A Tool in the Media Industry and Culture - Essay Example

 A Tool in the Media Industry and Culture Introduction The media industry and the culture can be considered as important aspects in the human civilization on the basis of different roles that these tools are playing. Included in the said functions is being a form of communication and influence in the development of the people in the society. The main target of the study is one of the important modes of written media which is the magazine. Magazine can be defined as a type of publication that is being released on a given regular interval. This type of publication is composed of different articles discussing related issue which is considered as the main field within which the particular magazine is involved. Magazines can be classified on the basis of different factors such as the subject covered and the audience and type of articles published. On the basis of the type of audience and articles, there are scientific and non-scientific magazines. On the basis of the subjects, magazines can be related to multi-disciplinary or specific subject on any field e.g. science journals, parenting magazines or those targeting different groups in the population such as the women, businessmen, artists etc. To be able to achieve the goals of the study to present the magazine industry as a form of media and cultural industry, there are two types of magazines in similar field that belong to different classification will be presented and analyzed. The Comparison of Two Science Magazines The magazine industry as a form of media and cultural influence can be studied through the determination and analysis of the issues related to the science magazines New Scientist and Nature which belong to different categories. The New Scientist Magazine The New Scientist is a magazine which is targeted to tackle scientific issues and innovations. On the basis of the target audience, the magazine can be classified as a non-scientific magazine due to the fact that all groups of audiences can read the magazine. In addition, the issues in science are presented in the context of the society and the culture (New Scientist, 2009). The publication started in 1956 by the Reed Business Information Ltd. It is classified as a weekly published international magazine and presented in the English language to be able to capture a wider audience and incur science related topics of interest (New Scientist, 2009). It is important to consider that the articles in the said magazine are not peer-reviewed, thus, it is classified as a non-academic magazine. Although this is the case, it can be considered to contribute to the maintenance of the population’s interest on the concepts of science and technology. In addition, the New Scientist also keeps up with the progress of the present era in terms of technology due to the initiation and continuous operation of a website since 1996. Through the online aspect of the magazine, it can update the readers and the audience on a daily basis. The said project added to the success of the said magazine (New Scientist, 2009). On the basis of the observed characteristics of the New Scientist, there are different advantages that can be enumerated. One is the presentation of the magazine in an English and non-technical manner which can capture both the professional and non-professional audience. Another is the content that covers the wide variety of issues related to science. The website on the other hand adds the large percentage of audience that are more modern and in-touched with the rapidly progressing information technology. Nature On the basis of the objective to compare different type of magazines, the Nature magazine is the representative of the academic journals that tackle science concepts and issues but unlike the non-academic magazines, the presented articles had been peer-reviewed. This means that prior to publication of the academic articles and papers, experts of the particular field already reviewed and analysed the main contributions, needed changes and recommendations related to the paper (Nature, 2009). The first Nature journal had been published in 1869 and designated as the first magazine of the said type. It has been developed and changed on the basis of the title and main concentration. Through the evolution, the journal or academic magazine became interdisciplinary in nature and academic in standards. From the different factors and stages of development, the Nature magazine of the current era is a synergy of the different lesson learned from the history of the publication (Nature, 2009). The said magazine also keep an online website that serves both for advertising the content of the published issue and for updating the readers and audiences on new innovations and knowledge related to the field of science. The main difference of the Nature with non-scientific publications is the target readers in technical language also referred to as scientific jargon (Nature, 2009). Although the academic journals can be highly technical due to the fact that the authors are the experts of the respective fields, the main importance can be related to the reliability of the data presented which are commonly based on empirical studies and evidence-based research. Analysis Based on the comparative analysis between the two science magazines, it can be considered that the advantages are related to the main target and objectives of the publication. Due to the fact that an academic journal is targeted to present accurate and well-presented empirical data, the volume of target readers are not prioritized. There is even a form of exclusivity in the publication since mostly experts of the field such as professors and philosophical doctors are the main audience. This is in addition to the fact that the students are continuously being trained to gather substantial information based on such publications as well as follow similar standards in the presentation of their own academic requirements. Academic magazines then can be concluded as a publication meant to teach and provide information in high academic standards. On the other hand, the non-academic magazine such as the New Scientist targets a wider volume of readers with higher variation. It is not exclusive experts of the field and the concepts and knowledge presented can be easily understood by people even if they are not in the same field of expertise as the author. The main priority of the said type of magazine is to be informational. In conclusion, non-academic magazines can give and overview and interesting presentation of a particular subject matter. If a reader wants to research further and explore the particular subject matter read, the academic journals and magazines can be used. References Irvine, L. H. (2007). The Magazines Style-code. University of California: Crown Publishing Company. Nature (2009). About Nature. Retrieved March 22, 2009 from http://www.nature.com/nature/about/ New Scientist (2009). Introducing New Scientist. Retrieved March 22, 2009 from http://www.newscientist.com/data/html/ns/mediacenter/uk/intro.jsp Read More