Task Two - Investigating the magazine industry

The second task was to investigate the magazine industry, it involved walking into newsagents and bookshops and researching the number of genres, unusual magazine names and what people liked to read.

From the A-Z of Zombies to Crafty Carper it seems that there really is a magazine for everyone. The A-Z of zombies intrigued me enough to incite further research. I found that this magazine is actually a special issue of SFX magazine which is niche in the fact that it is of the science fiction genre.

Within the zombie issue consumers gain a free walking dead keyring, three zombie postcards and ten stickers, consumers can read about the origin of zombies, reviews on popular series ‘The Walking Dead’ and an interview with Max Brooks – the creator of the recent film ‘World War Z.’

Science fiction wasn't the only genre found in the depths of WH Smith, other genres included sports, parenthood, gadgets, literary, gambling, women’s weeklies, fashion and lifestyle, children’s, men and lifestyle, photography, fishing and music among other genres and that’s without including the numerous titles and sub genres.

So what is it that makes us want to read a magazine? Some may read purely for entertainment whereas others may choose a more niche title which focuses on a particular area of topic. Out of interest I hit the streets to see what people are currently reading. Joyce Weatherill, 79, from Huddersfield, said: “ I like to read The People’s Friend, it covers everything I like such as knitting patterns and it’s not too strong or deep.”

Joanne Porteus, 45, from Huddersfield said: “I read Take a Break and Bella for the gossip and fashion
“I like to see what’s in Primark and New Look.”

Overall I’ve learnt a lot today. I have learnt that despite preconceptions magazines such as the angling magazines are up among some of the best -selling magazines. I have also discovered that there are more genres than I could have ever imagined and that the ABC audit magazine sales. Today was both enjoyable and surprising but they do say you learn something new every day.