Textual analysis on ‘Top of the Pops’ magazine front cover

Top of the Pops is a magazine that is targeted at young teens, between the ages of 11 and 15. It is more targeted at girls. The magazine is published by BBC magazines and began publication in 1995. It is a monthly 'gossip' magazine, with some content being dedicated to music. Other features include fashion and celebrity gossip. The magazine is a spin off from the television show. The name 'Top of the Pops' shows that the magazine is the best one you can get for information on pop music.

The lay out has used bright and bold colours to catch attention to the reader. They have used the colour pink which is the dominant colour of the magazine. This is stereotypical of what young girls would like. Any colverlines they have used on the cover are in the colour yellow, whcih is used to attrect the attention of the readers. It also shows 'pester power'. This is because young girls would want this magazine and will pester their parents to get it.The words they have used are quite simple and easy to see and read. This is because again, young girls would read it. The main feature on the front cover of top of the pops magazine is the picture of Cheryl Cole. The image of her is printed over the mast head of the magazine. This shows her dominance within the magazine and the stuff the magazine is about, i.e fashion and music. The is a tag line along the bottom with pictures of the posters which are included inside the magazine. The cover lines are typical of what a magazine for young girls would be. They include fashion items that are relevant to themselves, celebrities which they would know of, eg Miley Cyrus and quizzes which would interest themselves.

They have used lots of different types of fonts on the front cover. It is curvy and interesting fonts which are constantly changing. I think this is in keeping with the 'tone' of the magazine which is relaxed and young. They have used initial words, such as 'OMG'. The magazine is relating to their target audience.

The price of the magazine is £2.30. It appears under neath the bar code. Next to the date and the issue number.