Institutional Research: Print

Institutional Research: Print

This is the second section of my institutional research. The research into the institutions will allow me to know of background information which may affect what an institution allows to be published in their print media. It will show values that the institution holds and the expectations that the audience have of the institution as a whole. This will allow me to be aware that values as well as content may affect the target audience.

Hearst Corporation (1887)

 Hearst Corporation is a multi-mass media group founded by William Randolph Hearst, which originally created newspapers. However the company has expanded to a range of media interests including television and magazines, totalling 7 different divisions. Hearst is labelled as one of the largest diversified communications companies in the world with its production of 15 daily and 36 weekly newspapers, more than 300 magazines and 29 television stations. More than 150 countries are served by Hearst Corporation and the company itself has been going for more than 125 years.

A variety of media products are produced by Hearst, from ‘Elle’ to ‘Car and Driver’ magazines. The companies’ products can be found on all three of the media platforms with magazines and newspapers in print, television networks such as ESPN in broadcast and Internet sites such as RealBeauty.com in e-media. This shows how a broad, mass audience can be reached through their products. Furthermore, in terms of the ‘Uses and Gratifications’ theory, Hearst Corporation provides many different uses. This can be seen in the ‘RealAge’ website which provides health information to the consumers. The consumer can use this website to gain information which will benefit their personal wellbeing. In contrast ‘Cosmopolitan’ magazine shows other uses in personal identity and personal relationships- it can be used to interact with other people. Also the variety of newspapers allows the audience to use the institutions products as surveillance. However, as the institution was founded in 1887 the ‘Hyperdermic Needle’ theory would have applied to their earlier publications. This is because in the last century, picking and choosing what media you wanted to access wasn’t possible and so only one type of media was consumed, therefore that media would have been more believable. What ‘Hearst Corporation’ may of publicised would have been consumed by a passive audience and they would have had a more direct and powerful influence than they do nowadays.

Allegations facing Hearst Corporations include the case that Hearst Corporation and MediaNews Group conspired together to control advertising rates which violates the antitrust laws. Legal action was taken in this situation. Furthermore the ‘Newsboy Strike of 1899’ was a youth led campaign that tried to force to change the way the Randolph Hearst compensated their child labour force. The strike was successful and increased the pay which newsboy received from Randolph Hearst’s company and Joseph Pulitzer- both accused.

The company’s most popular magazine- Elle reaches a circulation of 6.6 million people every month. In addition, the companies most popular Lifestyle genre magazine reaches 1,641,000 people monthly (statistics from 2012) which is a large circulation for the niche audiences which lifestyle magazines are aimed at. The magazines which Hearst Corporation produces are mainly aimed at a female audience.

American Media Inc. (1936)

American Media Inc. (abbreviated to AMI) is an American publisher of magazines, tabloids and books. The institution takes pride in being the 'pioneers' of health & fitness and celebrity categories and is split into further divisions: AMI Books and Distribution Services Inc. It's most well-known publications are 'Playboy', OK! and Men's Fitness. AMI also runs the website 'Radar Online' which provides up to date information on celebrity entertainment news and gossip. This shows how the institution appears on both the e-media and print media platforms.

American Media Inc. splits its 18 publications into three categories. These are: 'Womans Active Lifestyle', 'Enthusiast Group' and 'Entertainment Group'. Due to the trio of grouping which the institution covers, an appeal reaches a mass audience which ranges from young adults to older ages. In total, the magazines produced by AMI have a circulation of 7.1 million a month, whilst digital properties have a total circulation of more than 27 million and more than 229 million page views a month.

A criticism of American Media Inc. is that the institution has received a considerable amount of complaints about issues concerning people's subscriptions to their magazines. Also some employees have criticised the company with one claiming that a deposit, which has to be put down and is returned upon leave, was in fact not returned to her. Both of these pieces of evidence suggests that the company is not reliable.

IPC Media (1958)

IPC media is a British magazine and digital publisher which was founded in 1958. IPC stands for ‘International Publishing Corporation’ and the institution is split into six divisions. These divisions are: IPC News, IPC Books, IPC Magazines, IPC Trade & Technical, IPC Printing and IPC New Products. The company takes pride in appearing across multiple platforms such as print, e-media, events and mobile, although print is the platform which IPC Media is mostly recognised for. IPC media has a corporate responsibility programme which involves the environment, community and input from employees.

IPC Media’s magazine publications are split into a further three divisions which outline which audience each magazine is targeted for which is a good idea for categorising audience information and demographics. The three divisions are: ‘Inspire’ which covers 38 male targeted magazines, ‘Southbank’ which is aimed at upmarket woman and ‘Connect’ which is IPC Media’s mass market woman’s division. The divisions show how one institution caters for a mass audience of different needs. As the audience is on such a broad spectrum the ‘Reception Theory’ may be applied to the readers understanding of the products. This is because the producer of ‘Essentials’ which falls under the ‘Southbank’ division may have the one fixed intention in its production. However, for example males in the ‘Inspire’ division, may provide an oppositional view on the producers intention which creates a negotiated reading of the intentional information provided by the producer. Therefore polysemic readings are created. In terms of the ‘Uses and Gratifications’ theory, IPC Media can be used by the audience as surveillance because of the division ‘IPC News’ which is dedicated to topic information. The six divisions allow a mass audience to be reached.

IPC Media’s ‘Southbank’ division is home to the biggest circulation magazine among the ‘home’ sector- ‘Gardner’s World Magazine’. This magazine has a circulation of 254,530 copies a month, although the circulation is down by 4.1% since 2012. Also in April 2012 were given the award of 'Best Production Team of The Year' by the Professional Publishers Association. No serious criticisms have been made of IPC Media.

Evaluation

This research allowed me to see how different institutions reach different audiences and that institutions cover a variety of media platforms. It also allowed me find important information I will need such as readership and circulation figures which will help me when deciding what institution I may publish my magazine through. From this research I have decided that Hearst Corporation is the best institution to publish my print production via. This is because Hearst Corporation already produces magazines which have a similar genre, although this may result in competition, it allows advertisement in the existing similar products. This will enable me to reach and attract the target audience due the content of the productions being similar to my idea. In addition to this Hearst Corporation offer some 300 magazine titles, most of which are in the lifestyle genre. This suggests that although IPC Media and American Media INC. are popular print institutions, Hearst Corporation has a large amount of experience. This allows for clear developments in my print production to be established (such as publication). Furthermore, when comparing the three institutions which I have researched, it can be seen that Hearst Corporation has the largest monthly circulation for one magazine (which is also in the Lifestyle genre). This suggests that being a popular magazine producer, Hearst Corporation will allow for my production to reach a large audience. Also it implies that as Hearst Corporation evidently have a mass audience to please, their values are strong and dedication runs throughout the company; suggesting a positive and reliable company to work with.