A textual analysis of two soap opera magazine front covers.

1. Soap Opera Genre –
Ancillary Product
Analysis
Name: Jack J Connell
Candidate Number: 1103
Center Name: St. Andrew’s Catholic School
Center Number: 64135
OCR Media Studies – A2 Level
Unit G324: Advanced Portfolio

2. Main Headline:
The verbal code “Mitchells Reunited!” is
spread right across the page in bright
orange and white capital text. The word
‘Mitchells’ is more visible in white as many
potential customers will recognise this
name from the ‘EastEnders’ series. This
stands off from the contrasting black
background making it even more eye
catching so people will see it and will be
interested in the story and will want to
buy the magazine. Also the exclamation
mark creates a sense of excitement.
Masthead:
The masthead is presented in a bright red
colourway that is visible off the
background. It is positioned at the top of
the page so will be one of the first things
that people see when they look at the
cover. The strapline underneath uses the
rule of three “Every story! Every Secret!
Every Week!” which ‘injects’ (Hypodermic
needle theory) the reader with the belief
that this magazine has the best soap
content.
Date/Price:
The date is presented in white font just
above the masthead so that is visible
and it reminds the audience that this
magazine is up to date with the latest
content. The price is also made clear to
the audience as a selling technique.
Cover Lines:
Every picture of characters from the
soap operas has a small cover line
anchoring, hinting at what has
happened and what might happen in
the shows that involve those characters.
Some key words such as “Split!” have
been highlighted in yellow to draw
attention to that story to get the
audience interested. Exciting verbal
codes are also used to make the stories
exciting and engaging such as “Shock!”
The Mitchell’s names are also presented
under their faces in red which has
connotations of danger which is fitting
as they have been photographed with
serious facial expressions.
Main Image:
The non-verbal code of the main
image supports the main headline and
is a high quality photo of some of the
main family members of the Mitchell’s.
They all have severe, serious dominant
facial expressions and along with the
verbal code “Reunited!” this could
suggest that they mean business
which is something a potential
customer would be exited about
making them want to know more
which could make them purchase the
magazine.
Cross Media Convergence:
There isn’t any examples of cross media
convergence on this magazine front
cover. If there was an example of this
convention it would help to promote the
magazine on multiple platforms.

3. Main Headline:
The verbal code of the main headline
“IAN’S GUILT REVEALED!” is displayed
very boldly in an eye-catching manner
with the capital white and purple text
against the blue background. This is a
very grabbing feature on the front cover
which is difficult to avoid so people will
be prompted to look further into the
cover which will create a sense of
interest. This will entice people to
purchase the magazine to find out more.
Masthead:
The verbal code of the masthead is
graphically striking on the cover due
to it’s bright red colours and capital
white text. I would endeavor to
‘repeat’ (Steve Neale) this
convention on my own front cover
as it attracts the audience. It stands
out behind the over conventions
and it almost creates a ‘brand’ for
people to buy.
Date:
The date is clearly presented near the
top of the page where the person who is
viewing the magazine will most likely
look. This will ‘inform’ (Katz) the
audience that this magazine has the
most up to date content about the
featured shows
Cover Lines:
These cover lines also serve as a way to
pull in the audience like the main
headline. These stories aren’t as
important as the main story but are still
potential interesting reads for the
audience so could end up making them
buy the magazine. This “What's on TV”
issue also reveals shocking insights into
the lives of the characters that are in the
soap operas such as “Agony as Donna
dies” in ‘Emmerdale’. Phrases such as
‘agony’ make the cover lines seem like
they are serious and genuine stories
that potential customers would be
interested in.
Main Image:
The technical code of the high quality
medium close up image featured on this
front cover relates directly to the main
headline. These are familiar characters
from ‘EastEnders’ that the audience will
instantly recognize and make a
connection with. The characters facial
expressions connote to the terms
presented in the main headline such as
‘guilt’ which helps to create a story that
people will want to read about. This
picture is the main feature on the page.
Cross Media Convergence:
Like the previous magazine, there still
aren’t any examples of cross media
convergence on this magazine front
cover. I think that this convention is
necessary on a front cover as it makes
the magazine available to a wider
audience.

4. Conventions I would ‘repeat’ – (Steve Neale 1980)
Main Headline: I will ensure that the main headline on my soap opera magazine cover is as eye catching as
possible with the use of bold characters and bright contrasting characters like on “What’s on TV”’s cover.
Masthead: The masthead on my magazine should be clear and distinctive like the masthead on this front cover.
It should consist of one main colour with bold text.
Date: The date should be presented in a clear format where it is easily seen like on this magazine cover as it
informs the audience that the content is the most up to date.
Cover Lines: Over each supporting image there should be a small cover line that will draw interest to that
particular story like in “What’s on TV”.
Main Image: The main image should be a high quality close up of key characters in my soap to support the main
headline.
Magazine Cover 1 – “What’s on TV”
Magazine Cover 2 – “InsideSoap”
Main Headline: I like how the keyword “Mitchells” is highlighted in white to stand out on the cover of
“InsideSoap” and I may consider ‘repeating’ this convention.
Masthead: I would like to ‘repeat’ the positioning of the masthead to how it is on this front cover as it is right
at the top where people are most likely to look.
Date/Price: The date should be positioned near the masthead like on this front cover and the price should also
be clearly displayed as this is a selling technique to the audience.
Cover Lines: I would like to ‘repeat’ how some of the key phrases are highlighted on the cover lines over the
photos on this cover as it creates interest and excitement for the audience.
Main Image: Just like the previous magazine the main image should be a high quality close up shot of some of
the main characters so that their facial expressions are revealed. This also supports the main headline well.