For research into the Print platform I decided to research a variety of reality magazines, such as OK! This type of magazine will allow me to see the type of information that goes into the magazine, but also how it is laid out. OK! is a British weekly magazine specialising in celebrity news, where its first issue was published in April 1993. It originally launched as a monthly magazine but was changed because of its popular demand. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006. In 2005, a US version was launched, followed by an Indian edition in May 2006, a Spanish-language version in Mexico in 2006, a Bulgarian-language version in 2007 and a Spanish edition in 2008. OK! is the world’s biggest celebrity lifestyle magazine, with more than 30 million readers worldwide, and now appears in 20 countries (Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, China, Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Malaysia, Mexico, Middle East, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, the UK, the US, Venezuela and Vietnam). OK! is best known for its coverage of celebrity nuptials. OK! was awarded £1,033,156 in a lawsuit, but lost it when the case came to the court of appeal. OK! had exclusive rights to the wedding of Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas, but its rival Hello! magazine, published pictures as well, so OK! sued.
Analysing
Content Type
OK! is evident to anyone that it is a reality magazine and contains celebrity gossip and information, by which it makes audiences think they need to know this gossip. It contains bold headings to capture the readers attention and pictures that line with the headlines. In addition to the reality aspect of the magazine the magazine features advice and help on wider health issues that readers could face. This aspect to the magazine could pull in further audiences due to the further niche interests, as well as women who need advice on important issues.
Target Audience
The usual target audience for reality magazines is women, due to the stereotypes of reality being a feminine genre- whereas men are seen as masculine and not to be associated with this femininity. OK! magazines feature a young female on the cover, representing the target audience of the magazine. But, also the use of similar issues young females face such as divorce and relationship issues could suggest the target audience further and that in fact it is females who read this magazine and other reality magazines.
Also the colours within the magazine are usually reds which connote love, suggesting that women are the audience because it is associated with them. As well as this, mainly women are used on the cover of the magazine, outlining their drama, suggesting that the women could relate to this. The use of images and text would suggest this is for women, because a wide use of images is associated with females because most women prefer pictures to text. In comparison with male magazines the use of text and images is hugely different; there is a wider use of text and facts in male magazines and usually just 1 picture- the cover. The age of the target audience is from 18-35 year old females, although there are other audiences that go against the main target audience but the majority of the audience is young females.
Styles
The colours in OK! magazines are primarily reds and yellows. The use of red suggests love and luxury; a material such as velvet could represent this. The yellows go against the red and compliment each other with the darker colour of red beneath the yellow, with the yellow piercing through. The yellows are usually the colour of the text, this could be to attract readers to the magazine with bold headlines. The page layout is neat but extravagant, suggesting more to the female gendered audience. The main headings of the magazine are enlarged and are usually a lighter colour than the background to stand out of the magazine. Smaller headlines are also light, but lighter colours such as whites are used to compliment the yellow and red which are quite extravagant and bold colours. The use of celebrities are always used in this magazine, primarily because the magazine focuses on celebrities and celebrity gossip. On this particular issue, Kate Middleton is used, a well known, respectable celebrity who is used for good press. Sometimes in magazines celebrities are used to endorse more profit and media coverage but sometimes in a negative way. For example, one issue of OK! included Kerry Katona's cover where she pleaded for 'help' and in which featured her in a swimming pool with mascara running down her eyes. This negative view of her created a media controversy and caused more readers to buy it.
Industry & Where It Fits In
The reality genre could be one of the most popular genres, with the celebrities and the celebrity gossip within it being extremely popular within any industry. It fits in with the female lifestyle of those who enjoy celebrity gossip and actually like the particular celebrity. Because this particular issue features a highly respected individual/ celebrity and someone who is in the Royal family, the particular issue was very popular with readers due to her high status and the interview she was featured in. Most celebrities have a huge fan base behind them and with that would be brought to the magazine if they were featured.
History
OK! magazine was first published in April 1993. It originally launched as a monthly magazine but was changed because of its popular demand. In September 2004, OK! publishers Northern and Shell launched in Australia as a monthly title – the magazine went weekly in October 2006. In 2005, a US version was launched, followed by an Indian edition in May 2006, Mexican edition in 2006, a Bulgarian-language version in 2007 and a Spanish edition in 2008. OK! is the world’s biggest celebrity lifestyle magazine, with more than 30 million readers worldwide, and now appears in 20 countries.
Evaluation
By researching different reality magazines it gives me an insight of what I could include in my magazine and what not to include. For example, in this magazine I have realised that female gendered magazines usually feature extravagant, bold styles as well as using lighter colours to compliment the bold ones. Also, the layout of the magazine will help me with the layout in designing mine, with it being one of the most popular reality magazines in the UK and further countries. The use of images and amount, as well as the use of bold headlines and the image to underline this, this could help me with my magazine. By taking inspiration and various ideas from this highly popular reality magazine, I can know what not to feature and what to feature to attract the right readers. As well as having an effective, persuading magazine which entitles any readers on what my magazine is initially about; my reality TV programme.
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