This is a final evaluation on my media music magazine.

1. Karaoke! Magazine Evaluation
By Hazel Obua.

2. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the
conventions of real media products?
Both my media product and We
Love Pop have a banner.
Both my media
product and We
Love Pop have a
main image which
is conventional in
all magazines.
Both my media
product and We Love
Pop have a buzz word
that could attract our
target audience.
My magazine’s colour scheme
breaks the convention of 1 colour
being used on the front cover
where I have used a colour
scheme of three colours in order
to attract my target audience as
they like bright colours.
My magazine has a similar
font to We Love Pop as this
allows the readers to
identify with the pop
genre.
I have used a smaller
number of images for
my magazine front
cover compared to
We love Pop as I have
based this on my
audience research.
I have broken the conventions of
super imposition by putting my
masthead over the image rather
than the other way round. This
was done in order to make my
masthead standout and to add
emphasis to it.
Also just like We Love Pop, I
have established a mode of
address in order to familiarise
the magazine with my target
audience an and to establish
quite a friendly relationship
with my readers.

3. Conventions of a contents page
Contents masthead : Both
magazines have a masthead.
Both my magazine and We Love
Pop possess an exciting
introduction to the contents of
the magazine with mine being
‘This month in Karaoke!...’ which
will appeal to my target
audience.
My case study
magazine engages the
audience with a letter
from the editor. This is
also evident in my
magazine as a
development of this
convention.
My magazine develops the
conventions of my case study
magazine with the use of
many images which also
engages the readers and
appeals to them.
We love pop also has a
small textbox including
the page numbers of
different aspect of my
magazine. My magazine
also develops those
conventions. My magazine also has a
subtitle displaying the actual
content of my magazine
which further develops the
conventions of We Love Pop.
My magazine breaks the
conventions of posters in the
contents page with a focus on
the textual aspects of my
magazine.
The colours used for the
page numbers and topics are
also very similar to my case
study as it engages my
audience through the
colourful aspects of it.

4. Conventions of a double page spreadMy magazine develops the
conventions of my case study
magazine with an anchorage
which gives meaning to the
image. In this case the text
signifies that Katy loves
makeup.
The masthead layout of my double page spread
breaks the conventions of my case study
magazine as it follows a different layout and
style. It makes it standout more to the readers.
My magazine
develops the
conventions of my
case study magazine
with a similar image
at the top of my
double page spread
page giving further
information to the
readers.
The
magazine
also has
another
anchorage
showing the
artist. My
magazine
also
develops
these
conventions
by doing the
same.
There is also
another small
image with
anchorage
showing other
events however
my magazine
challenges this
convention by not
including another
photo.
My magazine also
develops the conventions
of a page number ,website
and banner
My magazine also develops the
conventions of a main image for my
double page spread. The mode of
address to the readers is quite
friendly. It slightly establishes a
male gaze with the audience
although it is not quite sexual
which challenges the conventions
of my case study magazine where
the model shows a little skin with a
lip parting.
My magazine
develops the
convention of a pull
quote which is used
to attract the
readers.
My magazine also develops
the convention of a drop cap
which has been used in my
case study magazine which
adds emphasis to my article.
My magazine
also develops
the conventions
of my case study
magazine with
the use of
gutters.

5. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the
conventions of real media products?
• When developing my media product , I researched an existing magazine which was We Love Pop. To get an
understanding of the codes and conventions of a music magazine. By doing this I was able to design my
final product with the application of my understanding of the codes and conventions of a magazine.
• I made use of a similar font to a pop magazines masthead to allow my target audience to identify with the
genre of my music magazine.
• I also added conventions such as mastheads, a main image, cover lines and banners to allow my target
audience to identify with my magazine and to get an understanding of the content of my magazine. I also
made it more exciting and appealing to my target audience.
• My magazine changed the layout of super imposition on the front cover. Usually the text is behind the
image, but my text was in front of the image. This was done in order to make my masthead stand out from
the rest of the content on the page. The size of my masthead was bold and the colour was quite creative.
This also resembles the pop genre and the usual typography used. The colours also represent a female
demographic.
• Usually existing pop magazines have a plain background, however because my product is for a younger
demographic I chose to use a series of colours in order to appeal to my target audience. It also makes my
work more creative rather than plain or basic. I have also maintained my colour scheme which is common
in magazines.

6. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
Media representations are the ways in which the media portrays particular groups,
communities, experiences, ideas, or topics from a particular ideological or value
perspective
The title ‘Karaoke’ represents
social groups who like pop. It is
a symbol commonly used to
represent pop culture.
The costumes of my model
represents youth culture with her
black jeans and red jumper.
The mode of address of my
model is very friendly with
the quote ‘Thumbs up’
which would be able to
draw in young audiences.
Informal rhetorical
questions can be a useful
way of drawing in young
audience which will
represent youth culture.
The use of buzz words can attract young audiences
as it will be an exciting way of marketing my
magazine. This will represent young audiences as
they have a like for ‘freebies.’
A feature of young boy
bands will represent girls
who have a like them
which will therefore gratify
their needs.
The use of bright colours
will represent feminine
social groups as they will
appeal to girls and they are
known to be feminine
colours.
Also the use of different
coloured fonts represents my
target audience as they make
my magazine more colourful
and appealing to my target
audience.
By including a feature on
fashion tips my magazine is
representative to my target
audience as they are known
to like fashion.

7. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
• I was able to use these samples in order to understand the needs of my target audience through quantitative research
and qualitative research. I also analysed two other magazines which were NME and We Love Pop to establish the kind of
language used to associate with these social groups.
• ‘Thumbs up’ establishes a mode of address with the readers giving them a good
first impression of the magazine.
• Also ‘free posters’ is used as a key signifier for the readers as it would be one of
the first things to catch the eye of my target audience considering they are from
ages 10- 16
• My use of slang such as ‘amazin’ and some cheesy comments may enable me to
associate with my target audience more.

8. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
The mode of address to the readers is also one factor
that represents particular social groups. The approach
the model for my front cover has is very friendly and it
almost establishes personal relationships with the
readers
My magazine has a very colourful layout. The colour scheme
is in three colours; pink, purple and yellow this would
convey to the public that my magazine is aimed at a female
demographic . The colours connotations are also quite
feminine. Pink connotates femininity, while purple connotes
creativity although it is very much feminine and yellow
connotates brightness and sunlight and so its effect of
brightness is shown in my magazine. Also pink is a common
colour used in other pop magazines therefore it identifies
with the genre and other existing pop magazines.
My media product is aimed at a demographic of girls
between the age of 10 and 16. Through the design and
layout of my magazine it would be clear to the public that it
is aimed at a much younger demographic.
Also my magazine consists
of many pictures which is
common in magazines
aimed at young
demographics.
Furthermore there is a bit
of slang in my magazine
and my magazine is not
very formal. This
therefore establishes a
closer relationship with
the readers because that
is the kind of language
used.
Also many of the people that filled out my survey suggested
that the price should be between £1 and £2 therefore by
lowering the price to about £1.50, I am meeting the needs
of my target audience.

9. What kind of media institution might distribute your product and
why?
• We Love Pop was published by a media institution known as Egmont
publishing group, whose main focus is the publishing of books and magazines
for children. They are the biggest publishing company in the UK for children’s
books and magazines. They circulate more than 25 million books and 12
million magazines a year and We Love Pop which is a monthly magazine,
circulated at 42,864 (Latest ABC Jan - Jun 2013) On the other hand NME
which is a weekly magazine was produced by IPC media group.
• IPC is the UK leading magazine publisher with a circulation of over 350
million a year. It aims its magazines at a mostly patriarchal demographic of
16 years and over. NME is one of the most popular music magazines. It had a
circulation of 20,011 (ABC Jan-Jun 13).
• It would be a good idea to have IPC media publishing my magazine because
of its numerous circulation and large demographic. However because it ‘s
target audience are mostly men and they aim their magazines at an older
demographic it would be a better idea to publish Karaoke! With Egmont
because their publications are focused on children and they have a
demographic of both genders with a much younger target audience. Also
because they produce children’s magazine my magazine can relate more to
them and by using them to distribute my product I would be attracting more
profit to their company.

10. Who would be the audience for your media product?
• My media product would be aimed at a female demographic of 10-16
year olds. This would enable me to meet the needs of girls of these age
for the reason that not many magazines are aimed at people aged 10,11
and 12. By doing this I would be creating a unique selling point for my
magazine and I would be attracting a wider demographic.
• My magazine is aimed at both people whose favourite genre of music is
pop and those who just listen to pop and take an interest in the topics
surrounding my magazine.
• The pricing of my magazine is not very high so my magazine should meet
the needs of both people who can only afford low prices and those who
capable of spending on high priced products. So I will make my magazine
about £1.50 to make it available and affordable for everyone.
• Most pop magazines feature mainstream artists such as one direction,
Jessie J, Katy Perry and many more so by doing this I will attracting a
wider demographic.
• My target audience will also include girls that like fashion, boy bands and
gossip as these are the most common topics in a pop magazine.

