textual analysis - existing school magazines.

The first magazine that I am going to study is a college magazine called DAVE. It is the magazine for students at SEEC College in Southend and is relatively new. Although it is a college magazine, the front cover has the singer of Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., Sam Duckworth. This could be quite an inspirational artist for the college as he is from Southend, like most students who attend the college. The magazine has a very personal and down to earth name, which connotates that it is trying to reach out to the students and it is intended entirely for them. The magazine has very bright font colour against a black background which makes the magazine more recognisable. The magazine has a place on the college website, so it is easily viewable in a day in age where internet is the common means of communication by young adults.  The magazine has a sub-heading which says 'Can you gig it?' this denotates that the magazine is going to include music, and this is also reflected by Sam Duckworth being on the front cover. The font used is very memorable as it is bold and uses bright colours, which would appeal to younger people. Although the magazine does not look particularly expensive, it does no0t appear cheap and would therefore be more aesthetically pleasing to its target audience. The main article feature has a heading going through the middle of the cover picture, which is not similar to other magazine types so the magazine has its own style. The use of 'YOU' makes the magazine appear more personal to the reader. The magazine seems to be advertising a lot of music festivals which connotates that the target audience will mainly be interested in music. The magazine seems to intended for both male and female students and does not in any way have a preference - for example, it does not specify a certain sex over another. 

The magazine has a estimated circulation of 15,000 and is distributed around the Southend area. The magazine is free, which will promote more people to read it, as they are less likely to pay for a school magazine.

High Profile, is the sixth form magazine for King Edward High School for Girls. The magazine seems to be more about achievments throughout the school as the cover is a picture taken from a school drama production. The main heading says 'A Star is Born' which connotates that the students should feel good about themselves, but it also reflects the drama students on the front. I prefer this style of magazine as it reflects the students better than Dave does. However, i did like that Dave used a famous singer as it is aspirational to students. The front cover of this magazine is much more plain than the other magazine and although this would encourage you to read it, it could also force people not to buy it as they do not know what else is inside. The font used is very bold and is also white which stands out against the bright colours of the clothing worn in the photograph. The name itself gives the magazine a high standard as it is called High Profile, and as a reader you would expect it to be interesting and be full of current events. The magazine looks particularly cheap compared to Dave as it has less information.

My final choice of school magazine is The Loyolite. Unlike the two previous school magazines

this magazine does not have anyone on the cover, students or otherwise. This gives the impression of a less personal tone to that of High Profile, as their cover includes four students that represent the school. The style that The Loyolite has opted for is to represent the school itself, by using images of the building and using as little writing as possible. The layout of their magazine is in the style of a scrapbook as the images and the font have ripped edges, this gives a sense of youth and reflects back to the students that attend the school, and suggests that they had an input in the cover of the magazine. The cover is very basic in colour also, with the background being quite a block colour sheet of paper and then using what appears to be the school badge - probably in the school colour - to make it obvious to a consumer that it is for that school.