Listings Research: TV Times

When looking into the various different types of magazine available, we eventually discovered TV Times, another British listings magazine that is similar in many respects to that of What's on TV, in the sense that it makes use of the typical codes and conventions reprensented via listings magazines.

Although the listings magazine is displaying a different subject to What's on TV, for instance it's displaying Strictly Come Dancing rather than a soap, as likewise both have similar levels of popularity, it still grabs the audience's attention.

When creating our listings magazine, we will effectively switch over the role between the Strictly Come Dancing image, and that of our Soap (The Cross). This will emphasize the fact that the The Cross is what is being advertised rather than that of other programmes. Of course though, other programmes will still need to be featured as although the primary purpose is to advertise The Cross, in order to follow Codes and Conventions of listings magazines, we will need to feature separate articles. This will likely be the most difficult part of the process, as replicating effective immagery in this style is something of a proffesion, however it is indeed something that we will have to do well in order for the listings cover to not only fit in with standard Codes and Conventions, but also to create an image worthy of being within our media portfolio. 

In terms of the layout, and attractiveness, the listings cover makes use of a standard layout following typical Codes and Conventions. For instance, at the top of the image is the masthead in brightly lit red to create a stand out effect, that allows the audience to know what he magazine is, and for that matter the title that it has been given. The title itself, although relatively bland and dull, fufills its primary intent of giving a name of the listings magazine, and attracting the intended audience.