ANALYSIS OF SCHOOL

MAGAZINESFront Covers

A General Analysis of School Magazines■ School magazines are targeted at the pupils (and sometimes teachers) of the relevant

school.■ As a result, the target audience can vary in age massively, dependant on the type of

school.■ It is the job of the front cover to attract the attention of the audience- the pupils- which

is often done through the use of a full page picture of a student or well liked teacher.■ Such an image makes the magazine attractive as the familiarity between the object of

the cover and the possible reader makes them part of an almost exclusive group- as if they personally know an A-List actor or model who more commonly appear on the covers of magazines.

■ In the case where the magazine is targeted at the parents over pupils, it is usual that the pupils of such a school would be very young so the front image will largely be used to reflect the children taking part in an event the audience is aware of and possibly attended which makes the parental audience feel as if they are a part of school life and the photos act as almost an album for such an event.

This magazine is targeted at the students of Chosenhill school who will be between the ages of 12 and 16.

The layout of the cover is very simple: two columns of content (the image and the coverlines) and a strong masthead. The column style makes the cover approachable and easy to read; firstly, the audience will see and take in the image, then make their way down the list of coverlines as if reading an article. Such a layout is suitable to the audience as they don’t have to focus too hard to get-to-grips with what is on the cover and therefore what the contents are. The magazine can be placed on a stand, glanced at by a student in passing who will be provided all the needed information and take a copy. Furthermore, our eyes naturally move to what is just right of centre. This is a positioning common of film and television also and it means the content just to the right is the first thing to be viewed after taking in the full cover.

The masthead, “Chosenhill”, is written in a modern, white sans serif font. This represents the students as both young and part of the technological world. It also suggests they are part of a comprehensive- rather than public- school as the chosen typeface and use of bold colour hints more towards holding interest than upholding history.Furthermore, the use of the school name for the masthead ostracises people who aren’t part of the school community, highlighting the magazine as only relevant to the students, exaggerating them as part of an exclusive group. Such a concept is often used in school magazines as it groups the students into a community that teenagers would most likely wish to avoid. A magazine such as this allows the students to be informed without it being ignored as it would if the teachers were required to inform the students of such events that are listed on the cover.

The colours used on the cover form a brand identity for the school as a whole. As seen in the image, the colours of red, white, blue and yellow can all be seen on the logo on the cover subject’s tie. This connotes a sense of school pride on behalf of the creators, and also the audience.

The image on the cover is that of a student, likely to be one of those running for the accolade of head boy. It is placed so that his head lies in the upper centre of the cover, making him the focal point for anyone just glancing at it. This is effective due to the fact that the magazine is aimed at the pupils of Chosenhill School, who will recognise the subject immediately and thus be interested in what it has to say about him. Seeing someone you know on the cover of a magazine causes interest and excitement also, extending interest in the magazine’s content as the audience wishes to see if someone else they know, or even they, are featured within.The image is a mid long shot which suggests that the subject of the photo is just one part of a larger group (i.e. the school population) and actually not that special, suggesting to the reader that they could be on the cover too.

The language of the coverlines is largely informative but mixed with humour (“House Choir Carne Lead The Way”) which connotes the needs of the young audience: whilst they are at school to learn, students also need to have fun and enjoy their time there. Furthermore, the coverlines are mainly about extracurricular activities, supporting the idea that the magazine is there to be enjoyed rather than to act as another teacher.

The masthead of this magazine ‘Class’ is an indexical sign for schooling/students. This suggests that the audience is the students of the school, not its faculty or their families. Furthermore, the font used is that commonly associated with (American) high school year books, connoting that the magazine is for the soul use of students and is for their enjoyment rather than education. Here, the masthead breaks convention of a typical magazine by appearing on-top of the main image, rather than tucked behind it. Such a separation from the norm represents the teenage audience as rebellious but also a collective as the whole ‘Class’ is placed above any single student, such as the subject of the cover image.

Another challenge of convention is found in the use of a by-line. Most school magazines require no such feature as they are sold only within the school and therefore do not need to convince a prospective audience of its value/quality. The use of one here suggests that the audience does need to be persuaded; this is suggested by the bold, italicised and unlined word ‘today’ at the end of the line. Its closing position and dramatic typeface suggest it to be the most important word within the line as, due to the recency effect, it stays in the readers mind for longer after reading it. Resultantly, it implies that it is important to the readers that it is modern and therefore relatable which could indicate a need to differentiate itself from other school magazines which are stuck in the past and therefore unpopular as the students cannot fully associate themselves with them. Therefore, a by-line is used in order to convince the audience that it is different from other school magazines they have read and thus worth buying.

Unlike other magazines, all of the coverlines are written in the exact same typeface with no clear headline. This could indicate that all of the listed stories bare equal importance and page space within the actual magazine, making sure there is something of decent quality for the whole audience. In extension, the content chosen for the cover seems to be aimed at the different ages of the audience which will be from 11-16/18 years old. The ‘Teachers Profile’ is suitable to the youngest students who are just getting used to the school and its staff, the ‘School Changes’ to those in the middle-age range of the audience who will want to know what changes have occurred since their arrival and what they will possibly have to adapt to, the ‘GCSE Results ’09’ are applicable to the 15/16 year olds completing their exams and the ‘Student Problems’ to the more mature of the students. The splitting of content in this way ensures to anyone just glancing at the cover that there is something for them even if it doesn’t seem so at first.

