Media Studies - The Big Issue

How many copies has the Big Issue sold in the UK since 1991?

220 million.

What is the Big Issue’s slogan?

‘A hand up not a hand out.’

Who sells the Big Issue?

Homeless people or people in housing crisises.

Who founded the Big Issue?

John Bird and Gordon Roddick.

What is the Big Issue’s content like?

It is political, critical and rebellious - critiquing both left wing and right wing ideas, though their ideology tends to lean more left wing within their journalism. Their magazine is niche and outside the commercial mainstream, constructing unique counter culture representations.

What kind of publication are the Big Issue?

A hybrid publication which aren’t restrained by one genre.

What is the Big Issue’s main readership/target audience?

72% of their readers are ABC1 and are reformers/explorers so the Big Issue is comfortable assuming that their readership will understand intertextual references and easter eggs due to their wide cultural capital.

How would BI politically align themselves?

‘left, right, centre, off the map’ and they hold ‘politicians of every stripe’ accountable and encourage the every man to spend their wages wherever they may like. on the BI or otherwise.

How do they attempt to solve homelessness?

By using business solutions to social problems, using ‘ethical capitalism’. Their mission is to dismantle poverty by creating opportunity, and they campaign on issues such as anti-globalisation, high energy bills, flaws of the welfare system and living wage arguments.

What is the Big Issue’s circulation p/w?

83,000 p/w.

What is the react for possible readership reach within the UK?

40 million, with 40% reached in print and 51% reached via phone.

What are typical topics for the BI?

Current affairs, historical, socio-political issues, culture and entertainment.

What typical conventions do BI’s front pages not use?

Use of a Barcode or Slogan.

What typical conventions do BI use, but subvert on their front covers?

* Central images: often use of images/collages over photography.
* Composition and layout: changes with every front cover rather then having a standard layout that is recognisable as part of the magazine’s brand.
* Mode of address/lang: Often these will incorperate intertextual references to other media products or cultural traditions.
* Puffs: shapes uses help reinforces the theme of the issue and create coherence with the main image
* Cover lines: aren’t always used, when they are they are usually integrated into the main image in some way.

What are some critisisms of BI and their ideologies vs ownership?

They aim to help those who are marginalised in society, but through ownership and target audience of the magazine there is a predominance of white, middle class, male.

What are the assumptions of the readers of the Big Issue?

They will decode the encoded meaning in the preferred way. The reader has the cultural capital to understand the intertextual references. The reader has the same ideology and values as the producer of the representation. The reader enjoys satire and is interested in social, political and cultural issues, figures and events.