2. A GeneralAnalysis 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 anA-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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
