Shona Race Showreel

Here is my Showreel, produced for my documentary assessment on my BA Journalism course at the University of Winchester.

Here is also the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bry3yrM1mJ4

Innovation in the magazine industry

It is 2014 and the magazine industry is under pressure to think of new and innovative ways to continue appeal to the public as something worth purchasing. This is predominantly due to the fact that there is a large range of magazines available on the market, making it difficult for publishers to be able to gain a niche following. This is therefore putting more emphasis on the need for magazines to expand into various other media platforms, such as focusing more attention on publishing articles online. ‘Lads Mag’ ‘Nuts’ closed down in March 2014 which further highlights the issue that magazines are suffering due to the multimedia era which we live in today. The magazine industry is becoming less appealing to a consumer who is more interested in the similar content which is available online. This means that more needs to be done to hold reader interest.

Everything is available online, you can shop, find out information and chat to others; the possibilities are endless. People prefer to use the internet for the convenience and ease; you can access the whole world online from the comfort of your home. This means that the most obvious strategy of innovation, which the vast majority of magazines currently partake in, is developing a website to complement their publication. A prime example is to look at the way that the newspaper industry has adapted to this advance of technology, in particular ‘The Daily Mail’. This paper has managed to develop its online content and promote it in such a way that it is now recognised globally as well as in the UK.

The industry is trying to monetise online news and ‘The Mail Online’ is in tune with what their reader’s interests are. The main focus of the site is placed on articles about reality TV stars and celebrities on the whole. According to the website thedrum.com ‘The Mail Online’ set a new record on the 13^th March 2014 with 6.3 million readers coming to their site on that particular day. This figure is more than double the circulation figures for ‘The Daily Mail’ newspaper which only had an average circulation figure of 1,708,006 during March 2014 according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC). The contrast of these two figures supports the idea that websites are the preferred choice of news source over purchasing a newspaper or magazine. Publications need to hold the opinion of ‘The Daily Mail,' that the running of their website is just as important as the publication of the hard copy of a magazine or newspaper.

‘The Sun’ newspaper has also understood that the future of newspapers is dependent on the rise and the success of their online presence. ‘The Sun’ is the most popular daily newspaper in the UK, with a 1.05% increase of circulation in April 2014, and holds a current figure of 2,091,484, according to the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations figures published on 9/05/14.

The popularity of the paper led to the decision to start charging people £8.67 a month to view the paper’s online content. ‘The Sun’ state that you also receive added benefits of subscribing to their website such as being able to view Premier League Goal highlights online, as well as being entered into various online competitions.

Magazines have followed in suit with articles being published daily on their websites. For example, ‘Heat’ magazine owned by Bauer Media Group launched their website called ‘HeatWorld’ in 2007 and refer to their site as an online interpretation of the magazine, which does not replicate the magazine’s content, preferring to base itself more on video content and breaking news. ‘Heat’ also launched ‘Heat Radio’ in 2007, followed by their TV channel in 2012. ‘Heat TV’ is owned by ‘Box Television’ which is a joint venture between ‘Bauer Media Group’ and ‘Channel Four Television Corporation’. The channel mainly focuses on celebrity gossip and playing music. This indicates that ‘Heat’ magazine decided to cross-platform by producing content online, through Radio and on TV which has ensured that the magazine has continued to have a loyal following. This strategy of branching out onto other media platform has clearly worked for ‘Heat’ because it has become a recognisable profitable brand.

Another innovative move which magazines have undertaken is to release specific apps for their publication. These apps have been created so that consumers who wish to visit a magazine’s website have a quick and easy way to access the respective sites on the go from a Smartphone or Tablet. ‘The Daily Mail’ claims that the release of their app has helped draw as many people as possible to their site on a daily basis due to the fact that the app acts as a quick link to the ‘Mail Online’. As I previously mentioned, ‘Heat’ magazine invested in the launch of their interactive app called ‘Heat extra’ which they describe as a shortcut to all of Heat’s media platforms. The app also features exclusive augmented reality content for readers to interactive with. AR (augmented reality) is similar to the common QR code (quick response codes) which are icon style barcodes that are found in magazines which readers can scan via an app on their Smartphone or tablet to view a video, and also links to exclusive content from the magazine. The appeal of AR and QR codes to a reader is that you are promised fresh and exclusive content which is different to what is published in the original magazine.

