Page 108 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

Sport and Magazines • 97

interest in their topic. In addition, specialist sport magazines are often attempting
to provide their readers with information that will lead to action and enhance their
enjoyment of participating in an activity. ‘This connection between the reader’s ap-
petite for information and interest in some resulting action may lie at the center of

the impulse which brings many readers to magazines in the first place’ (Abrahamson
2007: 670).
The magazine is a material object—it is not only the look, but the size and feel
of a magazine that is important. Magazines can be deliberately produced to be small
enough to carry around, or use glossy paper to add a sense of luxury to the reading
experience. Magazines seek to mobilise consumers’ desire—to sell themselves to
the readers along with a host of associated products. According to Holmes (2007:
514), major magazine publishers engage in a process of ‘finding and fostering’ a

community of readers and base content on ‘the needs, desires, hopes and fears of that
defined group, thus creating a bond of trust with their readerships’. This establishes

a relationship that encourages interaction between the magazine and the readers and
allows the magazine to respond to readers’ potentially changing needs and interests.
The magazine may also sell this created community of readers to advertisers.
McCracken (1993) found that over 95 per cent of American women’s magazines
were made up of either explicit advertising or editorial comment recommending
items to buy. By taking account of the kinds of products and services advertised in a
magazine, as well its format, content, images and look, it is possible to build a picture
of the magazine’s ideal reader. The magazine uses the prospect of contact with this
ideal reader to persuade advertisers to pay for space in its publication, and advertis-
ing revenue can account for half of the cost of some magazines (Bignell 1997).

Addressing the Ideal Reader

The racks of magazines at the book store, newsagent or supermarket compete for the
attention of both the casual and committed shopper. Casting an eye over the array of
titles and images and cover lines, consumers decide which magazine is for them. This
decision may be made in a fleeting moment despite the myriad of signs that require

evaluation. Magazines call out to their imagined readers, talking to us in ways that
share our concerns, politics and values. The consumer is drawn to the magazine’s
content by the indications given on the cover. When we recognise ourselves and our
interests in the visual codes of the magazines, we step into their address. We become
their idealised reader and make our purchase. Althusser (1970) suggested that this is
how ideology confers identity on individuals. On hearing a figure of authority, such

as a policeman, shouting, ‘Hey you!’ in the street, and turning round in response
to that hail, the individual recognises himself or herself as a potential suspect the
policeman might want to question. In this process, the individual becomes subject to
the meanings that the policeman bestows upon him or her. This is similar to the way