An In-Depth look at the newspapers

This is a review of this chronicle and how it is the design basis for my newspaper.

This is the front page of the Chronicle which i have loosely based my design on, i will be posting my first designs shortly and show all the difference as it changes. The front page has the unmistakable big blue heading 'Chronicle' with Evening in black italics just above it, in order for the name to be shown off without Evening getting in the way or take up any unnecessary room.
The is the large Bold Black main story title in the exact middle of the page giving it influence and purpose with the small picture at the right of it, this is due to the headline having more grab then the picture. The amazing side story of the baby born on all 10's, 10.10 am at 10/10/10, this is a large side story not often used but its significance with the strangeness of it allows it to be placed here. Finally there are the advertisements where a large bulk of the papers money comes from at the top and bottom with their page numbers and/or numbers/emails.

This is the back page, where all the sport is usually at. I am going to be doing a football story so this area is good for me. It is different as it is like the front page but in reverse, all major stories and where to find/finish them off are. For example the story here 'Hughton ponders future of Xisco' has the start of the story but at the bottom suggests which page to go to from here. It even changes its name saying 'Chronicle Sport', however the conventions of this paper are keeping the first word, in this case Chronicle, in Italics and black but not bold, and the second one, Sport, in Bold Blue.
The main picture is usually on the top, with a page to direct people to for the story, with the start of their main Sport article at the bottom half, they have went with the pub of 'United Boss Sol-Searching' it is in Bold Black with a small pictures of the player in the corner. All pages in this paper are layed out into specific sectioned areas so that they do not move over into one another.



On the following sections we have three different pages each filled with their own stories and headlines. On this particular one we see the main middle story is 'Gazza Arrested behind wheel', they use the term 'Gazza' for his name as this is a local Paper and those around the area call him by his nickname rather then his full name. There is a large picture of him situated just below the headline and almost in the exact middle of the page. The obvious side stories such as the 'Face of a street thief'. Another convention is the Chronicle section on the left of the page, this includes the uses of new technologies not just the post, is shows their email and how you can text in order to help get news as it comes in, there website and what you can read when you do log on.
In this picture of 'Gazza' you see the picture is used to really show of him, the officers are in the foreground but still shown off however with Gazza to the left and at the front of them really secludes him from them and everyone.



This page involves the strange story of baby Jessica who is born at 10:10am on the 10/10/10. Papers always use puns in their headlines and story names, this is no different, they use '10 out of 10!' a good name to really attract the reader in, the obvious bold and black that is seen throughout. They place a picture of her at the top of the page on a floor surrounded by 10's, this is to show the strangeness of her birth and to again put forward the significance of the 10's. They however use again the same picture from the front page is on the bottom left of this page, something that doesn't often happen and only does if they believe it is the best one that they could ever use or if the pictures fits in perfectly to both pages, it shows her and her mother, both perfectly framed taking up most the room and neither is really centered to show they are both significant here. And again we see adverts, this time in the bottom right of the page, however taking up a lot more room then usual.

This is the final page that i have scanned and looked at very closely. It has two main stories on it, most distinguished and showded in the terms of picture is the 'Cubs taste success' however the main one too attract the reader through the conventional black bold headline is the 'Arsonists tried to kill neighbour over Dirty look', this one is obviously trying to draw in readers who want to see the hard hitting story but start of with something soft and a 'soft' picture if the young 'Cub' eating the sandwhich. This use of pictures and headlines allows for a variation in story to really get the reader more into the paper and be pushed to read more without a sudden shock but steady build up and light hearted stories combined with the hard hitting and shocking stories.

All stories are layed out in the same format, selctive sections for each bit, for instance the headline is in its own blocked areas, so are the pictures and the text, it is all formatted to fit into specific blocks, so as to be easy to make/edit and easier for the readers to get through and read without getting lost.

Analysing the papers

I have not only looked at the papers themselves but at the websites that they have, such as http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/, when you compare this with one of the papers such as the Independent or even the paper of the website The Evening Chronicle there are many good and bad features in both.

When we look closely at the website we see the differences as well as similarities. For one the Website does not have much more in the way of stories, however it does show all the stories including if you search ones from the weeks before.

Its layout is easier to find then in the paper's and at the bottom their is the 'Breaking News' which brings the news as its coming, allowing you to be up to date while your on. The conventions of a Newspaper is the small print writing, however this is hard for some people to read, when online you can alter the size of the page and the writing making it easier for those with reading difficulties.

