MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

Media Magazine Evaluation

Brief:
For my coursework, I was assigned the task to create a brand new magazine
aimed at a specific audience of my choosing. I had to create a front cover,
contents page and double-page spread for this magazine, including block
designs and mock-up designs (with pictures sourced from the internet) as well as
the real design, using my own original photography. In spite of this, I assembled
a sports magazine (specifically football) which I named The 12 th Man.

Research:
Before I could get started with my magazine, I firstly had to research other
magazines in my line of genre and examine their front covers, contents pages,
double page feature articles, websites and also an editor letter, all in what is
called Research for Pre-Production, which came in the form of a powerpoint. I
selected FourFourTwo, a renowned football magazine published in the UK which
has around 60,000 readers a month. Alongside that, I selected another football
magazine called WorldSoccer, with around 30,000 readers a month. Firstly, I
annotated the front covers of both FourFourTwo and WorldSoccer and came to
grips with the type of front cover I would need. I finalised that I needed a popular
cover star dressed in footballing attire and I needed to obtain a footballing
stance or pose. My masthead and headline had to be relevant within the world of
football and be able to use footballing jargon in a way so that my target audience
would be interested.
Both front covers exhibited that most of the page had to be filled with news to
make the magazine seem packed with lots of information. There had to be
relevant stories as well such as on the FourFourTwo cover where former
footballers and current footballers were mentioned such as Matthew Le Tissier
and Wesley Sneijder. I saw an extensive use of colour to attract the audience
however the magazine also had to stick to a specific colour scheme so the
magazine looked sharp and crisp. Generic Conventions I found were retained
within connotations of football, such as the motto of World Soccer (ahead of the
game since 1960) and extensively once more through footballing jargon, such
as manager, player, Champions league and playmakers. These front covers
left space for the cover star, and all news and articles were pushed to one side,
which helped me in the process of making block designs of my front cover.
Additionally, I researched the websites of the two magazines and found
contrasting results. The FourFourTwo website had lots of interesting articles both
formal and informal, with a site that not only looks good but is easy to navigate
around, whereas the WorldSoccer website had irrelevant advertising and much
less content although it was still adequate. This influenced my decision-making
in the magazine to make my magazine fulfil more of the criteria that FourFourTwo
have assessed, to have a magazine similar to theirs. From here, I researched a

Page 1 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

contents page and a feature article from FourFourTwo, which highlighted many
generic conventions.
On the contents page, there was evidence which already existed in the front
cover which was of camera shots. Majority of pictures found in FourFourTwo and
WorldSoccer were medium shots or longshots. This aided me in my plans for the
magazine as it gave me specified pictures to go and obtain and use. These
helped me to make my magazine look better, and have a more professional
visualisation. The contents page for FourFourTwo included sections, split up and
colour-coded, which enhanced easier reading as it narrowed down pages into
topics, which would sort different articles and their topics a great amount. It
allowed for that easier sense of navigation likewise with the website which
helped me to make my designs look smooth.
I could not find an editors letter from FourFourTwo or WorldSoccer, so I analysed
an editors letter from a music magazine. Although not useful in my actual
designs, it helped me understand the way an article should be wrote in the sense
that if it should be written informally to connect with the audience (in which it
does) or formal, to convey professionalism within my magazine.
From looking at the feature article, I managed to come across techniques which
would help for the plans on my double-page spread. These techniques were
ideas such as:

Keeping my article snappy and informative, covering multiple subjects

and not droning on about one thing.
Making my article stand out with a colour scheme
Overlaying pictures, to give a visual interpretation of what the audience
would be reading
Direct medium shots, looking towards the audience and if not performing
some sort of action
Text that is readable and not colour-conflicting

This research overall was successful in helping me to understand what

properties/components there are in a magazine, and I used this research to my
advantage when creating the magazine.

