Music Magazine Analysis 1

Analysis of my Problem Page

I believe that my Agony Aunt article is successful because I used many of the typical article's conventions, such as an image of the Agony Aunt, supporting images of the articles, large masthead, contact details and writing in columns. This way it fits it with the article's qualities so that the reader knows what kind of article it is. I decided to make it more like the Spiritual Guidance problem page we studied in lessons, but not entirely, because although i wanted to show my inspiration I also wanted to show my own creativity.

I didn't want the reader to feel overpowered by the Agony Aunt herself so I made her image small and at the top, so you would know who she was but she wasn't out of proportion to the rest of the page. I feel this works best because it gives a more relaxed feel to the page, something a teenager would want.

Although I feel my article was a success in many ways, I for one would not read it in a magazine because this kind of article doesn't interest me. The layout, although natural and readable, doesn't suit my tastes - although I hope it suits other girls my age.

My photography could use work, due to the fact that they don't look professional enough to be in a magazine, they look too casual and doesn't promote the seriousness of the article itself, or its contents. However, I feel as though the colour scheme I chose fitted the purpose. This is because no teenage girl wants an overpoweringly pink article, it doesn't attract attention. This colour scheme promotes femininity but not in loud colours, in a more natural and smooth manner. The articles are typical to a teenage audience and I feel as though my target audience would stop and take their time to read it, as the three situations would most likely have applied to them at one point or another, or will do in the future.

The layout I think complimented itself, by being easy to read and eyecatching to my target audience.

Throughout the rest of my coursework I hope to achieve more organisation and better presentation, this will be achieved by staying on top of my work and not leaving it till the last minute. My photography must also be improved to achieve a more professional outlook.

In conclusion, my Motormouth Miranda page was a success, in attracting my target audience and making them want to read the whole thing due to exciting and suited contents. I thoroughly enjoyed this preliminary project and I hope to do something similar later on in the course.

My Agony Aunt Page

Readership Profile and House Style

Readership Profile

I think that the target audience for my magazine will be teenage girls from the ages of 13 - 19, this is because I am a teenage girl myself and I will know what kind of issues go on in a teenage girls life - boys, school family etc.
I decided no younger because they wouldn't understand some of the situations in the magazine, and who the people featured in it were. Older people would probably be the same, they would be caught up in university or starting work in the real world and so would have little time for a magazine such as this one.
These girls would all go to school - state or private is unimportant - and they would all have a wide social network. This is were some of the articles would feature celebrity gossip and pictures of attractive male celebrities and this will attract the young female generation. This way they can all talk about the latest breakup with their friends - so the magazine would give the girls a topic of conversation to be had at lunchtimes etc. 

They would all face the same issues, whether is be boys that they like, stressful schoolwork, annoying families, teacher feuds etc. This way they would all have a reason to read the magazine because it features things that help them to deal with school and how to get that boy they like. 

 House Style

My magazine will be called 'Motormouth' because it is a common synonym for the word gossip, which is what this magazine is mainly about. The slogan for my magazine will be 'gossip is power' because this will give the girls a sense of superiority over girls who don't this magazine, this way they will be drawn to the contents of this magazine because it gives them a false promise that the gossip in these articles aren't anywhere else, and they are more powerful than the other magazine's articles.
The masthead will be at the top of the magazine, so that the title isn't lost amongst others on the shelves. It will be in the largest font on the front page and will be in white letters on an orange strapline. This way they don't feel too young buying a magazine that's covered in pink, because they think they're too old for that now.
The font will by slanted but not overly girly and swirly, this way they feel as though the magazine is more mature than the others that have a similar contents. The slogan will be just under the masthead, and so they read the title, then the slogan, and then the sell lines and the image comes into recognition. The font for the title will dominate, and then the slogan will be smaller but bigger than all the other writing on the front page.
The colour scheme will be evidently feminine, but not overpoweringly pink. This is because pink attracts girls aged 3 - 8 and normally no higher. Using less block pink will give off the mature look for a teenage magazine, which is all most teenage girls ask for.

I have chosen four fonts to try for the title of my magazine.

Agony Aunt Article Aonnotations

The Conventions of Problem Pages

1. Aimed at a female audience
2. Picture of the article's writer
3. All have a slogan promoting that writer's advice; the slogan is the second largest writing on the page
4. Image's relating to the articles
5. Colour scheme is bright and fun, more feminine
6. Each question has a sub title with vague descriptions of the question
7. Show the question that's been asked in a different colour to the answer
8. The masthead is the largest writing on the page
9. All questions and answers are written in a maximum of three columns
10. All have postal and email addresses to entice further questioning
11. Small description of the journalist's qualities 
12. The image of the writer is friendly and open, helping the reader to open to them in their questions
13. Often related to everyday problems that women would face in day to day life
14. Quotes from the answers/questions to tempt the reader into reading that article 
15. The picture of the 'Agony Aunt' reflects the problems of the reader (e.g a doctor for your health problems)