3 Websites Analysis
The three websites I will be looking at are:
- Current Affairs
- The Week
- Private Eye
1. Current Affairs
Through the media language displayed on the websites homepage, Current Affairs has constructed a certain image of both the company and the product. The typography in general, along with the masthead is in a large, serifed font, in white against a black background. The layout is simple and coherent, and is also as minimalist as possible. The navigation tools at the top of the page are small, easy to spot and access, and add to this minimalist feel the page has. All of these elements create meaning, and these codes are broken down to create and indicate a representation of Current Affairs as sophisticated, high end and a brand that you can trust as a consumer. This very much appeals to it's audience, who would have this expectation form the brand, and are likely to be upper class, middle ages and older, and white consumers, typically ABC1.
These elements of media language are also typical of the current affairs genre as a whole, as the priority of a current affairs magazine is to go into detail and depth of discussion, and not getting the news out briefly and as soon as possible, which would result in the page being unorganised and hard to navigate.
On the front page, intertextuality is implied with the use of historic artwork/graphics on the main image of the lead (main article), and figures such as Charles Dickens are referenced within the article, which emphasises it's appeal to it's main, high end audience.
2. The Week
It is clear in this screen capture of the home page of The Week, that conventions typical of the current affairs genre are used, and that media language conveys meaning to the site and the company. The genre conventions that are apparent on the homepage include a red masthead, traditional of news and current affairs, an organised layout that includes headlines, images and a navigation bar. The typography is mostly serifed, with some sans serifed typography included as well. Compared to the current affairs homepage, I think this one could be considered slightly more informal, and aimed to perhaps a more middle to higher class audience than that of current affairs, due to the layout being slightly less minimalist, more spread out and perhaps a little more disorganised. This constructs a representation of the company that is perhaps more middles class, but yet still mainstream and a trusted brand nonetheless.
In the second attached link under 'The Week' intertextuality can be seen in many different examples of physical magazine front covers, such as the references to superman and the statue of liberty, both quite obviously well known and mainstream references, especially the use of the caricature of a politician as superman- a common technique used by newspapers and magazines to sometimes poke fun at certain figures. This may suggest and again support the idea that The Week is not as high class as Current Affairs, as this method of illustration is cheap, and usually conveys some sort of political bias which should not be a priority of a current affairs magazine- but to focus on detail and discussion.
3. Private Eye
In many ways, Private Eye is quite similar to The Week, but I think this particular magazine is aimed at an even more middle class audience. Elements of media language on this homepage include typography that is dominated by a sans serifed font, and the layout suggests to me that Private Eye- while still having a focus on discussion- also prioritise getting news out quickly due to the top stories section, and also show political bias heavily. I believe, however, that it is genre-typical for a current affairs magazine to poke fun at certain figures in order to entertain, which is also shown in The Week, but to balance this with obvious focus on detailed discussion.
There is not much obvious intertextuality on the home page or the physical front covers, but Private Eye instead uses white speech bubbles to create satirical humour, which is easily done and implies a low budget for the production of the magazine, again going back to how the target audience may be lower or middle class. This use of use of simple and effective humour creates a representation for the brand that is friendly, trusted and may even create a link with/address an audience directly. The website also includes a sidebar which displays their twitter and social media feeds, which could be considered as intertextuality, as well as creating a place for audiences to discuss amongst themselves.
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