Researching Similar Products - Exposed Magazine

As part of my research and planning it is key that I research similar media products to mine in order to gain ideas and to help further my understanding on the product that I am creating. The research I have done here is on Exposed Magazine, a Sheffield based entertainment magazine which is free but includes adverts.

(Note: Click Images to Enlarge)

Exposed Magazine – Conclusion

After researching Sheffield’s exposed magazine I have come to the conclusion that it is largely a music and entertainment magazine, which is based around people at the age of 18-30. It still counts as a regional magazine however as the material featured in the magazine is all linked into Sheffield including the adverts. This is shown with the features included, which one of them was the Tramlines festival that is located within Sheffield. Also the adverts, which were included, will also have been from local Sheffield businesses, the ale on the first page features a Sheffield page and the advert on the Index page is of the O2 Academy in Sheffield. From these adverts I can put something similar in my own work and put in small adverts based around the local area to increase the magazines authenticity as a regional magazine. However I could also break regional magazine conventions and be more creative by not having adverts at all, I am enabled to do this due to no profit limitations which most regional magazines have.

The Process of Magazine Distribution

Information taken from here

Following on from my blog post regarding Magazine production I am now going to be looking into the stage following production, distribution. Similar to production there are many different aspects to the distribution of the magazine. The distribution is how the product goes from the production line to the hands of the magazine reader.

Magazine Producers
The magazine producers are the people behind the magazine we read, for example NME is produced by NME themselves. Magazine producers have the main control of the way the product is distributed because after all, the magazine is produced by them. Some magazines are produced by the same magazine producers in some situations. Depending on the magazine producers the way in which the product is distributed may differ. NME as mentioned above are a popular music magazine which has a large following of readers who purchase their magazine each week and also subscribers who pay upfront for their magazines. Due to this NME has a much larger budget and power to spend on the distribution of their magazine than say a regional magazine such as my own. Due to the budget they have they can use extensive distributing techniques such as having their magazines in all major supermarkets and post offices, also they now have the ability to host a digital version of their magazine. Smaller low budget magazine producers like the ones who normally create local regional magazines would not be able to do this distribution technique and would probably rely on much smaller distribution methods such as limited copies left in certain post offices.

Publishing Houses
Publishing houses are behind any last minute changes before the magazine is printed. An example of a publishing house is the IPC. The IPC help make sure the magazines are all printed correctly and make sure there aren't any issues with the printing of them. They also help target the different markets included with the magazine being printed.

Advertising Agencies
These are the people who take control of the advertising aspects of the distribution of the magazine.  Advertising agencies are only particularly used by larger magazine companies who create magazines for a profit as they can be quite costly for amateur regional magazine creators. Advertising agencies will from the magazine and target audience given to them begin to research into the market and find the best possible advertising opportunities for that particular audience. They will be in charge of the creation of adverts and other advertising methods, these adverts obviously have to be approved by the magazine producers however. Advertising agencies would not be a good idea for my magazine as it is only a regional magazine and therefore does not have the resources required. However I can do my own research into the target audience and devise adverts of my own.

Retail Outlets
These are the shops and stores where the magazine will be sold. These can be from supermarkets such as Tesco to small village post offices. Retail Outlets are very important to magazines as they are the place where the magazine will be purchased, without them it is unlikely that the magazine will sell. These stores will be paid by the magazine produces to place their magazine in their store. Due to this payment most regional magazines do not do this as they are a free magazine and therefore having their magazine in Tesco would not be an appropriate business plan. In their situation regional magazines often ask small local stores and post offices to place their magazines within their store and will not pay them.

Consumer Habits Towards Magazines and How it Effects My Product

Magazines are a type of media that has been around for a very long period of time. They have been around for much longer than Television and the Internet while still providing a similar media experience, whether it be reading interesting articles or learning something new about current day affairs. Over the course of time the way in which magazines are consumed by consumers have changed drastically, I am going to be researching on this.

Magazines have spent the most of their time in their most original, natural form, printed onto paper.

