A Structured Method for the Qualitative Analysis of Existing Media - Research Paper Example

Introduction The use of images combining graphics and text in contemporary publications is unprecedented. Such visual elements are combined on the cover of many publications to communicate a message about the document’s contents both verbally as well as nonverbally. As the most accessible element of any publication, the cover image can be linked to the readership demographic and sales level of a particular document, as well as providing socio-political context. For magazines, a type of periodical publication whose contents are generally composed of images and articles from a variety of sources, cover art serves a more profound purpose as a link between these diverse elements (Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 2004). In the case of the successful Thai magazine Matichon, the verbal and nonverbal elements that comprise the cover art of the publication in contemporary years, from 2009-2010, may be analyzed in order to give insight into the target market of document, the views of the editorial staff and the magazine itself, and historical perspective on Thai and global culture, thus highlighting the importance of graphical rhetoric in cover art. Though humans have used images throughout history major innovations, such as lithography and the printing press first made it possible to reproduce images on a large scale for the purposed of advertising and communication (Kjellman 2008). With the rise of digital printing and online media the availability and reproducibility of graphic images has increased (The History of Graphic Design 2010). This has resulted in an increase in concurrent use of images and text, especially in periodicals (Hollis 2001). In magazines, such as Matichon, the verbal and nonverbal content are part of the publication’s message. Publications place increasing importance on maintaining both print and digital presences. The ability of potential and existent readers to locate and purchase the publication is a result of visibility. In bookstores or newsstands, cover art may encourage purchase by visually distinguishing characteristics of the publication at a glance. Online, cover images serve as a searchable element that can visually convey the message to web page viewers, who are shown to spend less than 15 seconds viewing new pages, necessitating the use of graphic images composed of many elements, or concurrent images (Filloux 2009). Concurrent over images are important in gaining new readership and evaluating existent readership, making study of these elements valuable as a marketing and historical tool. In order to provide adequate analysis concurrent cover images must be considered to be stand-alone composites of text and graphic elements exhibiting a unique rhetoric of their own. The analysis if the verbal and nonverbal connotations of this rhetoric in the magazine Matichon provides a framework for the analysis of graphic rhetoric. Literature Review The cover art of Matichon is bold and often represents the juxtaposition of graphic elements to make a political point that caters to its readership of progressive, educated citizens. These cover images often position elements of political or social importance in humorous or allegorical fashions in order to establish a counter-establishment viewpoint, conveying its message as a heterogeneous mixture of verbal and nonverbal elements (Zakia 1997). The cover art of these pieces goes beyond simply illustrating the journalist aspects contained in the magazine to offer a complex visual rhetoric of its own. Analysis of this rhetoric is important in analyzing the link between the magazine and its readership, which also may be a predictor of the success of the magazine and the socio-political climate of the country (Gough-Yates 2003). In order to understand the message of the cover art, it is important to analyze the political, social, and historical context of the images as well as the rhetoric of the images themselves. Similar to many western countries, the Thai printed publications are not closely regulated and are a medium often associated with particular political viewpoints. The magazine Matichon was founded in the student movement during the 1970s move for democracy in Thailand. It is considered along with such publications as The Nation and Thai Post to boast a progressive viewpoint that is much the opposite of the two best-selling periodicals in the nation, Thai Rath and Daily News (McCargo 1999). The magazine is ranked 97th among magazines globally by circulation, which was self-reported at by the company at 600,000 copies, though because of the lack of audit procedures for circulation counts in Thailand some suggest that this number may be somewhat inflated (World Association of Newspapers 2005). The magazine has a large distribution and, as such, its readership represents a board section of Thai citizens. Matichon Public Company, Limited is the Thailand based parent company that publishes Matichon magazine as well as other newspapers, advertising, and pocket books. It publishes the newspapers Matichon Daily, Prachachart Business and Khao Sod Daily as well as Matichon Sud Sub Da (Matichon Weekend), the art and culture magazine Sirapa Watthanatham, and Technology Chaoban. The company’s two subsidiaries are Ngandee Co., Ltd. And Khao-Sod Co., Ltd. which are engaged in a variety of printed media sales and advertising (Corporate Information Snapshots 2010). The company’s earnings reached a high point in 2008, and experienced a sharp drop in 2009 to 2010 to the lowest point in the past decade of the company’s history (Corporate Information Snapshots 2010). Examination of the cover art during this period of reduced earning is particularly important as it may reveal discrepancy between the magazine’s viewpoint and dominant political viewpoints in the country during that period. Magazines are periodicals that are published on a recurring basis. As such, these periodicals are likely to use marketing plans to follow popular trends. Many companies invest large amounts into media planning. In such large scale enterprises, media planning can represent a multi-billion dollar industry (Kelle and Jugenheimer 2008). Analysis of the cover images of Matichon from 2009 to 2010 may also reveal relevant changes in the media plan used by the company over this period when compared to other years. Media, particularly magazines, serve an important function as a distributor of political information and often the views of popular magazines reflect large factions in the population. During the such events as the 1992 mass upheavals in Thailand that forced out the government of Suchinda Kraprayoon, the media was considered to play an important role in both supporting and squashing democratic tendencies in the nation, though the traditionally right-winged Matichon magazine did not actively support the anti- Suchinda movements (McCargo 1999). Each major magazine in this era became increasingly an institution and political actor in its own right. In contemporary eras, such as the interval from 2009 to 2010, the importance of Matichon magazine can similarly be seen as a political actor as supported by the bold political messages that often appear in the cover of the publication. The cover images of Matichon magazine are often digitally produced compilations of images that juxtapose multiple elements, called concurrent messages. Concurrent messages may actually take on very different meanings from their individual aspects, such as individual lines of text or photos, based on the positioning of image and text elements, changing the meaning to more closely match the aims of the image emission source. By combining verbal and nonverbal elements into a cohesive whole, an independent concurrent image is created that may be part of a strategic marketing plan (Jugenheimer and Barban et al. 1992). Verbal elements in magazine often are only part of the message (McLoughlin 2003). Intonational features, such as pitch, intensity, timing, intervals, and rhythms, play as much a part in communication as the spoken word, allowing a person to gauge the tone of the speaker (Key 1980). In graphical concurrent messages, verbalized words are replaced with printed words, whose intonational features can be communicated by design elements such as boldness, font choice, size, position, and color (White 2002). The verbal elements of cover art may consist of the publication title, contents of the issue, and references to popular icons. The nonverbal elements of magazine covers may consist of a wide variety of graphic types, such as drawings, icons, logos, and other elements such as borders, underlining, and gradients. The graphical elements may be largely grouped into two groups: content and formatting (White 2002). Formatting elements give weight to other graphical or text elements on the page, such as highlighting, borders, or underlining. Content elements, such as photos, have a meaning or message that is often viewer-dependent. In general, these visual elements must be recognizable within a pre-existing context established by the viewer, and may not maintain relevance outside of a certain ethic, national, or political group. The process of using concurrent images as a form of communication as done in magazine cover art as well as other forms of graphic communication is commonly referred to as intelligent document-image communication, and its analysis requires text regions (also referred to as verbal regions) and graphics regions (also