There are many other apps which have been designed specifically to aid reading magazines online. ‘Flipboard’ was created back in 2010, and was originally only available on iPad Tablets but a recent update on the App means that it is now compatible with the following software companies: Windows, Blackberry and Android. It is an app which allows content from social media and other websites to be presented in a magazine format, and allows users to ‘flip’ through their personalised feeds consisting of blog, audio, video, magazine or newspaper content. ‘Flipboard’ is the perfect example of ways in which the magazine industry can be strengthened due to the fact that users can essentially design their own personalised magazine.

Social media has become a major part of a person’s daily routine, whether this is to stay in touch with others or as a news source. Magazines have also been forced into investing money into social media due to its rise in popularity amongst the public. Most magazines have both a ‘Facebook’ and a ‘Twitter’ account which are used to advertise their magazine and also enables the publications to post links to their online content.

Blogging and in particular ‘Vlogging’ has become a widespread interest amongst younger people as a way of sharing particular opinions on particular interests such as Beauty and Fashion. ‘Vlogging’ is the term given to people who produce videos which are uploaded to ‘YouTube’. These videos can be based on a range of topics from gaming to make-up tutorials. ‘YouTube’ is therefore used as a way of finding new talent and also as a source for finding out information about new goods or services etc.  These ‘Vloggers’ who usually upload weekly content to their ‘YouTube’ channels are becoming more recognised amongst their subscribers and therefore people are wanting to know more about them.

‘Company’ magazine owned by ‘Hearst Magazines UK’ was the first magazine in the UK to feature Beauty ‘Vlogger’ ‘Zoella’ as their cover girl in the April 2014 edition. This was a risky choice to make because although she currently has 4,637,752 subscribers across the world, there are still a significant amount of people who will not use ‘YouTube’ and therefore have no interest in her. However, this was the right decision for the magazine as the magazine has received extremely positive feedback for this move by ‘Zoella’ fans on ‘Twitter’. This shows that magazines are capable of exploring new ways to combine new trends with their magazines in order to attract a larger readership.

People are simply requiring more convenient ways of accessing material on the go, hence why online magazine subscriptions available on Tablets and Smartphones are on the rise, as opposed to regular hard copy subscriptions of the same magazine. It is now expected for all magazines to have an online edition available to download instantly online. It is vital for publishers to be in touch with what the readers want because at the end of the day, the readers will only purchase a magazine if it matches their expectations and what also what they require.

To conclude, I believe that it is apparent that through the rise of social media and the internet there are many different strategies which combine innovation and creativity to help further support the magazine industry and other similar media platforms. Despite this however, the future still is not clear for publications due to the rise of digital content being preferred amongst the public. Magazines can certainly continue to create new ways of keeping their readership interested in their publication through the use of innovation. Instead of seeing advances in technology as challenges, the magazine industry needs to embrace these developments and if they follow similar routes as ‘Heat’ and ‘The Mail Online’ I believe they will have a place in the future market.

Confessional Interview- Magazine Journalism Assessment

Confessional Interview with David Webb

"I remember thinking that I was going to die...''

When David Webb cheated death twice at the hands of fellow citizens of South Africa, he knew it was time to leave.

12 years ago I was living in South Africa with my family running my own successful business in Cape Town. I had cheated death twice and decided that my country was no longer a place in which I wanted to live anymore. For me it felt like a three strikes and you’re out kind of thing.

South Africa is an incredible place but it has its problems, there are lots of poor people, who are so desperately poor that they will do anything for just a ten pound note. These poor people have to spend each day living in slums which they call Townships, seeing wealthy people live in the nice suburbs and driving nice cars. These people want this lifestyle but it is out of their reach.

The decent people in the Townships just want to work and earn an honest wage but a lot of them don’t wish to work, instead choosing to earn a lot of money and fast, through crime.

I lived in a nice suburb but even then it was standard safety procedures to have burglar bars on the windows of your house and an alarm system linked to Rapid Response Units across the country.

On a day to day basis all of this is in the back of your mind but it is not until you have had a gun pointed at you that you can fully understand how dangerous your country actually is. You see that there is no remorse in their eyes, they are cold and full of desperation. There is no doubting that they will shoot you if you do not do what they say.

From this point on I decided that you can either bury your head and just carry on living in fear, or you get out. After my two close shaves with death I decided that what was best for me and my family was to leave South Africa.

I had my own business in South Africa; we were situated on the top floor of an office block and below us was a logistic company which meant that they often had cash on site. One day just after lunch they got held up by two armed men in balaclavas. I heard screaming and a terrible commotion going on downstairs so I came out of my office to see what was going on.

