Magazine Institutions and the Uses and Gratifications
                       Theory
 Established: 1875
 Who are they: The Bauer Publishing Group has
  grown from a small publishing house into a worldwide
  publishing and media company. They own 282
  magazines worldwide in 15 countries, as well as TV and
  radio stations. They started in the UK with the launch of
  Bella magazine in 1987, and grew to become the UK's
  biggest publishing group in 2008. The group bought
  Australia's largest magazine publisher, ACP
  Magazines from private equity paymasters CVC in
  2012, increasing the company’s value to more than €2
  billion.
 Types of magazines: Closer, Empire, FHM, Q
 Mainstream or niche: Mainstream
 Established: 1958
 Who are they: IPC Media is a subsidiary of Time
  Inc., and it is a consumer magazine and digital
  publisher in the United Kingdom; selling over 350
  million copies each year. In 1958 Cecil Harmsworth
  King, chairman of a newspaper group which included
  the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror, together with
  provincial chain West of England Newspapers, made an
  offer for Amalgamated Press. The offer was
  accepted, and in January 1959 he was appointed its
  chairman. In consequence, King controlled publishing
  interests which included two national daily and two
  national Sunday newspapers along with almost one
  hundred consumer magazines, more than two hundred
  trade and technical periodicals, and various book
  publishing interests. In 1963 all the companies were
  combined by the creation of a parent company called
  the International Publishing Corporation (known
  informally as IPC).
 Types of magazines: NME, Nuts, Look, TV Times
 Mainstream or niche: Mainstream
   Established: 1947
   Who are they: Emap International Limited is a British media
    company, specialising in the production of business magazines. Richard
    Winfrey started by purchasing the Spalding Guardian in 1887. In
    1947, under the direction of 'Pat' Winfrey, the family's newspaper titles
    were consolidated to form the East Midland Allied Press. The magazine
    division was founded when the staff gambled that a weekly angling
    publication would be a hit - and in 1953 Angling Times was born. This
    was soon joined by another weekly heavyweight when EMAP bought
    Motor Cycle News from its founder in 1956. Both remain in the top 10
    profit earners for the company to this day. The Winfrey family
    continued to work on the management team of EMAP until the early
    1980s and remained large shareholders until two thirds of the company
    were sold to Bauer Media Group. On 29 January 2008, Emap PLC
    completed the sale of its radio, television and consumer media
    businesses to German company Bauer for £1.14bn. In March 2012, the
    company announced that it would be renamed Top Right Group, and
    that its magazines, events and data businesses would be separated into
    three standalone companies. The Emap name will continue to be used
    for the magazines operation, which accounted for around 18 percent of
    the group's turnover.
   Types of magazines: Retail Week, The Architectural Review
   Mainstream or niche: Used to mainstream but has become niche
 Established: 1985
 Who are they: Future PLC is a media company; in
  2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom.
  It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such
  as video
  games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and
  photography, and it is the official magazine company
  of all three major games console manufacturers. The
  company was founded in Somerton, Somerset in 1985
  by Chris Anderson with the sole magazine Amstrad
  Action. Anderson sold Future to Pearson PLC for
  £52.7m in 1994, but bought it back in 1998 for
  £142m. In November 2009, Future reported a fall in
  profits from £9.5 million to £3.7 million (a loss of 61
  percent) in the fiscal year that ended 30 September
  2009. Future attributed this to problems with their
  US market, hit by a fall in the general advertising
  market.
 Types of magazines: ONM, Total Film, Metal
  Hammer
 Mainstream or niche: Niche
 Looking through the portfolios that these 4 companies
  have, I would choose Bauer to own my magazine. This
  is because they have the music magazine genres
  closest to my own, and they are also one of the best
  companies for mainstream magazines.
 Also, I read several magazines that Bauer produce, and
  therefore I know they produce high quality
  magazines, so my magazine would be in the best
  hands.
 Blumler and Katz’s uses and gratifications theory suggests
    that media users play an active role in choosing and using
    the media. The theorists say that a media user seeks out a
    media source that best fulfils the needs of the user.
   The user has 4 basic needs:
   Diversion, the need to escape from everyday life and to
    relax
   Personal Relationships, to fulfil the need for
    companionship and to become part of a social group
   Personal Identity, to find out about ourselves and other
    people that reflect us
   Surveillance, to find out what's going on around us
Diversion:               Personal
Billboard                Relationships:
magazine is good         By reading
for escaping from        Billboard, people
the stresses of          can include
life, as it focuses on   themselves in
music which is a         discussions about
pleasure for most        chart music
people.
                         Surveillance:
                         Exclusive
Personal Identity:
                         interviews within
Billboard magazine
                         the magazine keep
shows what the
                         us up to date with
majority of people
                         celebrities, and
are listening to right
                         other articles
now, which shows
                         inform us on what
the reader what they
                         is happening in the
should listen to
                         music world

Secondary research (magazine institution research and uses and grat)

  • 1.
