. This is diverse and different mainstream, media, therefore it should be questioned the extent to which YT, in comparison mainstream, is a more culturally diverse industry. Arguably it's as it doesn't just exploit and control what content creators get paid, arguably they control this themselves by the extent they can captivate an audience and produce attractive quality content. 

Aspirational narrative, this invites the audience to desire the lifestyles of the YouTubers. Rather than seeing a constructed romance ideal through traditional media forms like films audience can see through the likes of Alfie Dyes and Zoella both blogging on their lives a perceived real-life romance ideals. As the audience have grown in sophistication, it could be said that the audience are now not captivated into believing the romance between actors on screen is real. However, the audience see the romance between YT, as they construct these ideal leaving in elements that contract a sense of realism and that the audience is like a privileged spectator looking into their private lives. The audience may be sophisticated but may have not yet come to realise that the YT romances they see through looking in on the YT have control over what to film, what to edit out and when to upload. This means that the audiences are coming to perceive these YT lives as real and when to upload. This means hat the audience are coming to perceive these YT lives as real and that they know them, when in actual fact they only know the representations and what the YTer chooses to let the audience know. This can link to Postmodernism where YT videos can be deemed a simulacrum of what we perceive to be reality. 

While the high energy blogging lifestyle yields material wealth that audiences might similarly aspire too. As Zoella constantly suggests how she Is grateful for the success she has gained and what she is able to be released, it should be questioned the extent she is doing this to try and remain at a relevant level to viewers, where she is trying to position herself as relatable, done with a profit motive so that the viewers connect with her and subsequently want to be like her so buy her products. When Zoella does show off her materialists lifestyles by doing extensive clothing halls, which a lot of time included clothes hat is gifted/ given to her of free, this may attract an audience of aspirers (psychographics) who are interests in materialism and how they can enhance there status, potentially picking parts of what Zoella recommend to incorporate within their own identity. As Zoella has developed a respected brand identity largely because of her large social media following, captivating people into believing that she has information, knowledge and opinions that are correct and desirable to follow, it means that Zoella has shaped herself as an opinion leader. Therefore, as she shows these clothing pieces for example even when the audience might not be able to embody these products into their own identity construction, they may instead look for high street/ cheaper alternatives. This connects to Jenkins work on fans studies and his idea of textual poaching. An example of this can be seen as Zoella developed a symbolism with a peaking collar, this can perpetuated by her constantly wearing this style of clothing, showing it in the halls and even releasing products that incorporated this trademark look for Zoella. This led to fans of Zoella wanting to embody the same style as they had come to respect Zoella and wanting to be like her, therefore many fans were seen t o look for high street alternatives to this style of clothing, showing how Zoella as a self-constructed social media star that goes against the traditional controlled construction in mainstream media. With Zoella many deeming the use of everyday mise-en-scene suggesting an effortless and unsaturated aesthetic. Bedroom setting reinforces codes or realism and takes audiences into private space. Where the seemingly un spritzer narrative generates a sense of spontaneity. So despite Zoella's star lifestyle being presented in some way through the designer clothing, in other ways she is completely opposite to a mainstream constructed star when the audience don't know much about their private life, here the audience are positioned to view Zoella as a new kind of star, one who is open to fan connection and one who is only a star because she has been realistic and open, therefore it isn't exclusivity that's gaining Zoella's her star status, rather it's the platform of YT and social media following. People now don't look up to a star because they have a distant connection to their lives and a talent they don't look up to a star because they have a distant connection to their lives and a talent they don't, rather a star is constructed through the number of subscribers or twitter followers. This shows another postmodernism idea of how things look rather than the internal quality, the number of YT subscribers over how good they are in their talent field for example.

Synergy, the coming together of 2 separate media texts in such a way as to benefit both. Combination of elements has a greater benefit if this connection across different platforms where Zoella operates weren't connected. The benefit being that it strengthens Zoella's brand identity as people look into her more follow/ subscribe her, meaning that she is more likely to become the topic social conservation, causing her to move herself from the online sphere to the public sphere. Zoella encourages fans to facilitate this synergy and move around platforms where she operates an online presence by having her blog post being sharable and her social media being features on the homepage her blog and YB channel.

Attitude captures and maintains it's audience by-

• Readers most likely use a F-scan reading pattern to find something that interests them on the website, Attitude blocks their text and condenses it to make this easier 
• The sub headers and white space in the layout also helps with this
• Stories tend to be written in an active narrative voice to add energy to the writing 
• Journalistic pieces will contain a lede introduction to tell the reader who, what, etc to engage them
• List articles and bullet points are also used to make it easy for casual readers to be engaged 
• Landing pages use elliptical headers, omitting words to facilitate fast read speeds
• Layouts are crafted using high image to text ratios 
• Teaser headlines are used as bait- tend to include celebrity gossip and suggestions of exclusivity 
• Stories are ordered by release date to show the reader that content is regularly updated, this can encourage regular visits 
• Use copyright free photos due to the small budget of the companies, this can create a sense of authenticity especially if candid shots are used
• Celebrity content is used to draw in fans and expand the audiences
• Social media links are clear to engage with the audience members on other platforms, social media acts as a marketing feature to further promote the content on other sites
• Question based tweets, hashtags and tagging is used on social media to expand the audience 

The Bridge

Series 1 began with a body found halfway between Sweden and Denmark on the Øresund Bridge linking Malmö to Copenhagen. 

