Analysis of Non Fiction
Key Aspects
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Categories
Language
Institution
Audience
Representation
Narrative
Categories
• Select and apply categories appropriate to the text.
• The categories to be applied are: medium, form,
genre, purpose, tone and style.
• Medium
• In assessment, state the medium.
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• ‘Medium’ is the channel of communication through
which a text is produced and consumed. Obviously,
Empire is in the medium of print.
Medium
• In assessment, state the medium.
• ‘Medium’ is the channel of communication
through which a text is produced and
consumed. Obviously, Empire is in the
medium of print.
Form
• In assessment, you should be able to state the form, and
justify what you say by referring to the text. Look at the
front cover in particular, the size of the magazine, paper
quality and print finish.
• ‘Form’ is the shape a text takes. Form is often closely
related to genre.
• Each medium embodies many forms. The forms of print, in
particular, are virtually never-ending and may include
advertisements, websites, leaflets, brochures, newspapers,
fliers, magazines and so on.
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The magazine form has several
characteristics. These include:
coverlines which indicate that
the magazine contains a number
of different articles, with the
implication or direct information
that they are by a number of
different authors.
the date of publication,
indicating that it is produced
periodically.
a bar-code and cover price,
which indicate that it can be
bought over the counter and is
therefore partly distributed via
the newsstand.
a size which is approximately A4
(210 x 297mm), and therefore
typical of most consumer
magazines.
a glossy, full-colour cover, whose
main content is a photograph/
illustration of people/equipment
connected with the subject(s)
that the magazine covers.
Genre
• In assessment, you should be able to identify
the genre, and justify what you say by
referring to the text. Look particularly at the
content and front cover.
• ‘Genres’ are ‘types’ of media text that we
associate with particular media.
Genre Continued
• Genres are constructed around a central, core
element or series of elements. They are
identified by the particular conventions they
use and which we come to recognise through
regular consumption.
• Conventions are any elements which are
repeated in such a way that they become
familiar, predictable and associated in their
use with a particular genre.
Genre – Empire Film
• There are various magazine genres. These can be
split into trade and consumer magazines.
• Consumer magazine genres can be discussed in
terms of general interest or special interest.
General interest magazines provide content on a
wide range of subjects that the target audience
may be interested in.
• A special interest magazine is likely to contain
specialist terminology as well as content and indepth features revolving around a narrow range
of topics, all related to one special interest area.
Empire Film - Genre
• Therefore “Empire Magazine” would obviously
be considered as a special interest (film
magazine)
• Look again at the front
cover. Which elements
identify the magazine
as a film magazine?
•Words related to film
such as: “movies”, “boxoffice”, and “blockbuster”
•Instantly recognisable
film titles such as
“Titanic” and “Harry
Potter”
•Instantly recognisable
film stars such as Will
Smith and The Rock
•The roll of film design of
the “featuring” section
Genre and Audience
• Media producers want their texts to be
instantly attractive and understandable to the
audience, and they do not want to waste
valuable time setting up characters and plots
or describing what a text is about. Genres
using key components that are quickly
recognisable are therefore particularly
valuable.
Genre and Institution
• Dividing products into genres is also a useful
marketing tool which allows media products
to be packaged and targeted at audience
segments.
Genre and Purpose
• Genre is useful for attracting investment.
Because their potential audience, and
consequently their potential profit, can be
relatively easily assessed, a genre product and its
audience can be easily packaged as a commodity
to advertisers or investors who want to minimise
risk. Thus, genre can be seen as a way of
delivering an audience to the media industry
which, like any other, is primarily concerned with
profit. Audiences are, however, fickle, and no
amount of analysis can guarantee success!
Genre
• The articles in “The Slate” are very short in
comparison to the rest of the magazine to
allow a variety of genre to be featured in this
section. This highlights the preferred reading
that they are knowledgeable about the latest
and varied film releases and high value
information. They are the magazine with all of
the priority latest information from the film
world.
Variety of Genre in the Slate
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Action/ SciFi – “Lockout”
Fantasy/Adventure – “The Hobbit”
Dark Animation - “Frankenweenie”
Action – “How I Spent my Summer Vacation”
Comedy/Romance – Dev Patel
Independent Film – Sofia Boutella
Gothic Horror – The Raven
Variety of Genre in “The Slate”
• We have previously stated that “The Slate”
section of the magazine is deliberately varied
with different narrative strands.