The problems now though is many of these Newspaper websites are making people pay for the content, the easiness and cost effectiveness of the online paper is starting to disappear. For many the newspaper is an 'on the go thing' it provides something to read when you are on the train/bus or while at home with nothing to do, the Internet is not always accessed by everyone, there are still many without it.

Overall looks

In the end the Bold and outstanding headlines that really draw you in are only in the papers, the online news is not as hard and aggressive or emotional as the newspapers. The conventions of the Newspaper are its bold headlines, the way it is set out, the large and often unnecessary pictures, all have tried to be moved online, with minimal success. Often found are that the way the stories are wrote is different in the paper then online eventhough overall the story is exactly the same.

Newspapers also differ in their offers, often the paper will give something away free with it, along with other offers inside such as quizes to win prizes, wheras online this gift is not there, the offers are but these are often not worth it or lack any real influence for people to want to enter them.

Other Papers

There are many Newspapers, these include theNewcastle and sunderland Echo, these websites are less kept up to date with colour and looks, inorder to not drive their readers away from the real touch on the paper

The ideas for the articles i have chosen are,
The main story is to be a Robbery in Newcastle
The two side stories are : Celebrity Binge Fight and a Back page Newcastle game shock

I am working on my first draughts of the front pages, drawing three ideas up for how it will look
The name of my newspaper is to be 'The Eye' as it really attracts others and looking for a sort of pun Eyes in on the stories and scoops

Poster Adverts
These are a selection of poster advertisements done by various papers to attract readers:

The Times, going with 'A short sharp read' combining it with ballet, to show that no matter what you need to be connected with the news, and just how quick it is to read and yet intake so much.

The Financial Times, in these two posters go with 'some tools aren't a luxury' as a heading. This is combined with the lacking of the parachute and lack of guns as the 'tools'. So it fits with the papers name, the financial side of things.

The Shropshire Star wanted to promote their sponsorship of the annual RAF Cosford Air Show. Therefore making their newspaper a paper airoplane was the idea they eventually came up with.

Questionnaire:


1) How often do you buy a newspaper?
Every other day [ ]
Once a week [ ]
Once a Month [ ]
Once a Year [ ]
Never [ ]


2) Do you buy the Newspaper for one particular Story or another reason?
One Story [ ]
All the Stories [ ]
The pictures [ ]
The headlines [ ]
Other (Specify Below) [ ]

…………………………………………………

3) Which Stories in the paper do you read the most?
The Sport [ ]
The Main Articles [ ]
Political [ ]
Hard Hitting [ ]
Other (Specify Below) [ ]

…………………………………………………..

4) What From these Stories attracts you the most?
The Headlines [ ]
The Realism [ ]
The Pictures [ ]
The Facts [ ]
Other (Specify Below) [ ]

…………………………………………………..


5) Do you pay more attention to the stories or advertisements?
The stories [ ]
Advertisements [ ]
Both [ ]


6) Which of these Newspapers do you prefer?
The Sun [ ]
The Chronicle [ ]
The Guardian [ ]
The Independent [ ]
The Daily Mail [ ]
Other (Specify Below) [ ]

…………………………………………………..


7) Out of these what would be the best name for a new Newspaper?
The Eye [ ]
The Vision [ ]
The Star [ ]
The Excel [ ]


8) Do you prefer Celebrity Scandals or Average people Problem Stories?
Celebrity Scandals [ ]
Problem Stories [ ]
Both [ ]
Neither [ ]


9) When buying a Newspaper what colours draw you in more?
Red [ ]
Blue [ ]
Orange [ ]
Grey [ ]
Black [ ]
Other (Specify Below) [ ]

………………………………………………..

10) What Price would you consider reasonable for a Newspaper?
25-50p [ ]
50-75p [ ]
75p-£1 [ ]
£1-1.50 [ ]

Questionnaire
I am going to create a questionnaire to see what exactly attracts people to the Newspapers, however it will also look to which ones people view are the best, why and if there is any other reasons as to why they purchase a Newspaper. Predominantly these news papers are going to be ages at those of a middle aged range, for example 30-50 year olds, however it must cater for those of younger ages, 15-21 as they find time to read them when their is a special story about something on the television, and most of all the older age group of 50-60+ as they also are prone to reading Newspapers in their spare time. I will ask 100 people however for this i will focus on 30-50 year olds, they have experience and can give a fair reflection onto what i need.