Target Audience:
During the Research for Pre-Production, I also managed to forge an Audience
Specification for both FourFourTwo and WorldSoccer to evoke/profile the type of
audience I would be targeting my magazine towards. I based the results on six
different topics, being gender, age, likes, favourite TV show/radio broadcast,
favourite film and hobbies. These results were fairly similar, and were shown as
below:
FourFourTwo Audience Profile:

Gender: Majority Male, few female

Age: 15-45
Likes: Football, Sport

Page 2 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

Favourite TV Show/Radio Broadcast: Match Of The Day, Monday Night

Football, Super Sunday, talkSPORT, Soccer AM, SoccerSaturday, Sky Sports
News
Favourite Film: GOAL!, Bend It Like Beckham, A Shot At Glory
Hobbies: Playing/discussing football, journalism, watching/going to football
matches.

WorldSoccer Audience Profile:

Gender: Majority Male, few female

Age: 15-45
Likes: Football, Sport
Favourite TV Show/Radio Broadcast: Match Of The Day, Monday Night
Football, Super Sunday, talkSPORT, Soccer AM, SoccerSaturday, Sky Sports
News
Favourite Film: GOAL!, Bend It Like Beckham, A Shot At Glory
Hobbies: Playing/discussing football, journalism, watching/going to football
matches.

Questionnaires:
When I was close to finishing my Research for Pre-Production, I conducted a
survey (via Google Forms) for my classmates to answer and give their
ideas/views. I conducted these surveys to gain an additional point of view (based
on select individuals) on what should be included within my magazine and what
singular properties like price would look like to both people in my target audience
and people who do not like watching football, so I can gain juxtaposing ideas and
collaborate those ideas as a collective to make the magazine as interesting for
members outside my target audience as well as in my general target audience. I
asked these questions on the survey and gathered the responses:
1.
2.
3.

4.

Do you follow football? (Yes/No) (75% yes, 25% no)

Do you buy football magazines? (Yes/No) (50% yes, 50% no)
What would you expect to find within a football magazine? (Type answer)
Interviews, Transfer News
Interviews with players, minigames and match previews
Team info and game previews, something to do with video games as well
Football Players and recent scores
How much would you pay for a football magazine? (0.00 = 0%, 1.00 =
0%, 2.00 = 25%, 3.00 = 50%, 4.00 = 25%, 5.00 = 0%, More = 0%)
5. Would you expect any freebies with the magazine? (Yes/No) (100% Yes, 0%
No)
6. What topics would you like to see covered in the magazine?
Player/Manager Interviews = 75%
Team Information = 100%
Match Previews = 100%
Quizzes = 25%
Other = 25%
7. What would make the magazine attractive to you?
Interesting Players
Page 3 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

A picture of a footballer or team I like

A well-known cover star, relations to fifa and relevant stories.
Images of footballers on the front

*this survey can be found in the Research for Pre-Production powerpoint

The majority of results I received from the questionnaire were asking for relevant
stories, freebies, and see players interviewed and on the front cover. The price
that was requested was around 3 to 4 and this helped influence my decision in
the pricing on the actual magazine front cover. I also took this advice from the
survey into account by displaying a player on the front of my magazine and
interviewing the player. These decisions helped me to sculpt more of a
connection between the magazine and the audience and make it as entertaining
as possible.

Mock-Ups:
Before I created my real magazine, I created a series of mock-ups, drafted
versions using pictures from the internet for the front cover, contents page and
double-page spread. These mock-ups included a cover star, side stories, contents
and an article just like any other magazine would, however just a lightened down
version. I received feedback from my target audience on how to improve these
mock-ups when it came to the real designs, and this feedback gave me a broader
idea of what I should include in my real magazine.

I received feedback from both my

classmates and teacher, who initially told
me how I could improve my front cover. I
received comments about the masthead,
which could be outlined to make it bolder and stand out a
bit more. My colour scheme could have been improved to show a bit more
consistency across all pieces, instead of new colour schemes on different pages,
the magazine should flow. On my contents page, I received feedback to give
more space to my page numbers and text alongside that, because it was a little
bit cramped in comparison to the pictures, improving this would allow easier
accessibility. Again, make everything fit into one colour scheme. On my double
Page 4 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

page spread, I received feedback to use more than one picture, use a subheading and include captions on these additional pictures, so there is not just
one bland article. Doing these would make my magazine follow more generic
conventions of sporting magazines. I was also asked to conduct an interview with
the person the story is about to offer up the uses and gratifications theory to
inevitably help me obtain extra marks.

