Coursework

1. PITCH -
CURRENT
AFFAIRS
MAGAZINE
BY ZOE OLAWORE FOR
DENNIS

2. H O W I ’ L L M E E T T H E B R I E F P T 1
Codes and conventions of current affair magazines (see mood board) include minimal cover lines, a satirical attitude towards
‘powerful people’ thus creating an irreverent tone, and large, eye-catching mastheads, all features which I plan to emulate
To make sure my content fits the form- I will be talking about events of social significance e.g. related to the climate crisis,
trump and the border, austerity, international news like updates to do with the Israeli v Palestinian conflict, The potential
criminalisation of abortion, Extinction Rebellion being banned etc.
Events e.g. corona virus will be covered with a social perspective- so looking at the Anti-Asian racism
The coverage might be in the form of opinions and commentaries since it’s a magazine, accompanied with many photos
Political debates on subjects such as: capitalism - is it immoral or is it a gateway to wealth, whether racism exists within the
UK or have we entered a ‘post-racial’ era, social media and mental health etc]
The brief mentioned how this is a ‘new’ current affairs magazine. As well as perhaps mentioning this in the skyline or banner,
I would reflect this in my twitter feed on my online website, link this to competitions, merchandise and mention this in the
Editor’s letter

3. H O W I ’ L L M E E T T H E B R I E F P T 2
Dennis’ motto is to be ‘brilliantly different’ and they aspire for all their brands to be innovative, meaning to make changes in
something established. I will meet this brief through an unconventional layout and my engagement with technological trends e.g.
Twitter and TikTok through competitions advertised in print and then again online
‘Socially-conscious’ suggests that my audience will have an established awareness of social issues, meaning that coverage of
events doesn't have to be simplistic or using ‘basic’ jargon. The Cambridge dictionary defined it as worrying for the poor, old, ill
etc. and wanting to help them. This term naturally alludes to a left-wing ideology. Therefore, to meet this brief the standpoint of
my newspaper will be newspaper will be egalitarian, and intersectional - addressing a variety of discrimination and striving to
represent a diverse young population
16-25- A coverage of entertainment and culture as well as current affairs which a younger audience would undeniably be
interested in. I could discuss entertainment e.g. movies while looking at social issues e.g. the representation of race in Get Out
or Queen and Slim
Middle to upmarket refers to my audience’s wealth- they are fairly affluent. To target them I want my magazine aesthetic to look
quite sophisticated and high-end perhaps. The prize of my magazine could be approx. £5, the price of The Spectator. I could
reference high end brands such as ‘Supreme’ through imagery, adverts in my online product and give away expensive gifts or
holiday trips for competitions. In the contents page there could be a review of a theatre show as this is part of high-brow culture
Cover line, content and photograph, advertisements etc. will address an upmarket audience

4. H O W W I L L T H E A U D I E N C E E N G A G E
W I T H I T
Ideas:
For each edition, on the contents page there will be hashtag and a call to action for audiences to tweet their opinion- the hashtag
could be specific to the brand- these tweets could be posted on my website
Pop up to sign up for Subscriptions for a weekly newsletter- Teen Vogue referred to it as ‘let us slide in your DMs’ - young
demographic
Links to social media apps: twitter, Pinterest page, Instagram which the audience can engage with- Teen Vogue, targeted
towards a young demographic does this and links
The Spectator does literary competitions very often e.g. to mark the 70th anniversary of Orwell’s death fans had to submit a story
with an Orwell-style. The prize was £30. My prize could be vouchers for high-end brands
Easter eggs e.g. click on logo and it’ll take you to another page with exclusive discounts or an offer on other brands e.g. Apple
Music

5. H O W I ’ L L U S E D I G I T A L
C O N V E R G E N C E
Digital convergence: Planned integration of different media forms
1. Put website on front cover and icons of my social media pages on the contents page
2. Images of two print editions on the website to demonstrate synergy
3. Coherent branding- same logo, same models, typography and egalitarian tone. There could
also be similar imagery
4. Call to action in the contents page to visit the online website. This could be in the editor’s letter
as it is a new magazine I can tell the audience about our ‘recently launched’ website
First two editions of a new current affairs magazine
Launched by Dennis
For a socially-conscious, 16-25, middle to upmarket demographic