OSP: Teen Vogue - background and textual analysis
Teen Vogue: background reading
Read this Guardian feature from 2017 on Teen Vogue and answer the following questions.
1) What was the article that announced Teen Vogue as a more serious, political website – with 1.3m hits and counting?
Trump gas lighting America
2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?
Launched in 2004 as a little sister to US Vogue, Teen Vogue used to focus on the standard cocktail of fashion must-haves and celebrity worship.
3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?
Empowerment, feminism, politics, diversity
4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?
50 and 70 a day
present a typically mixed bag of fashion, entertainment and current affairs.
5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?
‘We have to give her [the reader] more.’” he tells me. “I thought it was really important to talk about reproductive rights, gender. To dig into politics and the news cycle.
6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?
The term woke refers to a 'byword for social awareness'' otherwise known as someone
who is sophistically social aware
18-24
7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?
“Identity is big. We want to help make them feel better about themselves, whether that’s giving beauty tips, or empowering them with political information to have smarter conversations and feel they can stand up for themselves.” Career advice “is an evergreen topic”; above all, “young people are craving something real, craving authenticity”.
8) What does Tavi Gevinson suggest regarding the internet and ‘accountability culture’ with regards to modern audiences? Can you link this to our work on Clay Shirky?
where the relationship with readers is closer and more transparent, and says brands have had to respond to that. “It is in their best interest to subvert expectations of teen girl magazines,”
This links to the clay shirky theory showing how there is no longer a clearer line between the producer and consumer and both can interlink.
9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?
Trump politics election/scandals
Gender activism
Race activism
10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?
“most of what I read on social media is unreliable”. For her, “The recent presidential election brought to the surface a lot of important issues that weren’t getting as much attention as they should have: women’s rights, LGBTQ community rights, immigration.”
Teen Vogue: Factsheet Part 1
Read Media Factsheet #200 Teen Vogue - Part 1. You can find the Factsheet in our Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive in school or download it here using your Greenford Google login. Answer the following questions:
1) The Factsheet suggests Teen Vogue has successfully made the transition to an online, social and participatory product. Why? What platforms is it now available on?
Available on Instagram, Pintrest, Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and its website
2) Look at the screenshots and details on pages 3-4 of the Factsheet. What does Teen Vogue offer its audience?
Shows articles covering topics such as style, politics, culture, identity and summit.
3) Who is the typical Teen Vogue reader?
This is somebody who is sophisticated, conscious. We
say ‘woke’ here. We’re a woke brand, and our readers are woke
too.”
“our sweet spot is 18-24… genderless. It’s more about a
sensibility.
4) Read the content analysis of the Teen Vogue website on page 5 of the Factsheet. Pick out three key examples of how meanings are created in Teen Vogue and what is communicated to the audience.
The title gives a direct address to the audience with the use of pronouns
The website has a bricolage of existing media products and creates a hybrid.
Homepage analysis
Go to the Teen Vogue homepage and answer the following:
1) What website key conventions can you find on the Teen Vogue homepage?
On the top, there are menu taps which include style, politics, culture, identity and summit.
Central image showing the main article
2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?
The article's title all include the direct address to make the reader feel the article was written for them
The layout is effective, simple and straight forward so its easy for the reader to find the article they may be looking for
3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?
Top of the homepage
4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?
Politics, style, culture, identity and summit
5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?
Many articles are on the homepage
Lifestyle section
Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue (in the Identity section) and answer the following:
1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?
Health, sex and relationships, wellness, horoscope, lifestyle and voices.
2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.
Bold images and the use of the direct address in the titles
3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?
They written directed towards the audience as if they were speaking to the reader.
4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?
Most of the age gaps fall under the 18-22 age gap
5) Choose one story featured in the Lifestyle section and explain how reflects the Teen Vogue brand.
https://www.teenvogue.com/story/best-reusable-water-bottles
Reflect how teen vogue articles about recycling and caring about the eco-system and the environment.
Teen Vogue: Five key articles
Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below.
1) What do you notice about the content and style of these articles? What do they have in common?
The articles can be easily accessed and have a simple layout making it easier for the reader to select articles. Also, all the articles have a tag showing which subject it covers.
2) How do the articles use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible - what makes the reader want to click or read more?
You can apply action and enigma codes the article cover using enigma verbs(clickbait) to make the reader click the article. Also, the title usually reflects disequilibrium to make the reader clicks the title.
3) Pick a quote from each article that illustrates the political, 'woke' ideology of Teen Vogue and paste it here.
"Gaslighting" is a buzzy name for a terrifying strategy currently being used to weaken and blind the American electorate. We are collectively being treated like Bella Manningham in the 1938 Victorian thriller from which the term "gaslight" takes its name.
4) What effect on the audience are these articles hoping to achieve?
Try to make the audience have a more open mind and an active reader who supports the casue teen vogue does.
5) How do these article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
Focus on female empowerment, social activism
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