Content analysis of National Geographic Magazine covers

Research Question: When viewing National Geographic Magazine what do the cover images and main headlines communicate (quantitatively and qualitatively) about the magazine, how it relates to current events, and how the magazine has varied in the past ten years?

Part One:

Objectives

1.      To calculate the different types of cover images and headlines I will place each one, dating from January 2006 to November 2015, into a category that describes that issues cover subject.

2.      In order to calculate the number of specific subjects represented on the covers I will add categories of different types of current events.

3.      Once each magazine has been added to a category I will find the percentage of how often a subject appears on a cover during this time span.

4.      I will monitor for change from year to year

5.      The main objective of this content analysis is to determine what subjects of current events appear most often and determine what kind of audience appeals and relates to this type of magazine.

 

Sample, Logistics, Methodology

            To view all of the covers of National Geographic Magazine in the past ten years I used their website archives, http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/archives. Once every month a new issue is released. I looked at twelve issues per year in a ten years time frame except for the December 2015 issue which hasn’t been released yet. The time span I used was from January 2006 to November 2015. My total sample size was 119 magazine issues.

I decided that ten years would give me enough time to see any patterns or change in content. I organized my coding sheet with current event subject going down the left and months going across the top of the sheet. I then looked at each magazine marking the subjects in the appropriate category. Some issues were placed in multiple categories because of overlapping subject. For example an issue could focus on Pluto and new imaging technology. This would overlap the categories of space and technology. The same categories don’t always overlap though, for instance one issue was on black whole which is space but doesn’t relate specifically to technology or technological advances, which is why the category remained separate. The total number of males, females and animals that appeared was also counted.

My sample, logistics, and methodology include a clear set of categories, an appropriate number of issues viewed and guideline to accurately measure subject matter on each cover to answer my research question as well as fulfill my objective.

Part Two:

1.      Males: The number of images of males or a reference to a male in the main headline.

2.      Females: The number of images of females or a reference to a female in the main headline.

3.      Animals: The number of images of animals or a reference to an animal in the main headline.

4.      Environment: Any subject pertaining to the natural world, as a whole or a particular geographical area.

5.      Natural Disaster: A natural event such as a flood, earthquake, or hurricane that causes great damage or loss of life.

6.      Food: Any nutritious substance that is eaten or drank by people or animals.

7.      Health: Any subject in relations to human or animal wellbeing. This included subjects of medicine, medical procedures or advances.

8.      Famous People: Any individual widely known by people. Historical figures and current celebrities were included.

9.      Indigenous People: Any person, group of people or tribe who originated from a particular geographic region. Someone considered native.

10.  Military/Conflicts: Any subject that related to any military group, personnel, or weapons. Also any subject in which two or more groups engaged in physical or oppressive behavior toward one another.

11.  Crime/Illegal: Any subject considered to be a crime, illegal act or material.

12.  Economics: Any subject concerned with the production, consumption, and transfer of wealth.

13.  Religion: Any subject relating to a spiritual beliefs, practices, or spiritual groups.

14.   Politics: Any subject pertaining to governments, regarding their issues and functions. This includes individuals in a government position or office.

15.  Space: In reference to outer space, planets, space travel. Including any material or event outside the atmosphere of the Earth.

16.  Technology: Any subject that relates to the use of tools used by humans or the advancement of tools.

17.  Historic Discovery: Any subject that deals with the finding of ancient artifacts, peoples, places, or culture.

18.  Scientific Discovery: Any subject that relates to science and its advancement in procedures, theories, scientific processes, and knowledge.

19.  Anniversaries: Any issue that related to the anniversary of the magazine, its photos, or content.

I used these categories to insure that every subject was accounted for. I had to account for subjects I didn’t anticipate. I adjusted and created a few new categories during my coding process.

