Research-Poster boards

I noticed that there were a limited number of posters for local newspapers available. The only type of posters i could find were posterboards that showed the papers main headline. This resulted in these posters being more for the sellers of the paper and not the newspaper itself, as it didnt include much information on the newspaper itself and more to the main headline. Therefore we researched further into this problem and found the link to a number of posters made by newspapers at certain times of the year to advertise either a major event or to recieve further publicity for the paper.

Although they were again limited, we decided to try and create a poster similar to the ones we have researched. These posters identify the newspaper advertising them, but also come up with slogans or sell lines that can be rememeber by the audience. For instance, in the second poster, 'some tools arnt a luxury' this could portray a hidden meaning behind the image and can make the reader depict this image, with it not necessarily being related to war. As a result of this we have decided that we will use these posters as inspiration for our own and try and create a poster that links with our local area and topic. Using a sell line or slogan to engage the audience and interact with our poster. 

Research-Newspaper Covers

The main section of our task is to create a local newspaper therefore I decided to look at the same 3 newspaper front covers as the websites. They will show an apparent link between the two and therefore will give us ideas for our own newspaper and website.

News Guardian

As this paper offers free news to the community they again opt for a plain layout suggesting the audience it aims for, the topics of the paper are typical to the local area and therefore results in it being posted through people’s doors. Predominantly having advertisements as one of their focuses for local businesses; this is again where the paper receives advertising revenue and how it is able to be given out free of charge. As a result of this being a free paper they have to vary the articles used so it can appeal to everyone’s tastes, therefore having different subject matters throughout. The layout of the paper is plain and simple opting for the traditional black and white style with only the masthead being in colour. Although the images and adverts are in colour, mainly to stand out amongst the text to receive attention from the reader. The paper also takes up the basic layout for a newspaper and uses columns for stories giving a recognisable feature to the paper. The clear choice of colours being blue and red is made apparent throughout the paper as it is subtly used to accent certain areas of the paper.   

The Times

I decided to look at the same newspapers as my website to show the similarities between the two and how they link together. The Times newspaper again isn’t locally based therefore has to appeal to a mass audience. The key characteristic of this paper is the masthead, although it isn’t in colour it clearly stands out on the page with the size of the font and also the logo separating the words. This therefore makes the title recognisable to the audiences as it is very traditional. Similar to the News Guardian it opts for a predominantly white colour scheme, although it introduces colour to the headlines, images and adverts. With the little amount of colour it emphasises these and draws the attention of the reader. It is clear that it has a different audience range as there is a lot more text for the stories and differs from the others as it also shows an insight into the paper with the list of headlines down the side. A comparison between The Times and the News Guardian is again the advertisements as they only show adverts for the paper. Therefore doesnt show the businesses that would pay to advertise, therefore relying solely on the sale of the newspaper to provide income.

The Guardian

The Guardian has taken a different approach to the other two newspapers. They have clearly emphasised their title with the coloured band and the contrasted text, therefore drawing in the attention of the reader. The layout they have used to the front cover difers from other newspapers as they have chose a different setup that highlights more whats inside the paper to the front cover itself. For instance the images across the top of the page highlight stories inside and therefore draw the attention of the reader with the specific layout. The main image on the paper dipicts a main article but caters more for sports fans rather than general news. As the general news is structurally set up into columns and split into sections to classify the different genres. As this paper has a wider audience base the predominant stories again involve the media but they have a range of stories on the cover. Although this paper difers from the website they have established they have made a common ground on the fact they use the same layouts, colours, fonts etc.

Research-Websites

As part of the task we have to create hyperlinked pages to a website for the local newspaper we are creating. Therefore i looked at 3 home pages of 3 different newspapers.

The News Guardian

This paper for Whitley Bay which offers free news opts for a very plain layout; this suggests a certain audience as it only shows the typical topics a paper would write about this is a result of the paper being posted through peoples doors. Therefore not knowing who buys the paper and what they would like to read, so they give a variation of everyone’s tastes. As a result they use a colour scheme that relates to the printed newspaper, with all the colour being in the text and the rest being predominantly white. Therefore this appeals to all audiences with having no boldness that might hint to a certain audience. The mast head is taken from the newspaper so it shows familiarity and links to it. The paper takes a basic website layout and has the main link column down the left giving space for the story of the day and other links to headline stories. Another predominant feature of the website is the advertisements for local businesses, this is where the paper receives advertising revenue therefore being able to give the paper away free, although it can be bought as well from local shops.

The Times.

I decided to look at The Times as this paper isn't based for a local area and therefore has to appeal to a mass audience. As a result i would like to take key characteristics of this newspaper so I can try to create a wider audience range. Similar to the News Guardian it opts for a predominantly white colour scheme, although this links with the paper style with the black text and dark blue and dark red features. The masthead being the one from the paper is centered at the top of the page therefore drawing the audience’s attention. It is clear that it has a different audience range as there is a lot more text for the stories and differs from the others as they just have the links to the articles. The links are across the top and show the range of topics for the paper and therefore shows the audience range as well, for instance the business section and the art, typically for more so, well educated people. A comparison between The Times and the News Guardian is the advertisements and The Times doesn't show any and therefore relies solely on the sale of the newspaper to provide income.

The Guardian

Again similar colour scheme and layout but doesn’t show as much text and crams as much on the page to entice the audience with the range of stories. Also by having more images than text makes the reader scan the page more to see the range the paper has to offer. Although it is again not a local newspaper it shows similar characteristics with the layouts. This newspaper has more options for stories therefore have a wider audience base and the predominant stories seem to involve the media. For instance the main story on the home page being 'The 2010 Guardian film power 100'. Different from the others the masthead advertises the website rather than paper by having 'guardian.co.uk' therefore it’s trying to separate itself from the paper and try to make the website as high profile as the paper.

Choosing a Brief

We had to decide between a list of options and choose 3 of the 5, therefore we chose:
- A promotion package for a new film.
- An extract from a new documentary TV programme.
- The first two pages of a new local newspaper.

After choosing the 3 options we had to decide on the initial ideas for each choice, therefore making it easier for us to choose the final option. For the first option, a promotion package for a new film, we decided on the genre of drama. We chose drama as it can be watched by many audiences and also is a genre that can include a range of topics therefore we wouldnt be sticking to one thing.

Another option we agreed on was the documentary for a tv programme, our initial idea for this was to create a documentary similar to the ones on the tele for example nature programmes on animals and sealife. Therefore because of this we had the idea to film in a nearby sealife centre and create a similar documentary.

The final option, a new local newspaper was favoured more as we didnt feel comfortable with the video options. Also as it being similar to last year i think we could produce a good and better peice of work with that experience. Therefore we decided on this option for the coursework and began thinking on ideas we could produce.