My magazine

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My magazine follows the main conventions of real media with all the basic elements of a magazine front cover; a mast head, cover lines, puff, screamers, freebies, prices etc. I used a puff like many other magazines however my puff is quite unusual as it is humorous and is supposed to emphasise the light hearted nature of my magazine; “The hippest, illest, most doped out student magazine in Worcester!” The colours look contrasted to some of the other colours on the cover, this is intentional to draw more attention to it and add a sense of unpredictability.
The mast head says “PULSE” in an electricity style font which fits well with the theme of the magazine which is exciting and fun. The juxtaposition of the electric font with the calm colour purple makes the magazine seem exciting yet relaxed so that the reader can feel more comfortable.
I made sure that my magazine did not have a formal look so I did not use any serif fonts and tried to use interesting fonts and styles that fit the subject matter for example the “Top 10 Video Games” is written in blue old-school video game style writing, small details like this make the overall result more aesthetically pleasing to the reader.
The cover line “Sex, drugs and avoiding mould” is a humorous play on the well known phrase “Sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll” this further connotes the playful image to the reader and will attract some readers simply out of curiosity.
I have included a screamer “FREEBIES!” which stands out to the reader and makes them think they may get something for free that makes the purchase worth while. I have chosen concert tickets because it fits in well with the interests of my chosen target audience. I used red because it stands out and fits well the rest of my colour scheme.
At the bottom is the cover line “Music: Cheapest places to download music” the “music” part in light green to show this is the subject, it catches your eye, then “Cheapest places to download music” is in red to show this is the description of what is inside the article.
On the right side is the cover line: “Top 10: Legal Highs” this title is in a rounded font in blue which is very relaxed so that the reader doesn’t feel intimidated before reading.
My contents page uses similar themes but sticks to the single column style with pictures relating to the articles at the side.
The energetic look to my magazine is similar to that of magazines like Kerrang which is also a magazine aimed primarily at teenagers it also uses different colours and fonts to create an exciting and rebellious feel.

My magazine challenges the classic convention of the boring, strictly formal student magazine and presents a more fun and exciting publication that is more appropriate for a late teen audience, whilst still using some forms and conventions such as giving students advice and information useful for everyday life.
If I were to change one thing about my magazine I would make the colour scheme more consistent.

How did you attract/address your audience?

My magazine is a “student magazine” meaning it should be attractive for all students which is a very large spectrum of people so it was a difficult task to try to appeal to all these types. I did so by including very broad subjects that are enjoyed by the masses (e.g. music and video games) and also intriguing and humorous cover lines such as “Sex, drugs and avoiding mould”. The main sell of the magazine is the picture of the girl; she appears to be to be the average female student which will appeal to girls as there are many things they can relate to, boys may find her attractive and will also be attracted by the cover lines.
I used lots of bright colours so that the cover could be eye-catching and not look like a boring, generic student magazine readers might expect.
The mast head has the title “PULSE” in an electricity-like font which connotes energy and an exciting atmosphere. The puff at the top of the cover is designed to promote the magazine in a way that makes the reader interested, mine uses humour by using over the top slang; “The hippest, illest, most doped out student magazine in Worcester!”. This further gets across the light-hearted nature of the publication.
The first cover line, “Sex, drugs and avoiding mould” is an article providing advice on sexual health, drugs and cleanliness, especially important in summer time as many students will attend music festivals. Sexual health can give students the facts they need to know about things such as STIs and contraception without talking down to them and Drugs can explain the different types of drugs, classes and the dangers that come with them. The title is a play on words from the famous phrase “Sex, drugs and rock n’ roll”; this article has a mixture of humour and useful advice. Many of these issues some students would be too embarrassed or nervous to ask anyone about so may want to purchase this magazine to get this information without having to endure the embarrassment.
My second cover line, “Top 10 Video Games” appeals mostly to male audiences however the article will be split into the top 5 “hardcore” games that will appeal mostly to males such as Gears Of War, Call Of Duty, Metal Gear Solid, Ninja Gaiden and Grand Theft Auto for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 and the top 5 casual games that will appeal to a broader average audience such as Mario Kart, Brain Training, Nintendogs, Wii Sports and Wii Fit for the Nintendo Wii and DS. This way it would please gamers as well as giving non-gamers some interesting ideas on things they might like.
I have included a freebies section in which the readers can win concert tickets to the performance of their choice; this will appeal to most readers as music is extremely popular with my target age group.
Underneath this is another music related article: “The cheapest places to download music”. I feel this would be very popular with my target audience as music is very popular with them and students are often without a lot of money to spend on frivolities such as music and can sometimes be tempted to download illegally. In this article I could compare websites/programs such as iTunes as Napster to determine which offers the better deals.
I included the final cover line “Top 10 legal highs” in a partly humorous way but as there has recently been a lot of buzz around legal high culture and this could clear up rumours and give students the truth about it.
On the contents page are pictures of actor Seth Rogan and actress Scarlett Johansson. Both these people appear in films aimed towards a teenage audience and are seen as role models whom young people aspire to be like when they are older. Seth Rogan has written and starred in many films relatable to teenagers such as Superbad which deals with common teenage woes such as first time sex, unpopularity and alcohol whilst still being a comedy. Scarlett Johansson will be an idol for females and have a great deal of sex appeal for the males, she is also starring in the up-coming blockbuster “Iron Man 2” which many teens will be extremely hyped up about.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

My audience for this magazine would be teens aged 16-19 both male and female with a wide range of possible interests; I tried to make the magazine as accessible as possible to a variety of different types of students.

The psychographics of my target audience will be radicals as students like to think of themselves as unique individuals and my magazine appeals to these people with articles such as “Sex, drugs and avoiding mould” this shows a rebellious attitude as well as appealing to their sense of humour. It may also appeal to underachievers as it presents a view of college life that is fun and light-hearted rather than a strictly standard student newsletter. The variety of my different articles appeals to many different types of student around college for example “Free concert tickets” will appeal to music fans, “Top 10 Video Games” will appeal to video game fans etc. The inclusion of these sorts of things means the magazine has wide appeal, even someone who was not interested in a student magazine could pick it up and enjoy an article about music, film, general interest stories etc.

The title “PULSE” is appealing to young people as it connotes a fast paced and energetic lifestyle, it may make the reader think of the fast pulse of the heart as you are doing something fun and exciting. The “Top 10 legal highs” article is a good way of showing students that will take drugs a safer way of having fun; this will intrigue these kinds of people to want to try it even if they think nothing will happen. This article is intended to be humorous rather than serious. Inside on the contents there are pictures of actor Seth Rogan and actress Scarlett Johansson with corresponding articles, these actors are very famous and most readers will be familiar with their work.

The social values of my audience would include hedonists due to the playful and fast paced nature of the magazine and articles about things of their interest, as well as post-materialists and post-modernists. Students do not really appear on Jicnar’s scale however if they were to be grouped in this scale they would come under D, semi and unskilled manual workers as many students have part time jobs in places such as shops and fast food restaurants.