Evaluating the papers
Before Deciding this i have decided to look at and analyse both The Chronicle and The Sun.

http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/

Both are similar in the way they show Sport an increased amount on their back and Front pages however the Sun has a lot more of the Political sides of things, it uses more humour then the Chronicle and breaks various conventions even though it adheres to others.

When we look at the front pages, we can see just how they each draw us into them, making us want to read them. Certain conventions are used, such as the big bold Newspaper name and the large print extreme Titles, each Title meant to show somehow action in it, or suspense, these have varied, for example when the chronicle was going on about the latest in the Golf and Europe's top position they used 'IMMOVABLE' this is brand and brash and shows authority and excitement.

However The Sun when talking about the elections went with 'LABOUR'S LOST IT' showing action into it, as well as making you want to read exactly what they mean. They always choose Titles not appropriate for you, they make no real sense and want you to explore the rest of the meaning behind them. Newspapers are often not colourful such as the Chronicle, the occasional green or blue in the name of the paper, however the Sun chooses a different approach, its name is surrounded by a bright red block, its headings and titles all Black but with red sections just all over but yet seem right, other areas of colour in the offers they often have in the paper. Here is example of one of the papers http://thumbsnap.com/sc/EyV0N5FX.jpg, a very bright colour scheme is used, all conventions are here and show us just how the Sun is made, it gives various out of conventions such as the amount of colour and adverts, many newspapers before this often only used limited colour and proffered facts to puns and words to pictures, The Sun broke all conventions, soon all followed.

Other then the broad headings, other conventions are most obviously the usually large print pictures, they are always fitting into the article and a lot of the time, in both the chronicle and the Sun, catch those in the Story in funny or terrifying circumstances, for example if it is a hard hitting story it will usually be a terrifying picture for the readers to see, to show how hard hitting it truly is, however if about sport or politics it often catches an individual in an awkward and funny position or giving a weird facial expression. The Sun however breaks convention on many occasions, by altering its photos, often by putting others over them, on one or more occasion involving politics, the political leaders heads are often portrayed on other peoples or animals bodies or sometimes an actual cartoon is added, or a sketch of them, degrading one or two and showing the other as more of a leader then the others, with more understanding. Th Chronicle is more common for adding in cartoons as it recently has followed other papers in convention, however when in politics it has always included these sketches in order for the readers to gain a little laugh about politics, but The Sun still remains front runner for breaking conventions and altering its images to humiliate those they are reviewing in the article.

They each provide great visual aids and visual enticements for the readers. Where the Chronicle provides more factual evidence to its articles The Sun gives an indeed factual account but includes more puns and jokes for the reader to stay interested within the story, as well as side offers on the front page and throughout the paper for the readers to feel like they are getting something extra in the paper, it allows for a more broader reader and a greater allowance for the reader to gain additional items if they gain offers in the paper that others wont get.

Article and Story Ideas:
I have decided to go with a Newspaper more like The Sun rather then any others, however i will of course look at others for inspiration and guidance. Therefore my paper will consist a current event in the sports world as well as a hard hitting story, as well as things political or governmental.

For my three Featured stories i have came up originally with 6 ideas to choose from. I want a hard hitting story for my main one, something related to a current event for one the others for example something to do with a TV show/series and finally i decided to go with a football related accident.
I have gotten down to these six, only three of which i could choose:

Main:
1. The Death Penalty Debate
2. A Policeman saves a life

Side Articles:
1. Xfactor star scandal
2. Celebrity binge fight
3. Manager caught cheating
4. England Player injury

From these six, i have to choose 2 side articles and one from the Main.

A2 Media Proposal:

For my year 13 media practical production i am going to be working by myself in order to create a Newspaper with one major story and two other Articles, all three of these i have to make up and create on my own and with my own design and name. I will also have to produce a radio advert for my Newspaper which will outline how my Newspaper can bring the best information for the public and should draw them in and a poster to advatise my newpaper to the public. I decided to do this as it seems very interesting and working on my own to create it will be a good challenge for me and provide some great experience.

I will be looking towards all genres of Newspapers such as The truly hard hitting and political ones, The Chronicle/Daily Mail, and the other more Sport related and real to life specified ones such as The Sun, however it also includes Politics it usually cartoons them and makes them into practical jokes . Both are two of the most sold Newspapers in the country.

My Final Production
My A3 Double Page Spreads