• Examples - The action genre articles would
appeal to men. The Tim Burton film
“Frankenweenie” would appeal to younger
teenagers and people who are interested in
gothic horror and dark humour. The Lockout is
aimed at older male target audience.
Purpose
• In assessment, you should be able to identify purposes at
both a communicative level and at an industry level, and
justify what you say by referring to the text. Consider
individual articles and the magazine as a whole.
• ‘Purpose’ refers to the reason(s) for production.
• Communicative purposes may be to: inform, entertain,
instruct, investigate, report, criticise, persuade, educate,
and so on.
• The purposes of a media text at an industry level may be
to: attract investment, make a profit, attract advertising,
fulfil regulatory requirements, justify investment and so on.
Purpose – To Persuade
• A clear indication of the action genre – the facial expressions, the actors
chosen for the cover, the massive explosion in the background. The
characters all have impressive guns. (Genre)
• The use of the famous stars like Will Smith and the Rock (who would have
extremely large fan bases) would persuade people to purchase. Also they
are synonymous with action films.
• The idea of summer is represented throughout the front cover:
• The sun motifs, the warm colours – yellows, oranges. The main action
character is wearing sunglasses. The implication is that you if you buy this
magazine your summer will begin early. Connotations associated with
summer)
• The inclusion of Harry Potter and Titanic (two of the highest grossing films
of all time would appeal to many) “Unseen” suggests an exclusivity that
the only place you will get this information is in this magazine.
• Words like “revealed”, suggest that they have privileged information
(preferred reading) “Comeback” – suggests that people have been waiting
a long time for this revelation.
• “Biggest”, “Blockbuster”, - suggest superlative information about the
action films in the magazine.
Purpose – To Inform
• The coverlines tell the reader which articles
are in the magazine.
• The Website details are on the front cover – to
attract people to the website. On the website
there are more advertisement, so inclusion of
the web details would please the advertisers.
(Institutional consideration)
Key Aspect Language
• The article on Lockout uses complex and
sophisticated vocabulary which would appeal
to the A, B and C1 groups who would be
considered more educated. The article on The
Rock gives very detailed information on his life
and upbringing as far back as age 12.
Language – Use of detailed and complex
information and language throughout reviews
section
• The information is detailed and in depth about the films, the
production of them, the stars to inform (purpose) the
audience and this would particularly appeal to film fanatics
who would want this information. Psychographic profile
(audience theory). This would attract regular customers to
keep buying the magazine by entertaining them.
• E.g The Men in Black article takes up 5 pages and includes
information about all of the different aspects of the film. (One
of the minor characters in the MIB 3 film is Boris and the
article tells us all about his background, his homeland, how
the character appeared in different drafts of the script etc.)
Further Evidence of complex and
detailed information
• The vocabulary is very complex and there is a lot of movie
related jargon again assuming a level of education/knowledge
• E.g - Protagonist of entourage in the “Contraband” article
assumes a sophisticated level of knowledge that the reader
would have about films. In the article about “The Devil Inside
they refer to the exorcist assuming that the audience will
understand the reference. Also, in the article about “This
Means war” several films are referenced that the actors have
been in and talks about actors of the same genre of film
without any explanation assuming that the audience will
understand.
Language and Audience - Mode of
Address (Use of Jargon)
• The mode of address is informal as though
they were having a conversation about
films/actors to their friends. Also, they address
the reader as an equal which would appeal to
them. They assume a level of education and
intelligence as well as a detailed interest in
movies. (Target Audience/psychographic
profile of people who are incredibly interested
in films.
Language and Audience
• The production quality of the magazine is a
very high standard: layout, picture quality,
paper, ink, the glossy nature of the pictures,
the high quality of the photography all
contribute to the high production values.
• The significance of this is that their target
audience is A, B, C1 and they would expect
such high quality if they paid as much as £3.99
for a magazine.
Technical and Cultural Codes on
the front cover used to persuade
• A clear indication of the action genre – the facial
expressions, the actors chosen foe the cover, the
massive explosion in the background. The characters
all have impressive guns. (Genre)
• Words like “revealed”, suggest that they have
privileged information (preferred reading)
“Comeback” – suggests that people have been
waiting a long time for this revelation.
• “Biggest”, “Blockbuster”, - suggest superlative
information about the action films in the magazine.
