Analysis of two contents pages

This NME contents page includes a list of all of the artists featured in the magazine in alphabetical order, as well as giving the page numbers as indication of where the artists are mentioned. By doing this, when someone who has picked up the magazine in a shop specifically to see whether a certain band is mentioned, there is no chance of them getting fed up of looking on every page to see whereabouts they are and putting the magazine down. There is a small article in the middle of the page to give readers a taster of the rest of the magazine, which will make them want to read on.  The magazine describes it interview with one artist as ‘the only interview’ making readers think that they never have, and never will, get a chance to read another one like it. There are arrows next to some of the feature titles which say ‘on the cover’. This way, people whose attention has been grabbed by something specific on the cover do not have to bother taking the time to read through every single heading to find the one they are looking for. There is a big red arrow at the bottom with some text in it which is against a white background, making it stand out. The writing says ‘The UK’s number one gig guide’ which implies that readers wont find a better one anywhere else.There is a box at the bottom on the page, in the center so that it grabs our attention, which says ‘subscribe today for just £5.57 a month*’. However, the little star at the end of that sentence is an indication that it is almost definitely going to cost more than that, but by this point the magazine already has the reader’s interest.

 

This Kerrang! contents page uses pictures to grab reader interest in features and articles. Our attention is first drawn to the pictures, and then we want to read the text underneath to know the story behind them. At the top of the page there is a note from the editor, making it feel more personal as if we have a friend in the magazine because someone has taken the time to write a little note. There is also an amusing quote from a popular artist of this rock genre at the top of the page. Underneath the quote it says to read on to find out what else the artist has said. This encourages people to read on, even though the most amusing thing said has probably already been mentioned to grab their attention.