Analysis of Magazine Covers

Analysis of Magazine Covers

1. TIME

AN: Media Terminology in bold

The main image of Empire's front cover is of Daniel Craig in a still of a blockbuster movie he had recently played the lead in. He is centralised and dressed in character, and the image is taken from a low angle, which connotes power. This means that it appeals to an audience who are fans of Daniel Craig, and who are also men. We know this because he is not dressed in a revealing way that would appeal to women (female gaze theory) and from the fact that he is stood in a position of power, which men may find appealing as they can relate to him (i.e. wanting to appear powerful and important). This gives him an overall representation a of strong, powerful male who is also significant enough of an actor to appear on the front cover of the magazine as a main focus.
The masthead of 'EMPIRE' is recognisable; it is a font that is synonymous with the magazine and is also in bright red. This draws attention to it, and makes it recognisable. The main image also slightly covers the masthead, suggesting that it is a well known magazine, and so does not need to be seen entirely in order to recognise what it is.
Most of the cover lines on the cover do not intrude onto the main image. This suggests that the puffs are less important to the selling of the magazine, as the image is enticing enough to an audience on it's own. However, the cover lines appeal to the male audience. We know this because one includes 'how fantasy got sexy'. This suggests that there is an element of sexualisation and attraction involved, which wold immediately relate to a male audience.
In terms of age, we can assume that the male audience is likely to be between 18-30. This is because at this age, some men are still studying, most are likely to be at university and so are likely to be interested in films and movie stars. They are also at an age in their life where they are likely to be interested in the stars who feature in the magazine, as they are active on social media and in nine news outlets.
As for socio-economic grouping, they are likely to be within a C1 to E bracket. This is because the magazine contains a mixture of information and images that appeals to a broad, mass audience that are likely to have a small amount of disposable income, but nothing too extreme. They are likely to be working, students or professionals as well as interested in film and the film stars who appear in the magazine. We can tell this also by the use of language on the front cover. Words and phrases such as 'nutty comeback' and 'stellar' are appealing to a youthful and middle ground audience as it is almost cool and common language that everyday people will recognise and perhaps use, as opposed to professional jargon that may be used on more upper class covers.

2. TOP OF THE POPS

The main image of Top of the Pops' cover is of Ariana Grande, who is a popular pop musician. She is centralised and is not wearing any revealing clothing or in any kind of suggestive pose. She is making full eye contact with the camera, and the shot type is a mid shot. However, she is exposing her neck, which is often known as a very feminine form of body language. This suggests that she is appealing to an audience of young girls as well as her fans, as she is not presented in a way that would appeal to men, or older girls, as she is positioned in a very youthful feminine position. This gives an overall representation of being very feminine and youthful, as well as popular within the music industry in order to appear on the front cover of a magazine. 

The magazine's masthead of 'TOP of the POPS' is coloured in pink and white, with a font that is also synonymous to the title of the magazine. It is not taken up by much of the main image, but the typography of the masthead is iconic, as Top of the Pops is a long running company within the British music industry.

The cover cottons many cover lines which intrude onto the main image. These suggest that our audience is likely to be young girls between the ages of 9-12. This is because we have words such as 'lolz' and 'whoa', which are all very colloquial and youthful. The colours of pink and yellow are considered to be very feminine also, which suggests that the audience are likely to be young as the language is the kind that young teens and children may use as it is popular slang among young people. 

For socio-economic grouping, the audience is likely to be E as they are young girls who are not old enough to be employed or have an understanding of social class and the kind of media that appeals to different classes. They are also likely to be interested in pop music, which is accessible for most young people who do not have jobs or education to focus on. This therefore suggests that the audience is young females in group E.