Terminologies

Masthead: The title of the magazine, the brand name.

Strapline: This is usually the phrase or a jingle that is associated with the brand or magazine in order to make it recognizable.

Cover mount: This is the free gift stuck to the cover of the front of the magazine to encourage sales.

Sell Lines: The text on the cover of the magazine that helps it to sell the magazine to the audience.

Main Credit Artist: The person responsible for creating and editing the magazine.

Main Image: The main focus of the magazine, giving the insight of the main story within the magazine.

Cover Lines: This tends to be the focus of the image. It is often cantered with a larger font size than the other given information.

Left Third: This is where the cover lines are originally placed. Magazines are stocked on shelves with each magazine overlapping the other with only one-third of the left side is shown. All the info would be shown on this side of the layout so that consumers would quickly attain the information from the magazine.

Barcode: A barcode is on every cover of every magazine. It tells us the price and overall quality of the magazine.

Issue Number: This is placed by the barcode and lets the audience know what issue of the magazine they are buying

Leading: This is the opening paragraph of the magazine. They are usually written in bold letters.

Tracking: The overall space between letters in typeset text. Tracking can be adjusted to tighten or loosen the letter spacing.

Modes Of Address: This means how the text ‘speaks’ to the audience. This also refers to how the text influences the audience. For instance:

Direct mode of address; The model on the page looks directly at you, or the writer directly speaks to you.

Indirect mode of address; The model look away or the writer refers to the people or the public.

Formal mode of address; Using formal phrasing and terminology.

Informal mode of address; Using more conversational and slang language.

Representation: Representation refers how the media text deals and presents gender, age, ethnicity, national and regional identity, social issues and events to an audience. Media texts have the power to shape and audience knowledge and understanding about these important topics.

Stereotyping/Typecasting: A popular belief that people have about particular individuals or groups. This is known as stereotyping.

Typecasting means to hire the same actor/actress repeatedly for the same role. In magazines, people may use pictures of Dwayne Johnson or other wrestler or a well known muscular man for the category of health & fitness.

Web Address: This is the online address of the magazine. Type the address given, and you’ll be directed towards magazine’s official site.

Mise-en_scene: The arrangement scenery, props, etc, on the stage of a theatrical or on set of a film.

Angle: A particular way of approaching or considering an issue.

Composition: This is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ‘ingredients’ in the work of art.

Anchoring: A text that gives meaning to the pictures. For example, a picture of an actress would be anchored by her name and the film she is in.

Connotations: An idea or feeling which a word invokes for a person in addition to its literal or primary meaning.

Conventions: Conventions are expected ways in which codes are organized in a product. Codes are systems of signs which create meaning.