My magazine offers a variety of aspects of the uses and gratifications theory,

these are:

Escapism Escaping into another world away from problems/work/social

life
Personal Relationships Building relationships with celebrities/famous
people via interviews
Voyeurism Looking into other peoples lives

My magazine includes escapism because it allows my target audience to escape

from the real world and diverse into a more sporting environment, one in which
they could not obtain. Personal relationships are offered as the audience can
learn more about their favourite sportsmen/women through reading interviews
and Q&As, all of which are showcased in the double page spread. Finally,
Voyeurism is offered to my target audience as they are able to see into the
sportsmen/womens lives and learn new facts that they may have not known
before. My magazine does not utilise all of the uses and gratifications from the
theorem on the basis that it was a football magazine so therefore could not
include uses such as Personal Identify or Surveillance, because a football
magazine cannot teach you about the world nor can you relate to the sports
men/women presented on the magazine. This is because they live quite high
profile, in the limelight lives and my target audience does not.

Analysing my own work:

In this section I will be analysing my own real magazines and explain why I made
the decisions I made, what certain aspects connote and how it follows generic
conventions of a standard sporting magazine.
1. Connotations of title:
Front Cover:
I chose to call my magazine The 12th Man because there are 11 players on one
football team (on the pitch) and by reading this magazine the audience will feel
they have become the 12th Man, therefore, they feel involved. The 12th Man
connotes that the magazine is increasingly aimed at a male audience as evident
from the word man and this footballing jargon can directly be exhibited to
specific individuals who are familiar with the fact that there are 11 players in a
football team., so forth eliminating most other audiences from the very
beginning. The masthead follows generic conventions of other football

Page 5 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

magazines such as FourFourTwo which is aimed towards men as their masthead
also uses footballing jargon to target a specific audience, predominantly male.
Contents Page:
My contents page is titled by the word contents which denotes that the reader
is on the contents page.
Double-Page Spread:
My double-page spread is titled by the headline Breaking onto the Scene. This
connotes the thought of something new and young which then relates to my
article.
2. Colours and Connotations:
Front Cover:
The colour scheme I used on my front cover is mainly red and white. This is
because these colours connote the English football team who are associated with
red and white as these are colours used on the English flag. I have also used
black to outline certain parts of the front cover as I want these parts to stand out
and catch my audiences eye. I also wanted to use black as the outline (stroke
feature on Photoshop) connoted a cartoony look which links to my main article
about a child, (in footballing terms, the age of 15 is similar to that of a child) as
children like cartoons. Also, using red, white and black follow generic conventions
as many football magazines use these colours because they are primary colours,
direct, bold and eye catching. I used green in the background because this
connotes grass, hence mirroring a football pitch. Using juxtaposing colours such
as yellow and orange do not match generic conventions at all and would
consequently not be as useful.
Contents Page:
For my contents page, I again used red and white as my colour scheme. This is
because as mentioned before, red and white connote the English flag, hence also
the English football team. This also draws attention to the fact that the magazine
is the English football team edition. This follows generic conventions in other
magazine contents pages because of the predominant use of white as a
background, and red to highlight the key topics covered in the magazine.

Double-Page Spread:
On my double-page spread, I used the colours of red white and blue, which
connotes the English football team badge, and are very juxtaposing, which
creates a sense of balance. The colours individually connote calm and direct
feelings, and the red is used in the text to indicate questions asked during the
interview. This is a generic convention in other magazines to become eyecatching, vibrant and again also indicate questions to differentiate from answers
in interviews.
Page 6 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

