Media Studies Mock 2012

Music Press

Don’t forget your mate CLAIR (Balding)

• C Codes and conventions

• L media Language

• A Audience

• I Institutions

• R Representation

Codes and Conventions

• What kind of features do you expect to see in a music magazine/website? (charts/interviews/reviews/previews/news etc)

• Are there different conventions for different genres of music? (hip-hop/rock/jazz/electronic etc)?

Media Language

• Colours• Fonts (serif/sans-serif, modern, classic etc)• Images – this is an important one: how does

the magazine/website represent the artists through the images chosen?

• Language – also important. In this case we are looking at the way the artists are portrayed in the copy of the magazine/website

Audience• Don’t be SCAREd to give lots of detail:

• Sex• Class• Age• Race• Education

• What purpose do media products have in the lives of their audience?

• Do they allow escape? Do they reflect the lives of the audience?

Institutions• Who publishes music magazines/websites?

• What is the link between music magazines and websites?

• Where does the money to publish music magazines/websites come from?

• Who regulates the press in England? What about websites?

• What rules about content do magazines and websites have to follow? How is this seen in the content of music magazines?

Representation

• How are the artists portrayed?

• What other groups of people or places are portrayed in the magazine/website? What messages are being sent out about them?

• Look at:– Images– Copy

What the exam will actually ask you

1. Why does the music press still appeal to its audience? What does it offer them? What needs does it gratify? What uses does it have?

2. Create your own music magazine and accompanying website. Think about how it will appeal to a SPECIFIC audience.

a) What will they want to read about?b) How will they recognise that it is speaking to them?c) What kinds of products might be successfully advertised to them?

3. You will need to design an element of your magazine/website – either the contents page or the homepage

4. You will then need to evaluate your own design – how will the choices you have made appeal to your stated audience