­­­­­­­­­­­­MEDIA STUDIES AQA GCSE: Unit 2: ASSIGNMENT ONE: MAGAZINE ANALYSIS

 

How do these magazine covers engage the interests of their audiences?

Magazine 1 Title: Top of the pops

The target audience is teenage and/or preteen girls because of all the pink and pink is generally a stereotypical girl colour so this could be why the magazine uses it. The font is a girly and unserious colour, which also indicates towards the magazine being aimed towards teenage girls.

A secondary audience could be preteen girls.

MASTHEAD:­­­ It’s pink with a white outline and pink is a colour used in a pop magazines for girls. There’s no capital letters, indicating that they don’t play by the rules, hinting towards the. It’s a very pop like masthead because of the font and the colour. It is one of the bits of writing on the cover so it must be important. The white colour makes it stand out more. The font is girly and unserious.

The magazine is a very girly. They don’t have capital letters on their masthead means that they tell the bands secrets because they don’t play by the rules, hinting towards the rebellious nature of teenagers. The masthead is one of the largest things on the page along with the writing that says ‘No more secrets!’ which means that there might be something equally as important as it. The line ‘No more secrets!’ makes it sound as if it is gossip, which is a stereotypical aspect of teenage girls. The font used is not very serious and quite childish.

There is an array of images scattered around the one main picture of the boy band in the middle, suggesting they are the main reason to read the magazine. They are looking directly at the audience, which makes it seem more personal.

The other images are there so that if you don’t like the boy band in the main image, hopefully you will like some of the people in the other images.

MODE OF ADDRESS: In the main picture, the people are all looking at with a smile on their face. They’ve got their arms around each other and this indicates warmth and friendliness. Directly looking at the reader makes it seem more personal.

The magazine uses words such as ‘No more secrets’, which shows the magazine is about gossip because it says they’re revealing all the secrets of the people in the main image. This appeals towards the typical nature of teenage girls.

Magazine 2 Title: Classic rock

The target audience for this magazine seems to be male audiences aged 30+. A secondary

MASTHEAD: This masthead seems much more serious. The fact that it’s classic rock makes us think that it’s for slightly older audiences: Specifically the word ‘classic’. The man in front of the masthead suggests that he is very important.

The colours of this magazine are mostly male orientated colours such as black and red, but some of the cover lines are pink, suggesting that this magazine doesn’t follow the rules, or that it has a secondary audience of older females. The black background suggests an element of mystery and confidence while the white font of the masthead implies purity and perfection.

The cover lines are much more specifically placed in this magazine and there are no other pictures, suggesting that it’s all about the person in the main image. They have placed the cover lines in specific places because they don’t want the magazine to seem messy and childish. They want it to seem serious. The cover lines are also written in italics, suggesting that they are still important.

The person in the main image seems very serious, suggesting that this magazine isn’t just about childish gossip. He is also the only image on the screen, further highlighting his importance. He is looking directly at you. He is standing in front of the masthead, implying he is even more important that the magazine title.

The fonts of the masthead and ‘GUNS N’ROSES’ are larger than any of the other typing on the magazine cover. This implies that they are of a higher importance than the rest of the things on the magazine. The font is bold and sharp.

The rest of the font on the magazine is in italics, but not as large, suggesting that while it is not as important, it is still relevant. All of the title fonts are in uppercase, suggesting that it is all important.