The image on the cover is that of a man in a grey hoodie that shades most of his face. It is obvious the man is looking directly at the camera; however you cannot see his eyes, causing the image to be intimidating. The only facial features the audience can see is the man’s nose, mouth and chin, the rest is shaded. The magazine’s iconic title is covered by the man’s head, showing that the “Rolling Stone” magazine expects its readership to be familiar with the title and they also expect those people who do not frequently buy the magazine to be drawn in primarily by the menacing image. The name of the man on the cover is printed in large white font which stands out against the dark grey background. This is the largest print on the magazine, a part from the mostly obscured title, so the magazine expect him, rapper Eminem, to be a large draw for this issue and that people who would not normally buy Rolling Stone would purchase it because of him.
The next largest text, other than the title of the article on Eminem, is the names of two other very well-known musical sensations: Bruce Springsteen and Kanye West. This shows that the magazines readership spans a large age spectrum, from 18 to late 40’s. This is also shown in the other cover story, “fraud at the heart of the mortgage meltdown”. This story would appeal to reformers and others who are politically and economically active, not to young people. I predict that this magazine has a demographic profile of ABC1, as it is definitely tapping into the more intellectual audience, however it contains stories about Eminem and Kanye West who are both popular amongst a working class C2D demographic. This could be because these artists are trying to market themselves to a more middle class audience to expand their audience appeal.
The use of colour is sparing and effective as it leaves the magazine uncluttered and minimalistic. The only colours that appear on the magazine are white and pink, with a dark grey background. This keeps the attention on the text and the image rather than a multitude of bright distracting colours. This is also appropriate for the audience, who are more mature and so will be less inclined to buy a magazine that has loud colours on it.
There are three images that run down the left side of the contents page, clearly showing the magazines wide demographic. The top image is of MCR front man Gerard Way performing onstage, head banging. This image is the largest and also the most colourful, portraying a youthful image for the magazine. This contrasts with the middle image, which depicts Bruno Mars in black and white, playing a piano. This shows the magazine as more serious and middle class. This image is also the smallest of the three. The bottom image is of a sombre looking Barak Obama. This once again shows the magazine as being more middle class, but this time also shows the magazine appealing to reformers and politically minded people.
The text is split into 4 sections: features, national affairs, departments, and an untitled section that contains regular articles such as letters and reviews. The largest text on the page is the title, “Contents”, which is in an eye-catching red banner and written in white text in the same bold font as the text on the cover, showing consistency and establishing a house style. The heading of each segment is written in red text, catching the attention of the reader, as is the page of number of the articles. The titles of the articles are in bold black font, with a small summary of the article in smaller font. Interestingly, the page doesn’t list each article in the magazine as many contents pages do, leaving out one of the articles advertised on the cover. This causes the prospective buyer to have to flick through the magazine to find that article; therefore they may be more likely to buy it if they see other articles they are interested in as they scan the pages.
Running along the top of the double page feature article are two black lines, one thick one thin, interrupted with a small title in block capitals: “Eminem”. There are three small images on the page, all in the top left of the right page. The largest picture is black and white, showing Eminem when he first became successful; the second is smaller and in colour, showing Eminem performing with Jay-Z; and the third is the smallest picture, also in colour, showing Eminem with his late best friend, Proof. This sets the tone of the article, showing it is not going to be light hearted and purely for promoting a new album, but serious and exploring the whole of his life.
The text is in six columns, the first paragraph with a drop-cap “U” expanding over two columns and written in larger font to the rest of the article. There is one pull quote at the bottom of the second paragraph, which would attract the interest of the reader if they were flicking through the magazine. The quote is surrounded by the same black lines that run along the top of the pages and is in large black font. The most gripping part of the quote is written in capitals, so the reader has no chance of missing it.
The first paragraph of text is written like a story, which is unusual and would capture the attention of a reader as it doesn’t sound like the average magazine article. The article contains emotive language, such as “delicate” and “guzzles”, continuing the story-like tone of the article and setting a strong house style for the magazine. The article is a mixture of question and answer and a history of the artist, the questions written in italics to distinguish them from the main body of the article.
In the centre of the two pages is a tear-out slip so the reader can subscribe to the magazine. This shows that the magazine knows some people may buy the magazine purely because Eminem is on the cover and if they like what they read they may want to subscribe to it.
The rest of the magazine contains articles about new musicians, such as Bruno Mars, and well established artists, for example Phil Collins and Bruce Springsteen. It also contains articles on the recent mid-term elections in America, as this magazine is an American publication, as well as a piece on the world-wide economic collapse. There are 38 pages of adverts in this magazine, mostly for television shows, other magazines and music gigs.
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