Magazine AnalysisBy Yunus Kasim

Masthead – The masthead is clearly illustrated by the contrasting colours of white, black and red. It states ‘What’s on TV’ in big as well as bold writing and so it looks at soap opera storylines. Then, the locations of London, Anglla and Midlands are shown so that the audience know where to buy it.

Date – The date show here ‘23 Feb – 1 March 2013’ distribute there magazine frequently and so the demographic are able to receive constant news from the magazine.

Price – The price ‘Only 52p’ is cheap and so can attract young audiences as they can afford the magazine on a weekly basis. It is illustrated in pink, blue and pink, so it is clear for the audience to see.

Main Image – The characters of Phil and Jack, are influential images due to the importance both have within the soap, furthermore the images connote that they are a main part of the current affairs within the storyline. The audience are able to ‘relate’ (Katz) with either Jack or Phil and so take sides and therefore build tension before the next episode begins.

Main Headline – The connection between the main headline ‘It’s Murder? Jack kills Phil?’ as well as the images was appealing towards the audience who were ‘Caregivers’ (Maslow), due to knowing the background of both of the characters of which will make the empathise for Phil if he died. The font is bold and the lining is red whilst the writing itself is yellow and so the audience instantly see the headline.

Cover Lines – This brings in the multi – stranded aspect and it is something that is needed within a soap opera magazine. This will allow an expansion of audiences, as different people enjoy viewing other soaps, and so by included cover lines such as the ones expressed here enables audiences to discover what is going on within different soap operas.

Convergence – The website gives the audience an option to explore online and find out more information on their selective soap operas.

Price – The price is cheap as well as affordable for the audience, and so they will be willing to go and buy the soap opera magazine. The audience will feel that its worth buying as their favorite soap is in the magazine. It is shown twice so that the audience will be alerted that its cheap.

Masthead – The soap opera magazines masthead ‘tv choice’ has a unique design, as it has a circle with a rectangular shape, of which enables the audience to see who is supplying the magazine.

Cover Lines – The three cover llines at the bottom of the page are effective because they indicate a range of storylines, and so everyone who buys the magazine can ‘relate’ (Katz) with the soap that they enjoy most.

Main Image – The serious look of the women, denotes that something serious has occurred, and foreshadows that there will be dilemmas that she will face. The audience would want to buy the magazine as they would like to have a glimpse of what may have happened.

Background – The background colour of light blue was vibrant as it made each aspect of the magazine stand out, and look coherent.

Conventions I look to “repeat”? (Steave Neale)There are many codes as well as conventions within the Soap magazines of which I look to ‘repeat’ for my own magazine. One aspect is the variety of images across the magaines, as I feel that my young target audience will be attracted more with the inclusion of multiple of images. I will also look to make the main headline big, bold and vibrant as this is what instantly catches the attention of the audience once they pick up a soap opera magazine. Finally, having a selection of cover lines is essential, and I look to implement this part into my own magazine, as it keeps the audience entertained whilst going through the magazine.

In what way will my soap opera offer “difference?” (Steve Neale) One negative factor of both magazines is that there are no social networks included. This therefore doesn’t enable the audience to get more involved and give there personal verdict of the magazine or the soaps within the magazine; hence why I will be looking to include social media into my magazine so that my audience can comment on their thoughts and feelings about the magazine. In addition, I feel that although colour is important, the use of all the colours is too much and so may not be as appealing to audiences or as effective, so I will be looking to minimise the amount of colours I use so that my magazine looks less chaotic.

Repetition and Difference (Steve Neale) from the magazine analysis