Media Critical Process

Media Critical Process

Introduction

The media critical process has five stages which play a very critically important role in mass media. The five steps in the media critical process are; Description, analysis, interpretation, evaluation, and engagement. It is important that the critical process be employed because it equips the consumer with the ability to dissect the media they are consuming and to employ critical thinking skills which subsequently keeps them informed and empowers them to be more active (Campbell et al., 2015).  The main purpose of this paper is to apply the media critical process to the Times Magazine as well as the People’s Magazine and their accompanying websites respectively.

The Time Magazine

• Description

The Time is an American news magazine that is printed once a week, with its website published in New York city. The creator of the Time, Henry Luce, first founded it in the year 1923 and has since had several editions published in different areas of the world which include; The European edition based in London which covers Latin America, Africa and Middle East while the Asian edition is published in Hong Kong.

• Analysis

The Time is a magazine that targeted the busy man. Its creators wanted to focus on brevity so that the busy man was able to peruse through it in a minimum of one hour. The Time brings readers current news concerning politics and current affairs altogether and has been proven to be the most credible magazine of all times. This was the first magazine in the United States to be printed weekly and as a result became the weekly news magazine with the largest circulation worldwide.

• Interpretation

The above description makes Time magazine the most reliable magazine and a very credible source of news. Among the reasons that the Time magazine is considered to be the most credible news magazine is that it has been in existence for a long period of time, and has constantly provided its readers with reliable news. Had it been providing information that is not exactly true, it would have been shut down. The Time magazine also cites all the sources of its information and that is another concrete reason why it is considered to be the most reliable news magazine.

• Evaluation

The Time magazine has been seen to become more liberal as time goes by especially since around the year 2010 which subsequently led to a reduction in subscribers. Advertising for MNSBC also led to a reduction in its subscribers. Previously, media bias for the Time had always been left. Afterwards it converted its way of writing news from stating hard facts to giving it in form of a narrative, which includes painting a clear picture for its readers.

• Engagement

In a recent reader research, it was found out that United States readers spend less time reading printed material thus the Time’s weekly circulation will be reduced by one-third which roughly translates to two million copies.

The People Magazine

People magazine, just like the Time is an American weekly magazine that focuses on celebrity stories as well as human-interest stories in general, and is owned by Meredith corporation who is also the current owner of the Time magazine. People magazines collects and publishes gossip about everyone in the country including the president and other dignified people, and has subsequently been considered the most relied upon gossip magazine for the same reasons as the Time magazine.

Effects of these magazines on their audience

All these magazines have both positive and negative effects on the people who read them. Such effects are most likely to be brought about by features of the magazine such as news, advertisements, fashion, health and fitness, and articles that focus on physical disorders, stereotypes and unhealthy body image among others. A number of people are likely to be affected from men to women to teenage girls and boys.

Pictorials and advertisements featured in magazines often showcase only airbrushed models which consequently makes other girls have low self-esteem simply because they do not look like the girl in the magazine. According to (“The Eating Disorder Website- Something Fishy”), an average female magazine model is 25 percent less heavier than a normal girl.

Looking Towards the Future

There is a continuing effect on the development on the media literacy education practice and theory which has been inspired by people especially scholars who had been pushed to the wall by the shortcomings of media especially its effect on youth as well as children (Rogow, 25). They do this by putting emphasis on what is not in the sphere of media literacy in order to erase any misunderstandings that people have especially the ones not very familiar with the field as well as the ones who feel that it gives a leftist perspective to the society (Rogow, 50)

These scholars and educators decided that it was necessary to support those who are attempting to formulate, refine and test theories and practices in ways which the students’ experiences can be connected to the media (Rogow, 77). This way, they are subsequently provided with support for developing their critical thinking, creative thinking as well as communication skills. All of these appeals and impacts are documented in a journal called “The Core Principles”.

Works Cited

Something Fishy: The Media Influence on Eating Disorders. http://www.something-fishy.org/cultural/themedia.php , Accessed on October , 2018

Marjolein Moorman, et al. “The Effects of Magazine-Induced Psychological Responses and Thematic Congruence on Memory and Attitude toward the Ad in a Real-Life Setting.” Journal of Advertising, vol. 31, no. 4, 2002, pp. 27–40. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/4189235.

McPheters and Company, “TV and Magazine ads More Effective than ads on the Internet”, April 2009.   http://mcpheters.com/2009/04/01/tv-and-magazine-ads-more-effective-than-ads-on-internet/

Campbell, Richard et al.  Media Essentials  4th ed, p. 12

Rogow, Faith “The Core Principles as a Pedagogical Model for Educators.” 2007.