Magazines: Oh Comely Industry case study

Magazines: Oh Comely Industry case study

Our final concept for Oh Comely magazine is industry.

This is crucial concept because Oh Comely is a small, niche independent magazine - completely different from the global brand that is Men's Health. We need to explore the surprising rise in independent publishing in recent years and why small print magazines seem to be surviving and thriving in the digital age.

Lesson notes

The independent print magazine is characterised as:

“…published without the financial support of a large corporation or institution in which the makers control publication and distribution…“independent” in spirit due to a maverick editor or publisher who leads the magazine in an exploratory, noncommercial direction” (Thomas 2007).

Source: Writer's Edit




Print: the challenge for publishers

Despite the renaissance of print through independent magazines, there are still huge challenges:

• Distribution: finding distributor, risk of unsold stock
• Lack of advertising revenue: meaning high cover price (all over £5, many around £10 or more)
• Audience: finding and targeting a viable audience

Ironically, the internet has proved an unlikely saviour for independent magazines – it facilitates direct sales and subscriptions and allows magazines to find niche communities, crowdfunding and contributors

Iceberg Press: an independent publisher

Iceberg Press is completely different to Hearst UK – the publisher of Men’s Health and subsidiary of global conglomerate Hearst.

It publishes just two magazines: Oh Comely and The Simple Things.

Oh Comely Industries case study - blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to complete your work on the Oh Comely magazine CSP. There are plenty of questions here but you will be given plenty of time to complete it and will find this gives you a brilliant insight into a vital aspect of media - the power of independent institutions.

Iceberg Press

Visit the Iceberg Press website - particularly the Who Are We page and the Why Are We Here page. Read the content and then answer the following questions:

1) Why did the people behind Iceberg Press set it up?

We are gladly autonomous and put the peruse at the core of all that we do 

2) What is the Iceberg Press mission statement? (It's on the Why Are We Here page and is a series of statements).

It's about the group of spectators 

Pursue the work, not the cash 

Bargain isn't our companion 

We will consistently set aside a few minutes for thoughts 

We are more grounded when we work with others 

We need great individuals to work in a decent place 

Consistently we will help a reason that issues 

We have faith in a thing called print.

3) What are the two magazines that Iceberg Press publishes?

Oh comely and The Simple things 

4) What similarities do you notice between The Simple Things magazine and Oh Comely?

The Simple Things magazine is a ladies' way of life magazine anyway Oh Comely is an autonomous magazine. 

5) What differences can you find between Hearst UK, publisher of Men's Health, and Iceberg Press?

Chunk of ice Press is an autonomous distributer which just distributed two magazines-The Simple Things and Oh Comely. In any case, Hearst UK has distributed 23 brands including ELLE, Cosmopolitan and ESQUIRE ETC

Writer's Edit journal article

Read this excellent Writer's Edit academic journal article on the independent magazine industry and answer the following questions:

1) What is the definition of an independent print magazine?

distributed without the monetary help of enormous organisation or establishment in which the creators control production and dispersion

2) What does Hamilton (2013) suggest about independent magazines in the digital age?

little printed magazines are discreetly flourishing even as the worldwide paper and book enterprises waver. 

3) What is the aim of Kinfolk magazine and what similarities can you draw with Oh Comely?

Family plans to enable perusers to discover approaches to streamline their lives 

4) Why does the article suggest that independent magazines might be succeeding while global magazine publishers such as Bauer are struggling?

Top notch magazines demonstrate a more noteworthy gratefulness for visual depiction and the presence of the magazine 

5) How do independent magazines launch? Look at the example of Alphabet Family Journal.

Free magazines will in general be propelled from crowdfunding in light of the fact that cash is required so as to set up the magazine and print duplicates and so forth. 

6) What does the article suggest about how independent publishers use digital media to target their niche audiences?

They utilise online life to make a solid brand picture. 

7) Why is it significant that independent magazines are owned and created by the same people? How does this change the creative process and direction of the magazine?

it makes them increasingly special and unique and enables them to stand apart to clients. 

8) What does the article suggest regarding the benefits of a 'do-it-yourself' approach to creating independent magazines?