Part Three:

     

January – December 2006

 

Male: 50% (10 males)

Female: 8% (1 female)

Animal: 25% (4 animals)

Environment: 42%

Natural Disaster: 17%

Food: 0%

Health: 0%

Famous People: 8%

Indigenous People: 0%

Military/Conflicts: 0%

Crime/Illegal: 0%

Economics: 17%

Religions: 0%

Politics: 17%

Space: 8%

Technology: 0%

Historic Discoveries: 8%

Scientific Discoveries: 17%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

January – December 2007

 

Male: 25% (3 males)

Female: 8% (1 female)

Animal: 33% (4 animals)

Environment: 25%

Natural Disaster: 8%

Food: 17%

Health: 17%

Famous People: 0%

Indigenous People: 8%

Military/Conflicts: 0%

Crime/Illegal: 8%

Economics: 8%

Religions: 8%

Politics: 8%

Space: 0%

Technology: 0%

Historic Discoveries: 25%

Scientific Discoveries: 25%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

 

 

January – December 2008

 

Male: 42% (5 males)

Female: 0% (0 females)

Animal: 25% (4 animals)

Environment: 17%

Natural Disaster: 0%

Food: 8%

Health: 0%

Famous People: 8%

Indigenous People: 0%

Military/Conflicts: 8%

Crime/Illegal: 8%

Economics: 8%

Religions: 0%

Politics: 8%

Space: 0%

Technology: 8%

Historic Discoveries: 42%

Scientific Discoveries: 0%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

 

 

January – December 2009

 

Male: 25% (4 males)

Female: 25% (3 females)

Animal: 25% (3 animals)

Environment: 33%

Natural Disaster: 0%

Food: 0%

Health: 0%

Famous People: 8%

Indigenous People: 8%

Military/Conflicts: 8%

Crime/Illegal: 0%

Economics: 17%

Religions: 8%

Politics: 8%

Space: 8%

Technology: 0%

Historic Discoveries: 33%

Scientific Discoveries: 0%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

 

           

January – December 2010

 

Male: 25% (4 males)

Female: 17% (4 females)

Animal: 25% (7 animals)

Environment: 42%

Natural Disaster: 8%

Food: 8%

Health: 8%

Famous People: 17%

Indigenous People: 0%

Military/Conflicts: 8%

Crime/Illegal: 8%

Economics: 0%

Religions: 8%

Politics: 0%

Space: 0%

Technology: 8%

Historic Discoveries: 25%

Scientific Discoveries: 17%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

 

 

January – December 2011

 

Male: 33% (4 males)

Female: 8% (1 female)

Animal: 17% (2 animals)

Environment: 17%

Natural Disaster: 0%

Food: 0%

Health: 8%

Famous People: 8%

Indigenous People: 8%

Military/Conflicts: 8%

Crime/Illegal: 8%

Economics: 8%

Religions: 17%

Politics: 0%

Space: 0%

Technology: 8%

Historic Discoveries: 42%

Scientific Discoveries: 33%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

 

 

January – December 2012

 

Male: 50% (14 males)

Female: 8% (2 females)

Animal: 25% (3 animals)

Environment: 17%

Natural Disaster: 8%

Food: 0%

Health: 0%

Famous People: 17%

Indigenous People: 17%

Military/Conflicts: 17%

Crime/Illegal: 8%

Economics: 8%

Religions: 8%

Politics: 17%

Space: 8%

Technology: 8%

Historic Discoveries: 42%

Scientific Discoveries: 24%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

 

 

January – December 2013

 

Male: 42% (7 males)

Female: 25% (5 females)

Animal: 17% (11 animals)

Environment: 33%

Natural Disaster: 17%

Food: 8%

Health: 17%

Famous People: 8%

Indigenous People: 0%

Military/Conflicts: 0%

Crime/Illegal: 0%

Economics: 8%

Religions: 8%

Politics: 0%

Space: 17%

Technology: 8%

Historic Discoveries: 17%

Scientific Discoveries: 17%

Anniversaries: 17%

 

 

 

 

January – December 2014

 

Male: 17% (3 males)

Female: 17% (2 females)

Animal: 33% (4 animals)

