BEGINNINGS

The Big Issue was founded in 1991 by John Bird and Gordon Roddick as a
response to the increasing numbers of homeless people in London. They
were inspired by Street News, a newspaper sold in New York with the same
initiative.
Over time they have now developed and changed over the years,
improving and expanding their work force.

https://www.bigissue.org.uk/about-us/history-and-achievements
 THEIR AIM/AGENDA
They believed that the key to solving the problem of homelessness
was to help people so that they can help themselves.

With about 200 million copies sold the magazine helps the homeless
earn some money to provide for themselves. Vendors buy the
magazines with their own money and sell them at their own profit or
loss.
 HOW IT WORKS
Vendors buy the magazines with their own money and sell them at
their own profit or loss. Along with keeping the profit they are also
provided with access to support around issues of housing, health and
training

https://www.bigissue.org.uk/our-vendors/how-become-vendor
 TARGET AUDIENCE
Some people could just buy the magazine to do good for the homeless and less
fortunate, or could have built a relationship with the vendor who sells the magazine so
continue to but it to help that one person even if they do not read it.

The Big issues statistics shows us that 72% of readers are ABC1. And 43% of readers
are AB.

When applied to the lifestyle categories it is clear that The Big Issue appeals to the
Wealthy as they want to feel like they have done their bit for the world, so by buying the
magazine they feel as if they have given to those less fortunate.
 LORD JOHN BIRD
He is a British social entrepreneur. Not only is he the founder of The Big
Issue he is also a Crossbencher in the house of Lord. He seeks to
dismantle the root causes of poverty in the UK.

He was born in Notting Hill, London to a poor London Irish family. He became
homeless at the age of five, resided in an orphanage between the ages of
seven and ten , and then was excluded from school. He became a butchers John Anthony Bird
boy after leaving the orphanage, but he resorted to theft to back his (Born 30 January 1946- Present day)
income. He learnt to read, write and the basics of printing while he was in
prison during his teens and twenties.

He joined the lords on the 30th October 2015.

 GORDON RODDICK

He was born in 1942 to a Scottish grain broker and his

Liverpudlian wife, but both his parents had died by the
time he was seven. He was orphaned and sent to
Merchiston Castle, a public school. He went to Thomas Gordon Roddick
(Born 1942- Present day)
Cirencester Agricultural College, his reason I couldnt
think of anything else to do.
 HOMELESSNESS: A PROBLEM IN THE UK
The founder (John Bird) of The Big Issue says that homelessness in the UK has reached a state of emergency. There
is no national figure for the amount of homeless people within the United kingdom which means that it is a very
severe issue.

The homeless are 13 times more likely to succumb to violence.

People who live on the streets die an average age of 47 years old.
They are more likely to be influenced by crime.
They live in fear

Even though there are charities that help in assisting the homeless, the government still needs to take serious
action in order to make a change that will bring a difference to the homeless population.

Charitys research predicts 575,000 people in Britain will have no roof over their heads
unless government takes urgent action
(Number of homeless in Britain expected to double by 2041)

Sources: Various (BBC, Al Jazeera, Sky News)

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/aug/10/uk-homeless-expected-double-2041-charity-crisis-warns
This front cover is significant because it can be
associated will all types of socio-economic status. Since
football is a very popular sport in the UK, the magazine is
able to attract those who take an interest in it. David
Beckham is also a well known figure in the football
community. The reason why he can be related to most
individuals is because he started off as a member from
the working class.

Not only does this front cover show the public the reality
of war but it also attracts people who take an interest in
the armed forces. Anyone from within the socio economic
status can be interested in this so therefore many
magazines can be sold.
INTERTEXTUALITY
Intertextuality is when the shaping of a text's meaning by
another text. It is the interconnection between similar or
related works of literature that reflect and influence an
audience's interpretation of the text.

In this cover of the big issue they have put the faces of
politicians on the well known band ABBA. They have done
this to add a comedic effect to attract more potential
consumers. Usually their target audience would be in the
ABC1 and AB on the socio economic status.