- Shares the qualities of thoughts of other individuals to make a superior idea 

- Creates even more a bound together visiom 

9) The article discusses the audience appeal of print. Why might audiences love the printed form in the digital age?

it is customary and the appreciate of understanding it in their grasp. 

10) What are the challenges in terms of funding and distributing an independent magazine?

- Contributors won't really increase an enormous benefit 

- They can't pay for appropriation

Irish Times feature

Now read this short feature in the Irish Times on the growth of independent magazines and answer the following questions:

1) Why are independent magazines so popular?

they are famous on the grounds that they have there possess clients as it is a piece of a major industry

2) Why is the magazine publishing industry set up to favour the big global conglomerates?

The topic of the magazine ought not be too expansive your magazine will get lost 

3) What does the article suggest regarding finding an audience for an independent magazine?

The topic of the magazine ought not be too expansive your magazine will get lost
The topic ought not be too specialty - prompting being ineffective 
The magazine ought to have an equalization group of spectators is locked in 

4) What are the challenges for magazine distributors?

Transportation over the top expensive 

5) The article suggests that many independent magazines only make money by diversifying into other products. What examples do they give?

Setting up occasions that are connected to the magazine so different items and things be sold.

TCO interview with Ruth Jamieson

Finally, read this excellent interview on the TCO London website with Ruth Jamieson, who has written a book on the renaissance of the independent magazine sector. Answer the following questions:

1) Why does Ruth Jamieson suggest there's a renaissance in independent publishing?

- Easier to begin a magazine and discover a group of people 

- Independent magazines will in general be progressively famous 

2) What are the common themes for successful independent magazines?

Solid feeling of craftsmanship course 

High caliber of composing 

Solid realistic character 

'Workmanship house' style 


content - extraordinary 

3) How many of these aspects can you find in Oh Comely? Make specific reference to the CSP pages where possible.

Standing up' highlight 

4) How does Jamieson see the future for the magazine industry?

goes about as a type of strengthening 

urges ladies to take an interest and stand firm 

Type of activism - changing the world 

Style of the component diverse to different magazines 


standard magazines will begin to look increasingly like outside the box magazines - went for more specialty spectators 

5) How might this future impact Oh Comely? Do you think Oh Comely will survive the next five years - and why?

I imagine that Oh attractive will get by in the following five years since they have a solid and steadfast crowd along these lines they will keep on acquiring these magazines

Magazines: Oh Comely - Language and Representation

Magazines: Oh Comely - Language and Representation

We need to analyse selected pages from Oh Comely to explore how it is constructed and the way issues of representation and identity are presented.

Oh Comely deliberately offers an alternative version of the women's lifestyle magazine genre and we need to explore how page design, content and conventions are used or subverted to create this effect. We also need to consider the different representations that can be found in these features.

We recommend you buy your own copy of Issue 35 of Oh Comely - the selected CSP issue. You can order this from the Oh Comely website here. Alternatively, selected pages of the magazine are currently available to view online through the website Issuu here.

Oh Comely Language and Representation: blog tasks

Language: close-textual analysis

Work through the following tasks to complete your close-textual analysis of the Oh Comely CSP pages:

Front cover

1) What do the typefaces used on the front cover suggest to an audience?

it proposes that the magazine is for females. this is on the grounds that on the spread lines for what it's worth about female strengthening. 

2) The words under the title introduce the content and topics addressed. What do these suggest about the potential audience of Oh Comely?

it is strange and for an informed group of spectators yet still cliché for females as it discusses style and so forth

3) How do the cover lines use narrative to create enigma? What do the cover lines suggest about the magazine's content and audience?

they are conscious advertisement uncertain for what it's worth about female strengthening and women's liberation 

4) Write an analysis of the central image.

she is presenting in all respects certainly yet she is additionally exhibited as high society from what she is wearing yet at the same time manly and doesn't coordinate standard excellence principles

5) What representation of gender can be found on this front cover?

she is presenting in all respects certainly however she is likewise displayed as privileged from what she is wearing yet manly

Feature: Speaking Out

1) What does the headline and standfirst suggest about Oh Comely's feminist perspective?

subject of female strengthening, for females age 27, instructed group of spectators. additionally has internet based life following of the females recounting to their accounts. 

