Jasmine Casey

COMM 100: Mass Media & Society

The Pennsylvania State University – Professor Nichols

Critical Reading: “Essence and Marie Claire Magazine”

Summer Session – July 11, 2019

The magazines I chose to compare, and contrast are Essence July/August 2019 and Marie Claire July 2019 and I first want to talk about how they are both very similar to each other. Both magazines had used an ethnic person as a model on the cover of the magazines. The L’Oréal advertisements were all the same in both the magazines, but Marie Claire had one additional advertising mascara. Many of the advertisements were not specific to a particular ethnic group and featured diversity with their model choices. They had both Black, White, and Asian models. Many advertisements were different, yet the same. For example, they both had shampoo and conditioner advertisements, but different brands meant for different hair types. Essence used Carol’s Daughter (page 5) shampoo and conditioner, which is meant for curly/coily hair and Marie Claire used Pantene (page 1), shampoo and conditioner, which is typically not used on curly hair because it has a known for drying out the ends of people’s hair. Also, Pantene used a White model, and Carol’s Daughter used two Black models.

Both magazines included current world news, books to read this month, horoscopes, beauty/health monthly must-haves, and advertisements. The advertisements that the magazines shared varied from shampoo and conditioner, makeup, medications, and alcohol. Now, most of what I have just listed are different between the magazines, but some aspects of them are identical, and that is very important. It is a fantastic feat for a magazine such as Marie Claire, I was prepared to look at the same company advertisements and for them to be completely different. I was shocked but happy to see many of them used the same advertisement. It means that mainstream magazine Marie Claire is doing a better job than most at including diversity into their magazine.

Marie Claire was pretty surprising to read because of all the diversity the mainstream magazine includes, and I do not just mean the typical Black person and White person standing side by side advertisement either. I mean the magazine had an abundance of mixed races, Asians and Hispanics, included in the advertisements and the editorial pieces. I enjoyed looking at the 101 Ideas advertisement spread throughout the magazine endorsing high fashion that almost always used Black and Asian models.

Maire Claire’s media kit does not give much information on it is readers but what it does say is that it is the top magazine at having the highest average household income at $80,826, making the magazine have the most affluent audience in the world. It makes sense as to why when you look at all the advertisements in the magazine. Marie Claire has a luxury car, Botox and breast augmentation advertisement in it. Plus, a lot of charities and organizations are spread throughout the magazine, I mean much more than typical magazines. The monthly circulation is 1,007,368 people. The second cover costs $209,300, which might make sense if they gave more information on Marie Claire’s reach and online presence.

My only real disappointment for Marie Claire was the advertisements that were shared between the magazines but had different advertising for both. One of those two advertisements is Dove, (page Essence 77) (page 67 Marie Claire). The change between the advertisement upset me very much because the advertisement, in Essence, talks about the call for the acceptance of natural hair in the workplace, and how they want to help end the discrimination. If they really wanted to end the discrimination, why would they only put it in the magazine directed at Black people?

I enjoyed reading Essence magazine because it was more than just a fashion magazine. The magazine included politics, articles on health and included ethnic models, singers, business leaders, and entertainment people. It is a magazine about the celebration of black people, and it was empowering to read. I could tell the advertisements were shifted to a different audience than the Marie Claire magazine because instead of Lexus cars being advertised, it was Ford trucks. When I looked at the media kit, it does not make sense. Essence is only a couple of thousand away from the average household income, and Essence has a higher circulation rate at 1,078,000. Essence’s cover page is also cheaper at $182,600, it just does not add up, but maybe it is because of the one-dollar difference between the magazine prices.

Both magazines were interesting to read, and I much enjoyed trying to figure out all the specifics as to whom the magazine was trying to attract and how they did it. I have come to learn that Essence is trying to attract the audience of Black women from the average ages of 35- 49, and Marie Claire is trying to attract the audience of affluent women. Personally, I enjoyed reading a magazine targeted towards black women, but I still want to see more cultural diversity across mainstream magazines. I know the media has come a long way from where we once were, but I still see a far journey in front of us. Analyzing the two different magazines has made me aware of how advertisements target specific people and manipulating the media can be.

I look forward to the next time I pick up a magazine because I know that I will never be able just to obliviously flip through the pages again. I know I am going to pick out details of the advertisements, look at the models, and pay extra attention to the covers of the magazines because now I know the editors choose every specific detail for a reason

Work Cited

“Essence 2019 Media Kit.” Direct Action Media, 2019, http://www.directactionmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/ESSENCE-MEDIA-KIT-2019_9.20.18.pdf.

“Marie Claire 2019 Media Kit.” Direct Action Media, 2019,

http://www.marieclairemk.com/r5/showkiosk.asp?listing_id=5106905&category_code=miss&category_id=78327

This week I made my first study group for my COMM 100 class. It was a lot of work, but I am glad I did it. I spent about six hours in total, making Kahoots! and Quizlets for each chapter. Then I made a Google Classroom for everyone in the class so all our study materials will be in one place. I was absolutely terrified of my first exam, so it was a tremendous motivation to work very hard.
It was also extremely beneficial to work in a study group because then when I got confused or lost, someone was there to help me and vice versa.

I also learned a lot about what I should do and should not due in terms of preparing for an exam. I planned the study group super late and made all the Kahjoots! and Quizlets the night before. I know now that the more spread out the work, the less stressful I will feel. It just is not a good idea to add so much additional stress on to myself right before an exam. I just can’t create a study group one day before we are supposed to meet. So I currently am beginning the development of a study guide for exam two.

