Institutional Context

As my target market like mainstream genres such as indie and R&B, my magazine will be large scale and as a result my product will be able to compete against the other larger magazines such as NME and Kerrang. As my magazine is going to be large scale, the magazine will have a large budget to make the magazine. This means that my magazine will have better aesthetic qualities, for example it will be made on more expensive glossy paper and it will have a hard spine rather than being stuck together with staples. This means that it will last longer and people may collect them and attract more companies wishing to advertise in magazines. It also means that my magazine will be able to afford the mainstream more expensive bands.

In the real life magazine institution, the main feature of the magazine market in recent years has been consolidation of ownership. For example, very large publishing companies, such as IPC, have gathered more titles. However, the main difference is that these companies are involved in other areas of business meaning they are not dependant on the one form of media. So if their magazine sales fall dramatically the company will still be making money from other media areas. This is an example of a (global) media conglomerate, as IPC are generally involved in several different media industries.A media institution such as IPC would be very good to produce my magazine, as they have lots of income and will enable me to attract large mainstream bands and advertising companies to my magazine.

Stages in the process of making a magazine include:Planning, this is making things like flat plans and doing audience research. It also includes coming up with ideas such as what the lay out will be, what kind of images you want and what the articles should be about ect. Sorting out the layout, style of the magazine and producing how the magazine will look. Writing the articles/ features and taking any photos required. Publishing (putting it all together publishing), proofing - checking the pages through, subbing work (so looking for any mistakes in the design and text). After this proofing the magazine then has to be printed and finally the magazine is ready to be distributed to the relevant retailers and sold to the public.

During these stages to the magazine I will have to take on every role and to make the magazine look as professional as possible I will need a range of skills. During the planning stage of my magazine skills I will require are a good imagination so I can think about what will look good on my magazine and how I will set out the layout. I will also need to be organised, so that I can set out my findings from my audience research in an effective way.

In the writing of the articles and features, I will need to be able to adapt my use of language to suit my target audience, use good descriptive words that will keep the readers interest and finally it is crucial that I am able to set out my article clearly with a sense of order. Skills I will need in my photography are a good imagination, so I can picture what my article will look like and where I will have my text and title ect. Also I will have to have good leadership and communication skills so I can get my models to do what want without confusing them.

In the proofing I will need to be able to be very critical of my work so I can see what needs to be done to improve my work, at this stage I will also ask for assistance from my intended audience of what looks good and what does not. In the publishing stage, I will have to be confident with using a range of different computer programs, so I can use them to their best capability to make the layout and general look of my magazine better.