Life & Style is a major tabloid which features Hollywood's latest gossip and scandals. In this February 7th issue, the tabloid's cover story focuses on The Bachelor's Brad Womack and questions if he has really changed since the season when he did not choose anyone and left two women heartbroken. The article talks about how he was dating a woman right before he went on The Bachelor for the second time and then dumped her to go on the show. The article questions whether he is ready for commitment and calls him a "player". Life & Style portrays Brad in a negative way and presents the idea that he cannot be trusted. The article has a negative view and therefore effects Brad's celebrity persona by making him seem like a bad guy who is only on the show for fame. By questioning Brad's past and referring to "inside sources" who do not trust him, it takes away from Brad's ethos.
The article does have kairos. The date of the magazine is February 7th, which is right during the time that The Bachelor was airing and when the contestants were narrowing down. Obviously they would not have printed this article after the Bachelor chose his fiance. The article is presented at the perfect time because the audience was getting to know the women on the show and had opinions about them, so the readers are familiar and involved with what the article was talking about. The audience for this magazine would be people who either watch The Bachelor or enjoy reading gossip magazines, which narrows the audience down to women.
The visual rhetoric of the tabloid is also very important. The front of the magazine pictures a smiling Brad Womack with the words "Bachelor Dirty Secrets" in large yellow letters to draw attention to people who might just be glancing at the front. There are also other words in white and yellow under the main statement, but it is obvious that the words "Dirty Secrets" are emphasized. The title Life&Style is in bright pink letters which draw in attention from women. Inside the magazine, there is a picture of Brad looking perfect and smiling with a rose in his hand, and the words "perfect husband" in white across the photo. On the other half of the page is a black and white picture of Brad with a stern face and a hand facing the camera as he is walking away with the words "OR Heartbreaker?". The two pictures are very opposite and portray the text over the pictures well. The typography is very important here because it shows the reader that the article will argue whether or not Brad is a good guy. One thing that is also interesting is that US Weekly did a similar cover of last seasons Bachelor, Jake Pavelka, which looked almost identical to Life & Style's cover from this season. Their typography and visual presentations are almost identical.
"Has Bachelor Brad Really Changed?" Life & Style. 7 Feb. 2011. Print.
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