This document discusses various print media and their key features for analysis. It covers magazine covers, print advertisements, film posters, web pages, newspapers, CD covers, and computer game covers. For each medium, it identifies important elements to analyze such as visual codes, layout/design, genre, and purpose. The goal is to understand how each medium conveys information and targets its intended audience through textual and visual elements.

1. AS Media Studies
Analyzing Print Media

3. Magazine Covers
Aim of magazine cover is:
• To attract target audience
• To engage reader by employing appropriate mode of address
• To stand out from other magazines of similar genre
• To suggest the subgenre of the magazine through the masthead, use
of colours, content etc
To engage the attention of the reader through the main image
To offer reasons for reader to buy the magazine through the coverlines
To convey an ideology to the target audience and sell the reader a
lifestyle

4. Masthead
Cover lines
(Puffs)
Dateline
Main image
Main cover line
Barcode
Quick fix
problems
Mode of address is
INFORMAL -chatty
and friendly. It
speaks directly to
the reader.

5. Tips
Identify the textual element.
Justify why it has been used. What is its
purpose.

6. Print Advertisements
Who advertises and why?
• Makers of consumable products e.g. beauty/grooming products – to
encourage the audience to buy.
• Charities – to raise awareness and encourage donations
• Government departments to raise awareness about certain issues e.g.
healthy eating
• Organizers of events e.g. the 2012 Olympics – to boost tickets sales
and promote event to a broad audience.
• Educational establishments – to persuade people to go there for their
studies. They produce a prospectus and additional marketing material
• The media themselves promote products like film posters, CD Covers
etc

7. Canon Image Stabilizer Ad
by Armstrong & Asociados.
By Armstrong & Asociados

9. Lexus Campaign
• Aims to target new audience of younger drivers

10. Mode of Address
Out of the two following adverts which is the hard sell and
soft sell?
Why?

11. Now you see it Now you don’t
Portuguese Advert

13. Key conventions of film posters
Genre indications - the images and copy on the poster will usually give a
clue to the genre of the film.
Iconography - this is another clue to the genre of the film. The objects,
background, clothing and setting will establish the genre of the film.
Promise of pleasure - these are the words and phrases that tell the
audience what they will experience through watching the film, e.g. fear,
laughter, etc.
Star billing - the positioning of the images or the names of the stars on the
poster. Sometimes there is a hierarchy of importance.

14. • Stars - the stars can also give a clue to the genre -
Jennifer Anlston is associated with romantic
comedies and Harrison Ford with action/adventure
films,
• The tag line - this is the memorable phrase or
slogan that becomes associated with the film and
appears on the marketing material
• The image - this will have been carefully chosen
and may suggest the narrative of the film and the
role of the key characters.
• Language and mode of address - this will be
persuasive and often makes use of hyperbole (over
exaggerated language)
• Expert criticism - quotes from newspapers, film
magazines and review! suggesting the quality of the
film and making it a 'must see', '

15. Mark of quality
making
reference to
similar
successful films
The film title is a
hook and
creates an
enigma
These pull
quotes give an
indication of the
quality of the
film. The
publication they
are taken from
will be relevant
to the target
audience.
Awards and
accolades show
the quality of the
film and can
lead to more
people wanting
to go and see
the film.
The slogan, this
creates an
enigma code.
The star rating
suggest the
quality of the film
These images
taken from the
film suggest the
narrative and
genre of the film
and also create
enigma codes.

16. Web pages
What are the key features of a web page?
Navigational features - these are displayed clearly on the web page in order to
help the user to move easily around the site. They are the key areas that the web
designers want the audience to focus on.
Title/banner headline - this works in the same way as headlines in magazines
and newspapers do - it draws in the audience. If the headline is, for example, the
name of a band, then the font style of the banner may give a clue to the music
genre.
Flash elements - these are the animations and moving elements of the site
including rollovers
Banner advertisements - these, along with pop-ups are the most common form
of Internet advertising and appear at the top of web pages. These will sometimes
be examples of contextual advertising and likely to be successful.
Multimedia features - websites will use a mixture of text, images and sound.
External web links – an image or a key word will take a user to another page or
website

17. Newspapers
News Values
The bigger the story the more likely it is to get on the front page
Negativity: Bad news is more exciting and interesting than good news
Unexpectedness: an event that is a shock or out of the ordinary e.g. September the 11th attacks
Unambiguity: events are that are easy to report and are not complex will be higher up the agenda of some
newspapers. Modern wars are often hard to report.
Personalization: news stories that have a human interest angle are more likely to appear in some
newspapers. Readers are interested in celebrities, and stories have more meaning if they are personal.
Proximity: The closer to home the story is the more interested the reader.
Elite nations/People: stories about important people and powerful nations e.g. the USA will be higher up the
agenda.
Two types of newspaper
1 The tabloid (the sun, daily mail etc)
2 The Broadsheet (The Daily Telegraph, The Times etc)
Tabloid are popular and focus on entertainment and more popular stories
Broadsheet cover a wider variety of quality news stories

18. What are the key features of a CD Cover?
A central image: This may be a photograph of the performer or an image related to the theme of
the CD. The iconography surrounding the image and the visual codes may encode clues to the
genre.
Start image: how has the star been constructed on the front cover. A series of visual codes will
create the image and representation of the star. These may include clothing, expression and
colour.
Design and Layout: The design features include things like the style of the font and colour of
fonts as well as other elements of mise-en-scene that create significant meaning.
Genre: The genre may be communicated through a series of images and other visual codes
associated with the style of music. For example Heavy Metal genre music use dark colour and
gothic style fonts and imagery.

19. Computer games covers
What are the key features of a computer game cover?
A central image that attract the attention of the user. If the game is part
of series then the characters and artwork may be similar to previous
editions.
Characters – these may be recognisable to the users of the game.
Narrative – the cover will give narrative teasers and enigmas to
persuade the audience that they want to play the game. They will also
use thumbnail images on the back cover of game play.
Slogan – this will sum up the game
Expert comment as with film posters reviews from computer game
magazines will help entice the audience

20. Analyse Print Based media
15 minutes for each one.
Choose
1 Magazine Cover
1 Print advertisement
1 Film poster
1 Web page
2 Newspaper front covers (1 tabloid and 1 broadsheet)
1 CD Cover
1 Computer game cover
Analyse them commenting on:
Visual codes
Layout and design
Genre