Most school magazines are free to students or at least do not visibly display the price as to not put prospective readers off. Unusually, ‘Class’ does list a price. Although for a small amount, it indicates exclusive content that is worth the student’s money. It also implies that the magazine is hand produced by students who need the money to pay for the magazine’s production, thereby insinuating that teachers and other institutions like the local government had no input in the magazine or its content and is therefore unlikely to be censored.

Unlike many school magazines- or magazines in general- the cover image takes the focus of the entire cover, with very few coverlines. The image is a mid-close up of three young children in costume for a play. Initially this suggests the school to be a primary/infant school but when looking at the other minor images and a coverline relating to a ski trip, it is more likely that Greenfields School is a boarding/public school for children between the ages of 5 and 18. As a result, it implies that the magazine is aimed at the parents rather then students as it covers such a wide spread of ages, a large section of whom would be unable to read a magazine or take enjoyment out of it. The use of two mid-close ups of students on the cover indicates the student focus of the magazine; it is made as an informative document to the parents of children who attend/board at the school so they are made aware of what is happening for all of the years. This wide range of possible information is likely to be chosen so the school only has to produce one magazine instead of several ones specific to each age group. Nevertheless, another possible explanation for the spread of content is to keep the parents interested in every aspect of the school so they are encouraged to keep their children there for their whole education and possibly interest parents whose children who aren’t at the school that it would be a good choice for their education, whatever their age.

The house-style of this magazine suggests that read it do so out of want rather than being interested by any specific part of the content. The use of lost of images combined with a school logo and a footer which incorporates the school colours suggest that the magazine is specific to the school and parents read it to be informed about the school and its students rather than to be entertained. The use of a serif font also suggest an adult audience as it is slightly too difficult for the subjects of the cover image to read but also too fussy for the older students who live in a minimalist, modern age (notably, the older students would probably favour an update of school events through email or social media than a print magazine). The typeface used for the masthead also matches that on the logo, furthering the school-focus.

The colours of white, blue and green match those of the school logo. Such colours connote naturalism, peace and ingenuity; all features a parent desires in a school, especially if their child is boarding there. Nevertheless, brighter colours such as pink and tan/brown liven up the page, suggesting that whilst a school must be professional and clean cut, there is always room for fun and it is important that the children are enjoying their education, not just going to school as the house colours initially suggest and hence the colours like pink take centre stage.

The coverlines of this magazine are written in a simple, white, serif typeface . Whilst this makes them clear, they do not overtly stand out, indicating that is the happy, smiling pupils pictured on the cover that draw the reader’s attention. Futhermore, the language of the coverlines is basic and logical; designed to inform not convince. This further indicates that the magazine is designed to inform the parenst about the school they are already invested in and not provide a sudden feature of intrest, as is typical of school magazines. This break of convention is likely due to the fact this magazine has an audience of parents, not students and therefore must meet different needs; speed, simplicity, clarity.

It is clear by the use of layout that this magazine both has a larger budget than those already looked at, and is aimed at an older but youthful audience; 18-22 year old students. At a glance, ‘College’ appears to be symbolic of the popular fashion, film and game magazines favoured by students. This is created through the use of a clear, single-word masthead that lies underneath the subject of the cover image with coverlines that surround the subject and occasionally cover her. Such a technique is employed that the subject herself is more important than the actual masthead- possibly because readers should already know the title of the magazine, suggesting popularity. On the other hand, the coverlines can lie on top of the subject, indicating that whilst a pretty subject attracts the passing member of its student demographic, it is the content of the magazine that makes that person read it, not the subject or even what magazine it is.Furthermore, the issue number, edition specialty and barcode/price are seen which suggests both a professionality and maturity of its creators and audience.

The subject of the cover image provides an idealistic representation of the audience; she is pretty, happy, athletic and physically fit. The use of her clothing colours (white, red and blue) within the coverlines, masthead and other cover features indicates the importance of such features as well as the famous college pride. As none of the coverlines form a noticeable headline, the writing on her jersey (I [heart] smu) acts as the headline, connoting that school spirit should be the motivation for reading the magazine as much as its physical content- representing the importance of alma mater in American society.Additionally, the subject of the image is a woman. This is a draw for both male and female members of the demographic as the testosterone fuelled men want to see more of the pretty girl and the women want to see how they can be like her but also enjoy the content (which the coverlines connote is mainly aimed at girls e.g. the drama TV show and the article relating to ‘Sleeping’ your way to the top, a stereotype commonly placed on pretty women in a professional environment (such as a college).

Coincidently, the colours used on the cover (red, white and blue) are the colours of the American flag. It is clear that the magazine is American due to the masthead of ‘College’ not ‘University’ and the Americanised soccer jersey the girl is wearing. All of this combines to emphasise education as part of the American dream but also patriotism; the quintessential image of a stereotyped American, especially a fan of sport as the image subject is represented to be.