Technical and Cultural Codes
Continued
• The idea of summer is represented
throughout the front cover:
The sun motifs, the warm colours – yellows,
oranges. The main action character is wearing
sunglasses. The implication is that you if you
buy this magazine your summer will begin
early. (Connotations associated with summer)
Empire Film Magazine
Key Aspect - Institution
Institution
• In your study of Institutions, you should
identify appropriate internal and external
controls that impact on the production of
Empire. You should also be able to give
specific examples from the magazine that
show the effects of institutional controls on
the text.
Institutional Controls
• Studying Institutions involves recognising that
there are certain institutional factors that
affect the production of the magazine and the
final shape it takes. Some of these
institutional factors maybe originate from the
organisation which produces the text –
internal controls – and some originate from
professional practices, the competitive
market, the law or regulatory frameworks –
external controls.
Institution and Empire
• The institutional factors that we will be
looking at in relation to Empire are as follows:
• Internal Controls – Ownership
• External Controls – The Press Complaints
Commission, the law of Libel, the law of
Copyright, Empire’s relationship with the film
industry and advertisers, and distribution.
Internal Factors - Ownership
Questions
1. Find out who owns Empire Magazine and as much
as you can about the company.
2. How does being part of such a large organization
affect Empire? (Clue – think positively)
3. a) How much does the magazine cost to buy?
b.) What are the magazines advertising rates?
c.) what is the estimated circulation and readership.
Ownership
1. Empire is produced by Bauer Media. Bauer
Media is a division of the Bauer Publishing
Group, Europe’s largest privately owned
publishing Group.
• The Bauer Publishing Group is a worldwide
media empire offering over 300 magazines in
15 countries, as well as online, TV and radio
stations.
Bauer Media Group
• Bauer Media joined the Bauer Publishing
Group in January 2008 following acquisition of
Emap plc’s consumer and specialist
magazines, radio, TV, online and digital
businesses.
• Collectively, the Bauer Publishing Group
employs some 6,400 people and in 2008 had a
turnover of 2.08 billion Euros.
Bauer Media Group
• Bauer Media is a multi-platform UK-based
media Group consisting of many companies
collected around two main divisions –
Magazines and Radio.
2. How does being part of such a large organization affect
Empire? (Clue – think positively about budget and the fact the
group has a number of different publications)
Basically, it increases the competitive edge Empire has because:
1. It can afford the best in hardware and software, and can
therefore produce a high quality magazine which is attractive
to the potential audience and advertisers, thereby helping to
maintain and increase sales and advertising revenue.
2. It can further attract advertisers by offering them special
deals if they buy advertising space over a number of different
publications.
3. It can lower costs, and thereby increase profit, by sharing
production and distribution resources with other
publications within Bauer.
3a) How much does the magazine cost to buy?
b.) What are the magazines advertising rates?
c.) what is the estimated circulation and readership.
3. a. Empire costs £3.99,
b. It charges £7,705 for a basic full page
colour advertisement,
c. It has a circulation of around 180,000
and an estimated readership of
around 844,000, making it the market
leader.
External Factors - Relationship with Advertisers and
the Film Industry Questions
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Which institutional factors could affect the target audience
for Empire Magazine? (Consider advertisers)
Why is it important that Empire maintains a good
relationship with the film industry (Your answer should be
detailed and include preferred reading and institutional
considerations)
How does the magazine maintain a good relationship with
the industry? (Consider representation)
Why is it important for the magazine to be ready for print 3
weeks in advance? (Consider the preferred reading)
a. How is the magazine distributed (sold to the public)?
b. How and why would this affect the narrative structure
and the front cover?
External Controls
Relationship with Advertisers
• 1. All magazines rely on attracting advertising as a
main source of income/investment. Look at the
types of advertisements in Empire, the way they are
designed, and the amount of space they take up. In
what ways might the need to attract these
advertisers affect content, style and representations
in the magazine as a whole?
• Empire must provide a product that targets the same
audience that potential advertisers want to target,
and which has content, style, and a design that is
sympathetic to advertiser’s needs.
Relationship with the Industry
• 2. In addition, Empire enjoys a good
relationship with the film industries and must
continue to do so in order to maintain its
competitive market position. These
advertising/film industries considerations
affect several aspects of the magazine,
including representations, style, content and
design.
3. How does the magazine maintain good
relations with the industry?
Through:
• positive representations of Hollywood,
• Treating films and the work of the industry as
an important art form.