Environment: 8%

Natural Disaster: 0%

Food: 17%

Health: 0%

Famous People: 8%

Indigenous People: 8%

Military/Conflicts: 8%

Crime/Illegal: 8%

Economics: 0%

Religions: 0%

Politics: 0%

Space: 17%

Technology: 0%

Historic Discoveries: 25%

Scientific Discoveries: 33%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

 

 

January – November 2015

 

Male: 42% (5 males)

Female: 0% (0 females)

Animal: 25% (3 animals)

Environment: 8%

Natural Disaster: 8%

Food: 0%

Health: 17%

Famous People: 17%

Indigenous People: 0%

Military/Conflicts: 8%

Crime/Illegal: 8%

Economics: 0%

Religions: 8%

Politics: 8%

Space: 17%

Technology: 25%

Historic Discoveries: 17%

Scientific Discoveries: 17%

Anniversaries: 0%

 

 

 

 

January 2006 – November 2015

 

Male: 35% (59 males)

Female: 12% (19 females)

Animal: 25% (45 animals)

Environment: 24%

Natural Disaster: 7%

Food: 6%

Health: 7%

Famous People: 10%

Indigenous People: 5%

Military/Conflicts: 7%

Crime/Illegal: 6%

Economics: 8%

Religions: 7%

Politics: 7%

Space: 8%

Technology: 7%

Historic Discoveries: 28%

Scientific Discoveries: 19%

Anniversaries: 2%

 

 

 

 

            To get my findings I calculated the percentages a subject appeared for each year of the magazine as well as a total percentage from all ten years. Percents were rounded to the nearest whole number. For the categories of males, females, and animals a total number of individuals seen on the cover for that year were additionally noted.

For my findings I was interested in learning what type of subject topics appeared on National Geographic Magazine covers/headlines and if there were any significant or interesting patters or changes over the course of ten years.

            Males were featured more often than females or animals on covers and animals were featured more than females. Each year males and animals were featured on at least two magazines. Some years no females were featured. For the rest of the categories historic discoveries were the most featured subject followed by the environment and then scientific discoveries. Other categories had much smaller percentages.

            I found that throughout the course of the last ten year that there weren’t any major changes in the direction of the magazine. National Geographic has stayed fairly consistent in their subject topics and how often they appear. It was interesting to find that the number of males actually present on the cover was much higher than females. National Geographic Magazine offers in depth articles on current events from around the world and often uses high quality photos to give their readers information visually.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix A: News Release

(Hypothetically Sent To The Buffalo News)

NEWS                                                                                                 November, 16, 2015

                                                                                                            For Immediate Release

 

National Geographic Subject Topics

 

Buffalo, NY—National Geographic Magazine’s first issue came out in 1888 and has continued providing its readers with photos and articles of current events from around the world ever since. The magazine covers a variety of subjects, some more than others.

            Recently a case study was conducted to determine what types of types of current event subject topics appeared on the covers of the magazine as well as determining what patterns or changes have occurred in topics over the past ten years. National Geographic has remained fairly loyal to their uses of subjects featured on the covers each year. Readers can expect to see a high number of covers that feature males and topics about the environment, historic discoveries and scientific discoveries.

            This magazine uses photos and in depth articles to bring current events into the hands of its readers. The topics often cover important issues that people face or new discoveries being made.

-End-

For more information contact Patrick Miller at 585-278-7209 or at millerps01@mail.buffalostate.edu.

 

 

Appendix B

            I thought that this content analysis was a great opportunity to get experience with how to identify and collect data. You really needed to have a good understanding of what you were looking for in the data and how it relates to your subject. For me it was interesting to see how a magazine like National Geographic communicates to their readers through a cover.

            I thought that gathering the data was very tedious and took a long time. It was a pretty easy to categorize each cover and I didn’t find that I really had to debate over whether a cover fit into a category or not. There was a good amount of planning that went into choosing my categories.

            Next time I do a content analysis I would like to see more changes in the topic. It would be interesting to try and find out why a magazine might change directions in their topics. There wasn’t much variation or a significant change in how the magazine presented their covers. I like the types of current events that National Geographic covers so it was pretty interesting to get to see a bunch of their leading stories.