LIIAR analysis of contents page

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Language- This magazine contents page is taken from another Rolling Stones magazine. On the contents page the audience are presented with more than one image. The first been a thumbnail image of Beyoncé who again is pop artist, this image is the smaller of the two and reflects one of the articles within the magazine; the image also acts as an anchor pulling the audience’s attention to that specific page within the magazine. The other image is in black and white and reflects the era in which it’s from therefore representing the vintage style of article. The rest of the contents page follows a colour scheme fitting with the vintage image, the only colouring on the contents page is the issue number at the top of page and the page numbers of the other articles within in magazine. The only other colouring is in Beyoncé’s image and the website address for Rolling Stones webpage, the colouring draws the audience’s attention to those specific parts of the magazine and is done so that the main image in the centre of the contents page doesn’t take the audience’s attention from the contents of the rest of the magazine.

Another typical feature of a contents page is to have a quote from the main feature of the magazine; this is usually placed within the main image on the contents page to draw the audience’s attention to the main feature and therefore getting them interested within the article to read it. Usually the quote is quirky and suggestive making the audience attention wonder, this is done so that the audience will read the article to find out that the quote was about. On this contents page the quote is placed above the image of Beyoncé therefore drawing attention to that specific feature within the magazine.

Also the contents page features and summary of the articles, usually a brief outline of what they include and placed in a smaller font then the name of the feature which is placed in bold along with the page number. By placing the name and the summary in different fonts the audience’s attention is again diverted to the name of the article and then the summary below or next to it.

Institution- Wenner media is in charge of the production process of Rolling Stones. The founder of the Rolling Stones is Jann Wenner who is also the head of Wenner media. The connection between the production and the editor of the magazine gives the magazine a more professional look and the magazine will be more detailed in terms of getting information right. Because the editor has such a close relationship with the magazine the audience know that they’re guaranteed a high quality magazine that will be worth what they pay. Wenner media is also the weekly publisher of Men’s Journal and US weekly. The target audience of all Wenner Media’s productions are different and this is key to their success, making sure they only produce one music magazine so that their audience don’t cross over and become their own rival. Because they have different audiences to target at all their magazines are different and therefore make for more of a successful publishing in terms of the amount they sell and the audience they reach.

Ideology- The magazine contents page reflects the music magazine as a well respect music magazine. The genre of the magazine isn’t established much in this issue of the magazine, the use of Beyoncé suggests a pop or R&B feel how the vintage photograph suggests over wise. This can be used to attract a wider audience to the magazine by using more than one artists from different genres can entice a wider potential audience.

The magazine itself suggests an audience with class and a passion for music. The colouring of the magazine suggests simplicity but the idea that ‘less is more’.  The colouring of the contents page suggests that the magazine is just that, simple yet gets to the point and in a way that their audience will appreciate and like. The magazine also suggests that the audience appreciate an alternate music genre then the one which they mostly prefer, the magazine suits to all genre types as long as their audience is passionate about music.

 

Audience- This issue of Rolling Stones magazine is aimed at a wider audience with the use of Beyoncé on the contents page suggests that there is an article dedicated to the pop/ R&B genre but with the use of the vintage image might suggests someone who has a passion for the older music rather than new material. Rolling Stones magazine like to target a wider audience and have therefore gone with the idea of including artists from other genres of music to entice a wider audience into this issue of the magazine.
Rolling Stones magazine published a table of results based on adults over the age of 18 giving us the idea that there magazine is aimed at 18 plus and therefore having to cater for older tastes. From these results 61.3% of their audience were male with a median age of 34. From the test it also indicates that 73.9% of their target audience were white rather than other nationalities. The test also revealed that 72% of their audience were employed and therefore can afford to buy the magazine which is published every 2 weeks at an average price of around £2.50 ($4.05).  (http://www.srds.com/mediakits/rollingstone/demographics.html)

 

Representation- The featured artists in this issue are represented well, for example Beyoncé is seen performing and therefore indicates her passion for performing to her fans, her facial expressions also indicate this as you can see the energy she is putting into her performance.

The other image of Johnny Carson shows him dancing again this is a positive image and therefore shows how Johnny Carson entertained people and made them happy. This reflects the innocence of the image and gives a positive image of the magazine.