referred to as picture or nonverbal regions) to be analyzed in terms of recognition, understanding, and symbolization (Lee and Babaguchi et al. 1997). In order to have significance, the final composite must have representative value in terms if the viewer. The elements of document-image communication in Matichon magazine can be interpreted by breaking the cover art down into individual elements. These individual elements can be assessed in terms of content, connotation, and context. Once assessed, the elements can be examined in context with one another and assertions can be made as to the message of the image within a particular demographic context, such as the readership of Matichon, Thai popular culture, or even global perspective. Because document-image communication uses a great deal of symbolism, different readers may interpret the meaning of concurrent images differently. Based on the knowledge of popular culture, political events, and other pertinent factors, the meaning of verbal and nonverbal elements may appear of varying priority based in the reader, as highlighted by Barthes 1957 letters dispelling many of the myths related to media and popular culture (Roland 1993). Even the gender of the reader may play a role in how they perceive the message from a concurrent image (Vestergaard and Schroder 1985). In recent years, however, demographic grouping by lifestyle has become increasingly popular, and many magazine’s target readership by this attribute (Machin and Leeuwen 2005). In short, magazine covers target certain demographics within popular culture, thus by assessing these covers in their sociopolitical context researchers can gain pertinent information on the popular culture of a certain era and even make useful predications for the future based on this information. Analyzing the context of a certain image, such as a magazine cover can sometimes be difficult. This can be put into a certain perspective by assessing the readership of the magazine and its commercial success over a given time period. It is also helpful, however, to thematically review other magazines and periodicals with similar themes, which may reveal common trends in the editorial style of cover images (Crowley 2003). This means that an overview of Matichon magazine cover art from 2009-2010 is made more relevant and complete by the inclusion of some historical data related to previous magazine covers as well as an overview of similar publication that may appear in Thailand and to similar reader bases worldwide. Graphical analysis of document-image communication is improved as the researcher becomes more aware of editorial and graphic trends that appear across the spectrum of these publications, largely because the analysis is largely viewer-specific. As such, however, it becomes increasingly important to avoid bias in the analysis of cover art that may have resulted from preconceptions of the researcher (Behra 2002). The researcher’s perceptions may serve as a source of error in the analysis of document-image communications based on his or her own knowledge and background. Analysis of document-image communication is largely qualitative. Any type of qualitative research is automatically at increased risk of researcher bias over quantitative methodologies. The differences between individuals in communicating both verbally and nonverbally can largely influence that individual’s understanding of a concurrent document image communication, such as magazine covers, which are products of juxtapositions of many images with very different meanings (Behra 2002). In order to avoid bias, a number of techniques have been applied to the analysis of such images, such as completion of surveys or blind display of images to observers. Barthes Theory of Advertising Image Barthes promoted a theory in which signs were understood as codes of cultural knowledge, knowledge that could be decoded by the viewer. When images and text were portrayed together, Barthes suggested that the two interplayed to have a greater, subconscious meaning that either would have alone. (Lantz). In examining concurrent messages it is important to note their source of emission, which includes person(s) who created the images, the editorial team, and the publisher (Barthes 1977). The emissions source generally imparts its views on the final image. Barthes’ theory can be described using two terms: denotation and connotation (Lantz). Denotation is the literal meaning, while connotation is the meaning suggested or implied by a sign (Lantz). Defleur and Dennis's Theory of Understanding Mass Communication DeFleur was responsible for several major works classified as surveys of the mass communication field that contains specific theories for understanding the proliferation of mass communication. His