Conventions of Soccer Magazines
CONVENTIONS OF SOCCER MAGAZINES 01/11/2022
During my research I was able to find 3 main sports magazine brands that included very useful information and characteristics that I will try to utilize and implement into my personal sports magazine. These 3 brands were Sports Illustrated, ESPN, and World Soccer.
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated talks mostly about sports as a whole and the science behind it. Therefore, their main audience are, for the most part, teenagers and adults who enjoy sports. For example, this magazine's target demographic are men from the ages of 18-34 as they're the people who watch and play sports the most. Women also frequently read this magazine but compared to men their numbers are a lot less. Furthermore, in order to appeal to these sports fans they mostly analyze recent games and talk about recent news so the audience can be better informed on what is going on in the world of sport. Younger kids and older men might not understand some of the terms being used when talking about the tactical analysis of certain games which is why they mostly target that age group.
Now, Sports Illustrated uses a very simple cover layout on most of their covers. The masthead is always centered in the top third of the page and is usually bolded with a white outline around the letter. The masthead is also slightly covered by the main image which is usually a famous player. The player's name is also the main coverline which along with the main image being framed in a full shot and a vibrant, colorful jersey as well as a neutral, one color background hints at the fact that they will probably be the main focus of this magazine. The main image is also a very useful tool for this magazine as it is used to hook the audience into reading the magazine and all of our attention is on the main image which at times shares a similar color scheme as the masthead. The people also have a very serious face which adds to the more formal and objective tone of the magazine. In addition, the same font is being used for all of the other coverlines while their descriptions have a smaller, thinner font. Not to mention, pull quotes are sometimes used, especially statements from the person being framed as the main image. In the masthead the date that the magazine was published can be found. Surrounding the main image there is a kind of table of contents which includes coverlines about other topics as well as the page number said topic can be found on. There is also a puff that is put into a kind of bubble on every magazine cover that acts like a kind of incentive for the audience to read the magazine as the puff teases something interesting in the magazine. Overall, the magazine uses 2-3 main colors on the cover that are shared by the cover itself and the main image's costume.
ESPN
ESPN also mostly covers recent scores, events among other information about the world of sport. Thus, they share a very similar target audience with Sports Illustrated as they too are targeting people from the ages of 18-34 with a median age of 29 years old. ESPN is able to link their viewers from television channels to this magazine consequently creating a strong connection and a loyal group of followers. They might even include certain topics that were mentioned on TV in their magazine and vice versa which allows the audience to better understand the information. As aforementioned, both men and women play and enjoy watching soccer but the majority of the audience that is being targeted are men, more specifically those who watch, play, or personally attend soccer matches on a weekly basis.
Unlike Sports Illustrated, ESPN's masthead varies from issue to issue. Although the font stays the same, the placement on the page and color of said font changes very slightly depending on the background and main image. Once again the main image is a famous player who is staring very seriously at the camera. This time we get an even more personal shot as the main image is usually framed in a close up on their face. The main coverline is also the player's name and is either in a bigger font than the rest of the coverlines or a different color and in doing so it stands out compared to the rest of the cover. The main image also wears colors that contrast against the background putting them even more into focus. All of their text is also capitalized making everything seem uniform and important. The date of the magazine being published is not in the masthead and instead is in very small, white font in either the right or left bottom corner of the magazine. Additionally, under some of the coverlines which at times are the title of certain articles in the magazine you can find a byline with the author's name. All of the previously mentioned coverlines are only on sides of the main image with zero coverlines appearing above or below the main image.
Last but not least, ESPN seems to publish their issues as a kind of preview or review of a major sporting event such as a World Cup or a European Championship. They do this to not only use the hype of the tournament but to also further build the hype to the tournament by informing the world about important facts. ESPN also contains exclusive interviews, especially interviews with the player on the cover, and key information or updates on the teams competing. After events they also then analyze the team's performance as well as specific player's performances throughout the tournament and in particular games.
World Soccer
World Soccer magazine's masthead never changes in size, font, or color across any of their issues. Not to mention that the exact same colors are used for the rest of the magazine cover and throughout the magazine itself. The magazine also always includes a brief skyline that basically summarizes what the entire magazine will talk about in each section. Their selling lines are also always found in the same color as the masthead but slightly smaller is located right on top of the masthead which just so happens to include the date of the magazine being published in the same font as the selling line but bolded. This cover is a lot more crowded with the main image being framed in a mid shot at the rule of thirds on the right in order to leave space for all of the coverlines on the left. Each coverline also includes their own photograph that visually describes the coverline along with a small description underneath. The specific name of the star of the main image is always in a puff to make it stand out while the coverlines all share the same bolded, golden font. The barcode which is essential to buying the magazine can be found at the top right corner of the magazine exactly under the masthead.
World Soccer is more on the news coverage and media side of sports magazines based on the coverlines, as instead of tactical analysis it mentions news about the personal life of specific players both current and retired as well as anyone else who is involved in the world of soccer. Furthermore, the audience is more broad for World Soccer and might appeal to the older generation who is interested in the current life of former players or just news about the world in general as this magazine connects the world of soccer to the real world and conflicts like the COVID-19 pandemic. The audience has a larger amount of women included as the news includes events and interviews from the women's side of the soccer world as a whole.
Links and Sources:
Epand, Victor. “Sports Magazines for the Sports Enthusiasts.” Singapore Travel Guide, Street Directory, 2022, https://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/39134/recreation_and_sports/sports_magazines_for_the_sports_enthusiasts.html.
Pruitt, Steven. “Sports Magazine.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 4 Feb. 2022, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sports_magazine.
Shakespeare, Stephan. “The Most Popular Sports Magazines in America: Media: YouGov Ratings.” The Most Popular Sports Magazines in America , YouGov Ratings, 2021, https://today.yougov.com/ratings/media/popularity/sports-magazines/all.
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