Exposed Magazine Deconstruction

This is exposed magazine, who say that the magazine is 'the definitive entertainment, lifestyle and listings magazine for Sheffield and South Yorkshire established in 2003.' It is a free magazine, which will automatically make people want to pick it up, because people love anything that is free in this day and age! There is a competition to win a Vespa scooter, which is a prize with substantial value, meaning that the readers will enter, and possibly read the rest of the issue. If the competition asks for an email address, then the magazine company can keep them for a possible mailing list to tell the reader about upcoming issues, offers and competitions. The masthead is slightly off kilter, which could be a representation of the type of reader the magazine gets - the alternative character. The image shows two males in a medium close up, with one of the males looking seriously and the other with a slight grin. This could link to the other title on the cover, which says 'Love & Hate' - the serious looking male could be the 'hate' and the smiling male could be the 'love'. Alternatively it could be the name of the duo's band. There is a banner along the bottom, which has links to two social networking sites, which lets the readers connect with the magazine. Just above the banner on the left, it shows a charity which the magazine supports, which could attract readers because they can see the charitable side of the publication which makes them a good magazine. Below the masthead, it says 'spoken to'. It goes on to list who they have interviewed, giving the reader an insight into the content of the most recent issue. If the reader sees and artist which they like, they are more likely to pick the magazine up and be informed about the artist of their preference. With the magazine being free, there has to be advertising included to help the financial cost of producing the publication. In the bottom right hand corner, there is an advert for 'wigs and warpaint', which is possibly a fancy dress company. If this magazine is aimed at the 18-30 age group, then it is most likely that the people reading it are students at a possible university, so advertising fancy dress is a good idea because students love to don a costume and hit the town. Just above this advert is a section of text titles 'Plus'. This tells the reader what else the issue has to offer. If the reader has seen that their favourite artist is in the magazine and that also an event build up is inside, they are twice as likely to read it than if there is nothing that takes their fancy on the cover.