Textual Analysis of 3 different magazines

I am going to be analyzing 3 different magazines. These are “Kerrang!” (A Music Magazine). "Closer" (A Gossip Magazine) and "Vogue" (A Fashion Magazine)

Kerrang! Magazine

The first magazine I am going to be analyzing is Kerrang! Kerrang! is a music magazine for an audience who are into the rock music industry, it is aimed at the audience group aged 15-24 years old, however, it is also aimed at anyone who is into the genre of music, rock. The magazine is a weekly magazine which is sold in shops.
Denotation
On this particular cover from 22/10/2008 the cover is very crowded.
Title
On the front page the title is Kerrang! It is in the font color Black and is in Capital letters and is a shattered text to represent the loud sound which is coming out of speakers, the text looks like actual shattered rock, this denotates that the rock magazine rocks so much that it causes the text to brake. Kerrang! is the largest text because it is the masthead of the magazine. The masthead needs to be noticed because it needs to be remembered, this then means readers will buy the magazine.
The masthead stands out from the background which is White, the Black stands out from the white background and emphasizes the masthead of the magazine.
What is unusual is that the hat of one of the band members of ACDC covers the letters “A” and “N” this shows the magazine is so popular some of the letters can be covered, because the covering of the letters represents how well known the magazine is.
Other Text
The other text does not stand out as much as the masthead. Accept one of the names of the articles stands out “ACDC” stands out to show one of the main articles which is in the magazine. ACDC is in Red and White so it stands out from the picture. Underneath is some text saying “The World’s Greatest Rock “N” Roll Band”. This is White so it catches the eye, and stands out from the dark background it is on. The text is at an angle which could represent that the band rock so much.
There is other text which is in a smaller font in Red and White these are giving a clue into what the magazine is going to about. But the text is smaller, because it is one of the smaller articles within the magazine. But again the text is Red and White.
On a Blue Arrow there is the plug which is advertising “Free Posters”, this stands out to show that there is something free with this magazine, the Black text stands out from the Blue Arrow and makes it readable for the audience to spot and buy the magazine for the freebies. There is also a plug at the bottom of the page which mentions all the bands which are in the magazine, this is in the smallest font but still stands out due to the color of the text which is white and is on a Black background with Red edges. The big “PLUS” attracts the audience’s attention because it is in bold and in capitals this catches the eye of the audience and makes the audience more interested in what there is in the magazine. The Red background allows the White writing to stand out.
The Pictures
On the front cover of Kerrang! the pictures are of bands which the magazine has interviewed. The largest picture is of “AC DC” because this is the main article which the magazine is covering. It is a mid-shot where only the top part of the body and face can be seen. The band members are standing in front of the grey background to allow them to stand out. The picture is the biggest so it’s the first picture which catches the audience’s eye, also AC DC have a large fan base so this would catch their fans eye.
The Posters are in a smaller size and you can’t really see them, both posters are again a mid-shot where you can only see the top of the body and the face, they are again in colour which does allow the posters to stand out. There is a smaller picture of one of the band members of Red Hot Chilli Peppers, but this is in Black and White with a Red border, this does not stand out as much as the posters or the main picture. All the pictures have a text which give a clue to what they are about.

The Kerrang! Magazine has a layout which when the eye scans down the page, you can take all the information in at once.

I did some research into the magazine. E-map publishes this music magazine Kerrang! this is described to have attitude. Some of the staff of the magazine includes the editor Paul Brannigan, Daniel Lane (deputy editor), Malcolm Dame a Journalist and a Photographer Scarlet Page.
E-map also released Kerrang! Radio in 2001 which plays the latest rock music, and legends of rock music. In 2001 E-map then launched Kerrang! TV which like the radio station covers the latest music.
Connotation
The Picture
The Main Picture is of ACDC.
The Pose
Both band members look like they are about to jump out of the picture at the viewer. This is to create a sense of excitement and could be said to pull in the reader to read more. The band member on the Left is in a Grey hat and is leaning forward, as if his face is coming out the page, he is gritting his teeth, but in an amusing way to make the audience laugh. The man on the right is stood up straight looking straight forward, but unlike the other band member is standing at the back of the picture as if standing back and letting the man on the left make a fool of himself, the man at the back looks more superior. The man on the right is pulling a slight grin, a cheeky grin to give an impression of a cheeky rock band. His arms are obscured by the guitar the man on the left is holding so it is harder to read his body language. On the other hand, the man on the left looks less serious and is pulling his face; he has hold of the guitar and covers the man’s arms on the right.
The Clothes
Both band members are wearing dark colors which connotates that ACDC is a dark rock band. The background they are stood in front of is Grey so the colors of their clothes stand out. The man on the left is wearing a dark Grey hat which stands out from the picture, it shapes his head well and you can see the expression on his face. The audience can see that the top of the body is in a Black jacket with a White Top and Black tie, this makes him stand out from the background and makes him look menacing. He is holding a guitar which makes him looks powerful. The man on the right is wearing a Light Grey hat which makes the man at the back blend into the light Grey background which covers part of the mast-line Kerrang! He is wearing a Black Vest which emphasizes his arms and makes him look strong and masculine. But again his clothes are obscured by the guitar.
Background
The background is Grey and allows everything to stand out from the magazine all in there own way.

