1. JAM13357345 Aimee James Magazine Journalism
Marie Claire
History
Marie Claire launched in the UK in 1988, however it has been in circulation since the early 1930’s
with its first edition published by Jean Prouvost and Marcelle Auclair in France in 1937. It was
circulated weekly and became an instant hit, however it stopped publishing during the war and re-
launched in 1954 as a monthly edition.
Ownership
Marie Claire is owned by three different publishing companies located the UK, the US and France.
IPC Media is one third of the ownership of Marie Claire but was changed to Time Inc. UK in 2014.
Hearst Corporation in another owner based in the US and Groupe Marie Claire is the final owner
based in France.
Design
The design of Marie Claire magazine has changed drastically since its first edition in 1937. The first
publications focused mainly on information about hairstyles, hats and makeup and often only
showed a headshot of the model on the front cover. As we know magazines now in 2015, this is not
the case; generally magazine covers now focus on relationships, fashion and sex which is definitely
the case when analysing Marie Claire.
Content
Marie Claire has many different features and articles, although not so much newsworthy material.
There is an extreme amount of advertising in Marie Claire of which is mainly for women’s consumer
products, such as, perfumes, jewellery and makeup. There is also many different types of stories and
writing styles ranging from informative pieces to comment and lifestyle. It is very much a women’s
magazine based upon the content of the stories, especially features written about relationships and
sex.
A massive 40% of Marie Claire’s content is fashion, however it is spilt into two different areas; the
front of book shopping section, which covers products, shopping ideas, and how to buy or wear
clothes, it also shows a mix of high street and bridge brands, as well as designer accessories. The
second area of the fashion section is inspirational fashion photography shoots which Marie Claire is
very committed to spending time and money on. (Halpin, 2015).
Marie Claire also has the most beauty pages in the glossy magazine market (Halpin, 2015) and
regularly covers stories on homes and interiors, bars and clubs and restaurants. In every issue there
is also at least one fitness or health story.
Online Strategy
Marie Claire launched their online version of their magazine in 2006 allowing a wider range of
audiences to access it. Marie Claire has now evolved into a multi-media platform and is now
established on many social media websites making it more available than ever.
Marie Claire is now available on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pintrest and LinkedIn reaching out to
millions of readers worldwide.

2. JAM13357345 Aimee James Magazine Journalism
Currently Marie Claire has 2.2M followers on Facebook and 2M followers on Twitter, this shows how
successful the magazine is around the globe.
Readership
Marie Claire has a massive dedicated readership not only in the UK, but worldwide. Magazines do
extensive research on their readers, from their age and background to their interests. The typical
Marie Claire reader is aged between 28 to late 30s.
Circulation figures
Marie Claire in the UK now reaches to 3.2M women on a monthly basis, not only by print but across
15 different platforms including online, social and events; it reaches more women than any other UK
fashion magazine. (Timeincuk.com, 2015).
Writing style
There are various different types of writing for every magazine on the market, however Marie Claire
often uses a lot of features. There can be different types of features which is very common with
Marie Claire, such as, interviews, comment and opinion pieces and personal profiles.
Nonetheless there are other forms of writing too; ‘How-to’ and reports are also included in the
magazine, however this was not included in Marie Claire when it first started publishing in 1937,
which shows just how far the magazine has come and how it has developed into 2015 (Corkey,
2015).
The market and competition
Marie Claire is the most distinctive beauty magazine in the market today, therefore it has a massive
competition. ‘Glamour’ and ‘Cosmopolitan’, have a huge number of readers and circulation figures
consequently making these titles Marie Claire’s top rivals.
Magazines have dedicated readers through subscriptions on a monthly basis, therefore increasing
their readership as a whole. Marie Claire differs from its rivals as it is beauty based, frequent
columns are included, and consequently their readers return every month to read it.
References
Halpin, T. (2015). Need to Know: Marie Claire. (Online). Available at:
http://gorkana.com/news/consumer/little-black-book/need-to-know-marie-
claire/ [Accessed 9 Oct. 2015]
Timeincuk.com. (2015). TimeIncUK.com Official Website. (Online) Available at:
http://www.timeincuk.com/brands/marie-claire-uk/ [Accessed 9 Oct. 2015].
Corkey, C. (2015). Different Kinds of Magazine Writing | eHow. (Online). Available
at: http://www.ehow.com/info_8261930_different-kinds-magazine-writing.html
[Accessed 21 Oct. 2015].

