The details: for the next month, you must find a weekly news story from Teen Vogue and The Voice and read, summarise and comment on them on your blog (A*-B candidates will do more). Teen Vogue The Voice You'll also find stories related to the media linked from our Twitter account, @blogmacguffin (access it online here if you don't have the Twitter app) so make sure you're following that too. Most importantly, you need to do the following on your blog for each story...
Provide the title and weblink;
Include a relevant image, graphic or screenshot;
Summarise the story in your own words;
Explain how or why this story appeals to an audience (use media terminology and theory here);
Comment on the story: to what extent does it reflect the values and ideologies of the website? Is this an example of quality journalism or simply clickbait?
You'll be presenting these to the class each week (we'll randomly select a student and you'll be expected to present from memory, so make sure you come prepared) and this will ensure you build up an archive of stories from the CSP texts to widen your media knowledge base and provide examples to use in exam questions and essays. What will this look like? Although this was for a slightly different task for the old specification Year 13 exam, this blog post from one of our previous Media students gives you an idea of what a valuable resource these stories quickly become. Teen Vogue
It seems unlikely that Rihanna actually blocked a member of her team, but this isn't the first time that someone has asked for an update on her music career. She might be closing out the year with a temporary hiatus, but with the star previously dropping hints about a reggae album back in October, there is hope for the future. In the meantime, there are literally countless other ways for you to support the star, and you can always take a trip through her back catalog. The Voice
Birmingham has undergone major re-development over the last decade and a half, with the rebuilding of its iconic Bull Ring Shopping Centre and Library of Birmingham. It is also the home of the largest branch of Primark in Europe, which recently joined the likes of Selfridges as an international retailer making its home in the city’s centre. Set to benefit from the UK’s groundbreaking but controversial HS2 (high speed rail) service, scheduled to open in 2026, Birmingham’s position among Europe’s most iconic venues is secure.
Our second Online, Social and Participatory CSP is the Voice newspaper website - a niche publication targeting the black British community.
The Voice has a significant place in the social and historical context of race relations and representation in Britain, launching in 1982 in the wake of the Brixton race riots. It is also the perfect case study to further develop our understanding of Paul Gilroy's postcolonial theory we studied last lesson.
The Voice - background and notes The Voice, founded in 1982, is the only British national black weekly newspaper operating in the United Kingdom. It is owned by GV Media Group Limited, and is aimed at the British African-Caribbean community. The paper is based in London and is published every Thursday. The first issue of The Voice was printed to coincide with the Notting Hill Carnival in August 1982. Its cover price was 54 pence, and was only sold in London.
In 1981, the Brixton race riots shone a spotlight on race relations in Britain.
The Voice emerged in 1982 partly as a result of these riots – both due to the need to offer a voice and representation to black Britons and also due to a business loan from Barclays Bank. The bank was keen at the time to improve their reputation with the black community due to investments in Apartheid South Africa.
Social context - The Battle for Brixton documentary
The Voice analysis: production values The Voice offers a strong contrast to Teen Vogue with significantly lower production values across its digital operations – website design, video content and social media. However, the growth of digital technology means that the Voice can effectively compete on the same playing field as Teen Vogue, albeit targeting a niche audience. Watch this video on influential black women in business and compare it to Teen Vogue’s video content – similar in ideology but very different in production values (note the view count too):
The Voice: representation
The Voice was launched to cater for the interests of British-born black people. Applying Gilroy’s work on “double consciousness”, it could be argued that the Voice was launched to give black audiences an opportunity to see the world through their own eyes rather than through the prism of white, often-racist mainstream British media.
The Voice: industries The Voice is owned by Jamaican media organising the Gleaner company and published in Britain by GV Media Group. It is a significant contrast to Teen Vogue and the international giant Conde Nast.
Recently, in a similar move to The Guardian's request for donations, The Voice asks its readers to support the publication by paying donations via PayPal. This raises interesting questions regarding the financial viability of online news media and particularly niche publications such as The Voice (or indeed Oh Comely). The Voice: case study blog tasks
1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage?
A menu bar is on the homepage.
2) How does the page design differ from Teen Vogue?
The information and pictures used on the website are very scattered around. Teen Vogue was more simple and formal.
3) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice?
'News', 'sports', 'lifestyle', 'entertainment', 'faith', 'opinion', 'video', 'publications' and 'more'
4) Look at the news stories on The Voice homepage. Choose three stories and discuss how they have presented the news from an angle or perspective that reflects The Voice's role as a voice for black Britons.