• Giving good reviews/rarely being critical
• representing the actors and Hollywood
personnel in a good light.
Examples of Positive Representations of the
Industry
• The film is industry is represented in a very positive way. One
example is in the ‘blockbusters feature’ which includes an
educated guess at the box office figures for each of the new
releases.
• The high figures which are estimated at for box office
demonstrate the financial power and the importance of the
movie industry.
• But also there are no negative stories about either the
industry or the actors within the industry again to maintain
the relationships they require.
• For example the Hollywood industry could be represented as
money grabbing and only interested in commercial success
owing to the fact that there are several sequels without
artistic consideration and also there is a very formulaic
approach to making films in Hollywood.
Representation of Actors (Institutional
Consideration)
• Actors are represented in a very positive manner, as
though they are artists and that it is a very
worthwhile thing to be doing. The reason for this is
so that they can keep good relationships with the
movie industry because they rely on the movie
industry to receive the most up to date and relevant
information about films to give them the edge over
their competitors. This ties in with their preferred
reading that they are the magazine who can deliver
the most relevant and up to date information.
Examples of positive Representation of
Actors
• Taylor Kitsch is an example of am actor who is represented in
a very positive manner and with artistic merit. He appears
very serious and like he has just been in a fight he also looks
fairly attractive in the picture which would appeal to female
audiences and represents him in a very masculine way.
• The article on Dev Patel on page 22 shows him in a very
confident mood and it tracks his career to date and discusses
the success of his performances and each of the films he has
been in so far. It also represents him as an actor who is
interested in the art form by suggesting that he has
deliberately taken smaller roles in more independent films
following the blockbuster film “Slumdog Millionaire”.
Distribution
4. All the content of Empire must be ready for printing
approximately 3 weeks before distribution. It is sent from
printer to distribution centres to retail outlets approximately 4
weeks in advance of its issue month (eg November’s issue is
available at the beginning of October).
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It is crucial that Empire meets its distribution deadlines
because it has a limited shelf life (its info goes quickly out of
date) and …missed deadlines = missed sales = more sales to
competitors = loss of advertising revenue = less profit &
market share.
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Empire is distributed by subscription and newsstand sales.
The magazine market has grown enormously in recent years
and on the newsstand Empire is competing with many other
publications.
Distribution
• This method of distribution influences the narrative structure,
which takes the shape it does in order to encourage purchase
– see section on narrative.
• Being distributed in this way directly also affects the look of
the magazine as its front cover acts as its main advertisement.
Therefore:
– the title, illustrations and coverlines must instantly communicate the
genre and target audience.
– it must be more attractive than the competition by indicating any
number of USPs (Unique Selling Propositions). It therefore
emphasizes scoops and exclusives, top names, its position in the
market, “every new film reviewed” and freebies.
– aspects of language are used to connote a vibrant, modern magazine.
Legal and Voluntary Controls
• Which laws or regulations would Empire have
to adhere to?
Legal and Voluntary Controls
• Empire must adhere to the code of practice of the Press Complaints
Commission. (They have a very informative website – search!).
• They must also adhere to the general laws of the land.
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The laws of libel and copyright may be particularly relevant to Empire:
1. Libel: Empire must not make unsubstantiated claims about the subjects
of its articles or it may be sued.
2. Copyright: film companies will hold the copyright to the film stills;
Empire cannot reproduce them without permission. However, a magazine
holding the top market position, produced by a company as large as Bauer,
will certainly have agreements with film companies that mean they don’t
have any difficulty in obtaining permission to reproduce such stills.
External Controls (continued)
• In addition, press packs sent to the national
media as part of film marketing campaigns will
include stills sent specifically for reproduction,
and in these cases no additional copyright
clearance will be needed.
Key Aspect - Audience
• Who do you think reads this magazine? What are
their interests/lifestyles/levels of interest in film?
How would you define their socio-economic,
demographic and psychographic profile (related to
personality, interests, lifestyle etc.)
• Film lovers- people who are very serious about
watching films, 70% males 30% females readership.
Socio-economic status- A, B and C1 are the main
groups targeted (price £3.99 which is easily
achievable for the groups) young adults are being
targeted (18-35).
Audience (Preferred Reading)
• What opinion do the producers of Empire want the
target audience to have about the magazine
(preferred reading)?
• This is the magazine which can give you the inside
information and latest details about movie releases
straight from the industry, also they are in the
position to give you exclusive insight and unrivalled
access to the world of movies and movie stars.