3. JAM13357345 Aimee James Magazine Journalism
OCTOBER – Awareness of Domestic Violence!
Amanda Rodge describes her traumatic experience of being in a long-term abusive
relationship.
I was sat in Starbucks on a wet and gloomy afternoon awaiting the arrival of a lady I had
spoken to on Twitter earlier that week.
The door swung open and that’s when I met Amanda Rodge. She rushed over to where I was
sitting and hesitantly shook my hand whilst introducing herself.
“Have a seat Amanda” I said, “thank you for meeting me today, I appreciate how hard it
must be talking about what happened”. I offered her a coffee and soon found myself
captivated within our conversation.
It was a tense atmosphere as we both knew why we were here, however nothing could have
prepared me for what was about to happen.
We all think we know what happens in domestic violence, we all have our opinions BUT it is
impossible for us to actually know what happens without knowing.
One incident of domestic violence is reported to police every minute – that’s over 10,000
calls a week and Amanda was one of them.
The solemnity of domestic violence is obvious as the rates are higher than any other crime
in the UK. (Report, 2015).
It is without a doubt that Amanda will continue to have the nightmares and vivid memories
from her past, “I think about it every day even though we are not together anymore…”.
Constant phone calls, texts and physical and mental abuse was Amanda’s life for five years.
Isolated from her friends and family was her way of living until she realised it wasn’t right.
Our conversation continued for hours as I became more interested in Amanda and what
happened to her.
My thoughts were overflowing thinking about the seriousness of domestic violence, the
emotional and physical trauma women go through to stay with their partners.
I was asking myself why she had stayed with him for such a long time, why was it so difficult
for her to leave?
“I found it difficult to leave as we have a child together, I’ve always wanted a two-parent
household”, realising the conflicting emotions involved my understanding became clear.
“Loving him made me stay with him, we were childhood sweethearts…”There are many
reasons why women find it difficult to leave their partners, fear, embarrassment and love
are a few of the many, not to mention cultural and religious reasons. (Abuse?, 2015).

4. JAM13357345 Aimee James Magazine Journalism
So now I ask myself why women stay in abusive relationships – and indeed why did I?
My teenage years were swallowed up by the monster I called my boyfriend, I was eighteen
years old. All the emotions and heartbreak that Amanda experienced I had experienced too
– it was nice to have someone to talk to who understood it all.
Physical trauma was at the forefront of our relationship, I thought it was a way of living, it
almost became normal. I was detached from my family and friends, I had no social life – and
no Facebook! My life was confined to his house which is now the source of all my pain. West
London is no longer a place I wish to be, it is a place filled with heartbreak and bad
memories.
Knowing that women can get help from so many different charities and organisations made
me feel better. When I was in an abusive relationship I wasn’t aware of the hundreds of
websites that help women like Amanda.
The growing use of social networking and television adverts is becoming evident, ‘Twitter’ is
one of the most significant media platform for organisations such as ‘Women’s Aid’ to reach
out to women. (Twitter.com, 2015).
UK police forces are taking serious action against domestic violence and have helpful advice
online, helpline numbers are made available to women and you can call anonymously.
(Surrey.police.uk, 2015).
What I’m trying to say ladies, is that you’re not alone, there are other women that went
through what you are still going through. Getting out of my relationship was the best thing I
have ever done, Amanda and myself are much happier people because of what we’ve done
– it is hard but you can do it!
I understand what Amanda went through, I understand why she hesitantly shook my hand
and I understand the reality of how hard it is. Overcoming a trauma at such a young age
made me stronger and it’s made Amanda stronger too.
The help and advice which is available today is one of the key aspects of escaping a violent
relationship and I urge more women to speak up and get out.
Word count – 746
Interview details
Amanda Rodge
Amanda.R24@outlook.com
Starbucks @ Epsom – 12.30pm

5. JAM13357345 Aimee James Magazine Journalism
References
Abuse?, I. (2015). Why Do People Stay in Abusive Relationships? – www.loveisrespect.org.
[Online] www.loveisrespect.org. Available at: http://www.loveisrespect.org/is-this-
abuse/why-do-people-stay/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].
Twitter.com, (2015). Women's Aid (@womensaid) | Twitter. [Online] Available at:
https://twitter.com/womensaid [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].
Surrey.police.uk, (2015). Domestic abuse. [Online] Available at:
http://www.surrey.police.uk/keeping-safe/protecting-you-and-your-family/domestic-
abuse [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].
Holly, K. (n.d.). Domestic violence safety plan.
Abuse?, I. (2015). Why Do People Stay in Abusive Relationships? – www.loveisrespect.org.
[Online] www.loveisrespect.org. Available at: http://www.loveisrespect.org/is-this-
abuse/why-do-people-stay/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].
Ons.gov.uk, (2015). Office for National Statistics (ONS) - ONS. [Online] Available at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].

6. JAM13357345 Aimee James Magazine Journalism
References
Abuse?, I. (2015). Why Do People Stay in Abusive Relationships? – www.loveisrespect.org.
[Online] www.loveisrespect.org. Available at: http://www.loveisrespect.org/is-this-
abuse/why-do-people-stay/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].
Twitter.com, (2015). Women's Aid (@womensaid) | Twitter. [Online] Available at:
https://twitter.com/womensaid [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].
Surrey.police.uk, (2015). Domestic abuse. [Online] Available at:
http://www.surrey.police.uk/keeping-safe/protecting-you-and-your-family/domestic-
abuse [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].
Holly, K. (n.d.). Domestic violence safety plan.
Abuse?, I. (2015). Why Do People Stay in Abusive Relationships? – www.loveisrespect.org.
[Online] www.loveisrespect.org. Available at: http://www.loveisrespect.org/is-this-
abuse/why-do-people-stay/ [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].
Ons.gov.uk, (2015). Office for National Statistics (ONS) - ONS. [Online] Available at:
http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/index.html [Accessed 30 Oct. 2015].