Textual Analysis of Secondary Teachers Magazine

Analysis of the Magazine Secondary Teachers

The magazine I am going to be analyzing is the “Secondary Teachers” magazine. The actual cover stretches from the front page to the back page, which is unusual for a front cover of a magazine.
Denotation
The cover stretches right across to give the impression of a school classroom environment of how the pupils are sat, and how they learn. This is all linked to the question on the cover “Do boys and girls learn differently?” The cover needed to link to the question, so you can see the comparisons going on.

The boy and girl are sat differently, this is to point out one of the differences. In this case the school boy is sat with his arm stretched out in the air, eager to answer a question. It is strange how the arm of the boy covers part of the title; this could mean that the magazine is well known within the education world. The girl sat next to him on the same table, ready to write looks amused at the school boy. This is comparing the two school pupils, on how boys act in the classroom and how girls act in the classroom.

The text is arranged around the picture rather on top of the picture. The reason the text is arranged in this fashion is so the picture is not covered with writing, but the readers eye is drawn in on the picture. On the actual cover, the main text which catches the readers eye is the question “Do boys and Girls learn differently?” On the front page, of the boy it is in Blue, whereas, on the back cover of the picture of the girl it is in Pink. This is to empathize what the main issue is being tackled within the magazine, the picture of the boy and girl represents this question. The question “Do boys and girls learn differently?" is however, on the left hand side of the page, and still does not take the eye off the picture. All the text is around the actual picture. The plugs are at the top, again the text is colored which allows the reader to know what the magazine is going to contain.
There is a picture of a voting pad, which is being invented at the moment, and this is the only picture a part from the big picture of the school boy and girl.
Connotation
The connotation of the magazine is trying to communicate with the reader, that in the classroom the students do learn differently. The picture is trying to relate to the question “Do Boys and Girls learn differently?” The picture shows the main differences between the two school students in the picture. Firstly, there is a boy and a girl, which relates to the question and also gender. It is trying to communicate to the reader that boys and girls do learn differently. The boy is being used to communicate that boys are more used to being active rather than sitting still and writing, and the girl is being used to communicate that girls can sit still and write. That there is the difference how boys and girls learn, and their is a difference in the attention span boys and girls have.
The color Maroon is used, because the students stand out of the background and do not blend in, as we want to be able to see the students and how they are sitting, and what there emotions are. The actors have been used because in society today, particularly in school, there is a mixed cultural society, so on the magazine it will look good if there is a mixed cultural boy, this represents how society is in the real world, it does not matter what color you are or gender, so long as you are working hard that is the main point. But it is also trying to show that mixed cultural children and English children can work together in the classroom. The young girl has been used because she looks young and hard working.
The layout of the magazine is very unusual. The layout is trying to portray a classroom situation, and what it is like in a classroom. Also it is trying to show the difference between genders in the classroom, such as the concentration levels. The boy is sat and looks like he isn’t concentrating, whereas, the girl looks focused, this side by side image shows the comparison between the genders in the classroom. The young boy on the front looks like he is hyperactive and ready to learn, but it does portray that his concentration level is low, whereas, the young girl is looking across to him, as if she is sat near him in the classroom she looks bemused by him, and the actions of waving his hand in the air, as if trying t o get the attention of the reader.

The Language-The visual presentation in this case is the classroom situation in which it seems a table with two school students, each different genders, one representing the boys and the other the girls, this is the only the picture. The desk is littered with books and pens to make the scene look more authentic. There is no other pictures, accept a small picture which illustrates one of the stories in the magazine. The font style is very plain, it is all the same font style throughout. What does differ though is the color and the size. For example the main headline which is being looked into more is the question which is “Do boys and girls learn differently?” The main headline is in the color Blue for the boys and Pink for the girls. All the other text is colored in Black, Red, Maroon or Pink, this is so they can be told that they are different stories from the headline. All the text is positioned around the main picture which stretches from the front page to the back page, but the text on the front is exactly the same as the text on the back, it seems like there are two front covers.

Institution-The magazine is produced for teachers at Secondary schools, the magazines contain articles which interest teachers, issues such as; if boys and girls learn differently. This allows the teachers to gain more knowledge on their students and how their minds work. This particular magazine gives professional advice from doctors, and how to spot dyslexia before it is too late. It also gives generalized information on issues which are going on in the world of education.

Ideology-The magazine is going to be based on the education world, and the values of the magazine such as how teachers can make the education at their school better.

Audience- The main audience of this magazine is aimed for is the world of Secondary School education, so in this case the teachers in Secondary Schools.

Representation-The “Secondary Teachers” magazine is aimed at the teachers at Secondary schools, so the pictures needed to represent the world of secondary school education. The main picture needed to look like a classroom, to give a clue to what the article is going to be about, a boy and girl needed to be in the picture as it was comparing the two different genders. The question asked needed to be related to the actual image.