The Big Issue

Subtitle
What is it ?

The Big Issue is one of the UK's largest social businesses

It exists to offer homeless people, or individuals at risk of
homelessness an opportunity to earn an income,
This helps reintegrate them into mainstream society.
It is the world's most widely circulated street newspaper.
The Big Issue is available both in print and digital .
Digital copies are available https://www.bigissue.org.uk/
FACTS
WHEN DID IT START ?

The Big issue was launched in 1991 . It was originally based in

London .At first the magazine only published on a monthly
bases but in June 1993 it switched to publishing weekly
magazines. the Big issue expanded and became established in
the whole of the United Kingdom. The magazine is even
established in seven overseas locations.
JONH BIRD and Gordon Roddick

The Big Issue was launched by Gordon Roddick and A. John Bird. This was to help the
growing number of rough sleepers on the streets of London.
This was personal for John because his family was poor and he became homeless at the
age of five.
John was put in an orphanage between the ages of seven and ten. He was excluded from
school and became a butcher's boy after leaving the orphanage, however he increased
his income by stealing.
He was sent to prison four times during his young adult life where he learnt to read, write
and the basics of printing.
John and Gordon where inspired by a newspaper called Street news which was sold by
homeless people in New York.
The two believed that the key to solving the problem of homelessness lay in helping
people to help themselves.
 HAVE THEY MADE A DIFFERENCE ?

Since 1991 the big issue has sold more than 200 million copies and have been sold by
93,000 vendors. In the past 25 years vendors have earned 115 million and 37,000 new
vendors join nearly everyday.
Currently there are 1500 vendors and last year they earned a total of 5.5million.
Which is around 3,600 a year individually.
By giving homeless people magazines to sell it has gained their confidence in
themselves and has taught them life skills such as how to manage their money
responsibly. However a lot of the public have a misconception that once they receive
their money they are left to their own resources and will spend it on drugs for example.
This is why some of the public is unwilling to buy a copy.
 Audience Demographics

The audience demographic for the big issue are that 72% of the Big issue readers
are A,B and C1 and from that 43% of the reader are A and B. This illustrates that
wealthier classes also buy the magazine.
This shows that the target audience is a range of demographics.
61% of our readers are aged between 18 and 39.
On the magazine you can see lots of advertising, from big companies for example
Triodos Bank and Good energy .
 ECONOMICAL AND POLITICAL EXTENT OF
HOMLESSNESS IN THE UK ?

SKY
Homeless people where portrayed as the victims. Homelessness was portrayed in a
dark way .This was done through the use of mise en scene . The lighting was dark and
some of the shots where in black and white they specifically showed where they slept
to present that they have to sleep in a bag and on the floor. They have done this to
make it feel personal to the audience as it shows how their quality of life is extremely
poor compared to theirs. Furthermore they didnt show the person who was
homeless face. This created the idea that they may have committed a crime to be
able to live or that it is too dangerous to show their face. Furthermore their choice of
the audio in the background of the clip creates a tone of darkness as it is a low tempo
and represents the topic as a serious issue
SKY News: https:www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCfcd0kNbXI
ECONOMICAL AND POLITICAL EXTENT OF
HOMLESSNESS IN THE UK ?

Aljazeera-
Aljazeera chose to speak more about the how the council and the government help. They
interviewed people who were moved to houses temporarily but ended up living there for 2 years
or more. One family who were Muslims had a 2 year old boy and they were stuck in a house that
only had 2 bedrooms and very small kitchen. They were told they would be living there for a few
months but it had been a year when Aljazeera interviewed them. Another woman who was
Jamaican suffered from arthritis and had been stuck in a temporary house for more than 2 years.
Furthermore the flats she was in didnt have an elevator; which means the government had
place an arthritic woman in a house with only stairs. By showing the people and their stories it
can make people feel sympathy or anger that people are being treated this way by the
government. The people Aljazeera interviewed were all immigrants. This could show to the
audience that the government may care less about immigrants therefore there are not as
important. The video was presented in a much more professional way then BBC and SKY which
give the impression that they are talking about a very serious problem.
Aljazeera News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50iTvoGMv8I
ECONOMICAL AND POLITICAL EXTENT OF
HOMLESSNESS IN THE UK ?

BBC News-
This video portrayed the message of hope and self help . Where was BBC interview
a young girl who was homeless and shares her story. They presented her as a victim
and how becoming homeless was her last and only option. She spoke about how
she was in a abusive relationship and how she was fired from her job left single with
no money. Furthermore she mentioned how she went to the council for help but
received mockery. By sharing her story it makes the audience empathise with her
as she was a young girl trying to work but it all got taken away. This could make the
audience feel bad for her as they can relate to her. It also demonstrated that not all
homeless people are homeless due to drinking and drugs which is what a lot of
people believe. The mise en scene in the BBC video was a bright and gave a sense
of hope. Furthermore the camera angle focused on her which made the audience
only listen to her and her story.
BBC news: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2cDZ_h6YrA
 Intertextuality
Their heads have been
stuck on the body of
ABBA band members .
This shows
interxtuality as it is
connecting a famous
well known band to
politicians
The title The winner takes it
all is referencing one of the
famous band ABBAs songs. It is
referring to the election in
England
The background has a
disco ball and set up
like a party, There is
also a faint Image of a
voting sheet . This
adds humour as it is t
portraying a political
Party
The speech bubbles
contain lyrics from the
band ABBA that have be
altered slightly to
become a political pun.