The first choice of magazine I have decided to research is Q Magazine. I have decided to research this magazine as it is a music magazine, and that is the genre I am going to be creating in the exam. I like Q Magazine as the genre of music it focuses on each week changes, it looks at bands/artists from Mettalica to Madonna, Foo fighters to Lily Allen, The Killers to The Ting Tings, and Lady Gaga to Prodigy. I think this USP (unique selling point) makes the magazine interesting and the variance in bands/artists gives it the edge to magazines like NME and Kerrang! as it doesn't stick to one genre of music it provides a magazine to listeners of a wider range of music. Q Magazine is produced by Bauer Media Group which specialises in magazines, with over 300 more magazines under their belt, with titles like FHM (For Him Magazine) they know what they're doing. They also specialise in Radio and own stations like Kiss.
Another reason Q Magazine is so favourable is that it focuses on higher standards of the photography. The issue shown below is Lily Allen posing topless with two panthers. As well as this they have been focusing on higher printing standards, using professional photographic paper. They also have the layout trademark colours of red, white and black. This gives an element of style, that other magazines don't have.
When Q magazine was first developed it's target market was the people who were interested in buying CD's. ASlthough, times have changed and there is newer, more popular forms of technology available which allows people to download music, such as Itunes. I believe that the audienceof Q magazine is variable and ranges from male to female between the ages of 18-25.
The second magazine I have choosen is OK Magazine, it takes celebrity life and exagerates and manipulates it for good reading, and in such a way it can change somebodies opinion on a said celebrity. OK! magazine claims to be 'first for celebrity news' and follows the lives of soap stars, TV presenters, such like Holly Willoughby, film stars like Jennifer Aniston, Polititions; for example Sarah Palin, Red Carpet celebs, to teen celebs, actors, and even Heiresses like Paris Hilton. OK! magazine gathers over 30 million readers in over 20 countries making it the biggest celebrity gossip magazine. It's typical audience is that of women between 18 and 30.
Below is a front cover from summer 2007 and it's feature article is about the wedding of Holly Willoughby. OK! magazine specialises in following the superstars weddings and buys the rights to be the only paparazzi there to get the best story. The picture is striking and gives he feeling you are there alongside the bride and groom. The fact that there is more than one picture on the cover suggests that this is deffinately a feature of the magazine.
The masthead is positioned so it is easy to see and is recognisible, and the offer os '3 mags for the price of one' is also located so it would be one of the first things that would catch a readers attention if it was in a magazine rack alongside competitors at a newsagents. The colour scheme of pink and yellow is a layout trademark of the magazine and is recognisible to the audience.
OK! magazine is published by Northern and Shell Network LTD. The publishers are also responsible for newspapers such as the Daily Express, the Sunday Express, the Daily Star, the Daily Star Sunday as well as the magazines New! and Star. As well as this the own the TV channels: Channel 5, Channel 5* and Channel 5USA.
There is a huge amount of differences in the magazines I have choosen to research, and very few similarities. For starters, Q magazine has much wider range of audience due to it's versatile content, where as OK! magazine is aimed purely at women due to it's gossip style content. The covers of the magazines differ greatly as OK! magazine's cover is busy, eye catching and crammed with head shots of celebritiesas well as mid-shot pictures, while Q magazine has a stylish, photographic shot, which although catches the eye it is a posed for shot and is not in a naturalistic setting, unlike OK!
the quality of the magazines is highly distinctable through picking the magazines up. OK! uses cheap, tabloid paper which creates a disposable image of the magazine, and provides the reader with a 'cheap fix', it also suggest that the magazine isn't to be kept, it is flimsy, with thin pages, although Q magazine provides it's readers with a sturdy magazine that has photographic paper and a sheen effect. The content of Q magazine is useful, and the magazines could easily be kept and re-read. As OK! features news stories, it is unlikely to be re-read at a later date as the stories won't be interesting at a later date.
Both magazines feature A-Listers on their front covers, although OK! will include actors, heiresses, but Q magazine will include musical celebrities.
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