The Big Issue

• Across the pages of The Big Issue, the ideologies of the magazine and the publishers are represented quite clearly. They represent homeless people in a positive and sympathetic light because supporting the homeless is their main goal as a magazine.
• Within the 'Letters' page, there is a section called "Celebrating vendors" which refers to the homeless vendors as "inspirational" and "friendly"
• On the contents page we can see that the magazine have talked to a man named Donato. It's his own personal story, which is shown through the use of personal pronouns - this helps the readers understand and sympathise with the homeless vendors. This gives him a voice (someone of a typically underrepresented group).
• The representations in The Big Issue aren't all positive as some include more gritty details of homeless culture e.g. drugs, alcohol and violence. This creates a more realistic representation. They talk about the obstacles these people have faced and how they have overcome them.
• Very clear throughout The Big Issue that it contains left-wing ideologies. For example, they criticise Margaret Thatcher and talk about the Conservatives closing down libraries and the history of unemployment in the country caused by government laws and legislations - negative image of Conservative government. They feel like they are responsible for the amount of homelessness in the country.
• WEST WORLD SKY ADVERT:

  This advert represents men as powerful, successful and important as he is dressed in a suit and the spotlight is on him. This is a reasonably stereotypical way of representing men in the media.
• "WHY DON'T THE HOMELESS JUST GO HOME?" ARTICLE:

  • interviewed a variety of heads of different organisations
  • Every single one is male - suggests that men are the ones who get these top jobs in companies (in positions of power and status) and women are less likely.
• The pages are dominated by men. This could be because the writers of The Big Issue are primarily male. Also, men are more likely to be made homeless than women, so their focus might be on creating more positive role models for men.
• "WE MADE HISTORY, DIDN'T WE?" ARTICLE:

  • looking at the two founders of The Big Issue who are both male
  • low angle shot - makes them look more dominant and powerful
  • the use of masculine and powerful, aggressive adjectives ("tough") creates a macho image of them
  • However, this may not be a comment on gender it may be just the company representing their founders in a positive light.
• There are multiple images throughout The Big Issue of men in positions of aggressive power such as Captain America and the Terminator, which is a typical representation of men.
• There is an image of David Bowie, who is someone who challenges traditional ideas about gender and was rich, successful and powerful.
• ’Letter to my younger self - Grayson Perry’ article.

  He is a bold and creative figure who is never afraid to challenge gender boundries. There are photos with him in the article wearing heels, makeup, a dress and a wig. Adds to a more modern and diverse representation of masculinity, not often seen in mainstream media products - reflects The Big Issue as being an alternative magazine. The article also discusses hit typically more masculine past - more complex representation.
• Pictures and interviews with female leaders of modern political groups e.g. Teresa May and Nicola Sturgeon. This article shows women in senior positions of political power - challenges stereotypical representations.
• Sophie Raworth - newsreader - is being interviewed about her success, her career and her influence over The Big Issue. This represents her as educated and respected in her field, providing a counter type to many mainstream representations of women.
• TURN2US PENSIONS ADVICE ADVERT

  • suggests that women can’t cope financially once their male partner has passed away
  • reflects more traditional stereotypes of women being financially dependent on a man
  • targets older women
• Typically, readers of The Big Issue are more likely to be left-wing and have liberal and alternative points of view, so it makes sense for the magazine to include these alternative representations on their pages
• The Big Issue Ltd is a small independent magazine company - not part of a larger conglomerate. They work with Dennis Publishing to print the magazine.
• The magazine operates on a Not For Profit basis, using any excess revenue to support homeless people.
• The Big Issue is sold on the street by vendors. These street vendors are homeless and they purchase copies of The Big Issue for £2 and sold for £4 and they keep the difference as their profit.
• The motto of The Big Issue is “A hand up, not a hand out”.
• The goal of The Big Issue is to give the homeless people a legal way of making money, helping them to support themselves
• When setting up the magazine, they needed to secure external funding and secured a grant from The Body Shop of £50,000.
• The Big Issue Ltd began to diversify into other areas as the brand grew e.g. in 1995, they started The Big Issue Foundation. This is an organisation there to support the homeless directly e.g. providing them with training, workshops and information (mental health, domestic abuse, housing etc.)
• In 2005, they diversified further by setting up The Big Issue Invest, which is a financial fund available for charities and small businesses (perhaps the individuals come from a homeless / impoverished background)
• In 2016, they launched their own online shop (‘Shopping with a social echo’) where they sell merch and all of the revenue go goes back into helping those who need it.
• The Big Issue is an example of a product and company that is not all about profit and power - it is about plowing the money back into the community.
• ADVERTISING:

  The readers are typically quite affluent, meaning that advertising in the magazine is quite a good way for the company to make extra money. The adverts are not just for consumer items but for charities, community support groups etc - another demonstration that the magazine is not all about profit and power.
• The producers collaborate with celebrities (e.g. David Bowie, RDJ)for cover photos, interviews and even invite some to be guest editors for an issue. This draws in pre-sold fans of these celebrities.
• Sometimes they have collectors editions of the magazine and work with celebrities - makes it feel special and exclusive and may encourage the readers to buy multiple copies to try and collect them.
• The UK version was successful as a Not For Profit magazine so they created many international versions as well with the same aim of dismantling poverty. So, despite it remaining an independent & niche magazine, it has become a globally recognised brand.
• The Big Issue has also branched into digital distriubtion because the magazine industry has been declining - they have practically been forced to. They work alongside a company called Zinio - digital distribution company. It allows customers to buy just one copy at a time - they don’t have to subscribe right away and it gives the audience a taste of the magazine - or to buy 12 months up front.
• Digital distribution helps to target audiences who are online regularly, don’t have a vendor locally and who are avoiding paper copies for environmental reasons. It also allows it to be a global product (Zinio distributes to 174 countries worldwide)
• In the height of their success (early 2000s), their vendors were selling 300,000 copies a week - big amount for a niche magazine

  
  

  By 2011, this had decreased to 125,000 copies a week, so they decided to rebrand and relaunch the magazine. They released lots of political / social awareness content and started to feature more celebrity columnists. This rebrand increased the price of the magazine in attempt to help vendors make similar money from potentially reduced sales.