Magazine Analysis

In the journalism world, magazines are one of the most specific mediums out there. They have the option of catering to basically anyone they want, as long as they can receive subscriptions from the category of people that they desire. Therefore, in order to peak the interest of the appropriate audience, magazines use their cover and featured stories to indicate who they are looking for. Their stories can divide the reading public into categories of what people are most likely to wish to read about at a certain age. I have chosen three different magazines to analyze; the December 2007 issue of "Cosmopolitan", December 2007 issue of "Redbook", and November 2007 issue of "Good Housekeeping". It is true that these magazines share a similar general audience of women, but are categorically separated by age group.

"Cosmopolitan" caters to the youngest age group out of these magazines; teens and early to middle twenties. The featured celebrity on the cover is pictured down to the thighs in a sexually motivated pose and revealing outfit. This relates to the cover stories where four out of seven are about sexual issues. And it is obvious that a younger age group would be more likely to wish to read about sexual issues. The other stories and sections not on the cover are mostly beauty related, as younger readers are more likely to be self conscious than older readers. There is a rather large section on how to choose and choosing the best men, along with changing the man that is already in your life according to your wants and needs. A younger man is more likely than an older man to be willing to change according to their partners' standards. The section containing celebrity interviews includes a piece about a young male actor who is going to be in a major film being released in December. Even the women portrayed in the advertisements are geared towards younger readers; as they are mostly younger women in their early twenties. "Cosmopolitan" is also the only of these three magazines to have a significant amount of technology advertisements. Every aspect of information is geared towards a younger female reader.

"Redbook" wishes to attract the middle group of women that is finished with their education, and either has not made a family yet or has a very young children. The featured celebrity picture on the cover is closer than "Cosmopolitan" and goes down to about the waist, but is still fairly revealing. This portrays someone who has matured in her dress so that they are thought of well in an adult world but still wants to be desired physically. The cover stories contain none of a sexual nature, and focus on reducing/dealing with stress and beauty/fashion, because at this age women have most likely become comfortable with their sexual lifestyle and since they are getting a little older they might have undesired stress. This stress could come from the task of building a family or trying to find one. The major sections inside include much on boosting your beauty for women who are getting slightly older, and health/stress stories that feature women who have and know how to succeed in adjusting to family life. The advertisements in "Redbook" portray slightly older women in their middle to late twenties in order to identify with women of this same age group.

The magazine that caters to the largest age group is "Good Housekeeping", because it ranges from early 30s to elderly women. Its focus is on spewing out many tips that can brighten one's life instead of basic information to succeed because women of this age have most likely already settled in their long term goals. The featured celebrity picture on the cover goes all the way down past her knees but in a sedentary pose that does not suggest anything of a sexual nature. Her clothing is also the most conservative, only revealing a little shoulder. Like "Redbook" there are no sexual cover stories since women of this age are fully educated and it is possible that their sex drives are declining. They focus on cooking for family gatherings, conceivably because this is a November issue geared toward thanksgiving. Other cover stories deal with cutting college costs and health as it relates to losing weight. Women in their forties who have children most likely are approaching on some sort of higher education for their children that is going to cost money, and since they are a little older these women have probably gained weight as it is what happens naturally. Sections inside of the magazine include household organizing and interviews with celebrities who are older and dealing with balancing their family with their work. These stories are the most broad because female readers in this age group are going to be in a wide range of circumstances.

In contrasting these three magazines I do not wish to overlook just how similar they are. It is possible that these age groups that I have set out do move freely between each one, since they all contain women's issues. But it is the marketing of them that controls their thinking, as they are constantly attempting to figure out their audience and how that relates to their subscription numbers. "Redbook" is unmistakably the middle ground here; containing stories that bridge the gap between young and older women. However, it is probably the specificity of "Cosmopolitan" of younger women that draws their audience towards them. And this is the major advantage of magazines over newspapers and other reading material.