The devastation that I saw is still vivid; it was not a nice sight I can tell you. The armed men had come into the office full of aggression, they smashed one girl’s face and had cut another man on the side of his face.

As I came down the stairs one of the armed men saw me straight away and pointed his gun at me. He screamed that if I didn’t go back upstairs he would shoot me and everyone downstairs. I went back upstairs having held the man’s gaze and knew that this was not an empty threat. I almost pitied this man that stood before me, it wasn’t until I was put in this position that I understood what it must feel like to be this desperately poor and do anything for money.

It was chilling having to go back upstairs not knowing what further chaos was taking place. I felt sick and couldn’t think straight from all the screams and shouting that was continuously coming from downstairs. The armed men didn’t realise but in both offices we had panic buttons which are linked to the Rapid Response Unit. So I pressed mine and just waited for help to come and hoped and prayed that the people downstairs were ok.

The armed men must have been suspicious because they were in and out very quickly after taking what they believed to be bags full of money and luckily there were no deaths. The logistic company were aware of the possible dangers of armed robbery and so had ‘dummy bags’ full of paper to prevent any actual money being stolen in an incident like this.

I believe this to be the worst thing though, all that fear and pain and for what? A bag of paper. That particular memory of fear has never left me, I can visualise now the guy holding the gun up to my chest. I will never forget that day.

My second strike with death was when I witnessed a crime on a much larger scale. I was running errands and had to pick up some printer paper which meant I had to go into the industrial area which took me right past the Township. I never liked this particular journey and was cautious about the possible dangers. What I witnessed on that day however, was way beyond anything I had previously imagined.

I had stopped at the end of a slipway just off the main highway, with about two cars in front of me. The car that was in the front of the queue was approached by three men who came from underneath the bridge that was located next to the slipway. The men surrounded the car, each with a gun.  One of the men then pulled the man out of his car and shot him in the head. There was a briefcase that was attached to the man which they broke off. It became clear that this was all that they wanted.

Bullets were then fired towards the other vehicles that were in the queue, mine included. The lady in front of me was in a state which was beyond hysterical. She was screaming and crying like a wild animal. The memory of that scream still rings in my ears; I can hear it as I'm talking to you now.

Just by chance a Police car happened to be driving past and saw what was happening and opened fire on the three men. If anything this made things worse, bullets were flying everywhere. The sound of bullets is nothing like what is portrayed in films, they are deafening and can be heard from miles around.

I remember thinking that I was going to die and that I should have left the country after my previous incident. I thought of my family and how I feared for their safety without me.

The shoot off lasted for what felt like an eternity but must have only been a matter of minutes until the Police managed to chase the three men away. I got out of my car to see if I could help the lady in front of me, forgetting about the fact that I had faced death and was lucky enough to say once more that I remained unharmed.

The lady had also been blessed because a bullet had smashed through her windscreen narrowly missing her head. The ambulances came and because I was fine I was allowed to continue on my way, as if nothing had happened, as if I hadn't just witnessed a murder.

Don’t get me wrong these weren't typical everyday occurrences; I believe that I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time but I didn't want to wait for the third time to occur. You have to ask yourself how many times is it acceptable to witness something so horrific and do nothing about it. The odds against me were arguably higher due to the fact that I had my own business and therefore came across as a businessman. I was a target so I knew that I had little option but to leave.

I don’t want to portray South Africa as a really bad place, it’s not, it’s a fantastic place, I grew up there and will always love the country but it has its problems and we had a choice to make. If I was a single guy I would have never left, but because of my family I just couldn't risk something happening to them or myself. Your priorities and responsibilities change when you have children.

England was the obvious choice of country to move to since my parents both live here. It took us two years to move due to the time it took to sell my business and our home. We found it hard to restart our lives in England mostly due to the fact that the South African currency the Rand, compared to the British Pound, was very weak at the time. I haven’t been able to start my own business in England but I know that I made the correct decision to leave South Africa.

I don’t regret moving to England in the slightest, despite having to sell my business which I spent 8 years building, because at the end of the day my family’s health and happiness are my priority. I know that if we stayed I would never have been able to forgive myself if I became third time unlucky and never got a chance to see my children grow up.

David Webb, 51, Dorset.
As told to Shona Race. 

"We are safe now."

"My family is everything to me."

"The house I designed and built in South Africa."

Editor Interview with Rachel Richardson of Fabulous magazine for The Sun- Magazine Journalism Assessment

Editor Interview with Rachel Richardson of Fabulous magazine for The Sun. This is for my Magazine Journalism Assessment.