Analysing Contents Pages

This contents page I have selected is from NME magazine which is considered an indie/rock magazine; the same genre of magazine I will be doing. The eye-catching, bold title clearly lets the audience know this page is the contents page. The main story here is ‘THE END OF THE ASTORIA’ and has a large picture of London Astoria standing out and taking up majority of the page for the audience to see and get a rough understanding of what the story is about, attracting their audience. To the left, there is a band index of bands that are featured in NME and if they are in this particular issue, the page number they are on. This attracts NME’s target audience as if their audience are to see a favourite band of theirs, it will capture their attention and they will look further into the magazine. In the bottom right hand corner, there is an arrow that says ‘The UK’S No1 Gig guide!’ It is in a bright red arrow, with a white contrasting text to make it stand out to the public. It will attract the target audience of NME as if they stereotypically consider themselves of the indie genre and have a hobby of going to gigs, they will like majority of bands in NME, and therefore be interested in finding out about upcoming gigs. The different sub headings of ‘News’ and ‘Reviews’ breaks down what is in the magazine for the audience to be able to read it more easily. The headings are contrasting with the black background, and therefore jump out of the page at the audience at first glance. The contents page of NME is colour coordinated with the 3 main colours of black, white and red. This appears to make it looks neat and eye-catching and much easier to read, which will attract the public. Also, the language used throughout the contents page is formal and doesn’t use any form of slang; attracting the target audience of mainly ABC1.

This contents page I have selected is from Kerrang! magazine. The genre of Kerrang! magazine is rock/metal. Firstly, the image of a member of Dragonforce is taking up exactly half of the contents page, and this is very eye-catching and bold and will instantly attract the target audience of the magazine. Next to and on top of the image is screenshots of some double page spreads that are further in the magazine. Kerrang! are hoping that the audience will see these screenshots and take an interest, if it involves an artist/band they are fond of, again attracting their target audience. They are bold, colourful screenshots with a bright white border around them to make them stand out even further. Just like other magazines, Kerrang! has laid out the contents into sections e.g. news, swag, feedback etc. This makes the contents page much more legible and attractive for the audience, because the readers of magazines prefer things which are easy to read, as magazines are seen as a form of entertainment and shouldn’t be a struggle. The small but striking, bold images of two guitars in the bottom left corner attract peoples attention, and the bright yellow banner next to them saying ‘WIN!’ is just as eye-catching. The audience will see these select few items and as Kerrang! readers, should be interested in guitars, which will again attract their target audience. Also, the small but outstanding pictures of bands within the contents list attract the eye, and will attract fans of these artists. The overall language throughout the contents page is fairly formal, attracting their main target audience of ABC1. However, there are words such as ‘swag’ that are used, which will attract their other target audience of teenagers and the younger generation who use more slang.

This magazine contents page I have selected is from Vibe magazine. Vibe magazine is of R&B/Hip Hop genre. Firstly, the image of the scarcely dressed artist is covering the whole page, and is very bold. If seen by the Vibe readers and target audience of Vibe, it will instantly attract their attention. The artist represents everything that is stereotypically R&B and Hip Hop; sleek, sexual, skimpy, majority of focus is drawn to his body, the amount of jewellery he is wearing shows his wealth and power, the tattoos he has shows him to be tough and marks experience etc. This then encourages and attracts the target audience of Vibe magazine. The bold, contrasting white text on the red background firstly attracts the attention of the audience, but the also bold text of certain words throughout the contents, such as the artist’s names, draws attention to those specific words, and yet again draws attention to the magazine. Under the ‘fashion’ section of the contents page, there is an article called ‘Nice & Naughty’. The use of the word naughty yet again represents the idea that the genre of R&B/Hip Hop is ‘naughty’ and, in that sense, sexual. They also use the word skimpy, which sends out the message that the genre is skimpy and bare. The use of these words will also be another cause of attraction for the target audience. The language throughout the contents page is fairly formal, but at some points uses slang and informal terms. For example ‘Ryan Leslie gets his RSVP on’. This attracts Vibe’s target audience of the younger generation: teenagers, who use slang, but also the standard ABC1.