Differential Decoding
• Who might not like this magazine and why?
• Elderly people and people who are not regular
film goers. Females might not be attracted to
it, also people who are C2 and below in their
economic status.
Audience and Institution
• What kind of brand image does Empire try to
create of itself?
• They are the biggest brand and biggest film
magazine company. ‘empire’ also suggests
worldwide/vast coverage. The image they are
trying to create of themselves is a worldwide
recognised global brand.
Representation
• Although not one of the Key Aspects specified
in the NAB question you can discuss
Representations as one of the things the
makers of the magazine have to consider to
attract their target audience, attract
advertisers and maintain positive relationships
with the industry (Institutional
Considerations)
Key Aspect - Representation
• Is there a difference in the way men and women are
portrayed/represented in the magazine?
• Obvious lack of women in the magazine and female
actors, but where there are females portrayed in the
magazine they are portrayed as being subordinate
and they are over sexualised. They are shown as
having beauty rather than having acting talent, which
may put a lot of women off the magazine.
Evidence of Gender Representations
• For example the photograph of the film “How I spent my
Summer Vacation” features the heroic male character Mel
Gibson protecting the female character in a heroic manner.
The picture of Sofia Boutella on page 24 features an attractive
actress in a sexually provocative pose and this is typical of the
way in which women are represented in the magazine. This
laddish treatment of females would appeal to the largely male
audience. As we already know the gender split of the
readership is 70% to 30% in favour of males. On page 94 the
example of The Rock in a confident, masculine stance.
How are actors represented? (linked to institution) Find
evidence to support what can be said about the representation
of actors. Refer to photos and written content in at least two
articles.
• Actors are represented in a very positive manner, as
though they are artists and that it is a very
worthwhile thing to be doing.
• The reason for this is so that they can keep good
relationships with the movie industry because they
rely on the movie industry to receive the most up to
date and relevant information about films to give
them the edge over their competitors.
• This ties in with their preferred reading that they are
the magazine who can deliver the most relevant and
up to date information.
Examples of Positive Representations
of Actors
• Taylor Kitsch is an example of am actor who is represented in
a very positive manner and with artistic merit. He appears
very serious and like he has just been in a fight he also looks
fairly attractive in the picture which would appeal to female
audiences and represents him in a very masculine way.
• The article on Dev Patel on page 22 shows him in a very
confident mood and it tracks his career to date and discusses
the success of his performances and each of the films he has
been in so far. It also represents him as an actor who is
interested in the art form by suggesting that he has
deliberately taken smaller roles in more independent films
following the blockbuster film “Slumdog Millionaire”.
How is the Hollywood Film Industry represented? Find evidence to support
what can be said about the representation of the Hollywood film industry by
referring to the content of at least two specific articles.
• The film is industry is represented in a very positive way. One
example is in the ‘blockbusters feature’ which includes an
educated guess at the box office figures for each of the new
releases.
• The high figures which are estimated at for box office
demonstrate the financial power and the importance of the
movie industry.
• But also there are no negative stories about either the
industry or the actors within the industry again to maintain
the relationships they require. For example the Hollywood
industry could be represented as money grabbing and only
interested in commercial success owing to the fact that there
are several sequels without artistic consideration and also
there is a very formulaic approach to making films in
Hollywood.
Narrative
• Again this is not one of the Key Aspects
specified in the NAB question but you could
talk about this in connection with Institution
because decisions are made about Narrative
to appeal to target audience, to attract
advertisers and ultimately to make profit for
the owners. (Institutional Considerations)
Narrative Structure
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The Slate
In Cinemas
Features
Reviews
• The reason that there are regular sections and consistent
parts of the magazine in each issue is that the regular
customers (Audience) would appreciate the familiarity and
consistency and this would attract them to continue to buy
(Institution) .This is called recognisable navigation. By
attracting more readers the producers of the magazine will
make more profit and also attract more advertisers (Purpose
and institutional Considerations).
Narrative Structure
• The Slate – The latest and hottest information about
actors and films from the industry. This is priority
information and is therefore placed at the beginning
of the magazine ahead of other sections. Placing this
information at the beginning of the magazine would
attract browsers / first time buyers to purchase the
product. (Institution and Purpose) This also
highlights their preferred reading (Audience) that
they are the magazine to choose if you want the
latest and most important information straight from
the industry.