Media Literacy and the Critical Process: Magazine Analysis

Media Literacy and the Critical Process: Magazine Analysis

-Media Literacy and the Critical Process: Magazine Analysis (Essay)Turnitin OriginalityCheck enabled

-Instructions

-MLA format required. See https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/24/ for guidelines.

-A physical, print magazine is required for this assignment. Last semester, I found that some students attempted to complete the essay using an online magazine publication, but online versions can’t be used because you’re required to analyze the physical positioning of advertising compared to editorial. This is an ongoing debate in traditional print publications.

-Your essay is automatically submitted to Turnitin.com (plagiarism checker) to assess the originality of your work.

—Our course focuses on how media influence our culture and society, and this assignment asks students to look at how images in advertising affect us, and influence how we see ourselves and others in society. It also asks whether the editorial content in magazines is influenced by advertisers. For example, it’s not uncommon to see ads for a weight loss product featuring a very thin model placed next to an article on weight loss in a magazine targeting young women. If we’re not paying attention – if we’re not media literate – we may miss the implications. We also need to question whether this is an acceptable, ethical practice, considering the fact that these magazine publishers and advertisers are in business to earn a profit, and consumers often benefit from the information in articles and advertisements.

—As you look at some of the advertisements in print magazines, describe the images and words you see. As you analyze these ads, think about whether they are influencing or simply reflecting what we value in society (wealth, beauty, etc.)? Are the ads perpetuating stereotypes, reflective of real life, or omitting certain groups? Do they show realistic images of everyday people, achievable standards, or unrealistic images?

-MAGAZINES IN A DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY: THE THIN LINE BETWEEN EDITORIAL CONTENT AND ADVERTISING

–Like other mass media, magazines are a major part of the cluttered media landscape. As an industry, magazine publishing has played a central role in transforming the United States from a producer society to a consumer society. However, since the 1950s, individual magazines have not had the powerful, national voice uniting separate communities around important issues that they once possessed,. Today, with so many specialized magazines appealing to distinct groups of consumers, the industry has become fast-paced and high-risk to remain viable.

–Many contemporary commercial magazines still provide essential information about politics, society, and culture, but their growing dependence on advertising sometimes leads to less controversial content getting published. And, more and more, magazines define their readers merely as viewers and consumers of displayed products, rather than as citizens seeking information that helps us think about ourselves as participants in a democracy.

–This essay assignment asks you to think critically about the relationship between editorial content and advertisements in magazines, with a focus on the ethical concerns of this magazine industry practice in a democratic society. One way to analyze media is to apply the critical process, which includes the following five steps:

-Description: Paying close attention, taking notes, researching the subject

-Analysis: Discovering and focusing on significant patterns that emerge from the description stage

-Interpretation: Asking and answering “What does that mean?” and “So what?” questions about one’s findings

-Evaluation: Arriving at a judgment about whether something is good, bad, or mediocre, which involves subordinating one’s personal taste to critical “bigger picture” resulting from the first three stages.

-Engagement: Taking some action that connects our critical perspective with our role as citizens to question our media institutions, adding our own voice to the process of shaping the culture environment.

GUIDELINES

-Your brief essay should be approximately 1 1/2 – 2 typed pages, 12-point font, double-spaced, standard one-inch margins.

-Include a heading, and a clear introduction, body, and conclusion for your essay.

-Attach your document using the “Add a File” button. Your documents must be .doc, .docx, or .pdf only. I am unable to open other file types.

ESSAY ASSIGNMENT

In your essay, apply the critical process by completing the following steps:

1. Description

-Select a magazine. (Please select a print version of a magazine. This assignment requires you to analyze ad proximity to editorial content in a publication, so please do not select an online publication.)

-Review and make note of some of the types of ads that appear in the magazine.

-Also review and make of note the some of the editorial content of the magazine.

2. Analysis (answer some or all of these questions)

-How similar are the ads to the editorial content?

-Are ads placed in close proximity to editorial content on a related topic?

-Are there ads that seem to be at odds with the editorial content?

-Do ad pages outnumber editorial pages?

3. Interpretation (answer some or all of these questions)

-Do advertisements seem to influence the magazine’s content?

-Can a magazine’s credibility be compromised by too much adherence to advertiser values? Explain.

4. Evaluation (answer some or all of these questions)

-Can there be a desirable balance between advertisements and editorial content?

-Would magazines be better without advertisements?

5. Engagement (read the following articles and answer the final question)

-New York Times article “Magazines Blur Line Between Ad and Article” by Stephanie Clifford (April 7, 2009).

-Washington Post article Atlantic Fiasco Renews Ethics Concerns about Advertorials by Paul Farhi (January 15, 2013).

-What are your thoughts regarding the use of advertorials in magazines?