LO1 - Unit 1 -Analysing Media

products and audiences

(Magazine)
By Emily Farrant - Harris
Bauer Media group ownership
Founded in 1875 Bauer Media group is a european publishing company that is
owned by Yvonne Bauer. She is the CEO and owns 85% of the company itself.
As the company has grown it has been managed by 5 different generations of
the Bauer family. Other important higher level staff members that aid the
production of Bauer media group include Jörg Hausendorf who is the
managing director, Harald Jessen who is a member of the executive board and
Witold Wozniak who leads Bauer media Poland and is a member of the
executive board too. In the UK branch of Bauer Media group, Paul Keenan is
the CEO.
Bauer Media group ownership continued
Bauer media group are an extremely successful company as a result of their
ownership of various different brands and services. They stated themselves that
they are Britain's largest magazine publisher. This is only amplified as a a result of
them operating in over 19 countries globally as well as their portfolio consisting of
over 600 magazines, 400 digital products and over 100 radio and tv stations, some
of which enable them to connect with over 200 million consumers.
Operating Model
Bauer Media Group are able to connect to their audiences by what they describe
as trying categorizing them by appealing to them with ‘cultural connections’. This
means that they look into what specific types of their audience are interested in
and apply this to their products and brands to target them directly. They are able
to appeal to their various different audiences by using their interests or what is
important to them.

They are also able to appeal to their audiences by making their products or brands
accessible in a way that suits them best. This means having digital versions of any
of their print based products so they can target audience that connect more with
magazines or services than are online instead.
Products
Bauer media group have produced and created various different
services/brands throughout the lifespan of their company. They have ownership
or control over many companies or brands that also include things such as
magazine subscription services, radio, television and more. Specifically their
portfolio as a company consists of brands and services such as Take a break,
TV Choice, Closer & Grazia (Magazines). As well as these some others also
include KISS FM & Magic. Their main products mainly consist of TV, Radio and
multiplatform/print media.
Marketing position and Competitors
Bauer media group are able to differ from their competitors by operating in over 19
countries and not just within the UK. By operating in multiple different countries
they are able to have an audience on a much larger scale than if they were to only
operate in one country. Some of Bauer media groups main competitors consist of
those like Lagardère Group (who also specialise in mass media) as well as Dennis
Publishing too. Bauer media group are also able to differ from their competitors as
a result of the volume of brands or products that they own and the fact that each of
these different things are varied in the sense that they target many different groups
of people. For example having products/magazines such as Model Rail, Mother &
Baby, Bird Watching, Classic Cars, Rock FM & Tv Choice.
 Production process
Bauer media group have a department that handle many key responsibilities for
their production services known as their production department. Some of the
things this group are responsible for are; print & paper purchasing, organising
production schedules, some management regarding advertising and editorial
content, development of materials and product management.

When producing a magazine the first thing that is necessary to establish is the
deadlines for certain aspects of the magazine so a production schedule can be
managed. After this the content can be organised so a plan for each story or aspect
of the magazine can be developed so each story can be proofread and edited.
After all of these steps the final check of the magazine should be done so it can be
then sent to be printed and then distributed.
Readership
One of what Bauer describes as their strongest audiences consists of people aged
between 16-34 year olds. This group consists of what Bauer calls ‘digitally native’
individuals which means they have grown up in the digital age. This would suggest
that they are fans of technology and use it regularly (for example smartphones or
tablets). Bauer media group have a wide readership as its audience is very varied
as a result of the wide range of products and brands that reach different audiences
that consist of people of different ages and genders.
Marketing/promotion
Bauer media group market and promote their magazines by what they
mention to be market surveys of different target audience groups and
various different businesses or types of businesses. They aim to meet
the needs of their audience members through their products or
magazines. They are able to market their products by targeting their
audience members through services like subscriptions and various
different types of retailers.
Advertisers and Distribution
Bauer media group reach over 25 million consumers, they are known as Britain's biggest
magazine publisher and one of europe's largest privately owned media groups. They
operate in 19 different countries across the world , some of these places include the UK as
well as Germany, Poland, Australia, New Zealand and the USA. They are represented through
many brands across the world too and have a portfolio that consists of over 1,000 products
and brands. They have established many brands and services within each country that they
operate in.

