Deconstruction of article within the magazine 'TV Choice' for A2 media studies coursework.

1. Deconstruction of TV Listings
Magazine Article
On the documentary ‘Don’t Stop the
Music’

3. The main title of the article is different to the title of the documentary, but of the
same musical theme to introduce its context at a glace. I could do this for my own
product to introduce and engage people with my theme. The title uses alliteration
and is short and sharp in order to be eye-catching.
Information of scheduling and where to find the documentary is clearly presented
by a large font and bright yellow background at the start of the article so that it's
easy to find. This article is within the 'Factual' category of the magazine, showing
that documentaries are appropriate for this exhibitor, although the article only takes
up half of an A4 page, is in the middle of the magazine at page 13, and this is the
only documentary article presented, suggesting that this exhibitor may not be
appropriate for my ancillary product.

4. The writing style is informal due to the language
such as 'chucked', which indicates that the
readers are most likely less formal and literate,
which may not be appropriate for my
documentary as I am using formal language. A
weakness is that the documentary's main
character also uses quite formal language, so
perhaps their distributor has targeted their
product at the wrong audience by choosing this
exhibitor.
There is an intertextual reference to pop
culture with 'Simon Cowell' linking to the X
Factor. This indicates TV Choice's audience's
generic pleasures and interests, which I could
link to my own ancillary product to engage
with this audience.

5. There is a blue house style for the article border, background fill, and image, which matches
the school uniform of the children so that it is aesthetically pleasing and stylistic, and is also a
primary colour to represent a primary school which is the setting of the documentary,
introducing it. Blue also links to the main character's tragic background which the article
discusses, presenting his depression effectively and making the images and text flow together.

6. In the image, there are children standing around a piano as this is
the theme of the documentary, allowing the large image to
introduce it at a glance. This will also engage parent readers, as they
can relate to having school children this age themselves, which is
effective for attracting audiences.

7. The article is introduced by stating a popular
previous product from the producers of this
documentary in order to attract audiences
familiar with it and to create a well-known
brand. Although I am unable to do this myself
as I have no previous products, I can utilise the
brand of my popular exhibitor, Channel 4, to
achieve a similar effect.
The article uses a large font to summarise
the aim/ plot of the documentary, and is
informally written with another reference
to pop culture - 'Tinie Tempah', further
identifying the type of audience which the
article is trying to engage with from this
exhibitor. From watching the
documentary myself, I could criticise that
its reference to Tinie Tempah is
misleading, as the music in the
documentary is mainly within the classical
genre rather than pop.

8. There is a large star shape
and font to show that the
documentary is a new
programme, in an eye-catching
way which will
gain interest and attract
its audience.
The smaller image which
shows the documentary's
main character adds
context to the plot of the
documentary. It also adds
professionalism to the
documentary by
presenting the main
character's credentials, as
he performs
professionally for
audiences in London.
There are photo credits at the side of the
article border, and the article's author is
written in bold at the end of the article
within the textbox. The characters within
the image are also credited within the
image itself. This has allowed me to
understand the format of TV listings
magazine articles.

9. This magazine is mainly targeted at women due to the dominance of soap operas
throughout the magazine, which are also targeted to female audiences. Therefore
the main character's tragic background has been incorporated into the article to
evoke empathy from stereotypically sympathetic female readers, engaging them
with his character and the documentary. It also adds context and meaning to the
plot of the documentary, making it stronger and more powerful. A weakness is
this section of the article doesn't explain the content of the documentary with
much detail, however it could be argued that it creates an enigma, encouraging
the audience to view it.

10. The end of the article invites the reader to
become involved with the didactic plot of the
documentary by donating instruments to
schools. This engages them with the
documentary, making them more likely to view
it.