Research - magazine cover analysis

Research - what is convergence?

Its the idea that because of the progress of technology various different types of media Computer, Television, Radio and Newspaper are combining into a single media. For example, television and computer technology are increasingly becoming the same thing. Websites have video on them and the Internet is an important part of the offer of most broadcasters. Convergence means that the music industry can successfully distrubute content through many media platforms such as radio, television, film, magazine, newspaper, games and the internet.

Research - emotive (and colloquial) language

Emotive and Colloquial language NME magazine

The audience targeted is probably females aged between 16 - 25, because of the '*@!$' on the front of the magazine this is put instead of the swear word this immediately lets the reader know it is not suitable for young children and would appeal to older teenagers.

As i already said the symbols '*@!$' used in place of the word 'fuck' stands out straight away on the front cover, the quote is 'don’t *@!$  with my sisters' this appeals to the age group because it makes it sound exciting and rebeliouse and straight away they know that what’s inside the magazine is not going to be formal and it grabs their attention fast because this type of thing is not usually on front covers. On the first page of the magazine there is a photograph of a guy playing guitar, the word 'riffs' is used to describe him playing the music. There is a double page spread with a photograph of a band under the photograph it says 'fleet wood mac: "if we were 20 years old, we'd wanna join our band" ' the word 'wanna' is effective rather than saying 'want to' this lets the reader know again that the magazine is more relaxed and informal and perfect for their age group. The word 'hardass' is used as a heading for an article this is a word that older people and younger people would not use, 16-25 year olds are much more likely to use this language so this again appeals to and attracts the target audience. Inside the magazine there is an article about the three sisters on the front cover, there is a simillar like the one at the front by one of them except this time the words 'fuck' is actually used instead of symbols in its place. This makes it even more exciting for the reader and grabs their attention straight away and makes them want to read the article. Using swear words in magazine target for older teenagers is very effective because most older adults think swear words are bad to say and swearing is seen as being quite rebellious. This really appeals to the target audience because being a rebel can be seen as being 'cool' to other people their age.

Magazines choose to use this language because it appeals to their target audience and makes their magazine stand out than others if there is language in the magazine that may be considered 'unacceptable' by some of people.

Research - media audience

An audience is any group of people who receive a media text. All audiences are different and in media studies the target audience is very important. This is the audience that media producers aim their product at. Media producers have a profile of the group of people and individuals whom they see as their intended audience. A film about teenagers will have a target audience of teenagers. The Harry Potter films will have children and the family as the target audience.

Leisure Time: Leisure is free time spent away from work, and domestic chores. This does not include time spent on necessary activities like sleeping and, where it is compulsory, education. For example it could be shopping, fast cars, reading, watching films, skateboarding, knitting or fashion designing, ect.

Research - ideoloy and values

Out casts 'till the end This article talks about 'Norways Hellish Outcast' and the release of their debut album, it gives some information on when the band first came together, and includes quotes from the band members. The title of the article is 'outcasts 'till the end' the title alone gives a big message and idea of what the themes of the article and magazine are. The word outcast is very relevant to the rock/heavy metal music genre. People who like to listen to rock/heavy metal often dress to stand out are often quite rebellious. Also most people that like this genre of music have interests in blood and gory things (films, photography, art, ect.. ) this page shows that this is very much what the band associate themselves with. The main colours used are black and red and the title of the page is written in a font made to look like dripping blood, under this there are three sub headings, one of them says 'heavy fucking metal' the fact a swear word is used adds to the whole rebellious theme. People that like this genre of music often have morals, beliefs or values that society do not consider acceptable, this is the message the article gives the reader. In the first paragraph of the article there are words and phrases like: 'your god will bleed', 'aggressive' , 'begging for mercy' and 'trashy death metal'. These words give a message to the reader, like the attitude of most people who like this genre of music they don’t care about the world have the wrong morals and like to be 'outcasts' like the title says.

Confessions This article is an interview on former Guns n Roses band member Slash. The page has a very edgy feel to it, grey and black are the main colours used with photographs of what Slash has spoken about in the interview dotted around the page (a guitar, England flags + a microphone). The interviewer asks a few personal questions and then a few questions about Guns n Roses and his views on what he thought the band would be like when he first started it. The title 'confessions' draws the reader in straight away. People that like Guns n Roses and other rock/heavy metal groups often have a bad attitude towards people that don’t like what they like and the world in general. Also this genre of music is associated a lot of the time with drugs, money and sex. These can be called sins, this links to the title 'confessions', The message this article would give the reader is that it’s cool to be a rebel and commit sins because this was pretty much what Slash did all his life and what most of his songs were about, just being young and having fun. People that like this genre of music tend not to believe in God, rock and heavy metal icons a lot of the time are used to represent all their beliefs and morals, instead of believing in a God.

Forever Blackened Metalica is the main feature of the magazine and this 10 page article talks about their up and coming album blackened and about the band. 'We do things because we feel the need to do them. Simple as that' this is quoted by James Hetefield, lead singer of the band Metalica right under the title of the article 'Forever Blackened', already the reader is excited and wants to read on, what James Hetefield says will appeal to the target audience because it’s what a lot of rock/heavy metal fans will value and lead their lives by thinking like this. The attitude of not caring about anything or anyone. Life is just about having fun, usually involving drugs and sex. These morals or values are not what society thinks is acceptable.

RESEARCH - magazine owner ship and parent companies

Research - Case Study

I am analysing 'teen now' magazine and the target audience is obviously teenagers, hence the title. Also more likely so to be younger teenage girls just because of the instant feel you get of the magazine by the colours used. On the front cover of the magazine there are a variety of bold vibrant colours used, pinks, blues and yellows. These colours appeal to teenagers more than an older age group because they are fun and vibrant. The colours definitely make the magazine more visually exciting for a teenager. Also how many colours there are ads to the effect of excitement and making the magazine more appealing to teenagers. On the title 'teen now' the word teen is done in a bright bold pink colour this makes your eye go straight to the word so the reader automatically knows if the magazine will appeal to them. Also the word exclusive is highlighted in a flu recent yellow; i think this is because teenagers are always interested in reading exclusives about celebrities. There is a fashion section at the bottom right corner on the front cover this is also highlighted in bright yellow, because fashion is something majority of teenage girls are into so they will know by looking at the cover that there is fashion involved in the magazine. The colours used on the inside of the magazine reflect the front cover, there are a lots of bold bright colours, however on some pages there are more dull bland colours like blues and greys. Also when you first open the magazine there is a double page spread and the main colours used are red, because there is no red on the cover or much throughout the magazine it automatically grabs the reader attention. Red is often used to symbolise stop so the reader knows it must be something important or interesting to read. The bright bold colours are used to atract the target audience wich is teenagers, the colours are fun and exciting to look at. The main image is a close up of Nathan from the wanted's face.l want to buy the magazine becuase it obviously includes fetures on Conner maynard. There are photographs of one direction and Olly Murs other celebrities tgar lots of teenage girls like. The photographs are friendly and inviting, they all have smiles on thier faces, i would say this magazine's target audience is younger girls. The title is very relevant beacuse of the word teen. The target audience would be interested in the subtitles even just becuase of the photographs, it has the words 'WIN' and 'FREE' in bright pink this will atract the reader.