Magazine front cover analysis

Analysation of a college magazine front cover

St Edwards Magazine front cover

Who's the target audience?

The target audience for this magazine front colour is for the students of St Edwards, the teachers and possible students/ and or their parents who are intending to go there. It's suitable for both men and women to read as it's gender neutral and also a mixed school so it is appropriate.

How do you know who the target audience is?

It's obvious who the target audience is because it's a school magazine and therefore targeted at those who are associated with St Edwards.  It's more than likely aimed at those in sixth form and older because of the amount of writing an lack of colour involved.

How does it engage the audience?

It engages the audience very minimally. It doesn't use a lot of colour or striking images/ headlines, this makes it seem slightly boring an uninteresting as it doesn't catch people's eye. It does however provide a story about one of the pupils, so it could engage the teachers and parents of students to see how the pupils actually benefit from going there. It also includes the school badge so it makes it seem more professional and therefore more appealing to the people it is targeted at.

What's the ideology of the college from looking at the front  cover?

The priorities of this magazine is mainly the students, which is highly appropriate considering it is suppose to inform people about what's going on there. There is also a side story about a priest which is also appropriate because it's a catholic school, and involving something about religion could mean a lot to the people that go there. There is a story about some of the staff in addition, so this means it's attracting as many people as it can; more than likely to increase the number of readers.

What do they consider important?

They obviously consider every aspect about the school to be important which is very important for them to try and put across to the audience. Involving both students an staff is obviously a clever way to interact with both sides of the schools population as it's informing them both about what each is doing and achieving while attending there. Also, including the story on the priest could be important to many of the readers, because if it's a religious school people may expect to know whats going on in that area.

What images have they used? camera angles?

There seems to be a main image of two teachers presenting an award to someone, using a wide shot so that we can see the awards being the main attraction and meaning. This image could attract peoples attention as people may be interested to find out what a fellow student has won, especially parents who want to see what the school can help their children achieve. There is also a close up image of a priest used to portray the other important notice of that school week/ term. This could have been used to illustrate that it's a simple story, possibly just informing people of what's been going on.\

What's the mise-en-scene?

The main image has a simple background so we are attracted the the people and the certificate more. The fact that the people are smartly dressed tells us that it's a formal occasion and possibly very important making it more interesting to the reader. The lighting is quite light so it tells us it's a positive occasion. The other picture of the priest also has a simple background of just nature, and natural lighting so it's very simplistic.

Would this successfully engage the reader?

I dont think this would successfully engage the reader by only the way it looks. I think it could do better with more colour, and more striking titles to attract peoples eye more. The stories may only attract certain people because I don't believe it would attract younger people in the school because it doesn't have the most interesting topics.

How much is it?

The magazine has no barcode or price so it means that it's free, and therefore nothing free will be given with it. It also means that it's easier for it's target to access, and therefore will increase the number of people who read it.

How this could help me with my magazine

This magazine helps me by showing what I should include, such as appropriate pictures and headlines. It also shows me how not to design my magazine, an helps me to understand how presentation is very important in catching the readers eye and interest. As long as I make mine as interesting as possible it should appeal to my target audience.

My action plan

Based on my questionnaire results I have discovered that Indie is the most popular form of music that people around my age (teenagers) prefer to read about. Taking this into account I have decided to change my genre of magazine I'm going to produce, and create an Indie based one instead; as this is more appropriate according to my results.
My results also show that I have to make sure I use a good amount of pictures/photographs and make sure it is eye catching and interesting to appeal to my target audience.


Leeds Festival

These are the type of artists and audience I want to make my magazine appeal to

Foo Fighters

This is the type of music my magazine will be based on (Leeds lineups)

My questionnaire results...

My results show that mainly boys aimed 16-17 read music magazines for the upcoming events and other aspects. 

People are willing to spend between £3-£4 for a magazine, 'Indie' being the most popularly bought.

The results also show that the name of the magazine is very important for its audience, and the number of pictures it provides.

Furthermore, the most popular way people read magazines is on print; as well as on the internet.

In todays lesson I have learned how to ask appropriate questions for my magazine questionnaire to help me make my own. When I get enough responses I will know how to go about designing it.

Feminism

Feminism- The advocacy of women's rights on the grounds of political, social, and economic equality to men. The feminist movement began in the 18th Century. In the 1970's women were battling for equality.

Laura Mulvey's says that, patriarchy is a form of society ruled by men through the figure of the father, and therefore men dominate the media so it is construct for them as an audience.

Laura says that this is the male gaze.

Katy Perry

This image of Katy Perry objectifies her for men to look at (scopophilic).

The fact that she's not wearing much clothing and standing provocatively makes her seem more appealing towards a male audience; even her hair and her facial expression makes the front cover seem sexual. Magazines that use women as their main attraction create attention towards their magazine from the 'male gaze' because it helps to increase sales among the male society.

Beth Ditto

This image of Beth Ditto in contrast to Katy Perry goes against feminism. 

The way she isn't wearing anything, and doesn't fit into societies idea of 'attractive' shows how she doesn't care what people think about her, making her different to every other woman that is portrayed on front covers; Just the fact that she is showing her armpits which have hair on shows her lack of femininity. Also, the provocative stance and face she has means she's feels attractive although many of the male audience may think different.

NME Institution Research

In lesson we have watched the history of the NME and this is a summary of what I have found out...

NME.com

• New Musical Express, has been publishing since 1952 and started in the UK.
• During the 1960s the paper championed the new British groups emerging at the time.
• The latter part of the 1960s saw the paper chart the rise of psychedelia and the continued dominance of British groups of the time; During this period some sections of pop music began to be designated as Rock.
• In the 1970s it became the best-selling British music newspaper. During the period 1972 to 1976 it was particularly associated with gonzo journalism, then became closely associated with punk rock through the writing of Tony Parsons and Julie Burchill.
• By the early 1970s NME had lost ground to the Melody Maker as its coverage of music had failed to keep pace with the development of rock music, particularly during the early years of psychedelia and progressive rock. In early 1972 the paper found itself on the verge of closure by its owners IPC (who had bought the paper from Kinn in 1963).
• By the mid 1980s NME had hit a rough patch and was in danger of closing. During this period they were split between those who wanted to write about hip hop, a genre that was relatively new to the UK, and those who wanted to stick to rock music. Sales were apparently lower when photos of hip hop artists appeared on the front and this led to the paper suffering as the lack of direction became even more apparent to readers.

• The start of 1990 saw the paper in the thick of the Madchester scene, and covering the new British indie bands and shoegazers.
• By the end of 1990, the Madchester scene was dying off, and NME had started to report on new bands coming from the US, mainly from Seattle. These bands would form a new movement called Grunge and by far the most popular bands were Nirvana and Pearl Jam.
• In 2000 Steve Sutherland left to become Brand Director of the NME, replaced as editor by 26-year-old Melody Maker writer Ben Knowles. The same year saw the closure of the Melody Maker (which officially merged with the NME) and many speculated the NME would be next as the weekly music magazine market was shrinking - the monthly magazine Select, which had thrived especially during Britpop, was closed down within a week of Melody Maker. 

• In the early 2000s the NME also attempted somewhat to broaden its coverage again, running cover stories on hip-hop acts such as Jay-Z and Missy Elliott, electronic music pioneer Aphex Twin, Popstars winners Hear'say and R&B groups like Destiny's Child, but as in the 1980s these proved unpopular with much of the paper's readership, and were soon dropped. In 2001 the NME reasserted its position as an influence in new music and helped to introduce bands including The Strokes, The Vines, and The White Stripes.