Page 124 - Introduction to Electronic Commerce and Social Commerce

Sport and Magazines • 113

ANALYSING CRUSH
Crush was an unusual magazine that appeared to be attempting to blend aspects of women’s lifestyle
magazines with women’s sport. In addition, it was also a promotional item for the Ladies Professional
Golf Association, giving them a space to showcase female golf celebrities. One of the distinctive
features of the magazine was its size and texture. As a result, we considered the look and feel of the
magazine as an object before moving on to analysing its content as text. We paid attention to the sig-
nifi cant features of the cover, analysing the way that markers of the ideal reader were encoded into
the title, the font, the colours, the layout, the central image and the cover lines. Inside the magazine,
we identifi ed the direct and indirect forms of address to the reader within the editorial. We noted the
content of the magazine, including feature articles, smaller items and advertisements. We considered
the way that articles framed issues to address the concerns and interests of the reader. We took
account of the types of products advertised and identifi ed factors that suggested the lifestyle of the
target consumer (wealth, gender, age, marital and parental status, sexuality). Finally, we refl ected on
the way that the sport of golf was interwoven with the lifestyle orientation of the magazine.

the reader as leading a luxury lifestyle with an interest in home and family. A pool
chlorinator, for example, was described as enabling owners to play golf on holiday
and have their pool chlorinated in their absence. A luggage express service allowed
golf clubs to be shipped on ahead of their owner’s arrival. The implied lifestyle of
the reader is underpinned by the position of golf as a predominately white upper-
or middle-class sport that necessitates affluence for membership in country clubs,

equipment and green fees.

Us and You: Crush and Journalistic Distance

Unlike many specialist sport magazines, Crush revealed a journalistic separation
between its production team and its anticipated readers, indicating that Crush was
written for, rather than by, female golfers. As a result, stylistic features revealed
an uneven construction of intimacy and distance in the address to the reader. In a
‘Publisher’s Letter’ (Squire and Redmond 2004: 10), the male publishers positioned
themselves as interested in women’s golf and the LPGA, but not as part of this
community. Focusing on the growth and success of the LPGA tour, and mentioning
some notable female golfers on the LPGA tour, the letter invited the reader to ‘enjoy
the magazine. We hope it adds as much to your life as it does to your game.’ The use
of the term your indicated that the publisher did not identify with the group that the
magazine was targeting. Moreover, the publisher understood the magazine to be as
much about lifestyle as sport. Nevertheless, the letter was signed by two fi rst names,
attempting to create a familiarity with the reader despite the publishers’ lack of group
membership.
The letter summarised the characteristics of their imagined reader as ‘athletic, golf-
ing women’ who were ‘diverse, fashionable, intelligent, active and well-traveled—just