Magazine Cover Review

 Over a period of four days, we analyzed three types of magazines with three specific target audiences, those being women, men, and specialties. What I noticed when looking at the covers is the oversaturation of text and the lack of depth of their article. These two Observations about the magazine covers can be explained in an article written by Michael Scherer for the Columbia Journalism Review titled “Chances are you won't bother to read this article. It is just one long block of text, after all, unbroken by alluring pictures, snappy captions, or eye-grabbing infographics. You can’t click it. All you can do is read it.” What he argues in this article is that the main reason behind the absence of interest in elaborate and in-depth articles is that they take time to read, which consumers of magazines do not have the luxury of in the current era. He cites Keith Blanchard, an editor from the magazine Maxim who, in the summer of 2002 said that the viewers of Maxim, mostly eleven million young men, “are busier today than they will ever be in their lives; they have shorter attention spans than any previous generation; they are chronically over-stimulated and easily bored.” Even though Blanchard says that this only applies to men, the statement can apply to everyone in general.  

 

To counter this loss of interest in their products, modern magazines create shorter articles with less word count and use more photographs, using words that appeal to the different sexes. Regarding the use of more photographs, such photographs would be of a celebrity or a symbol of a recent event. A few examples of this were that of Cosmopolitan and Men’s journal. In Cosmopolitan, a fit woman was featured and the word “sex” is present and pink is used to indicate that it is clearly targeting women. In Men’s Journal, Patrick Dempsey is featured, sharply dressed, with article titles surrounding him about topics men love, including travel, beer, fitness, and money, all in a few words. This appeal to the sexes through the use of shortened words is how subscribers retain their interest. 

 

To help retain loyalty and interest in the brand as well as bring in advertising dollars, magazines will feature products to sell. The Oprah magazine featured home décor and foods that appealed to middle class women. Better Homes & Gardens also featured home décor and outdoor décor to sell. Vogue featured fashion items for children and adults. The advertising of products which consumers enjoy purchasing shows how magazines keep loyalty and bring in revenue by selling consumers products they would not want to try to find elsewhere. 

 

Currently, I am unlikely to do a magazine for my portfolio project as I am less aware of how I would go about it compared to the production of a short film for my portfolio project, which seems easier.