Content Analysis Paper
Rolling Stone Magazine
vs.
The Source Magazine
CMC 100
BY:
Sam Lockhart
The Source Magazine
• Founded in 1988, The
Source magazine focuses
on hip hop music, but also
covers topics such as urban
culture, politics and
fashion.
• Magazine targets a
“primarily 18-44 year old”
age demographic.
• Appeals to “aspirational
readers from urban inner
cities” and “readers in the
suburbs seeking
relevance.”
• Owner and co founder
David Mays is a middle
aged white male.
Rolling Stone Magazine
• Founded in 1967, Rolling
Stone magazine focuses
on rock and pop music,
but often includes
political discussion and
popular culture.
• The magazine targets the
18 to 44 year old age
demographic, appealing
to both men and women.
• 75% of people who read
Rolling Stone are white.
• A high percentage of
readers are employed and
living in metropolitan
areas.
Thesis Statement
Rolling Stone and The Source magazine, both music magazines that
include political aspects and opinions, appeal to the same eighteen to
forty year old age demographics. However Rolling Stone’s content is
primarily rock music and The Source’s content is primarily hip hop
music, thus the magazines are geared toward the white audience and
black audience respectively. The hierarchal nature of American
culture, based on one’s race, is portrayed through the contrast in
advertisements between the two magazines. The advertisements in
Rolling Stone appeal to white consumers, with products that will
help to facilitate independent wealth and success, while
advertisements in The Source magazine appeal to the black
consumer based on the products ability to portray the illusion of
wealth and success and still incorporate racial restrictions. The
difference between the two magazines advertisements highlight the
inequality in how success is defined between white and black
consumers, based on the racial constrains of minorities by modern
American society.
Rolling Stone Advertisements
Advertisements in Rolling Stone appeal to the consumer’s independence,
suggesting their ability to make an impact on society through personal
innovation. One’s social status as white, gives the consumer the freedom to
achieve wealth and success by his or her own means through these products,
using racial hierarchy as an advantage.
The Source Advertisements
Advertisements in The Source appeal to the consumer’s aspirations of
achieving wealth and success. However minority status hinders these
aspirations, thus rather than promoting the independent individual, the
products advertised convey to the consumer that he or she must fit a certain
mold cast by society’s stereotypes in order to achieve success.