Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory divides human needs into five categories from basic to more advanced needs. Understanding what needs an audience has using this theory helps target a magazine effectively. Researching signs, symbols and their meanings in semiotics allows for a deeper understanding of an audience to create a strong media product. Key media theorists who contributed to understanding semiotics include Roland Barthes, Charles Sanders Pierce, and Ferdinand de Saussure. Applying this research enables producing a music magazine that can successfully target its intended audience.

1. Target Audiences
During my production work of my magazine, I wanted to ensure that I targeted
my audience effectively. In order to do this I carried out some research.
When doing my research I came across, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs thorium. I
thought that this was very important when understanding an audience’s needs
and desire.
Abraham Maslow hierarchy of
needs model can be divided into
basic needs.
You must satisfy lower level basic
needs before moving on to meet
higher level growth needs. Once
these needs have been satisfied, you
are able to reach the highest level
called self-actualization.

2. Stages of Original Hierarchy of Needs
• 1. Biological and Physiological needs -
air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep.
• 2. Safety needs - protection from
elements, security, order, law, limits, stability.
• 3. Belongingness and Love needs - work
group, family, affection, relationships.
• 4. Esteem needs - self-
esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance,
prestige, managerial responsibility.
• 5. Self-Actualization needs - realizing personal potential, self-
fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

3. • Maslow exemplifies the different social groups that are in society. His
theory shows the needs that everybody requires. This theory is an
important part of understanding an audience. The theory is also the
first step to understanding their socio economic
background, job, income and more elements. In my opinion, I think
that taking Maslow’s theory into consideration, it will provide me the
understanding of different audiences. From this theory I could obtain
an ideal target audience.

4. Signs and Semiotics

5. Signs and Semiotics
• Semiotics, or semiology, is the study of
signs, symbols, and signification.
• I will carry out some research to familiarise
myself with semiotic, in order to allow myself
to understand the needs of my target
audience and to produce a strong media
product.

6. Media Theorists
• Researching signs and semiotics, I came across
the media theorists- Roland Barthes, Charles
Sanders Pierce and Ferdinand de Saussure.

7. Roland Barthes
• Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist and philosopher. His ideas explored a diverse
range of fields and he influenced the development of schools of theory including
structuralism, semiotics, social theory, anthropology and post structuralism. Roland Barthes
word pioneered ideas of structure and signification which have come to underpin cultural
studies and critical theory today. However, he always remained an outsider due to his
sexuality and religious beliefs.
• Barthes emphasizes the diversity of possible references, and the ambiguity of each signifier.
A boundary between denotation and connotation could not be held, and final
interpretations are impossible, so every text is plural. His argument:
- The signifier is the image used to stand for something else, while the signified is what it
stands for.
- Society is the construction, preserved by signs of the dominant values within its culture.
- Semiology was the close analysis of process of meanings by which the capitalist class who
own most of society’s wealth and means of production converts its historical class- culture
into a universal nature.
- According to modern semiology, the benefit of culture resides in the differences of
attitude and groups. Without these differences, choices would be limited.
- Barthes feelings were that ‘Occidentalism’ was set like binders, providing one tool for
understanding namely, rhetoric.

8. Continued..
• Barthes wanted to create a way for people to deepen their understanding
language, literature and society and wanted to point out that all the signs we see
today make up society around us. Example:
• RED WINE- is the French national drink and can be viewed as life giving a
refreshing in cold weathers. It can be associated with many myths (Keeping
warm, all things cool and sparkling). It can also be seen as a drink of the lower
class, this is because it is seen as blood-like as in Holy Communion.
• Relevance to the media?
• Roland Barthes theory links with the media, mainly because the media controls
the ways in which society works. Society is constructed around signs and the
media presents society with non stop signs. Overall the media makes these signs
for us to interpret and influence what we do in our day to day life. Many signs
have change through the period of time (e.g. Red Wine) this is because cultural
meanings have changed and this is because the media has recreated this.

9. Ferdinand de Saussure
• Ferdinand de Saussure was a Swiss linguist whose ideas on structure in
language laid the foundation for much of the approach to and progress of
the linguistic sciences in the 20th century. Saussure’s argument is that a
sign is composed of a signifier and the signified.
• A sign is something that stands for something to someone. This sign could
be perceived in different ways depending on the recipients different
qualities (e.g. age and gender). The signifier could be an image or a sense.

10. A Sign-
This is a painting by Rene Magritte
called The Treachery of Images.
From the painting one may infer
that the picture shows a pipe.
However the French sentence at the
bottom of the painting reads, "Ceci
n'est pas une pipe“ which is French
for "This is not a pipe." What this
means is that Magritte is saying that
this picture isn’t a pipe, but
represents an image of a pipe.
The Treachery Of Images: “This Is Not A Pipe” – Rene
Magritte.

11. Conclusion
• Due to an understanding of media
theorists, signs and semiotics and Maslow's
hierarchy, it has enabled me to produce a
music magazine that can effectively target my
audience. Also if I was to place my magazine
into the magazine industry, it would be
successful because it will meet the
requirements for my target audience if I took
my research on board.

12. Further Reading
• If you wish to have a deeper understanding of signs and
semiotics, click on the following link for more information:
• http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Docu
ments/S4B/semiotic.html