Series 2 ended with Saga turning in her partner Martin for murdering the man who killed his son.

The Bridge is a joint Swedish and Danish TV production. The title refers to the Oresund Bridge between Copenhagen in Denmark and MAlmo in Sweden. 

From the main protagonist's perspective - Saga the narrative is following a linear pattern, but if we were to be asked to focus upon the unknown murder, this would be taking a non-linear narrative style. This is because the 1st scene the audience is presented with, a murder scene, this is therefore not showing the murderer mindset and actions in terms of how he/she murdered the victim and why sh/she chose her. This is portrayed as happening but it is not constructed and presented the audience through the narrative. Instead, the audience is positioned at a stage whereby this has already taken place and are therefore left with the same questions (enigma) as the detective Saga has. 

The way Saga is represented linking her to other female leads in other Nordic Noir texts, therefore creating this intertextuality link is through the way she represented unstereotypically, through her appearances, where she is shown with untidy hair and a lack of make-up, and furthermore, she is represented through contrast to the wider social context in a typically un-feminine job. 

Generic conventions of crime drama in the Bridge:

-Murder and attempted murder/terrorist plot, the countdown to destruction/CCTW footage/police car chase

-Surreal elements 

-Police uniforms, cars, flashing lights and sirens, technology - PCs/mobile phones/evidence bags/clues

-Forensics-gloves, microscopes 

-Plainclothes detective

-Unlikely partnership

-Antisocial detective 

Codes and conventions of Nordic Noir 

-Recurring situations: crime, collecting evidence, interviews with suspects, examining CCTV/photos for suspect identification

Elements of narrative: crime as disruption, enigmas codes in the form of a 'whodunit?' and 'why the crime scene has been meticulously staged?' driven by binary opposites

Style: typical of film Nordic Noir specifically - chiaroscuro lighting, closed frames signifying entrapment, desaturated colour palette, aerie choral soundtrack, emphasis on windows and reflection

Iconography: police uniforms, guns, police cars evidence bags, handcuffs, investigating jargon

Setting: iconic Nordic Noir, the bridge joining 2 cities, incident room, murder scene, police station, prison, lab, bleak mountainous landscapes, leafless trees

Themes: guilt, justice, conscience, crime, punishments, moral dilemma 

Stock characters: plainclothes detectives with personal issues, unlikely partnership, anti-social genius, strict police chief

The serial and linear: nature of the series as a continuous case 

The restricted nature: of the narrative allows the audience to uncover the truth via the clues along with the main protagonists of the drama. The audience also has limited knowledge initially of Sagas backgrounds or about what troubles

Features of postmodernism: 

-Pastiche 

-Paradox

-Bricolage 

-Intertextuality 

These intertextuality references in terms of the Bridge similarities to other Nordic Noir texts, these are such as the 'the killing' that also has a female lead. She also has conflicts, like Saga, between her personal life domestic life. Both feel like they have to put their full commitment into their job, making them both released around the same time, further connoting how in postmodern society, intertextuality occurs between texts borrowing and sharing ideas between each other, this showing how postmodern media is now blurring between similar texts. The audience is further exposed to this Nordic Noir representation of policing meaning that is the reality of policing becomes more real than reality. This is especially because many of the audiences don't have direct experiences with detective work, especially Swedish detective work causing medias representations of it to become a form of hyper reality. 

-Irony

-Black humour 

-Realism 

-Hyper-Reality 

Challenging conventions: 

- the specific traits of Nordic Noir which combine with the standard crime drama approach to create something uniquely different from the norm- the language is plain and deliberately avoid metaphor, the settings often have bleak landscapes, and the mood is dark and morally complex. The genre depicts a tension between the apparently still and bland social surface in the Nordic countries and the murder, misogyny, rape and racism it depicts as lying underneath.  Contrasts with the less subtle approach of standard UK crime drama/

- Supplies strong female models as leading characters throughout the narrative, responsible for making tough decisions against a decidedly bleak/uncaring back group.

-Leading characters are plagued with guild/issues which affect their judgement and therefore make for not only more interesting and nuanced characters but unpredictable situations/scenarios

-Cross-culture between police forces of two decidedly different nations, offers a new look at well-known conventions

-The ambiguous nature of not only the characters but the location too, the Bridge spanning both countries is almost out of character and other-worldly at that not belonging to either country but existing in a form of 'spatial limbo'

- The murders committed as part of the 3rd series enigma construction are stylised in their execution more reminiscent of an art installation - adding class significant depth to the motivations of the unseen antagonist 

Nordic Noir

What is Nordic Noir?

