Genre Analysis - Regional Magazine

As stated by Steve Neale 'Genres are instances of repetition and difference' He adds that 'difference is absolutely essential to the economy of genre'. One pleasure may simply the recognition of the features of a particular genre because of our familiarity with it. Recognition of what is likely to be important (and what is not), derived from our knowledge of the genre, is necessary in order to attract an audience. There is many codes and conventions that ill need to follow in order for my regional magazine to be successful. There is a stereotypical age which is the main audience for regional magazines and this is something ill need to take into consideration. After doing a lot of researching in surrounding competitors (Cornwall Today, Devon Life and Coast) I have got a lot of inspiration from these magazines and gained more of a knowledge about vital codes and conventions that I need to include in my regional magazine.


I looked at this cover from Cornwall today and analysed many of its features such as the main image, masthead, content, layout and even the colour scheme so I can see what codes and conventions work on a successful regional magazine. Cornwall Today follows a lot of common conventions as they have the main mage standing out and dominating the majority of the cover while surround the image is content and the other features of the magazine. Furthermore, the colour pallet is very powering from the main image and all the content from the articles and the masthead contrast the image well to make them stand out too.








Another magazine I looked at was Coast. Again I analysed all the same features of the cover to try and contrast and find similarities between the two. Coast explores similar features to Cornwall Today as they also have all of the text and content surrounding the main image in order for the audience to view the main image more and then to explore the other features. Looking at the other features they all seem to meet common codes and conventions of regional magazines and the colour palette works well with the different shades of blue consummating to make the magazine look professional. Even though this cover is less formal than the previous one it still attracts there genre and target audience well

In conclusion, looking at the common codes and conventions these magazines uses, the masthead dominates the top 1/8th of the cover many of this are white but coast breaks that convention in order to fit into there colour palette but all the mastheads contrast the main image and stand out to the consumer. Also, the main image is supposed to dominant the cover with the all the content and text surrounding the main image to allow the consumer to view the main image first. The main image is normally a place of nature and beauty to catch the consumers attention.