Magazine Analysis Research

Exercise: Look at a magazine cover. What can you tell about the type of magazine it is; what kinds of articles it contains; who is likely to read it? Why?

• From the visual elements of this magazine cover, I can tell that this is a nature and environmental magazine. In the cover picture, fruit is visible on the plants in the background, and a blue netting is resting along them. The title indicates the main idea of the magazine, making it clear that their is something accelerating the growth of the fruit plants. In addition, the word "grower" in the title was colored differently from the rest of the title, making this a teaser to plot the articles within the magazine.

• This magazine focuses on the growing of apple and pear plants in Australia. By looking at the cover, it will contain articles about maintaining fruit plants and will possibly propose new methods to make harvesting more feasible. The topics of harvesting, hail damage, and orchard foundations will be considered in the magazine. At the same time, a farming lifestyle is being portrayed through the visual and linguistic elements of the magazine.

• The cover advertises successful growth of fruit plants in Australia, which is something many farmers may struggle with. Therefore, farmers, fruit growers and people who work in the farming or plant industry will be intrigued to read the magazine. In this particular magazine cover, the mode of address is clearly stated, in which the cover states "The official magazine for apple and pear growers in Australia." This targets the main addressee's to be farmers who grow apples and pears in Australia. However, a potential reader is not discouraged to read the magazine if they do not grow the fruit. People who are interested in the subjects of farming and harvesting are also likely to read this magazine due to the contents within it.