theories have in common the theme of practical applicability. DeFleur theory described the language-shaping function of the media as one of theory about how media shape messages. Meaning-construction function of the press, cultivation theory, and the agenda setting function of the press are among his other prominent theories (Fact Index). Pierce’s Theory of Signs Charles S. Pierce developed a theory for the analysis of signs. In his Sign Theory, or Semiotic, based in logic theory, Pierce basically states that a sign or representation is composed of individual signifying elements, not all of which may be pertinent in a given situation (Pierce 2007). Sign theory goes on to define how objects may possess signifiers pertinent to conveying a message in communications. As an example, he gives a man searching to see if his yard is infested with moles. A mole hill can be considered as sign of moles because it has signifiers that suggest a mole infestation; however, Pierce suggests that the mole hill also has many other properties, such as its aesthetics and physical properties, which exist independently of its ability to signify a mole infestation (Pierce 1997). By applying Sign theory, a researcher can asses why a certain image may have been used as a signifier for some deeper meaning, such as a political or social message. Examination of the symbols present in the nonverbal objects as well as the verbal text and messages present on the magazine cover of Matichon magazine from 2009 to 2010 will result in valuable information about the popular culture of Thailand and the demographic of the magazine itself. Methods The method of analysis proposed in this survey will involve the isolation pertinent individual symbols from the cover are of each Matichon magazine issue from 2009 to 2010. For each cover art, the symbols will be separated in terms of nonverbal elements, such as photographs, graphics, logos, and drawings and verbal elements such as text, titles, dates, and quotations. The symbols will be ranked by importance in the perceived message of the cover. For symbols that contribute towards the cover’s message, a list of important signifiers will be made, according to the Pierce method previously discussed. Signifiers that contribute towards the overall message through benefit of concurrent placement against other images will be further analyzed in social, political, and global contexts in order to determine the reasoning behind the choice of the symbol and the symbol’s effectiveness. In order to avoid bias, the researcher will conduct blind surveys on several cover images in order to establish perceived signifiers within a cultural context outside of the researcher. The results of this analysis will be compared with the researcher’s own qualitative evaluation in order to determine the effectiveness of the research and quality of qualitative analysis performed. An example of the proposed method is illustrated below for a single issue of Matichon magazine, exemplifying the proposed qualitative analysis of both verbal and nonverbal elements within the image-document communication example. Each magazine cover will be analyzed for important symbols, as seen in Figure 1. Those symbols will be classified as verbal or nonverbal and identified, as in Figure 2. From this point, the symbols will be further analyzed in a known cultural context, as seen in Figure 3, allowing major connections to be drawn regarding the overall message based on the symbol signifiers. Figure 1 Matichon magazine cover from 5th November 2010, volume 1577 http://info.matichon.co.th/weekly/weekly.php Symbol Type Identity Headline Verbal “a real hero” Title Verbal Magazine title Photo: Real Man Nonverbal Famous Thai journalist Sorayud Sutassanajinda Photo: Fictional Character Nonverbal Superman Photo: Thai Flooding Nonverbal Flooding in Thailand Figure 2 Listing of Present Verbal and Nonverbal Symbols Photo Image Identity Signifiers Significant Signifer Concurrent themes Sorayud Sutassanajinda: Real Thai journalist Frank Promotes justice Works hard Helps suffering people Exposes truth in dangerous situations Faces danger to expose truth Superman: Fictional character that is a hero posing as a mere journalist Helps suffering people Faces Danger Is Truthful Promotes justice Risks life to promote truth and justice Figure 3 Comparison of Significant Symbols’ Signifers to identify concurrent themes Conclusion Many documents in media are made up of juxtapositions of verbal and nonverbal elements. The proper use of document-image communication, or documents that consist of both verbal and nonverbal elements, is increasingly important in our society for both print and digital communications. The research presented in this project is significant because it provides a structured