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?
Donald Trump Is Gaslighting America
2) When was the original Teen Vogue magazine launched and what was its original content?
2004, Teen Vogue used to focus on the standard cocktail of fashion must-haves and celebrity worship.
3) How did editor Elaine Welteroth change Teen Vogue’s approach in 2015?
That issue featured three unknown black models on the cover, breaking rules that you should have a famous person; and that having no Caucasian faces on the cover is a commercial risk.
4) How many stories are published on Teen Vogue a day? What topics do they cover?
5) What influence did digital director Phillip Picardi have over the editorial direction?
6) What is Teen Vogue’s audience demographic and what does ‘woke’ refer to?
7) What issues are most important to Teen Vogue readers?
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?
9) What social and political issues have been covered successfully by Teen Vogue?
10) What do Teen Vogue readers think of the magazine and website?
Teen Vogue: Factsheet Part 1
Read Media Factsheet #200 Teen Vogue - Part 1. You can find the Factsheet in our Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive in school or download it here using your Greenford Google login. Answer the following questions:
1) The Factsheet suggests Teen Vogue has successfully made the transition to an online, social and participatory product. Why? What platforms is it now available on?
2) Look at the screenshots and details on pages 3-4 of the Factsheet. What does Teen Vogue offer its audience?
3) Who is the typical Teen Vogue reader?
4) Read the content analysis of the Teen Vogue website on page 5 of the Factsheet. Pick out three key examples of how meanings are created in Teen Vogue and what is communicated to the audience.
5) Finally, look at pages 6-7 focusing on representations. What range of representations can be found in Teen Vogue and what does this suggest regarding Teen Vogue's values and ideologies?
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?
2) How does the page design encourage audience engagement?
3) Where does advertising appear on the homepage?
4) What are the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content of Teen Vogue?
5) How far does the homepage scroll down? How many stories appear on the homepage in total?
Lifestyle section
Now analyse the Lifestyle section of Teen Vogue (in the Identity section) and answer the following:
1) What are the items in the top menu bar for the Lifestyle section?
2) How is the Lifestyle section designed to encouragement audience engagement? Think about page design, images, text and more.
3) What do you notice about the way headlines are written in Teen Vogue?
4) What does the focus on education, university and ‘campus life’ tell you about the Teen Vogue audience demographics and psychographics?
5) Choose one story featured in the Lifestyle section and explain how reflects the Teen Vogue brand.
Teen Vogue: Five key articles
Read the following five notable Teen Vogue features then answer the questions below.
1) What do you notice about the content and style of these articles? What do they have in common?
2) How do the articles use narrative to engage the reader? Try and apply narrative theory here if possible - what makes the reader want to click or read more?
3) Pick a quote from each article that illustrates the political, 'woke' ideology of Teen Vogue and paste it here.
4) What effect on the audience are these articles hoping to achieve?
5) How do these article reflect the values and ideologies of the modern Teen Vogue?
