Girlfriend / Dolly Assessment

Media Studies Year 12 Magazine Analysis

Take notes under the heading and questions given below. Remember that these will be your study notes at the end of the year, so be clear and specific.Write down the name and issue of the magazine.

Cover
Covers are all important for print texts. They will encourage potential readers to pick up the magazine. They must therefore attract the target audience.
Colour – look at the predominant colour. Explain the appeal of the colour for the target audience.
Title - Analyse the name of the magazine and its presentation on the cover. How is it designed to appeal to the target audience?
Images - What images are on the cover? Explain their appeal to the target audience.
Typography – look at the use of font, use of upper and lower case. How would these appeal to the target audience?
Look at the feature stories highlighted on the cover. What links can you make between them and target audience?


Advertising
List all the products advertised. Include the brand name of each.
Explain how and why such products would appeal to the target audience. Give two detailed examples to support your ideas.
List the assumptions the advertisers and the editors are making about the concerns of the target audience.
What further implications might there be for the target audience through the emphasis of such products?

Content
List the regular features – the ones that would appear every issue.
List the feature articles and stories in this issue. What topics are emphsised?
Explain how at the content would appeal to the target audience of this magazine.
Read at least two of the articles. How would you describe the tone voice used in the writing? Is their any use of teenage slang? What is the effect of this?

Layout
How is the information (apart from advertising) presented in the magazine? Is it presented in small sections and, if so, how is this done. Comment on the use of: typography, colour, images, headlines, decks, pull quotes, subheads, sidebars diagrams, graphs etc
Describe the overall look of the pages and explain how this appeals to the target audience.

Interactive elements
1. Make a list of all the interactive elements you can find (i.e. elements that require the
audience to do something other than simply read or look) eg competitions, surveys,
questionnaires, free stickers, cross words letters page etc.
2. Explain the appeal of at least two of these elements to the target audience. Give specific
examples.
3. Find the website linked to the magazine and explain what elements on it would appeal to
the target audience, giving specific examples.
4. How does the website encourage users to read the print publication?
5. What are the interactive elements on the website?
6. How do these appeal to the target audience?


Due Date: Tuesday 28th March