Magazine Reveiw and Comparison

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Magazine Review and Comparison

I have chosen to analyse ‘OK!’ magazine and ‘Now’ magazine. I have selected these two magazine because not only are they both magazine I enjoy reading, but they are also both gossip magazines. Therefore they are linked to each other. I will be highlighting both the positive and negative points about both magazines. I will also be assessing which magazine is best for its content and style as well as its value for money. As mentioned before ‘OK!’ is a gossip magazine as well as ‘Now’, however they both seemed to be aimed at slightly different audiences. ‘OK!’ seems mostly to be aimed at mid teens to young adults ranging from 15 years old to around 20 year olds. ‘Now’ appears to focus more on young teenagers and young adults from around 13 years old to around 18 years old. However older people read ‘Now’ as well.

Even though my two magazines are both in the same genre, their front covers are both different. This shows one of the differences between them. ‘Now’ magazines front cover is filled with big bold writing and large images to attract the reader’s attention. However in ‘OK!’ magazine, there is one large celebrity picture with writing around the sides. They focus on one image because again of the readers interest. One main picture also means that some of the main stories are about that particular celebrity; this would encourage others to buy ‘OK!’ There are also headlines in large bold font. ‘Now’ magazine also has many large headlines in different fonts and colours. Both magazines use many pictures of celebrities and this shows that the readers follow the latest celebrity gossip and are interested in celebrity news and fashion. Both magazines also use bold headlines to attract and engage the reader.

However, unlike ‘Now’ magazine, all the headlines in ‘OK!’ are in the same font and are quite small. This gives the impression that the editors spent time on the magazine making it look neat and interesting. Also, on the front cover there is only one large picture in the centre with smaller picture around the side. This gives the impression of tidiness.  In ‘Now’ magazine, the front cover looks like it was put together in a hurry. The font is in various different styles and images and headlines are overlapping each other. This doesn’t look tidy or organized. Many of the headlines are at different angles and it lacks sophistication, this gives the impression of disarray. ‘OK!’ magazine is aimed at young adults and this is reflected in the language used. “Secrets behind the year’s biggest celebrity weddings” This headline is printed in bold letters across the front cover to attract the readers attention, the language is formal and it shows that readers of ‘OK!’ follow gossip and are interested with celebrity news. Also the articles in ‘OK!’ magazine are different then the articles in ‘Now’ magazine. This shows the different audiences the magazines are focused on. The language in ‘Now’ is informal. “Liz: Brand now bod” Like in ‘OK!’ this headline is in big, bright font and is printed across the front page, this again helps to catch the reader’s attention. This headline also proves that this magazine is directed at younger readers as the use of slang shows it tries to appeal to young readers. This headline also shows that readers of ‘Now’ are interested in celebrity news and looks. The headline “Amazing Diets” also on the front cover might show that many readers of ‘Now’ are very conscious of their weight and how they look and appeal to the public.

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In ‘Now’ magazine the price of £1 is at the top of the magazine, it overlaps the title and is in bright blue and yellow, to some this could be seen as cheap and not worth reading. In ‘OK!’ the price of £2 us underneath the title in small font and is in white so it stand out against the red back ground, the font used is the same on the rest of the front cover. Some readers would think that £2 is a reasonable price to pay since ‘OK!’ is quite thick and would take longer to read then ...

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