My Institution & Audience

There are many publishers of rock magazines, KERRANG, MOJO, and Q are all published by Bauer Media. SPIN is a widely known rock magazine in the US, although its publishing rights have been thrown around in the last decade. Its original publisher sold the magazine to Miller Publishing in 1997. In 2006, Miller Publishing sold the magazine for less than $5 million to a company called the McEvoy Group LLC, which then formed Spin Media LLC as a holding company.

Here is an example of a rock magazine "Kerrang". Without knowing this was a rock magazine, you could spot the ideology on the cover. Firstly, the lead singer of "Green Day" is the main image. It also includes in big bold lettering "GREEN DAY". This is to attract an audience that might like "Green Day" so they will buy the magazine. It's also writen in the same font as "Kerrang" is written, this implys that they are both the similar, they are both rock genre for example. You know it's a music magazine as the lead singer is holding a guitar. Guitars are usually assoicated with rock genre. Some of the text above the "GREEN DAY" has been writen in green.

The main reason I feel that Bauer media would distribute my magazine is that even though they already distribute a rock music magazine “Kerrang!”, the magazine is a generalized rock music magazine that only touches lightly on each rock genre. But this is not a bad thing, in my research I have found the magazine's sales went quickly into decline in 2003, and to solve this they turned to the large emergence of emo and metalcore, Kerrang began to heavily feature this musical trend. However, the revamp was not welcomed by all readers and many complaints were received about Kerrang's sudden emphasis on emo and metalcore music. It is speculated that this is because magazines are becoming less popular with the introduction of internet based exhibition methods and music channels but also because the content of Kerrang magazine can be read in almost any other music magazine. Kerrang has become a very general rock magazine over recent years and only touches lightly on each rock genre because it has had to include more rock variants and therefore decrease the amount of content for each rock variant.

I feel that my magazine “Cherub Rock” is a fresh breathe to the industry, as it reports on more detailed, up-to-date and targeted news within only a select few rock variants (Alternative, Garage) and also including what is considered ‘Straight-up Rock’. Even though my magazine targets a more niche market, it offers readers news that can’t be found in most music magazines, giving it a unique selling point (USP) and marketing edge. 

As mentioned above, my audience would be those who are interested in garage or alternative rock, their age would be sixteen and above. My magazine would not be targeted heavily towards a male or female audience, but would remain neutral between the two as colour schemes and articles would be designed to target garage/alternate rock instead of male or female audiences.

Genre Choice

The choice of genre i have chosen is Alternative Rock/Garage Rock. This will be shown in my colour scheme, images, and magazine title. The title will be "Cherub Rock" which is also the name of a well known song by The Smashing Pumpkins, who in turn are a well known US alternative rock band.

It will be in the font "TRUCKDRIVER".  






  


     A draft of the masthead. It might change colour as it may conflict with the backing of the page. The colour scheme of my front page will probably be black/grey and the trimmings will probably match the main image.

Terminology

Anchorage: a fixing device – the text directs the reader through the signifiers of the image towards a meaning chosen in advance by the producer of the text.

Banner headline: page wide headline.

Brand image: how an institution, a media product or even a person is promoted to create a particular perception or belief amongst the public

Byline: name of the writer.

Caption: headline under a photo.

Codes and conventions: A code is a network of signs, written, visual, artistic or behavioural, which signify meanings that are culturally accepted and shared. A convention is a conduct or practice or method that is commonly accepted and has a tradition. Media texts are constructed using a number of codes and conventions which have agreed meanings.

Connotation: meanings arrived at through the cultural experiences a reader brings to the text.

Deck: the number of lines in a headline.

Denotation: refers to the simplest and most obvious level of meaning of a sign – be it a word, image, object or sound.

Exclusive: a story published by only one newspaper, a scoop.

Headline: words in large type found at the top of the story summarising it, the head.

Ident: an identifying image or sound e.g. a brand logo.

Ideology: the opinions, beliefs and ways of thinking characteristic of a particular person, group, or nation.

Institutions: the organisations or companies that produce and / or distribute media.

Intertextuality: within a text, visual or audio references are made to other texts. It is expected that audiences will recognise such references

e.g. an article in a music magazine entitled 'Hey Jude' about the lead singer of a band who happens to be called Jude, could be said to be an intertextual reference to the Beatles song 'Hey Jude' - an appropriate reference for a music magazine to make.

Layout: arrangement of content, pictures and words, on a print or webpage.

Lead: the first paragraph or two of a news story – sometimes in bold or a larger typeface.