I am very supportive of presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, so whenever I see his name in headlines, I always want to know what he is saying or what he is involved with. That is how I came across this article on my browse across the internet. I am not going to pick sides on a very controversial subject such as immigration, but I will be discussing Buttigieg’s statement that he made pertaining to immigration. I noticed the article had way more depth than the title suggested, it goes to quote Buttigieg on his response and his reasoning behind it. Buttigieg made a statement about President Trump’s planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement Raids.

The article mostly quotes Buttigieg and his discussion about why ICE raids will make America less safe. I also read the comments, which in hindsight was probably not the best idea because the comments are filled with many people who disagree with the immigration idea itself and not with what Buttigieg said about planned ICE raids making America less safe. I wholeheartedly agree with Buttigieg because it seems like common sense to me. He says that the fear that will spread from these will cause people to be less likely to participate in the economy and less likely to talk to law enforcement. To me, that seems quite dangerous, especially because we are all currently in a time where many of our citizens already have bad relationships with law enforcement. So with our already fragile relationship with law enforcement already under such tension, why would we want to add any more onto that? Personally, I don’t see what he said as controversial because it’s not really picking sides on the immigration debate, but just picking out a flaw that President Trump’s planned Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids have.

Article

Givas, Nick. “Pete Buttigieg Says Planned ICE Raids Will Make America ‘Less Safe’, Claims Census Question Racially Motivated.” Fox News, FOX News Network, www.foxnews.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-planned-ice-raids-census-question.

Picture

Willis, Jay. “5 Tough Questions Pete Buttigieg’s Campaign Will Have to Answer.” GQ, GQ, 9 Apr. 2019, www.gq.com/story/pete-buttigieg-2020-questions.

As a leap student, I will not have to take freshman seminar in the fall because my summer leap classes incorporate all the information from the seminar in class. This week in class, we took part in the library research workshop. The tour at Paterno/Pattee Library was extremely beneficial because I learned so much. I am incredibly appreciative of all the resources I am provided as a student. I will most definitely be using these resources throughout my journey here at Penn State. The librarian that gave Leap Pride the tour was named Cheryl McCallips, and she was very polite and informative.

I am really excited about using the leisure reading books and maybe even watch some of the movies that are available there. I am also so appreciative of the step by step tutorial on how to use the research websites and how to correctly search for topics. I learned the significant difference that AND, OR and NOT can have in looking for specific topics. I am also super excited to use the One Button Studio, which is where you can record yourself in an easy to use studio. I am totally going to utilize this for practicing for my speeches for my CAS 100 class. I also cannot wait to do study groups in the classrooms that are available at the library when there is not a class scheduled.

The library is such a fantastic asset to use as a Penn State student because even if they don’t have something, they can ask another library that does. If I really want to succeed here at Penn State, I have to utilize all the resources that are offered to me, which I plan on doing. The library is also riddled with great places to study or get work done or even just to chill with a book when your dorm gets too hot.

Also a big thank you to Professor Nichols for taking the pictures.

        I am so excited and grateful to be attending Penn State. The University offers so many fantastic opportunities. I am most looking forward to the internships, study abroad, and just the self-enrichment of my social and academic life. Here at Penn state there so many reasons to succeed. The faculty, professors, and just the peer mentors play a huge part as to why I choose Penn State. I love the big school, big resources aspect. I am at Penn State because this is the school I have wanted to attend since I was seven and wanted to be a doctor. Things have changed since then, like my attended major, but Penn State has always had a piece of my heart. I love the campus, and it just feels like home. It is also a great school that offers wonderful classes lead by amazing professors and staff.

I am most anxious about bad habits coming back to haunt me, such as being late or not coming at all. I will overcome this obstacle by not taking 8am classes and getting my work done in advance, so I don’t pull all-nighters. I am also anxious about making the same mistakes I made in high school, like powering through and not really being social. I did too many rigorous classes, clubs/sport and had two jobs, so I didn’t really have a social life. I deeply regret this now because I missed out on so many fun trips and experiences. I will overcome this obstacle by attempting to be more outgoing and planning fun things to do with friends. Lastly, I am anxious about not being able to handle the workload. These classes I am going to take at Penn State are to enrich myself with knowledge and to prepare me for my career. I am not just memorizing answers for a quiz or some standardized test. I am trying to learn and better myself, so of course, I am apprehensive about learning as much as I can.

Now that I am here at Penn State, I want to do things differently than I did in high school. I want to and need to go to class on time, I won’t be able to succeed if I don’t show up. I also need to put in more effort. In high school, I did too much that at a point, I stopped giving everything my all, but because of that, I know now not to stretch myself so thin. Lastly, high school taught me a tough but valuable lesson, and that is to balance and to know that I can’t do everything. I want to have a great academic, social, and excellent work life, but I also need not overwork myself or lean too much on one of those aspects of my life.

At Penn State, I want to accomplish many things. One goal I have for the first semester is not to miss one class. For my first year here, my goal is to join a club. Lastly, my goal for my four years here is to get a great internship and possibly a great job. I can achieve these goals by studying, managing my time, and creating meaningful relationships with professors and staff. I made these goals on June 30, 2019, and shared them with everyone on my blog and my best friend, Victoria.