method for the qualitative analysis of existing media within the sociopolitical context of Thailand and globally by analysis of important symbols incorporated in the cover art of the magazine Matichon. These techniques are also important in media planning, a multi-billion dollar industry that is based on the correct use of document-image communication to reach targeted population demographics. As such, the analysis of concurrent document-image communication is an important goal in marketing and media communications. Additionally, with the increase in both print and digital communication, the ability to detect and analyze symbols is a necessary literacy tool, though it is one that largely relies on intuition and is not formally taught in the classroom. By examination of images and the readership to which these symbolic images appeal, researchers can gauge the image-document literacy within a certain demographic of a population and draw conclusions regarding commonly used image-document rhetoric. This data could be used in further studies to both improve media campaigns and educational programs. Bibliography Barthes, R.,1977. Image Music Text. Translated from French by Stephen Heath. London: Fontana Press. Barthes, Roland. 1993 Mythologies. Translated from the French by Annette Lavers. Crowley, D. 2003 Magazine Covers. London: Mitchell Beazley. Defleur, Melvin L. and Everette Dennis 1994 Understanding Mass Communication: A Liberal Arts perspective. 5th ed. NY: Houghton Muffin Company. Filloux, Frédéric. Measuring Time Spent on a Web Page 2009 Monday Note accessed 10 Dec 2010 < http://www.mondaynote.com/2009/05/24/measuring-time-spent-on-a-web-page/> Gough-Yates, A. 2003 Understanding Women’s Magazines: Publishing, Markets and Readerships. London: Routledge. The History of Graphic Design 2010. The History of Graphic Design accessed 10 Dec 2010 Hollis, Richard 2001 Graphic Design: A Concise History, Thames and Hudson. Jugenheimer, D.W., Barban, A.M. and Turk P.B. 1992 Advertising Media: Strategy and tactics. IA : WCB Brown & Benchmark. Kelle, L.D. and Jugenheimer, D.W. 2008 Advertising Media: Workbook and sourcebook, 2nd ed. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Key, M.R. 1980 The Relationship of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication. Netherlands: Mouton Publishers. Kjellman, Ulrika 2008 Visual Scientific Communication. The Use of Graphics in Contemporary Doctoral Theses accessed 10 Dec 2010 Lantz, Kesley. An Image Is Worth A Thousand Meanings. University of Colorado at Boulder. accessed 16 Dec 2010 Lee, Myoung Ho, Babaguchi, Noboru, and Kitahashi, Tadahiro 1997 ‘Symbolization and Presentation of graph images for intelligent communication of document images’ Electronics and Communications in Japan (Part III: Fundamental Electronic Science) Volume 80, Issue 11, pp.94–104. Machin, D. and Leeuwen T. 2005 Language Style and Lifestyle: The case of a global magazine. Accessed 10 December 2010 < http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/27/4/577.short> ‘Matichon Public Company Limited’ 2010 Corporate Information Snapshots accessed online 10 Dec 2010 McCargo, Duncan March 1999 ‘Media and Democratic Transitions in Southeast Asia’ ECPR Joint Sessions Mannheim accessed 10 Dec 2010 McLoughlin, L. 2000 The Language of Magazines. London: Routledge. Mehra, Beloo 2002 'Bias in Qualitative Research: Voices from an Online Classroom' The Qualitative Report, Volume 7, Number 1. ‘Melvin Defleur’ 2010. Fact Index accessed 16 Dec 2010 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 2004. Merriam-Webster, US. Pierce, Charles S. 1996 A General Introduction to the Semeiotic of Charles S. Peirce. Bloomington. I.N: Indiana University Press. Pierce, Charles S., 2007. Peirce's Theory of Signs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Vestergaard, T and Schroder, K. 1985 The Language of Advertising. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. ‘World's 100 Largest Newspapers’ 2005 World Association of Newspapers accessed 10 Dec 2010 White, Alexander 2002 The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type. New York: Allworth Press. Zakia, R.D., 1997. Perception and Imaging. Boston: Focus Press. Annotated Bibliography DO NOT TURN THIS SHEET IN, THIS IS TO HELP YOU REVIWE THE REFERENCES Barthes, R.,1977. Image Music Text. Translated from French by Stephen Heath. London: Fontana Press. See p.12-13 Review Chapter on The Photographic Message http://www.scribd.com/doc/13270483/Barthes-ImageMusicText Barthes, Roland. 1993 Mythologies. Translated from the French by Annette Lavers. See p.i Review the introduction to this book Review the content on who Roland Barthes was and why these letters were written at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roland_Barthes Crowley, D. 2003 Magazine Covers. London: Mitchell Beazley. There is no page number, this is an assessment based on the books visual content Defleur, Melvin L. and Everette Dennis 1994 Understanding Mass Communication: A Liberal Arts perspective. 