One of the news stories that show the reflection of The Voice is the news about 'General Election: Record number of ethnic minority candidates likely to be elected'.
They also talk about the elections and the '‘Why I want the black community to back the Brexit Party’. This reflecting The Voice once again as they are able to show the voice for black Britons.
5) How is narrative used to encourage audience engagement with the Voice? Apply narrative theories (e.g. Todorov equilibrium or Barthes’ enigma codes) and make specific reference to stories on the homepage.
A lot of enigma codes have been used to get the attention of their audience and make them have a sense of personal identity.
1) What are the items in the sub-menu bar for the Lifestyle section and what does this suggest about the Voice audience?
'Fashion & Beauty', 'Food', 'Health & Wellbeing', 'Relationships', 'sponsored'and there's a lot more. This shows they are very informative about all of the key concepts in lifestyle which could be very helpful to their audience.
2) What are the main stories in the Lifestyle section currently?
The main stories currently in lifestyle is the '2019 black magic awards'.
3) How does the Lifestyle section of the Voice differ from Teen Vogue?
It is very scattered unlike Teen Vogue that is neatly organised and The Voice is a little bit confusing,
4) Do the sections and stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British media?
It challenges the representation of black people in media.
5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – how do they reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?
'2019 black magic award'- This empowers black women in Briton.
'Black owned swimming cap'- they are creating more awareness of black people that own these businesses with the The Voice audience.
Relationships- quotes that can relate to their audience so it could be a sense of personal relationships.
Feature focus
1) Readthis Voice news story on Grenfell tower and Doreen Lawrence. How might this story reflect the Voice’s values and ideologies? What do the comments below suggest about how readers responded to the article? Can you link this to Gilroy’s work on the ‘Black Atlantic’ identity?
2) Read/watchthis Lifestyle feature about the Black Magic Awards. How do the article and video content reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice? What do you notice about the production values of the video interviews?
1) Who do you think is the target audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics.
I think the target audience is black British people.
2) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz (Uses & Gratifications).
There is personal identity, personal relationship and perhaps a sense of diversion.
3) Give examples of content from the website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.
It is mostly relating to a black audience.
4) Studying the themes of politics, history and racism that feature in some of the Voice’s content, why might this resonate with the Voice’s British target audience?
Their past experiences such as the Brixton riots could be resonated.
5) Can you find any examples of content on the Voice website created or driven by the audience or citizen journalism? How does this reflect Clay Shirky’s work on the ‘end of audience’ and the era of ‘mass amateurisation’?
QualityoftheVoice'scontentandtheirproductionvalues is shown in theideaofmassamatuerisation.
Representations
1) How is the audience positioned to respond to representations in the Voice website?
They are positioned to represent it in a very positive way.
2) Are representations in the Voice an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying? Why?
This is positive representation as this allows black people to have more confidence.
3) What kind of black British identity is promoted on the Voice website? Can you find any examples of Gilroy’s “liquidity of culture” or “unruly multiculturalism” here?
It allows the black people to have a voice in this.
4) Applying Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representations, how might different audiences interpret the representations of black Britons in the Voice?
Shows the struggles of being a black people in a western society and that brings the black people community to unite.
5) Do you notice any other interesting representations in the Voice website? For example, representations or people, places or groups (e.g. gender, age, Britishness, other countries etc.)
There is no white originated ethnic person in this.
"Once Britain's leading Afro-Caribbean journal, the Voice was proud of its large circulation. But now, two decades after its launch, it has lost its way and its readership. Joseph Harker on the future of the black press."
3) The Voice is now published by GV Media Group, a subsidiary of the Jamaican Gleaner company. What other media brands do the Gleaner company own and why might they be interested in owning the Voice? You'll need to research this using Google/Wikipedia.
This allows the Voice to reach a wider audience meaning more profit coming in.
4) How does the Voice website make money? What is your opinion of the 'asking for donations' approach that The Voice is now using?
Through advertisements that they have. It is a very useful method to allow them to have money to be able to produce more content.
5) What adverts or promotions can you find on the Voice website? Are the adverts based on the user’s ‘cookies’ or fixed adverts? What do these adverts tell you about the level of technology and sophistication of the Voice’s website? The adverts clearly present their target market and it shows that they do look at cookies.
6) Is there an element of public service to the Voice’s role in British media or is it simply a vehicle to make profit?
