Digital Commons Network^™

Construction Of Readership In Ebony, Essence, And O, The Oprah Magazine, Lee Miller, Bonnie Brennen, Brenda Edgerton-Webster

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Miller et al examine the construction of readership in Ebony, Essence and O, The Oprah magazine, three popular magazines that purport to be a vehicle of identity and awareness for their target audience. Upon evaluation, they found that Ebony and Essence both challenge the hegemonic process with the incorporation of cultural artifacts that call upon collective memory to form reader association.

Drawing The Line Between Targeting And Patronizing: How “Vulnerable” Are The Vulnerable?, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – This article aims to address the nature of vulnerability and the basis for protecting certain audiences from targeted goods and services. It aims to evaluate the need for protection as well as marketers’ defense that protection merely patronizes audiences.

Design/methodology/approach – This article cites published research that offers guidelines for determining vulnerability in the marketplace and examines conclusions from a case study that argue for holding companies to have standards of both individual and collective responsibility.

Findings – Categories of vulnerability are offered, and distinctions are drawn between the vulnerable and the disadvantaged to provide a rationale for …