Logo: the identifying design used by a brand to provide recognition.

Masthead: the top of the front page which gives the title and publication date of the newspaper printed in every issue.

Mediation: the process by which an institution or individual or a technology comes between events that happen in the world and the audience who receive the re-presentation.

Niche audiences: the separation of the media audience into segments, each of which have different tastes and concerns.

Puff: a promotion of a product or service.

Representation: media texts are artificial versions of reality, and thus provide certain 'versions' of "the truth" e.g. positive / negative / accurate / inaccurate / stereotypical / unconventional versions.

Skyline: a banner across the top of a magazine that advertises contents within the magazine.

Socio-economic groups (SEG): AB = Professional, business and white collar; C1 =  higher skilled manual; C2 = Lower skilled manual; DE = Semi and unskilled manual.

 

Stereotype: a standardised, usually oversimplified, mental picture or attitude towards a person or group, place or event.

Strapline: a short statement that sums up a story in a newspaper or magazine in a few words and may appear with the main headline for that story.

Synergy: the process through which is a series of media products derived from the same text is promoted in and through each other.

Target audience: the specific group of people towards that a media text is directed.

The Brief

Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new music magazine, along with a contents page and a double spread. All images and text used must be original and produced by you. (minimum of four images)

Final Cover & Contents Draft

Drafts

Design Outlines

Audience & Price

Audience
I will aim my magazine at 16 - 20 year old, this makes my magazine primarily available for college students, they would start at 16 and end between the ages of 17 - 20 depending on courses and other influences. I would have it aimed at both genders keeping my audience wide, to do this i wont be bias towards any gender when picking colour schemes and content. They will be in the demographic group of E, as they will be learning to go to a better full time job. In terms of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the collage magazine will fit into the self actualisation group, this is because it can be used to help morality, creativity, and problem solving within a certain group (college life).

Price
I will probably charge £4.99 for my magazine, as it will be a monthly issue. This is to tell students about the month ahead, and what special occasions are coming up (public holidays and exam dates) as there is a moderate amount of them each month, and students may not want to spend time reading a magazine on college every week, especially if this is where they spend all their time. This may also allow the magazine to have special editions, Halloween, Christmas etc. The given price should also fit the student's affordable amount.

My College Choice

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Analysis of a College Magazines

 College Magazine Analysis


The Masthead is located at the top left, and it is large enough to stretch across the entire top of the page. It features  sub- headers each with tellers and information in the left-third, and also in the right third. It doesn't have a screamer or a flash to draw your attention. Although the subheadings are all bold and in a different colour to the tellers. At the bottom right of the cover there is a barcode. The graphology of the mast head matches the T-shirt in the photo. There is an anchor next to the photo of Nastia Liukin. She is wearing a shirt saying "I love SMU" (Southern Methodist University, Dallas Texas) and the background image is a bright picture of a campus. The background image is also unfocused, this gives more focus on the image of Nastia. Both images make SMU look more appealing to the reader.
The audience is people who are in college or may be looking for a college to go to, this is found within the masthead. Also the way Nastia is dressed with the tee and jean shorts, is appealing to the male audience, we can also learn that the audience is aimed more at the youth by the sub titles "He Better Hope They Serve Beer in Hell" this supports stereotypes, because there is a stereotype of younger people getting wasted all the time, beer being served in hell makes it sound like the story is about a rebellious youth, which may appeal to some college students. 

Language (Key Terms)

The Mast Head: It is the title, and is usually found in the top-left hand side of the front cover

The Left Third: If the page was separated into three horizontal sections, it would be the one on the left, it usually features the main information on the page.

Barcode: The barcode is the machine readable code which can contain date, and information on the product, it is commonly placed at the bottom of the page.

Splash: This is the term used to describe the entire front cover as a whole.

Kicker: A image or sentence that tells you to go to a certain page in the magazine.

Screamer: Something that comes out bigger than everything else, usually seems as though it screams at you.

Skyline: A line of text above the masthead, can be found in a banner.

Credit: Who the work is done by, normally at the bottom of the article.

Teller: The sub-heading telling you what

Flash: A background (usually a advert) which seems to be raised above everything else, and draws your attention.

Preliminary Exercise Brief:
 Using DTP and an image manipulation program, produce the front page of a new school/college magazine, featuring a photograph of a student in medium close up plus some appropriately laid out text and a masthead. Additionally you must produce a mock up of the layout of the contents page to demonstrate their grasp of DTP.