2) What do the interviewees in this feature suggest about the values and ideologies that underpin this magazine?

their are unique and offer a decent variety as far as race and ethnicity which likewise strengthens and difficulties generalizations. 

3) How conventional is the page design in this feature? Why?

it is straightforward yet rich as there is so much free space and looks masterful and proficient 

4) Pick out specific aspects of this feature that subvert the stereotypical representation of women in the media. Are they different to what we may find in conventional women's lifestyle magazines such as Glamour or Cosmopolitan? Why is the absence of men a key feature of Oh Comely?

they are diverse in light of the fact that they have an area where 5 females recount to their accounts to move youthful females promotion roll out an improvement where different magazines don't have that

5) How does the photography offer a fresh or unusual perspective on women?

it is exceptionally vivid which is intense to how trust in ladies

Feature: More than gender

1) How does this feature offer a fresh perspective on gender and identity?

it offers a new point of view on sexual orientation and character since it discusses a transgender adventure and the sister is recounting to the narrative of her siblings change. 

2) What is the significance of the writer and photographer? How does this fit with the Oh Comelybrand?

The author and the picture taker is a similar individual and it likewise is exceptional and imaginative.

3) What style of photography is used in this feature?

They had a photo which was inside another photo

4) What representations of the transgender lifestyle can be found in this feature?


it indicates how hard it is toward the beginning however then gets simpler which additionally has to do with society being all the more tolerating. 

5) Why is the biographical information at the end of the article significant? (Clue: the writer is also an editor of a niche, creative magazine called Entitle).

it demonstrates what sort of individuals that Oh Comely are keen on and incorporating into the magazine

Representation and identity

Work through the following questions on representation and Oh Comely:

1) How do representations in Oh Comely challenge stereotypes? 

they talk about things that are surprising for a way of life magazine and furthermore the spread picture as the model has manly includes or is introduced in that manner 


2) What representations of race, ethnicity and nationality can be found in the 'Speaking Out' feature?

every one of the 5 young ladies are diverse as in they are an alternate race, ethnicity and so forth which this subverts typical generalisations in magazines

3) What representation of women and femininity can be found in Oh Comely?


that they can convey what needs be the way they need for instance the model has least cosmetics which difficulties generalisations that ladies done need to look a specific way and can be normal. 

4) Why might Oh Comely deliberately under-represent men? (The absence of men in the magazine appears to be a largely deliberate move by the editors).

as they need to target females and give them a voice and rouse them. 

5) Does Oh Comely fit into the possible fourth wave of feminism? Or is it evidence of post-feminism - that feminism is no longer needed?

imagine that Oh Comely fits into the fourth rush of women's liberation as they are conveying their thoughts through online life and print. 

6) How does the 'More than gender' feature challenge Levi-Strauss's structuralist theory of binary opposition?

cap sexual orientation does not have two contrary energies and it is increasingly liquid. 

7) Judith Butler argues gender is a performance. How does Oh Comely challenge traditional gender roles? You should refer to both the cover and the selected CSP features. 

The 'Standing up' segment you see an individual association with each of the five ladies, which demonstrates the authenticity of their accounts 

8) Angela McRobbie explored the empowering nature of women's lifestyle magazines in the 1990s. Oh Comely seeks female empowerment in a different way. What differences can you find between Oh Comely and more traditional women's lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan or Glamour? 


Style intends to urge ladies to change themselves to fit into the picture of an 'impeccable' lady that has been made by society and online life though gracious attractive is about the eventual fate of ladies and having any kind of effect 

9) David Gauntlett argues that identity is becoming more fluid, media representations change over time and that there are generational differences. Does Oh Comely support this viewpoint?

indeed in view of the more than sexual orientation highlight and how they have the 5 young ladies web based life tag under there highlight 

10) It has been argued that Oh Comely is a far more open text (Stuart Hall - encoding and decoding/reception theory) with more room for negotiation in interpretation. Do you agree with this view? Why?

I concur in light of the fact that the absence of cover lines implies that the magazine is less explicit with its points and perspectives