They are using polls and questionnaires that shows it is a public service.
7) What examples of technological convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content?
The voice do have a youtube channel.
8) How has the growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice?
Allows The Voice to reach a more wider audience.
9) Analyse the Voice’s Twitter feed. How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied (such as MailOnline or Teen Vogue)? Are there examples of ‘clickbait’ or does the Voice have a different feel?
The Voice's twitter feed has a lot more clickbait compared to the twitter feed for Teen Vogue.
10) Study a selection of videos from the Voice’s YouTube channel. How does this content differ from Teen Vogue? What are the production values of their video content? They have low generation esteems and appear to be taped and altered by non-experts which could be a resul of a low spending plan.
There are several important theories we need to learn and apply to our Online, Social and Participatory media unit. These include Clay Shirky's End of Audience theories, Stuart Hall's work on representation and reality and Paul Gilroy's postcolonial theory of black diasporic identity. Notes from the lesson Stuart Hall: representation and reality
Stuart Hall suggests individuals each have their own conceptual map – effectively what we use to decode and understand media texts.
Building on this, Hall outlines three approaches to understanding the relationship between reality and representations:
Reflective approach: the media simply mirrors (or reflects) the real world. This is a limited approach that minimalises the power or complexity of the media. Intentional approach: the producer of the text constructs the world as they see it and the audience accepts those values encoded in the text. This is effectively the dominant or preferred reading (reception theory) and leaves no room for the negotiated or oppositional reading. The constructivist approach: this was Hall’s preferred approach and closely matches reception theory with preferred and oppositional readings. This suggests concepts and signs do have some shared meanings but they are not all inherent and can be interpreted by the audience in a number of ways (dependent on their own ‘conceptual map’).
Paul Gilroy: black diasporic identity
We first explored Paul Gilroy’s theories of black diasporic identity when studying music video.
This is the idea that black identity is informed by diaspora – literally the ‘scattering of people’ across the world. He suggests this creates a “liquidity of culture” that means black identity is formed by journeys across seas, not the solid ground of a home country or culture.
Importantly, Gilroy sees this identity as impossible to reverse – there can be no return to the place of origin as the experience of slavery and displacement can never be “rewound”.
Gilroy: black British identity
The Voice newspaper was formed in 1982 to create a voice for the black British community. Gilroy wrote of the dominant representation of black Britons at that time as “external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation”.
Gilroy suggests diaspora challenges national ideologies and creates “cultural tension”. This tension helps to create the diasporic identity but often comes with negative experiences such as exclusion and marginalisation.
More succinctly, Gilroy sums this up as the white racist’s question to BAME people: “Why don’t you just go home?” BBC controversy Gilroy wrote about this in the 1970s and 1980s but it's been in the news much more recently. The BBC found itself embroiled in a controversy regarding BBC Breakfast presenter Naga Munchetty's response to Donald Trump suggesting congresswomen should 'go home' to the countries in which they or their parents were born. The original clip and full article can be found below:
Paul Gilroy and Russell Brand In 2017, Paul Gilroy took part in Russell Brand’s Under The Skin podcast, exploring ideas and modern culture. Watch the following two extracts and consider how Gilroy’s ideas reflect recent events and media culture. Extract 1: 17.50 – 25.45 Extract 2: 44.30 – 48.08
Paul Gilroy - blog task
Go to our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive and open Factsheet 170: Gilroy – Ethnicity and Postcolonial Theory. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets Read the Factsheet and complete the following questions/tasks: 1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed? He has consistently argued that racial identities are historically constructed – formed by colonisation, slavery, nationalist philosophies and consumer capitalism.
2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism? Gilroy states that racial difference and racial identities are the product of racial oppression. Racial identities are caused by historical conflicts that have brought different groups into opposition.
3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it? Absolutism considers separate ethnic compartments are absolute which are invisible & tightly bonded together. Compromising your ethnic group would, for an ethnic absolutist, be against natural order and risk the future existence of that ethnic group.
4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity? Gilroy sees black identities as a product of movement – the African diasporic identity is based on ROUTES taken throughout history, and not the ROOTS of origin.
5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)? the dominant representation of black Britons was as “external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation.” As such, to accept the role of slavery into the cultural identities of Britain would be to challenge the negative stereotype of black Britons at the time, and reverse the “external and estranged” relationship with the nation.
6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this? Diaspora challenges national ideologies, through the commitment and loyalty to the origin nation or place.