5th ed. NY: Houghton Muffin Company. Cannot get this book back from Library on short notice for page # Filloux, Frédéric. Measuring Time Spent on a Web Page 2009 Monday Note accessed 10 Dec 2010 < http://www.mondaynote.com/2009/05/24/measuring-time-spent-on-a-web-page/> Used for statistic, page 1 Gough-Yates, A. 2003 Understanding Women’s Magazines: Publishing, Markets and Readerships. London: Routledge. Page 116-118, particular emphasis on the author’s views on magazine readership Review at http://books.google.com/books?id=4RP-O_mpR7gC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Gough-Yates,+A.+2003+Understanding+Women%E2%80%99s+Magazines:+Publishing,+Markets+and+Readerships&source=bl&ots=MvxWN7-_QV&sig=DC5zG00stTHhE7uB5ITRVrs5Ajo&hl=en&ei=UPUHTbHfKsqr8AbChc3ZCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CB0Q6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Gough-Yates%2C%20A.%202003%20Understanding%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Magazines%3A%20Publishing%2C%20Markets%20and%20Readerships&f=false The History of Graphic Design 2010. The History of Graphic Design accessed 10 Dec 2010 Page 1, used for basic background on design Hollis, Richard 2001 Graphic Design: A Concise History, Thames and Hudson. See p.7-8 Notes for this book are valuable at http://www.sfu.ca/~roman/page70/page78/files/page78_4.pdf Jugenheimer, D.W., Barban, A.M. and Turk P.B. 1992 Advertising Media: Strategy and tactics. IA : WCB Brown & Benchmark. Can’t get book back on short notice, see ‘marketing’ in index for more info Kelle, L.D. and Jugenheimer, D.W. 2008 Advertising Media: Workbook and sourcebook, 2nd ed. New York: M.E. Sharpe. Can’t get book back on short notice, see ‘marketing’ in index for more info Key, M.R. 1980 The Relationship of Verbal and Nonverbal Communication. Netherlands: Mouton Publishers. Review at p.27, but whole book applies and would be great for your paper http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=Tbg98xnbIYwC&oi=fnd&pg=PR7&dq=Key,+M.R.+1980+The+Relationship+of+Verbal+and+Nonverbal+Communication&ots=ptZXBRlHmE&sig=GKaZVC1J7tgTIc7mvTBamcnkbcA#v=onepage&q&f=false Kjellman, Ulrika 2008 Visual Scientific Communication. The Use of Graphics in Contemporary Doctoral Theses accessed 10 Dec 2010 p.1 and general content of article Review at http://www.scribd.com/doc/6432782/Visual-Scientific-Communication-The-Use-of-Graphics-in-Contemporary-Doctoral-Theses Lee, Myoung Ho, Babaguchi, Noboru, and Kitahashi, Tadahiro 1997 ‘Symbolization and Presentation of graph images for intelligent communication of document images’ Electronics and Communications in Japan (Part III: Fundamental Electronic Science) Volume 80, Issue 11, pp.94–104. p.94 Abstract Machin, D. and Leeuwen T. 2005 Language Style and Lifestyle: The case of a global magazine. Accessed 10 December 2010 < http://mcs.sagepub.com/content/27/4/577.short> p.577 abstract ‘Matichon Public Company Limited’ 2010 Corporate Information Snapshots accessed online 10 Dec 2010 single webpage McCargo, Duncan March 1999 ‘Media and Democratic Transitions in Southeast Asia’ ECPR Joint Sessions Mannheim accessed 10 Dec 2010 p.14 (also search PDF by term ‘Matichon’ for more info) McLoughlin, L. 2000 The Language of Magazines. London: Routledge. p.14-16 and general content Mehra, Beloo 2002 'Bias in Qualitative Research: Voices from an Online Classroom' The Qualitative Report, Volume 7, Number 1. p.1 Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary 2004. Merriam-Webster, US. p.746 Pierce, Charles S. 1996 A General Introduction to the Semeiotic of Charles S. Peirce. Bloomington. I.N: Indiana University Press. p.10-12 Pierce, Charles S., 2007. Peirce's Theory of Signs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. No page given, digital copy. Section 1.1 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/peirce-semiotics/ Pay attention to Signifying elements of Signs Vestergaard, T and Schroder, K. 1985 The Language of Advertising. Oxford: Basil Blackwell. Review of content from Google Books http://books.google.com/books?id=ufdnQgAACAAJ&dq=Vestergaard+1985+The+Language+of+Advertising.&hl=en&ei=FgAITfCZPJH69ASt9fT8DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA ‘World's 100 Largest Newspapers’ 2005 World Association of Newspapers accessed 10 Dec 2010 Single webpage White, Alexander 2002 The Elements of Graphic Design: Space, Unity, Page Architecture, and Type. New York: Allworth Press. p.101-103 and section Listening to Type Zakia, R.D., 1997. Perception and Imaging. Boston: Focus Press. P.2-4 Read More