Question 1In what ways do your media products use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My cover largely keeps to established conventions, with the masthead in the top left corner, along with a tagline, and sell lines surrounding the main image round the edge of the page. The main sell line on the right develops conventions slightly as on many magazines, the main sell line covers the image, where as I have chosen to keep the image unobstructed to maximise its overall appeal. I have gone against convention in choosing to place the barcode on the back page, thus not obstructing the main image and instead, placing the publishers logo at the bottom right. This and my positioning of my issue number and price break mainstream convention but conform to conventions of niche magazines such as Garden Rail and Narrow Gauge World, particularly the older issues. Miniature Railway magazine also does much the same.

My contents again on large applies to conventions with a contents list surrounded by imagery with the page number they relate to present on them. The page number and the magazines website are present in the bottom right as per any magazine and a subscription box is also present, offering readers details of subscriptions available. Where my magazine can be viewed as going against convention is in the ordering of the contents, being in numerical order. This is not common for mainstream magazines, being that they normally list articles in an order relating to the their type, i.e. Features, Galleries, Interviews. In contrast however, Miniature Railway, Garden Rail, Narrow Gauge World and indeed Trout and Salmon to some extent, all list their contents in numerical order, logically as they appear. Another point that has been raised numerous times is the second from top right image, being not in line with the others. This is done by Trout and Salmon magazine and interestingly breaks up the strict layout to some extent.

The idea of a double spread news page is lifted from Narrow Gauge World magazine, having not seen such an example elsewhere, and so I will compare it to the conventions that their version has maintained over the years. The page title is in the top right hand corner along with a tagline and submission details on the accompanying page. Page numbers are in the usual place as in any other magazine. The pages are split unevenly to show the reader clearly that the wider column has the bigger and subsequently more important news story/stories as per Narrow Gauge World. I have split my pages vertically where as Narrow Gauge World sometimes do it horizontally, though I think it works better and reads easier in vertical columns. Each article has a clear, witty title to briefly describe what each news feature is about. Captions are supplied where the images subject is not clear and are credited to the photographer.

My billboard largely goes along with convention in that the image forms the main basis of the piece, being the main element that will draw the onlooker to view it. Subsequently, my image is bold and colourful to stand out. My masthead is in the top right and is enlarged to clearly show the name of the magazine. On Sale Now is also present and in bold to clearly convey that something is on sale, helping form the link that Northern Rail is on sale. A tagline (the same as on the cover) describes what the product is in brief. This is unusual as its quite a large body of text for a billboard but I think it adds substance.

My website fits with standard conventions, taking most of its inspiration from Lakeshore Railroad’s website. Images instantly jump out to the viewer, with a banner of images at the top constantly keeping the website lively with movement. Links are clearly displayed and detail of the magazine are instantly seen as to sell it further and be informative. The about us page allows the readers to get to know the staff and thus feel as if they have a direct connection with the magazine, especially if they know any of them. The contact us page clearly shows the viewer contact details without the fuss many websites make about getting the right contact number. The logo is present throughout as to enforce the product further.