Ideologies & Institutions

What is Ideology?

• Ideology is a set of ideas,myths or beliefs, that guide an individual, social movement, institution, class or large group holds to be true or valid; these are shared through the society about how civilization should function. 

Uncut Magazine

Uncut magazine are owned by Time Inc. which present many of their ideologies with the magazine in similar ways to other magazines. 

• The magazine Uncut appeal to the audience by including in-depth stories and features throughout the magazine of well-known hits from different eras which allows the audience to be more engaged by the well established music journalism which is clearly shown. The language of the magazine is slightly informal however, informative and passionate towards the readers, which is a strong link to what Time Inc. represent.

• Uncut are expanding their readership as the range of readers, of a average 35+ who are mainly male has changed as Time Inc.'s average of 18-24, shows the age range of the uncut magazine isn't just alluring for a younger target audience than they perceive. 

• The average income of UNCUT readers amount to approximately £29,263 a year, let alone Time Inc. customers in general; the lower than average income may justify the free CD which comes with almost every issue of UNCUT to ensure that the magazine is value for money.This is an ideology which doesn't seem to have been influenced by Time Inc. Applying that Time Inc. are able to boost their institution further by being able to reach other audiences demonstrates that their ideology of connecting customers culturally can be seen through UNCUT's magazines.

Q Magazine

Q is a well-known music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom and are owned by Bauer Media Group, which is a subsidiary company to Bauer Media Company head quartered in Hamburg, Germany - a confidentially owned European publishing company. Bauer Media Group is a multi-national media domain, that offers more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world.

• Bauer Media's Ideology: 

'Our business is built on influential media brands with millions of personal relationships with engaged readers and listeners. Our strategy is to connect audiences with excellent content through our broad multi-touch point brand platforms, wherever and whenever and however they want. Our wide portfolio of influential brands gives us advantages over pure play magazine or radio competitors'. 

This ideology is illustrated to show that they are aiming to reach millions of people worldwide, through the different mass media applications they have invested in which give them an advantage to further promote their brand, for example, print or broadcasting themselves on radio platforms , this is shown through their website as they use synergy to advance their other brands especially the Q brand.

• Moreover, In relation to their target audience Bauer Media publish a wide range of various types of magazines therefore accommodating to a broad target audience, including men,women and teenagers. Q in fact,specifically is aimed towards young and prosperous readers. With a percentage of 68% of Q readers are from an ABC1 on the registrar scale and the average age is 29. The readership and the circulation of Q's magazine is 339,000 and 48,353 which reveals how well-established and triumphant the magazine is due to high outcome of readers and circulation.

On the front cover of Q magazine it assimilates a very strong, authoritative male figure, which is what many males desire to look like that, and this concept refers to the theory proposed by Jacques Lacan and Carl Rogers which is the Ideal I theory or the Ideal-Ego, which implies that seeing iconic figures or characters in media texts who are successful audiences may see them as a superior reflection of themselves they could aspire to. In other covers, female figures are positioned on the front cover in a rather sexualised pose and  physique which also attract the male readers to purchase and read the magazine.  

Classical Rock Magazine

Classical Rock is also a British magazine which is dedicated to rock music,published by Team-rock, who are also responsible for its other "sibling" publications Metal Hammer and Prog magazine. Classical Rock strongly focuses on key bands from the 1960s through early 1990s, it also involves articles and reviews of the most common and upcoming artists in rock music who have made a mark to be deemed worthy for the position of being promoted in the magazine.

• Through the ongoing project it has become one of the United Kingdom's best selling music magazine, with a circulation of 94,617 and readership levels of 211,000 that demonstrates how successful the magazine has become and that their readers are extreme fans and traditional readers as the average readers are B-C2 class rock lovers aged around 34-45 years old. 

• This is evinced by the use of language through the magazine which is very sophisticated and intellectual. Furthermore, through the content and the tributes included within the magazine show the actual target audience is targeted towards a older range of men interested in the more known and older classical rock involved in the magazine.

Echoes Magazine

Echoes also a British magazine was originally Black Echoes is a monthly magazine of soul, Jazz,R&B, hip hop and reggae. It was founded as a weekly newspaper, Black Echoes, in 1976 and later changed its name to just Echoes, with then became a monthly magazine in 2000.

• The magazine is mostly aimed towards black music posted every month on soul,jazz,R&B, hip hop and reggae; which is more targeted towards a wide range of black people with the history with the common sound that the music magazine is including with iconic figure and other well-known artists on the front cover.