3. Font sizes and why you chose them:
Front Cover:
I chose to use large font sizes for the masthead and main headline. This is
because I felt these were the main pieces of information that would persuade my
audience to read the magazine. If they were walking in a shop, I would want
them to see the masthead and headline first as it would persuade them to read
further. This is a generic convention of all magazines and also a selling
technique as well. I chose smaller fonts for the sub-headings as they were
featured less within the magazine.
Contents Page:
On my contents page, I chose to use large fonts to indicate to the reader and my
target audience that they had landed on the contents page. This is a generic
convention of other magazines because they all have a large title called contents
to make reference to the page itself. I also used a similar font size on the date to
ensure the reader has the latest edition. This is a generic convention alike in
other magazines because the monthly issue is very important in categorizing the
latest magazines. I used the same size font across the social networks and the
page numbers to promote the magazine and to let the reader know what articles
are on different pages, a generic convention in if not every magazine.
Double-Page Spread:
On my double-page spread, I used a large font size for the headline. This
connotes that the article is important and it is an integral part of the magazine.
This is a generic convention because headlines are supposed to draw your
attention and be related to the main article. I also used a somewhat large font
for the sub-heading, to give the readers a taste of what the article is about. I
used an even smaller font for the text as this format is a generic convention for
articles in other magazines, for the fonts to get progressively smaller.

4. Camera shot choices and what they connote:

Front Cover:
For my main image, I have chosen to use a medium longshot of the model who
was representing the sportsman in my main article. My model is wearing an
England football shirt which connotes the magazine is about football, and
connotes that the magazine has something to do with the Three Lions (England
football team). It also follows generic conventions as all football magazines
include footballers wearing their club/country jerseys on the front cover. I also
used a picture of grass in the background as this connotes a football pitch. I used
a small close-up of football boots on the front cover as it connotes what genre
the magazine is. It is also a low angle shot which portrays them as bigger and
connotes that football is powerful.
Contents Page:
For my contents page, I used a longshot to fit in the whole of the body of the
cover star. This is also to obtain the image of the football so create the image of
the cover star playing football, which directs back to the generic conventions of a
Page 7 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

sporting magazine where the protagonist is normally shown in full performing a
stance/action. This then connotes that for sport, you need all of your body. It is
wholesome.
Double-Page Spread:
For my double-page spread, I used again another longshot to utilise the full body
of the cover star. I slightly placed the cover star over the page number tab to
make it seem three-dimensional and connote that the protagonist is coming out
to you, just like the article to pose similar effects and build the personal
relationship from the uses and gratifications theorem. This is a generic
convention in most magazines to make you see the full image which would
normally be displayed in fashion magazines.
5. What images you chose and why:
Front Cover:
The main image on my front cover is inspirational as it is of a 15 year old boy.
This is because my main article is about a 15 year old boy, but also shows that
you can reach your dreams at any age if you persevere and work hard so is
therefore inspirational.

Contents Page:
My contents page image is of the protagonist kicking the ball. This connotes that
he is playing football and is an example of mise-en-scene, likewise is a generic
convention across every sporting magazine.
Double-Page Spread:
My double-page spread image is again of the protagonist kicking the ball and
these connotations and generic conventions are mirrored and mentioned in the
contents page explanation.
6. How does your front cover speak to the audience?
Front Cover:
My front cover speaks to my target audience in a chatty, however informative
way. This would convince them to read the magazine as they feel they are
involved and can easily read the magazine. The audience would feel relaxed
when reading it (which is how they want to feel) as they do not need to put much
effort into reading.
Contents Page:
My contents page speaks to the audience again in a chatty, however informal
way. These ideas are brought to mind by the standard article numbers but then
juxtaposed/contrasted by the stay connected tab, which is very social and chatty.
This once more makes the reader feel more relaxed, which is a generic
convention in football magazines, they arent extremely serious, and are kept for
reading leisure.
Page 8 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