7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity? E.g. digital media - offer specific examples.
ActivityConsider the different ways that a diaspora might maintain their community and connections using different media platforms. Find some examples where communities from across the globe are still connected to their cultural identities through their use of media. Start with digital media, for example Twitter’s role in quashing the #1millionshirts campaign or reaction to Kony 2012 (see Factsheet 99).
Facebook and social networking is presented as a tool for the creation of a ‘better world’ and this too reinforces Western interests and perspectives.
8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity? Gilroy also argues the importance of slavery to modernity and capitalism. The modern world was built upon a normalised view of slavery, particularly plantation slavery. Slavery was only rejected when it was revealed as incompatible with enlightened rationality and capitalist production.
9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US? Double consciousness provides more ways of understanding the world, but it places a great strain on black Americans as they consistently feel they are looking at themselves through the eyes of others; there is a ‘two-ness’ within the identity of the black American which is unreconciled. Black people are outside modernity as they have been deigned freedom and full citizenship; it was ‘proved’ by supposedly rational race scientists that black people were less evolutionally developed than Europeans.
10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women. They are empowering the role of black women in films. This film allows black female roles to be challenged in a lot of ways.
This is your half-term homework - due in your first exam lesson after half-term. Make sure you've also got the last sections of your Teen Vogue case study complete plus your regular stories from Teen Vogue and The Voice:
The final aspect of our work on Teen Vogue involves an industry case study and textual analysis of the magazine's social media presence. Industry is the final key concept to address in this in-depth study. It's important to remember that the exam question could cover anything from how Teen Vogue makes money to what attracts audiences to their social media pages. This means we need comprehensive knowledge across the board. Notes from the lesson Industry: Conde Nast Teen Vogue is owned and published by Condé Nast, an American media organisation that publishes around 20 magazines including Vogue, GQ and Wired. The company targets a wide range of different audiences – 164 million consumers across its brands. In March 2018, Condé Nast announced the launch of Influencer Platform Next Gen, a digital campaign that links advertisers and content creation. The goal is to “connect to a new generation of audience”.
Income sources Teen Vogue’s main source of income is through selling advertising space online – adverts that are targeted using browsing history. However, they also monetise their customer data and loyalty, encouraging readers to register online for updates, offers and access to the ‘Insider’ area of the website. This data can then be sold to other companies or used to attract ‘advertorial’ or sponsored content. Teen Vogue also makes money through YouTube with plenty of 1m+ views on their video content. This is an example of digital convergence – a traditionally print-based product moving into multimedia and accessible on one device. Finally, they run events such as the Teen Vogue summit and US tour. Teen Vogue: fashion industry player Although Teen Vogue has been creating headlines for its political content in recent years, it is also an important part of the fashion industry. Both editorial content and advertising is designed to create a strong desire in their audience for products featured. This links to Condé Nast’s role as a major media company interested in maximising profit. Some argue that Teen Vogue’s more diverse coverage offers a form of public service through its political coverage. But are features criticising capitalism hypocritical when the brand is owned by a media giant like Condé Nast?
Industry: Condé Nast 1) Research Teen Vogue publisher Condé Nast. What other magazines do they publish and how much money did they make last year? They publish magazines like GQ, Allure, Vanity Fair and much more magazines that are published by Condé Nast. 2) What are Teen Vogue’s main sources of income? Teen Vogue's main source of income is through various summits and adverting on their website of other similar business that link with Teen Vogue. 3) How are traditionally print-based products like Teen Vogue diversifying to create new income streams? They are trying to focus and to challenge the stereotypical traditional ideas that are said to be targeting at female audiences. They also have a youtube channel which could mean that they get more income streaming in. 4) Why is sponsored content and ‘advertorial’ particularly important in media linked to the fashion industry? This is because most of their incomes comes from there and also then the fashion business are able to get more profit as their business get advertised on websites such as Teen Vogue and they have similar target market. 5) Do you view Teen Vogue’s content as a form of public service media or is Condé Nast simply interested in clicks and profit? Teen Vogue makes it look like that they are not interested in the clicks and the profit but in fact apart from that Condé Nast have not much interest in Teen Vogue if they do not make any income. Closure of print edition research Read the following short articles to learn the background to Condé Nast's decision to close the print edition of Teen Vogue in 2016 and then answer the questions below: BBC: Teen Vogue: How will going online-only affect readers? New York Times: Condé Nast Ends Teen Vogue’s Print Run Folio: Your Teen Vogue Hot Takes Are All Wrong 1) Why does the BBC suggest “Teen Vogue’s digital game is strong”? The brand has increased its political coverage and social activism in recent years while still delivering its entertainment, fashion and beauty content. 2) What does the BBC suggest is responsible for the Teen Vogue website’s success?
