Task 3- Essay

My five magazine covers aimed at teenage girls:

To what extent should magazines be held responsible for the social ramifications of the representations they offer?

Magazines are popular buys nowadays, almost everyday you are likely to see somebody with a magazine in their hand. It is a norm to buy a magazine once a week, or maybe even twice. Wherever you go you can't ecscape them; whether you are walking down an isle in a shop or sitting in a hairdressers, they are there. Some people feel as if they have to buy a magazine to fit in with the crowd, or maybe because they want to see the new dieting tips or read the new gossip about celebrities. But studies show that teenagers are the ones most likely to buy magazines. '' According to a 2006 report by Magazine Publishers, 78% of teens read magazines.'' I found this research on http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/fall07/Moorhouse/impact.html. This shows that more teenagers than adults buy magazines nowaday

Above I have images of five different magazine fronts aimed at young adults, mainly girls but sometimes boys read them too. 

The first one is MORE magazine which I got from http://www.angeleyefashion.com/cms/content-manager/album_images/19_09_2011_10_50_32_13964_7.jpg, the magazine have used a headline story about Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattison which a lot of teens like to read about. 

The second one is BLISS magazine which I got from http://gossipteen.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Demi-Lovato-Bliss-cover.jpg, Bliss have used Demi Lovato as their 'Main Image' and a lot of teens see her as a role model.

The third one is SUGAR magazine which I got from https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8_o8R2DvG1y-UF_ejDjJMhh1Y1_yVeJnyVWEM5-yrhkdlX-jUn8JNp7T1qeudIdfDLRg9E-bHnHf2SK8VxtIbUCD0WBEEFAnU6lJsZ8mmN0Jy9MdCaYd7Yw5ve0mJfECPKw-JpnmAczdk/s1600/Sugar+Magazine+Front+Cover.jpg, Sugar have used a main image of Rihanna and a puff/plug that reads 'Rihanna exclusive, the truth about boys' this is something that a lot of teens would like to read.

The fourth one is MIZZ magazine which I got from http://www.magazinescelebrity.com/images/mizz050407.jpg, and they have promised a 'free mascara' if you buy the magazine, they have used this because they know that young teens are interested in make-up.

And the fifth one which is the last one is TEEN VOGUE which I got from http://cache.gawker.com/assets/images/7/2009/10/teenvogue2.jpg, who have used Miley Cyrus as the main image who is a teen sensation.

After looking at these five magazine covers, do you think they could have a bad affect on young teens? Whether your answer be yes or no, the answer is yes they do have a bad affect on teenagers. All of these magazines are aimed at teenagers aged 11-14 and at that age do they really need to know about dieting, or boys? This is where the Hypodermic needle theory begins to show, these magazines are injecting things into these teens that they shouldn't know about until they are older. The magazines have used rhetorical text which persuades the teenagers to take notice of things like make up and dieting. On my fourth chosen cover MIZZ, they have used a puff/plug that reads 'Decoding boy texts' at the ages of 11-14 girls shouldn't be worried about boys texts, but this magazine is making them believe that they should. 

These magazines are making young girls believe that they have to follow certain fashion trends which means they can't be their own person. And they are making them believe that they should look a certain way, when really they should look how they want. All of the images on these magazines are photo-shopped so in reality the celebrities don't actually look perfect everyday, but these teens won't ever know that. ''Women's news'' have done research that shows that these magazines are affecting teens in a bad away, they have said that ''Teen magazines are giving girls all the wrong messages.'' I found this study on http://womensenews.org/story/uncovering-gender/031029/teen-magazines-send-girls-all-the-wrong-messages#.UJZgGMVFWAg. Although these magazines are aimed at girls, and most obviously represent girls, teenage boys are also represented. The magazines have put what a 'perfect boy' should look like and how he should act, when really they should look and act how they want and however they feel comfortable.

In conclusion, teen girls shouldn't have to worry about what they look like or what they wear. They should be enjoying life with their friends and family, they don't need to worry about boys or dieting; it's okay to be curvy and it is okay to be single. Magazines need to get rid of the perfect girls as their main image, and they should add a normal teen who isn't stick thin with perfect skin. The magazines are portraying false images and text of how teens should look. Magazines need to change completely unless they want to keep feeding teens lies.

Task 2- Magazines and Audiences

Part one:

Glossary- 15 different types of magazine terminology!

Listed are fifteen things that nearly every magazine uses:

1) Masthead- This is the first thing you notice on a magazine, it is the title at the top of the page telling you the name or brand of the magazine. (e.g OK, Vogue)

2) Dateline- This is the date of when the magazine came out, and when it expires.