Double-Page Spread:
My double-page spread speaks to the audience in an informative way because it
is an article. This is solely the purpose of an article, to inform, however the
interview basis is quite chatty to develop the personal relationship from reader to
protagonist/featured star, making the article a lot more gripping.
7. How does your text use the uses and gratifications theory to offer the
target audience satisfaction?
Front Cover:
My front cover utilises the uses and gratifications theory correctly in use of
voyeurism to show the target audience that they too can be successful at any
age, this ties in with the inspirational theme presented in the image on the front
cover. This makes the audience feel pleased to look into other peoples lives.
Contents Page:
(This section does not really achieve the uses and gratifications theory as the
page is normally directed to other pages. N/A. See Front Cover or Double-Page
Spread.
Double-Page Spread:
My double-page spread succeeds in offering the target audience satisfaction by
presenting the youthful cover star again as an inspirational figure and aids in
developing personal relationships. This is discovered from the interview, where
you get to learn more about the player.
8. Does your text play on any audience needs?
Front Cover:
My front cover does play on my audiences needs, based from Maslows
hierarchy of needs. (Physiological needs, Safety, Love/belonging, Esteem and
self-actualization) It plays on their social needs as it tells them about the latest
football news. This makes the target audience feel they need the magazine to
make them fit into their social group as without they would not know the latest
news and would be left out of many conversations that involve it. It also plays on
their esteem needs as it includes a photo of a successful 15 year old boy, this
shows that anyone can be successful which would make them feel better about
themselves and more confident in reaching their dream.
Contents Page:
Again, N/A.
Double-Page Spread:
My double-page spread plays on the audiences social needs in belonging to a
group because footballers are a select group of people with a talent in their
profession, which not many people can have. It also plays on esteem needs that
because again it may help achieve certain goals as there is an inspirational
individual featured.
9. Layout:
Page 9 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

Front Cover:
I have laid my magazine out in a simple way on the front cover as this follows
generic conventions of football magazines. Most magazines have a main image
in the centre then a few cover-lines around the edge, this is what I exemplified.
Football magazines also have one main cover-line in bolder writing which I also
did on my magazine to follow generic conventions.
Contents Page:
I have laid out my contents page in a way that clearly presents the page
numbers and their stories alongside each other with a bold heading which clearly
represents that the reader is on the contents page. I have put a picture to use up
blank space, and distributed layers evenly to create balance.
Double-Page Spread:
I have laid out my double-page spread so that there is a large picture on the right
hand side to illustrate who the article is about/who it involves. I have put text
onto the left side and made it into columns to give it an article feel, I have also
placed the text just up to halfway so it looks good when in a printed version.
Headline and sub-heading follow above, just like a traditional article, this would
be a generic convention.
10. Does your magazine use enigma?
Front Cover:
My front-cover does use enigma, I used cover-lines which give the audience a
taster of what will be inside the magazine and also describe what will be in the
main article which encourage my target audience to read on.
Contents Page:
My contents page does use enigma, it uses a short caption under the picture to
build up tension to the main article.
Double-Page Spread:
My double-page spread does also use enigma, which is showcased in the subheading predominantly, as it gives you a taster of what the article is about.

11. How does your magazine compare to a professional piece?

My magazine in comparison to FourFourTwo, the magazine I previously discussed
does share generic conventions of a sporting (football) magazine, with
differences too.

Page 10 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

As you
can see
from
the two magazine covers above, the
masthead is the same colour, and very bold to catch the eye of the reader. There
is one large protagonist/cover star that takes up the space of the front cover,
who has something to do with football, either holding or kicking a football, and
wearing a football jersey, this is another generic convention. There are multiple
relevant sub-headings, such as interviews with other players and competitions to
win prizes, which may be a beneficial selling point in the magazine. There is
again use of a barcode and price tag, this time a generic convention across all
magazines. Both magazines additionally present a main article coverline/headline followed up by a short, relevant sub-heading which explains the
main article further. There is also a coloured background so the magazine cover
doesnt look too empty or plain. There is predominant colour scheme flowing
through both magazines, these being red, white and black, which may have
some relevance to the edition as seen on my magazine or just to look bold and
direct to catch the attention of the reader as seen in the FourFourTwo front cover.
There are also some visible differences between the two front covers being that
space is more adequately used on the professional piece to make the magazine
look packed with information and stories, one feature I think my magazine should
have done a bit better with. However, I had a banner on my magazine which was
visible and directed readers to an extra site for more information, and
FourFourTwo only has a small website placed just above the masthead. My
magazine uses the stroke feature on Photoshop to outline all of the layers which
gives them a cutting edge in appearance compared to the competitors.
FourFourTwo have used several different fonts to enhance the variety in the
magazine, which is something I did not do, trying to keep consistency with the
same font throughout.

Overall, I believe my magazine was a very good attempt at dispelling a

professional rival, and I am pleased with my efforts in regards to what I have
created and researched within this coursework.
Page 11 of 12

MEDIA EVALUATION Luke Debono

Page 12 of 12