Nordic Noir is also known as Scandinavian noir, is a genre of crime fiction usually written from a police point of view and set in Scandinavia or Nordic countries like Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.  The plain language usually depicts dark settings and a morally complex mood. Stories from this genre often relate to social issues experienced in these countries and around the world such as rape, murder, misogyny.

The themes usually have brutal crimes in safe communities, a bleak setting, a tortured protagonist, strong plot.

The setting is normally in urban citiesNordic Noir is a subsection of the crime fiction genre that is typically set in bleak urban settings and centers around a tortured protagonist who is typically a police figure. The themes generally include brutal crimes in otherwise safe communities and a conventional crime drama plot. Much as Neale's genre theory suggests, the repetition of themes within the genre means that Nordic Noir is a popular and successful genre of crime fiction. 

PAPER 1 SECTION B THE TIMES : Research and key questions

The Times is a British daily (Monday to Saturday) national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register, adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times (founded in 1821) are published by Times Newspapers, since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, in turn wholly owned by News Corp. The Times and The Sunday Times do not share editorial staff, were founded independently, and have only had common ownership since 1966. 

1. Who owns News Corp? 

Robert Thomson/ Rupert Murdoch 

2.What other companies belong to News Corp? 

Dow Jones 

Foxtel 

Storyful 

Knew 

News UK 

move 

3. Do News Corp own any other newspapers? 

The Australian 

The Daily Telegraph 

New York Post 

The Times 

The Wall Street Journal 

The Sun 

The Sunday Times

The Courier-Mail

4. What ways can audiences access this newspaper? 

Through their mobile phone ages through 24-35 as they understand how to operate and use a phone, if they want to get quick information. However, for people 35-80 they would get a subscription to get the newspaper in the mail everyday or every week. 

5. Visit the website of some of the newspapers News Corp owns and read some of their articles. What political agenda do they hold? 

6. What evidence of this do you have? 

7. Who is the intended readership (audience) for The Times. You must consider the demographic profile and the psychographic profile. 

 

Newspaper

 Times newspaper is a British national 'quality' newspaper first published in 1785. The Times had been published by Times Newspaper since 1981 a subsidiary of News UK, Wholly owned by News Corp, Rupert Murdoch's company. 

This edition was published on March 13th, 2019, after Theresa May had encountered another Commons defeat over her Brexit proposals. 

The Times is famous for having a range of journalists with varied political viewpoints which allows the newspaper to offer a more neutral political stance on Brexit negotiations

In 1965 some media researchers analysed international news stories to find out what kind of stories came top of news 'agenda' worldwide. Their findings led to them creating a list of 'news values' - a kind of scoring system. A story that scores highly on each news value is very likely to make the front page, or the start of a TV news bulletin. It's not just down to news values that decides which stories come top of the news agenda; journalists and news editors draw on their own experiences to decide what should be deemed the most important, or what should come on top. 

Exam questions FILM MARKETING

A Mainstream Film is movies that cost much to make and are created for profit.

Media Conglomerate is a company that owns a large numbers of companies in various mass media. AL so they have control over the market across the globe. 

Explain two features of independent  film production. Refer briefly to  I, Daniel Blake  to support your   points. [6]

I, Daniel Blake is not funded by the global conglomerate companies, but it was funded by the BFI and BBC. It adheres to the codes and conventions of a British social realism film as it was filmed largely on location in exiting regional to exhibit a sense of verisimilitude, featured lesser known actors, produced on a small budget (£3.5 million) has a lock of non diegetic music, has a linear narrative and doesn't reply on special effects. I, Daniel Blake eventually amassed $12.45 million worldwide including $4.27 million in the UK and $6.4 million in France. A healthy profit for a small independent film such as this. The target audience is towards a smaller and niche audience meaning having a large budget is pointless. 

Additionally, the film was promoted on the New NomadX Media iProjectors were used by Kommando Marketing to project images and text based questions about the issues from I, Daniel Blake on the side of a variety of buildings across the UK. Also on the Daily Mirror The promotion of the film though eOne’s (distributor) partnership with the Mirror Trinity Group, which is usual for a independent film as they don't have a large budget, using promotion like newspaper which is cheaper compared to social media and tv Advertising. Also as their target audience would like read the newspaper compared to the popular social media, and compared to a mainstream film they usually use social media platform and Tv advertising. 

Explain how economic contexts shape mainstream films. Refer to Black Panther  to support your points. [15]

Ecomomic contexts shape mainstream films as they were produced by global conglomerate companies such as Disney. Disney is one of the most powerful and successful business in world, meaning that they have more faith in Black Panther than an independent film like I, Daniel Blake. Which is clearly shown through the $200 million budget. Then the box office fro BP id 1.344 Billion Dollars which presents how successful the film became. 

Furthermore, vertical integration had an impact on economic contexts in production of mainstream films. Due to Marvel is owned by Disney who also own multiple other media outlets which will have an impact on the film marketing. Due to Disney influence the movie is being very successful franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe which helped to shape the profit. 

Cleverly distributed as it was broadcasted in the ad break on the Super Bowl in America, one of the most expensive adverting sloths in the world. Excellent at gaining an immense amount of publicity