How a magazine is constructed for a specific audience

Top Gear Magazine

 

I have decided to look at the 2012 December issue of Top Gear Magazine to try and identify the target audience that reads this magazine.

Age

The people who read Top Gear Magazine are aged 18 - 40 because of the technical language used like the specifications of cars e.g. performance of the cars. On pg 99 it talks about the deails of the Audi R8 V10 Plus like what engine size it is and how much CO2 it produces.

Gender

Male because they are more interested in cars and their isn't any women in the magazine. Also the products that are advertised are mostly for men e.g. headphones, aftershave.

Sexual Orientation

This section isn't applicable because it is made for a male audience but can be appreciated by heterosexual, homosexual readers.

Standard Occupational Classifaction

The standard occupational classifaction for the magazine would be A,B,C1 because of the expensive items that are advirtised in the magazine e.g. on pg. 42-43 it has a Porsche advertised which costs £88,744.

Lifestyle

The lifestyle of a reader of the magazine could have a lot of money to spend and is interested in motoring and also has alot of leisure time. On pg. 88 it has The Performance Car Show advertised and you would think that someone who has money and some leisure time might want to buy a ticket. It can also be aspirational for people who don't have alot of money to spend.

Geodemographics

The magazine is aimed at a national audience because it isn't aimed at one particular area and it can bought nationwide. People can also buy the magazine in different countries as there is a licensed editions for countries such as China, Czech Republic and Greece.

Mode Of Adress

The mode of adress for the magazine has mixed language and that it is more formal than informal  and chatty e.g. Pgs 20, 23 and 25 in their own articles it is very chatty but with some technical information in.


PCC and ASA

The PCC (Press Complaints Comission) look at complaints from readers or the general public about articles in magazines to make sure if they are telling the truth and are acurate.

The ASA (Advirtising Standards Agency look at the adverts in magazines and see if they break the code or if the editor needs change anything because a complaint has come to them about a particular advert in their magazine.

Producers must make sure that the aricles and adverts don't breach the code of practise for each of the organisations.