Chapter 5

1. Go to a bookstore (not BYU’s) and look at the different magazines. Select one that appeals to a highly specialized audience (different from one of your own interests). Read through the magazine and based on the magazine’s content (including the advertisements) prepare a description of the magazine’s “typical reader.” Give specific examples to justify your generalization.

I read Sports Illustrated, which is very different from the magazines that I would read in my leisure time. But after reading through the magazine, I came to the conclusion that the “typical reader” is a boy/man who is lives, breathes, and sleeps sports, anywhere from the teenage years all the way to dads and grandpas. In the magazine, the pages have a picture of a specific sports player and then a little commentary telling about that person. The sports vary from golf to football and can appeal to all different kinds of sports fans. The advertisements are things that would appeal to men, such as Protein powder to help with workouts. Shoes that famous athletes wear, both sports shoes and business shoes. There were ads for Under armor showing that athletes wear their brand while working out and it would only make your workout that more intense. They also advertised Men’s cologne using very GQ looking men.

3. What impact will/has the electronic media have/had on the magazine industry?

For me personally, I am a Hollywood junkie so I love magazines like US weekly, In Touch, Life and Style, ect. When I want to see what the magazine is like for the week I get online and get the top stories. It doesn’t give you the whole articles but just a little taste of what is in it so you will buy the hardcover magazine. It also makes it really easy for people to order subscriptions online with a couple clicks of the mouse, as opposed to mailing in the order form, which has a couple tedious steps to it.
But the electronic media can also have a downside because there are some websites that I go to frequently where I can get my Hollywood gossip without having to buy the magazine because the “sleaze” is posted for free.