Regional Magazine Genre Ideas

By Layla Cairns

RegionI have decided to base my regional magazine within the North East of England. I feel like this is a great idea, due to the lack of regional magazines in this area. I also have a good understanding of this region, as I live here, this will enable me to go into great depth when researching and writing my articles. I will use this gap in the market to create a professional magazine, that my target audience will just have to buy! The North East have quite a lot of students due to there being a fair few Universities in this area (Durham University, Northumbria University, Teesside University, Newcastle University, and University of Sunderland) as well as Colleges and Sixth Forms. I want this to be my age range for my target audience as there are very little magazines out there for these type of readers. I need to keep this in mind when deciding my genre.

Business MagazinesBusiness Quarter is a regional magazine that delivers a unique and refreshing mix of business news, features and commentary from the regions inspirational entrepreneurs and corporate success. It also focuses on national issues that have a significant impact on the business landscape. There are not that many business magazines in the North East, which may be a good gap in the market. However, I don’t know anything about business so would not create a good standard magazine. I also think this would not interest my target audience, unless it was an educational read.

Music MagazinesNorth East Music Magazine is a regional magazine that offers it’s readers information on new music and gigs found in the North East. It allows you to write your opinion on the website, and it really has a community vibe to it. In my opinion, I wouldn’t choose this genre, as the type of music I like (hip hop, R ‘n’ B), probably wouldn't’t have a large audience in the North East, and I would not have great knowledge on other genres like rock, and indie. I do think students and my target audience have interests in music, so I think I would like this genre as a sub- genre for my magazine, and include a couple of articles about hot music atthe moment.

Sport MagazinesNorthern Golfer is a regional magazine and it offers information on latest golf tournaments and courses. It also has interviews with some of the regions best golfers, and how they are doing with national competitions. I don’t think I will choose the genre sport, as you really need to know a lot about it to create a professional magazine, and I don’t have great knowledge on any type of sport. I think some students would be interested in this genre of magazine, but feel like I would not design great products if it was based on this topic.

Fashion and Lifestyle MagazinesNorth East Life is a regional magazine that celebrates the finer things in life. People, heritage, places, landscape and quality of life all feature prominently, along with platform sections covering food and drink, interiors, and Fashion. I really like the idea of a fashion and lifestyle magazine, and think I will be able to research a lot into it as I enjoy reading these types of magazines. I think a lot of students would enjoy reading this magazine, especially since there are very little aimed at this specific age range.