They will get their brand out into the public eye by putting their products into supermarkets
and shops as well as the use of social media amongst younger audience members too. They
have various online services that allow people to view their content or products online
instead of in a print type format.
LO1-Unit 1- Analysing media
products and audiences
(Newspaper)
By Emily Farrant-Harris
News Corp UK & Ireland Ownership
This company is currently owned by the
American mass media company News Corp.
It is mainly known as a British newspaper
publisher and publishes some of the UK’s
most popular newspapers. The company was
founded over 36 years ago and currently trades
under the name ‘News UK’. The CEO of News
UK is Rebekah Brooks who has been in this
role in 2015.
Operating Model
News Corp UK & Ireland are able to appeal to their audiences by including stories in their
newspapers that directly appeal to them and the issues that they may care about or be
interested in. They are able to appeal to their audience as a result of the variation of
products they have. The three main products that News Corp UK & Ireland are most known
for are The Times, The Sunday Times & The Sun. Each of these newspapers have
different content that target different groups of people of different age groups and social
class for example. The Sun has consistently stayed the most read British newspaper and
has more than 7 million readers each day. This shows how they appeal to their audience as
the high volume of readers that remain committed to the same paper each day.
Products
News Corp UK and Ireland (News UK) are mainly
responsible for releasing and owning products that
are newspapers. Some of the more well known
newspapers that they have been responsible for
publishing are The Times, The Sunday Times
and The Sun. Some other things that News UK
have ownership or control over include Fabulous
Bingo, Storyful, Wireless Group and The
Sunday Times Wine club.
Marketing position and Competitors
News Corp UK & Ireland are able to differ from their competitors by their
ownership of various newspapers that each differ from each other. They are able
to target multiple different groups of people within their audience through the
content that they have in each of their most popular newspapers. They differ from
their competitors by attracting very two different audience. The Sun and The Time
target two completely different groups of people.
Some of News UK’s biggest competitors are Guardian News & Media LTD,
Telegraph Media Group LTD and Associated Newspapers LTD. It is said that
the biggest competitor for News UK is DMG Media which is owned by DMGT
(Daily Mail and General trust Plc.) who publish newspapers such as the Daily
Mail.
Production process
The printers for the various newspapers that are produced by News UK are located in
Broxbourne in the UK and the site is 40 acres big. The production process for creating a
newspaper starts with obtaining the information to put in the newspaper itself, obtaining
the most relevant news stories that suit the style of the newspaper and its audiences. The
stories are overlooked by various staff members including editors. It is also important to
sort out the advertising aspect of each newspaper deciding on the business that will
advertise within the newspaper. Next comes the composition of the newspaper which
means staff members deciding on which sections are placed in what part of the newspaper.
Finally comes the printing of the newspapers and then distributing them accordingly.
Readership
As a result of News UK’s variety of products / their ownership of many different newspapers
it is very likely that their readership will consist of many types or groups of people. Each one
of the more popular newspapers that are owned by News UK are likely to have different
kinds of audiences, some of which will be considerably similar to the other. In the age of
social media it is very likely that any audiences that News UK have are based around people
of a more mature age as it is stereotypically uncommon for younger people to show interest
in reading the newspaper on a regular basis. Although, newspapers such as The Sun may
interest younger audience because of their content and connections to the internet. For
example The Sun states how their audiences more recently consists of those age 15-34 &
their readers are both print and mobile based. The Times however targets a range of
different age groups but can mostly be considered more popular with those over 65+ with a
more male based audience.
Marketing & promotion
News Corp UK and Ireland market and promote their products by targeting the
content of their newspapers to audiences that care about the events happening the
world right now. They are able to use social media to promote different stories
happening in the news so members of their target audience can expect to purchase
the newspaper and read about the stories in more detail. They can utilise platforms
such as facebook to tease their audience by releasing smaller preliminary articles
about bigger stories that attract their audience to the full version of the newspaper.
Advertisers & Distribution
News Corp UK & Ireland (News UK) have products that are distributed nationally
throughout the UK. The Newspapers that they are responsible for publishing are
known nationally across the UK. As News UK is a part of a much larger company
some of the newspapers that they produce are known also on a global level too,
this is also due to the other forms of media in which the newspapers and their
stories present themselves too. The newspapers that they produce are usually
advertised and distributed through social media or online services or can be
purchased or seen across a variation of different shops across the UK and
sometimes even globally.