11. How did you attract/address your audience?
Also my main image for my magazine
establishes a mode of address with the
readers. The models quote ‘Thumbs up!’
establishes a friendly relationship with
the readers. The model has a friendly
and fun expression and her pose also
seems like she’s enjoying herself the
same way the readers may enjoy the
magazine.
My magazine included a colour scheme of pink,
purple and yellow. This would have attracted a
feminine demographic because of how bright the
colours are.
Secondly, the masthead Karaoke!
Would have instantly engaged the
readers as it is a common name used
in music and it also represents the
pop genre with its involvement in
singing along to the music and it
may have also made an exciting
introduction to my magazine and the
explanation mark at the end makes
it stand out to the readers.
The use of earpieces as key
signifiers will attract my target
audiences as they tend to like
free gifts.
The use of informal language such as
using rhetorical questions like‘ who’s
topping the charts this week?’ will draw
my audience in as including features on
music charts will gratify their needs on
music as well as informing and
entertaining themBy making the price of my magazine
£1.50 I am able to sell my magazine at a
cheap price for everyone to buy it
therefore gratifying the needs of my
target audience and attracting them to
buy my product.
By including a feature on
fashion tips this is likely to
gratify the needs of my target
audience by informing them
hence attracting them to my
magazine.
The explicit use of punctuation mostly
question marks and explanation marks
adds emphasis to my magazine stories
which further draws in my audience as
it adds excitement and relates to my
target audience.
By using my model as an
impersonation of Katy Perry I
am also attracting my target
audience by gratifying the
needs of those who like Katy
Perry.

12. How did you attract/address your audience?
Fourthly the editors message in the contents page also
draws in the readers with an exciting entry to the magazine
and it also establishes personal relationships with the
readers.
Also by including a lot of pictures, this would also relate to
my chosen demographic as they may be less literate or may
not enjoy reading.
Moreover my double page feature based on Katy Perry
would gratify the needs of the readers as it would allow the
readers to establish personal relationships with her and it
would allow readers to take away more information about
her and to listen to her music.
Furthermore the use of informal language ‘slang ‘ would
relate to my chosen demographic as that it is the language
used by them. The use of extra punctuation also relates to
my target audience as well as adding excitement to my
feature.
Lastly including a
feature on boy
bands is likely to
draw in my target
audience as they
like boy bands
which further
gratifies their
needs

13. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of
constructing this product?
I have used Photoshop in order to
resize images , crop images, cut
around and trim images, create
backgrounds and so on.
Using Photoshop I was able to
duplicate this image, cut round
it using the quick selection
tool, add a background and
also brighten it up.
Using indesign I was able to
create my magazine fonts and
construct my magazine with
the layouts.
Using a Nikon camera I was able to
carry out my photo shoots for my
magazine.
I was able to use InDesign to create
my masthead designs using the
text tool and the colours.
These were one of the
photos I was able to snap
using this camera. I learnt
how to use the lighting and
the camera during this
process.

14. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you learnt
in the progression from the full product?
• Compared to my preliminary exercise, I have developed my music magazine a lot. It looks much
more professional and the layout of my magazine look much better. With my preliminary exercise I
rushed through the content and even the construction, however my music magazine took much
more time and effort to produce.
Compared to my music magazine, my preliminary
exercise lacks many of the conventions of a music
magazine front cover and is definitely less
conventional.
My contents page also looks very detailed
compared to my preliminary exercise as it
has a lot of detail and is very structured.

15. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you learnt
in the progression from the full product?
• Since the construction of my preliminary front cover and contents page, I have learnt a wide
range of techniques in constructing my music magazine. I have discovered more about the
layout of existing magazines, about their representation and the codes and conventions of
my magazine.
• I have learnt about how to use software's such as InDesign and Adobe Photoshop where I
have cropped images, created a layout for my magazine pages, created textboxes and so on.
• I have been able to have a better understanding of the codes and conventions of a magazine.
• Using InDesign I also learnt how to put two pages together to create a double page spread.
• Overall, the magazine construction processes on InDesign have given me an improved result
for my magazine pages.

16. Conclusion
• In conclusion I think I was able to satisfy my target audience with my product. The use of colours, images
and phrasing enabled me to relate to them with my magazine and allowed me to gratify their needs as a
demographic.
• I was also able to get some video feedback from my target audience and it is explaining their impressions
of my magazine, what attracts them to my magazine, whether my magazine provides a unique selling
point and if they would buy it if I put in in the local newsagents. I also asked whether my magazine looked
suitable for my demographic and if it met their needs.
• If I was able to do anything different, I would have made the font a little clearer, added the price of my
product to allow my audience to identify completely with my magazine. I might have also considered
changing the colour scheme due to taking into consideration the price of printing.
• I was able to get feedback from 25 people to get their opinions on my final product and 96% of my target
audience said they think my magazine gratifies the needs of my target audience.
• One person who filled out my questionnaire said ‘I like the layout and information as well as the pictures’
and another person said ‘ This is a really great magazine and shows hard effort in order to make it
appealing to the target audience.’