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?
An article by Lauren Duca about the 'gaslight' of America and Donald Trump
2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?
Teen Vogue first launched in 2003 and the original content was based around lifestyle, fashion and beauty
3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?
She thought that Teen Vogue should take a more serious approach in which it should talk more about society, politics and things such as feminism
4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?
They publish between 50 to 70 stories a day and focuses on fashion, entertainment and current affairs
5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?
Picardi felt as if it was important to dig more into politics and gender rights etc. He wanted to diversify the backgrounds of the people in the newsroom
6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?
The readership is genderless however focuses mainly on 18-24 year olds and the term 'woke' refers to social awareness
7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?
Identity is a very big issue as Teen Vogue wants their readers to feel better about themselves and also empowering them with political information.
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?
She suggests that the relationship with the readers is much closer and more transparent and argues that Teen Vogue has responded to that
9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?
Donald Trumps election, police brutality on black teens and LGBTQ
10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?
Teen Vogue readers think that it is a good source of information and that it helps educate them on not only fashion and beauty but social and political issues.
Teen Vogue textual analysis and example articles
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?
There is a red colour scheme which could signify importance, there is the name of the magazine, a menu, a taskbar where you can find specific news and the most recent and important news is at the top of the page.
2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?
There is a red colour scheme which implies the importance of the stories and that audiences should take interest. There is also various types of news appealing to many audiences and a trending section which could interest readers.
3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?
Advertising appears around the homepage whilst scrolling down in-between news stories and sponsors brands or businesses
4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?
The items at the top (fashion, entertainment etc.) are the genre of news stories and it can tell us that Teen Vogue is more than a fashion magazine
5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?
The home page scrolls down a fair amount and has around 25 news stories
Lifestyle section
Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue and answer the following:
1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?
Tech, Campus life, Careers, Decorating ideas and Food
2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.
There are a lot of images relating to the text which could intrigue the audience and the style in which the articles are places are very formal and easy to engage with
3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?
The headlines are more about the reader and more based on the images shown. Furthermore the headlines also include sub headings which could catch the readers attention to read the article.
4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?
This tells me that the audience demographics are not just teens and are also people who are older studying in university etc. The demographic is widely diverse and it is based more around educated individuals
5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – why do they fit the Teen Vogue brand?
3 Reasons why the iPhone XR should be your next phone ( this is based on lifestyle and how audiences should buy the latest phone that is gaining a lot of attention.)
World Markets massive black Friday sale will give your dorm a holiday upgrade ( based on fashion and lifestyle as it influences people to decorate their university dorms)
Lady Gaga delivered pizza to California wildfire victims ( a more serious news article which may emotionally appeal to audiences as it is a recent tragedy and it is a positive comeback about someone giving back)
Five key articles
Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below for EACH feature.
For each article:
Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
The Writer is Lauren Duca and the article is about the impact of Donald Trump becoming the president and how he has impacted America as a country
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
The article uses narrative to enhance Donald Trumps views and his manipulation and lies
3) Why is this article significant?
The article is significant as it is about politics and about Americas society right now presenting the truth and the consequences of Donald Trumps presidency
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
The article appeals to all demographics of Teen Vogue readers as it focuses on politics which is seen as something that the readers need to be more awake and 'woke' about
The New Face Of Teen Activism
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
The writer is Alexis Manrodt and the article is about social activism and the role of the internet and the media on the issue
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
It helps us understand that the goal of Teen Vogue is to create a better world for our generation
3) Why is this article significant?
The significance of this article is that it is based on the future of the readership and how the internet can influence a lot of things
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
It reinforces how Teen Vogue is a 'woke' brand and influences change
Black Teens Have Been Fighting For Gun Reforms For Years
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
The writer is Lincoln Anthony Blades and the article is about gun control and how teens have been fighting an ongoing battle for gun reform
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
The article talks about how students have would out of class, rallys and how they have been trying to fix this issue for a very long time. This can engage the reader as they can link it to the amount of mass shootings there have been in America
3) Why is this article significant?
This is significant as there has been a lot of stories in the news about gun violence for example school shootings and how teenage voices can impact a change on this
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
Talks about how teenagers can stand up to this and create change. It also highlights issues and how people may be affected
Netflix and Strong Female Leads
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
The writer is De Elizabeth and the article is about how Netflix has changed gender stereotypes and the way we view women.
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
The article talks about general stereotypes of women and how media has changed this linking to the idea of feminism and the feminist movement.
3) Why is this article significant?
This article is significant as it could help raise awareness on how people view women as stereotypes could have a huge impact on someone and a community. Furthermore, stereotypes are usually invalid now as things are now changing due to society and changes in the world.
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
It helps make young females feel strong and independent in their own skin empowering the to become something great.
How To Break Away From The Gender Binary
1) Who is the writer and what is the article about?
The writer is Samantha Riedel and the article is about gender binaries and the idea of Donald Trump focusing more on the fixed idea of gender.
2) How does the article use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible.
talks about the idea of gender and sexuality which could link to personal identity as people may relate to the ideas of LGBTQ and gender binaries.
3) Why is this article significant?
This article is significant as Teen Vogue wants to create change in society about these arguments and also it creates a sense of humour as it continuously mocks Donald Trump which would appeal to readers.
4) How does this article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
The article does this by expressing how everyone is equal no matter their gender or sexuality.
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