    Magazine Institutions andthe Uses and Gratifications Theory
  • 2.
     Established: 1875 Who are they: The Bauer Publishing Group has grown from a small publishing house into a worldwide publishing and media company. They own 282 magazines worldwide in 15 countries, as well as TV and radio stations. They started in the UK with the launch of Bella magazine in 1987, and grew to become the UK's biggest publishing group in 2008. The group bought Australia's largest magazine publisher, ACP Magazines from private equity paymasters CVC in 2012, increasing the company’s value to more than €2 billion.  Types of magazines: Closer, Empire, FHM, Q  Mainstream or niche: Mainstream
  • 3.
     Established: 1958 Who are they: IPC Media is a subsidiary of Time Inc., and it is a consumer magazine and digital publisher in the United Kingdom; selling over 350 million copies each year. In 1958 Cecil Harmsworth King, chairman of a newspaper group which included the Daily Mirror and the Sunday Mirror, together with provincial chain West of England Newspapers, made an offer for Amalgamated Press. The offer was accepted, and in January 1959 he was appointed its chairman. In consequence, King controlled publishing interests which included two national daily and two national Sunday newspapers along with almost one hundred consumer magazines, more than two hundred trade and technical periodicals, and various book publishing interests. In 1963 all the companies were combined by the creation of a parent company called the International Publishing Corporation (known informally as IPC).  Types of magazines: NME, Nuts, Look, TV Times  Mainstream or niche: Mainstream
  • 4.
    Established: 1947  Who are they: Emap International Limited is a British media company, specialising in the production of business magazines. Richard Winfrey started by purchasing the Spalding Guardian in 1887. In 1947, under the direction of 'Pat' Winfrey, the family's newspaper titles were consolidated to form the East Midland Allied Press. The magazine division was founded when the staff gambled that a weekly angling publication would be a hit - and in 1953 Angling Times was born. This was soon joined by another weekly heavyweight when EMAP bought Motor Cycle News from its founder in 1956. Both remain in the top 10 profit earners for the company to this day. The Winfrey family continued to work on the management team of EMAP until the early 1980s and remained large shareholders until two thirds of the company were sold to Bauer Media Group. On 29 January 2008, Emap PLC completed the sale of its radio, television and consumer media businesses to German company Bauer for £1.14bn. In March 2012, the company announced that it would be renamed Top Right Group, and that its magazines, events and data businesses would be separated into three standalone companies. The Emap name will continue to be used for the magazines operation, which accounted for around 18 percent of the group's turnover.  Types of magazines: Retail Week, The Architectural Review  Mainstream or niche: Used to mainstream but has become niche
  • 5.
     Established: 1985 Who are they: Future PLC is a media company; in 2006, it was the sixth-largest in the United Kingdom. It publishes more than 150 magazines in fields such as video games, technology, automotive, cycling, films and photography, and it is the official magazine company of all three major games console manufacturers. The company was founded in Somerton, Somerset in 1985 by Chris Anderson with the sole magazine Amstrad Action. Anderson sold Future to Pearson PLC for £52.7m in 1994, but bought it back in 1998 for £142m. In November 2009, Future reported a fall in profits from £9.5 million to £3.7 million (a loss of 61 percent) in the fiscal year that ended 30 September 2009. Future attributed this to problems with their US market, hit by a fall in the general advertising market.  Types of magazines: ONM, Total Film, Metal Hammer  Mainstream or niche: Niche
  • 6.
     Looking throughthe portfolios that these 4 companies have, I would choose Bauer to own my magazine. This is because they have the music magazine genres closest to my own, and they are also one of the best companies for mainstream magazines.  Also, I read several magazines that Bauer produce, and therefore I know they produce high quality magazines, so my magazine would be in the best hands.
  • 7.
     Blumler andKatz’s uses and gratifications theory suggests that media users play an active role in choosing and using the media. The theorists say that a media user seeks out a media source that best fulfils the needs of the user.  The user has 4 basic needs:  Diversion, the need to escape from everyday life and to relax  Personal Relationships, to fulfil the need for companionship and to become part of a social group  Personal Identity, to find out about ourselves and other people that reflect us  Surveillance, to find out what's going on around us
  • 8.
    Diversion: Personal Billboard Relationships: magazine is good By reading for escaping from Billboard, people the stresses of can include life, as it focuses on themselves in music which is a discussions about pleasure for most chart music people. Surveillance: Exclusive Personal Identity: interviews within Billboard magazine the magazine keep shows what the us up to date with majority of people celebrities, and are listening to right other articles now, which shows inform us on what the reader what they is happening in the should listen to music world