The NME
Above is a double page spread (or ‘feature article’) from the NME magazine. The headline (“USA got the love”) fills the page horizontally. It is very striking because “USA” uses a modern font but “got the love” uses a more old-fashioned font that is more like handwriting. This formatting helps to emphasize that the article is about Florence + the machine and America. The NME Magazine has included ‘got the love’ because it refers to one of the band’s songs and their target audience would automatically recognise it is being a reference to that.
The main image is of the lead singer of the band, which covers up the word ‘USA’ slightly but fills one whole page of the double-page spread. She is sitting on a table that has the USA flag draped over it, which reinforces what the article is about. She is sitting, turned to the left but looking directly at the reader to establish a connection between her and the reader. She is not smiling but pouting instead. The large image shows that readers of the NME view photos as an important part of a magazine.
A ‘lead’ is description that is a few lines long and is meant to introduce the article to the reader and make them want to read on. In this case it is, “She’s 2009’s biggest success story, with America at her feet. So why is Florence Welch lying on the floor attacking herself?” The lead starts with a statement that she is successful; this could be considered a statement to divide opinion. The next and final line of the lead, by contrast, implies that she is not happy. The use of a rhetorical question makes the reader want to read on to find out why Florence Welch is not happy. In other words, it gives them a what-is-in-it-for-me reason to read the article.
One of the most striking bits of formatting is the different font (referred to as an ‘emphasis’) and size of the first letter of the first word in the article. The large letter ‘D’ on its own takes up about seven lines in the font for the main text of the article.
This article uses lots of interesting language to make the article funny and fun to read. For example, “Florence Welch comes spinning into the green room, a tornado of crimson hair”.
Q Magazine
The image on this feature article from Q Magazine has been photographed in the style of a prison/arrest mug shot, probably for comic affect. The band in the photo is wearing masks that cover part of their face. The photo covers the whole of the double page spread, instead of just one page like in the NME.
One of the main criticisms I have of this feature article is the headline. It just says “Friendly Fires”, the band it features, rather than anything about the contents of the article. It gives the reader no reason when they are skimming through to read the article or any idea of what they will get from reading it.
The lead for this feature article is “Mercury nominated trio. Fond of a booty shake”. This lead is good a drawing the reader into the article and sums up who Friendly Fires are.
One thing I really like about this feature article is at the end of the main text of the article. It lists ‘out now’ (the latest release from the band), ‘for fans of’ (fans of other bands that might like that band) and ‘more info’ (the band’s website). I particularly like the ‘for fans of’ because it gives the reader a quick idea of what to expect from a band, particularly a new one. It also reflects the way that friends recommend new music to each other in real life, i.e. when someone mentions a band that they like their friend might tell them about another similar band.
I like the idea of the photo being a mug shot and I also like the ‘for fans of’ idea. I may incorporate both of these into my magazine.