However, in recent years with the introduction of the internet is reading a magazine in its paper form really the consumers favorite option? Recent figures from sales have shown a decline in some types of magazines such as Music magazines NME and Q according to the Guardian.

NME and Q suffered sales declines of almost 20% year-on-year in a tough first six months of 2012 for the music magazine market.
Q was the worst performer in the music magazine sector, with sales down 16.7% compared to the six months to the end of December and 19.7% year on year, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures released on Thursday.

These figures show a decline in sales towards the Magazines in question, but it isn't just the music magazines which are struggling, on further research it is evident that most Magazines are suffering the same decline. I believe the reason for this is as mentioned above, the Internet. The internet allows users to simply filter out the news articles they want to read a lot quicker than buying a magazine and reading through it, it also works out cheaper too. There are still many people who purchase magazines however it is worth noting that changes in the way that magazines are consumed may need to be considered. Some magazines have already become aware of the changes required and have already began looking into new and exciting ways that magazines can be experienced. I'll continue to mention NME, they have now produced a digital version of their magazine which can be read on digital devices such as iPhones, iPads and other tablet devices.

How does this effect my regional magazine product?

The reason that these consumer habits and changes to the magazine industry are notable mentions to my media work is because my product must try to follow the same realism as an actual magazine would. During the production of my magazine I may choose to add bonus sub-headings on the front-cover mentioning about digital versions of my magazines and social media such as Facebook and Twitter as this adds another level of realism to the product I am creating. Even though my product should try to be creative in some elements it is always important to make sure my product doesn't stray too far away from the real product it is intending to be, a magazine.

The Process of Magazine Production

Information taken from here

During my research and planning section of my work I decided to look further into the production of magazines themselves. Some of the information of included in the production of magazines I decided to skip such as flat planning as this production technique is designed for companies who are creating magazines and placing adverts in them, as this is my coursework task I can decide on the adverts I am going to use, making flat planning irrelevant. I have chosen this as I can use some the aspects which are used in normal magazine production to base my own production cycle on, this could also make my work look more professional.

Content
This is one of the key parts of the production cycle and is often at the start of the production cycle. The publishers will often host a meeting in which writers and image designers for the magazine will come together in order to brainstorm their ideas on what the magazine will include. There maybe multiple ideas for different content for the magazine but only one them will make it to the magazine. In order for them to decide this many magazines will use content that is important and popular to their target market, however they must also try new techniques and content in order to bring more members to their target market. The magazine company will have to decide on content which is a good medium of the two, it uses content that is popular and may have been in other issues but also has content which is new and exciting to entice non-readers of the magazine.

Research and Writing
This section follows immediately after the content is decided due to tight time schedules within magazine production. Editorial staff will be in charge of arranging meeting with interviewees and also background topic research using the internet and other sources of information. They will do background research to a specific interview/press conference before they attend it. During these interviews the information is taken and written down, then to be checked and then produced into the magazine content.

Sub-editing
Sub-editing takes place normally before the page layout or during the page layout. The editor will come in and make decisions based upon the interest of quality control and to make sure all the text and items within the magazine will be able to be read/makes sense to the readers. The editor will also make sure that everything follows the house style of the magazine and cut down/expand the writing if there is too little/much.

Production
After all of the articles have been written and the editorial staff and layout staff begin to layout the magazine often using programs such as Quark, Pagemaker and InDesign. The layout team will often be under the influence of the art director and the editorial staff will assist in adding the text to the work. Most of the time publication companies will use templates for their magazine in order to save time, these templates will often include all the house style features which the magazine follows.

Proof Reading
One of the final stages of magazine production. Proof reading is the stage where the magazine is read through by editors and other members of staff to make sure that everything is correct. This part is essential for finding any spelling mistakes or misprints which could make the magazine production look tacky. After proof reading any changes made can then be saved and then sent off to printing.

Distribution/Printing
After the production cycle is complete the magazine is sent to the printer to be produced and then distributed.