Its headlines are light and relatable, with many written in the first person.
"Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber Just Cuddled in Coordinating Outfits."
"Cats Can Get Acne Too and Now I Feel Less Alone."
"Dove Cameron Freaked Out Over Pink Dressing as Her for Halloween and Honestly Same."
"Louis Tomlinson Savagely Trolled Niall Horan and I Can't Stop Laughing."
3) How did Teen Vogue justify the closure of the print magazine? "As audiences continue to evolve around content consumption, we will modernise and calibrate how, where and when we produce and distribute our content to be in sync with the cultural moments and platforms most important to our audiences." 4) In the BBC article, David Hepworth suggests there is a risk to going digital-only. What is it? He cautions: "There are very few cases of magazines going digital-only and managing to retain the lustre on their brand. Once you let paper go you're just another website. You're just more space junk floating around out there." 5) How do online-only publications make money? Online advertising and customers information/data. 6) What does Sarah Penny suggest regarding audience consumption for print and digital – and how might it be changing for Generation-Z? "They're really the first demographic to have grown up with a digital presence from birth so naturally have an incredibly strong affinity with online consumption - even more so than millennials." 7) What does the New York Times say Conde Nast is known for? A company once known for its lavish spending and its visually rich glossy magazines, continues to move away from its former identity. 8) The New York Times states that Conde Nast expects to bring in less revenue in 2017 than 2016… by how much? '$100 million less in revenue' 9) The Folio article also looks at the switch from print to digital. Pick out a statistic that justifies the digital-only approach. TeenVogue.com has surged from around 2 million monthly visitors to nearly 9 million. 10) Finally, Folio also highlights some of the aspects we have studied elsewhere. Pick out two quotes from the article that link to our work on the Teen Vogue audience, representation or design. “In one of my interviews, one of the questions was, how do you grow Teen Vogue from 2 million to 10 million a month? And [adding politics] was largely the answer,” Picardi Duca’s latest column for Teen Vogue, skewering Fox News for “brainwashing” its viewers with “propaganda masquerading as a serious source of news," Social media analysis Work through the following tasks to complete your textual analysis of Teen Vogue's social media presence: 1) Look at the Teen Vogue Twitter feed (you don’t need to sign up to Twitter to see it but may need to log-in at home). How many followers does Teen Vogue have? Teen Vogue has 3.3million followers. 2) Now look at the content. Classify the first 20 tweets you can see using the sections on the Teen Vogue website: News & Politics, Fashion, Entertainment, Beauty, Lifestyle, Wellness and Homecoming. What does the Twitter feed focus on most? Does this differ to the website? The Twitter feed mostly focuses on various things mostly on any new trends that may be going on. It does not differ much but on Twitter it is more informal and not like the website as much. 3) How are the tweets and headlines written? Can you find examples of clickbait? They are written very bold and in first person. 4) How does the Twitter feed use videos and images? They do this to attract their audience and encourage them to watch it. 5) Analyse the Teen Vogue Facebook page. How many ‘likes’ and ‘follows’ do they have? They have about 5.7 million followers and they have about 5.7 million likes. 6) Click on the Videos link on the left-hand menu. What type of content do the videos feature? Does this differ to the website or Twitter feed? The content is very similar to their website as they post similar content to attract their audience. 7) Now look at the Events tab to explore past events. What are these events and what do they tell us about how audiences interact with the Teen Vogue brand? Teen Vogue have summits this allows their audience to come there and meet other similar people like them that have similar interests and in there they can interect with their audience as well. 8) Go to the Teen Vogue Instagram page. How many followers do they have on Instagram? They have 2.7million followers on their instagram page. 9) How does the Instagram feed differ from other social media channels? They have more pictures and they are able to visually attract their audience through their Instagram. 10) What examples of digital convergence and synergy can you find on Teen Vogue social media including the Teen Vogue YouTube channel? (E.g. opportunities to engage with the brand across different platforms).
They use their YouTube by having a lot of celebrities on there as this allows them to know more about their celebrity crushes which creates more awareness of the brand itself as well.