3) Barcode- Every magazine has a barcode in a corner at the bottom of the front page, it is for shop use when you buy the magazine.

4) Colour scheme- Every magazine has a different colour scheme which appeals to readers, the colours usually fit in with the text and the images on the magazine. The colours will always have a theme, sometimes they reflect the season. (e.g at Christmas, they may have red green and gold)

5) Puff\Plug- A puff is an extra bit of detail on the magazine front, which advertises a plug (information that is inside the magazine.)

6) Price: Every magazine has the price of it on the front, it is usually in the corner of the page. This is conventional for readers.

7) Cover-line: All of the noticeable texts on the front of a magazine, are known as a cover-line.

8) Main image: This is the big photo which appears on the front of a magazine which takes up most of the page. It is always linked to something inside of the magazine.

9) Pull quote- This is a quote taken from an interview inside of the magazine. 

10) Left third- This is when everything on the front of the magazine is usually on the left of the page, this is because we read from left to right. It is the busiest part of the front cover.

11) Font type- Sans serif: This is the text that most magazines use because it is easy to read and it is big and bold, it's new and fresh. 

12) Font type- Serif: This is a little bit harder to read than Sans serif, it is classic.

13) Number- Numbers lure the audience in. A beauty magazine cover would usually read something like this ''100 beauty tips'' which the audience like to read.

14) Exclusive- A claim from the magazine that says it has a story inside that no other magazine has. 

15) Paste up- This is the page layout pasted into position.

Part two:

My chosen magazine cover-

My 500 word analysis: 

The magazine I have chosen is called ''Women's Health.'' It is a magazine about health for women as displayed in the masthead. The magazine is aimed at a target audience of middle-aged women, who care for their health. The front cover is plastered in dieting tips, how to be sexy, and how to control cravings. This shows that the magazine has concentrated on the 'HEALTH' subject. Women who are on diets or those who are trying to stay healthy would buy this magazine because the cover is full of promises on how to get slim. The puff/plug on the cover reads ''SLIM LEGS! FIRM BUTT!'' this lures the public in because in the twenty first century every lady wants to be slim. The main image is a celebrity named Lea Michele who is always in the public eye so everybody knows her; this will also make the audience want to buy the magazine because they enjoy reading about her. Lea is wearing bright colours like pink and blue; these are the same colours that are used for the text on the cover so it all fits in to a colour scheme. The colours are eye catching so they get the public’s attention.

At the top of the cover there is a cover-line that reads ‘’YOUR FAST TRACK TO A FLAT BELLY’’ this is rhetorical text as it persuades the audience and it gives them another reason to buy the magazine. It appeals to women because they would like to have a flat stomach. This cover-line is promising and very believable; it would make the audience think that this was their answer to getting the belly they have always wanted. The text producers have used different dieting options and a celebrity who is in the public eye to appeal to the audience, they have used devices that they know the audience want to read. By doing all of this they have still focused on the subject of their magazine; ‘’health.’’

The text producer has used pull quotes on the cover; e.g ‘’wear this, not that!’’ By using these it makes the reader want to read more, and to do that they have to buy the magazine. The text producer has also used numbers to attract the audience; e.g ‘’12 new ways to control cravings.’’ This also lures the audience in, because yet again it is promising them a way of keeping skinny.

This magazine is similar to a lot of other magazines. Most magazines use the same devices because all they want to do is lure the audience in. They use rhetorical text to persuade the readers and they include things that they know the readers want to see. This ‘’Women’s Health’’ magazine is a perfect example of what magazines are like these days and how promising they are. This magazine is full of promises and different diets, and that’s all women want to read nowadays. Who wants to read about celebrities, when they can find out how to lose weight?

Task 1- Getting to know Blogger!

Here is a tutorial on how to use blogger:

http://www.slideshare.net/Marcus9000/how-to-use-blogger

Things you can do with blogger:

• You can share images with the public.
• You can share videos with the public.
• You can connect with others.
• You can use Blogger to earn money.
• The public can subscribe to your blog.
• You can look at other people's blogs.
• You can create a team blog (you and others can blog together.)
• You can use it all for free!

I got all of this information from http://www.blogger.com/features

How I think Blogger will be useful for my coursework:

• It will be easy for my teacher to view my work.
• I will be able to share my work with the public.
• Blogger is easy to use.
• I will be able to add videos and images quickly.
• I can post from home in my spare time.
• I can choose my own template so it can be set out neatly.
• I can edit it whenever I want.
• You can upload photoshop images and youtube videos.