Form research

Form research

What to include in a magazine

• Cover page• Contents• Articles on featured celebrities • Rule of thirds• Advertisements• Kicker• Lead story• Confessions page (always in a pop magazine)

Cover page

What to include

Shows that the magazine includes an ‘exclusive’ story

Main image

Price and barcode

Lead story/Splash

Rule of thirds

• Used to set out main points and draw the viewer’s eye to the main focus

• A set of nine boxes are placed as thirds, the photographer wants the viewer to focus on the image

Example:

How are magazines constructed?• By-line - the name of the reporter, if they are important its often included at

the beginning of the feature, instead of at the end. • Caption - text under photos which explain the image. • Credits - the author of a feature might be given credit. Photos might have

the name of the person who took them or the agency that supplied them underneath the photo.

• Crosshead - this is a subheading that appears in the body of the text and is centred above the column of text. If it is to one side then it is called a side-head.

• Exclusive - this means that the magazine and no one else can cover the story. The magazine will pay their interviewees, buying the story so it cannot be used by another magazine.

• Feature - not necessarily a 'news' item (current celebrity affairs), but usually with a interesting story which is presented as a double paged spread.

• Headline - this is the main statement, usually in the largest and boldest font, describing the main story.

• Masthead - is the title block or logo identifying the magazine at the top of the front-page. Sometimes a motto is also placed with the masthead.

• Contents – what is inside the magazine• Splash - the splash is the main story on the front of the paper.

The largest headline will accompany this, along with a photo. • Spread - a story that covers more than one page. • Stand first - this is an introduction to the paragraph before

the start of the feature. Sometimes it might be in bold.• Strapline - this is an introductory headline below the

headline. • Tag - a word or phrase used to engage a reader's interest in a

story by categorising it e.g. 'Exclusive', 'Sensational'.

Source of research -