June 11th 2010 Newspaper
Firstly there are just as many key conventions used on the second page as the front, two of them being the date and page number letting the audience know which page there are on and if the articles they are reading are up to date .Another key feature that is used on the page is the contents index showing the reader what is coming later in the paper. The index includes letters; contact us, a crossword, weekend, sport and weather and alongside are page numbers that are helpful for the audience if they are in a hurry or they just want a particular section, the paper also needs these to convey a professional image to the public.
A different key convention that carries on from the first page is the house style, as Harrogate Advertisers is blue it is used in the index which connotes to the viewer that the paper is organised and well planned throughout which shows of a better structure as well as the paper being in cohesion throughout. The deep blue could also connotes relaxation which could be a sign of that Ackrill want their audience to relax and enjoy the paper when reading, because the colour is deep blue it could also indicate that the paper is majestic and that the content is quality and well informative.
On the second page there is twelve articles featured, with the smaller articles featured down the left hand side of the page denoting that these are the less serious articles. The articles are also perceived as this since they consist of smaller paragraphs ranging between the lengths of 1-2 sentences with 2-5 small short paragraphs. In comparison to this the main articles are the longest and most important these are featured in the middle so the audience are drawn to them articles first. The main article ‘Anguish over spate of pet cat thefts in Bilton’ is featured right in the centre with a main headline using ‘Times New Roman’ in bold and being in the biggest font (approx size 48), letting the reader recognize that this is the main featured article to the page.
‘Anguish over spate of pet cat thefts in Bilton’ also consist of the most paragraphs (19) although they are small and direct with the information they are giving, making the reader understand the article quickly and because it is straight to the point, this helps the audience know that the story is a matter of urgency .The article is the only one of the two to feature a byline which also reinforces its importance. The second article to feature a byline is ‘Soldiers romantic message from war zone’ this is possibly because the article is serious and is known that just by the words ‘war zone’, information given is also circuitous and more relaxed in its style with 11 paragraphs which is a way of calming the viewer and relating back to the romance part of the article
On the second page there is a mix of hard news, entertainment and human interest to break the bulletin up, making it more varied as well. ’Glamorous title success for former Rossett pupil’ and ‘Gold triumph for Starbecks bloom entry’ give a positive effect over on the audience and make the public more enlightened when reading the paper, which is possibly why Harrogate advertiser chose to feature a snippet of the competition on this page .The competition is featured at the top right of the paper which connotes that it is less important that the rest of the articles featured ,the information given is short and optimistic towards the viewer ,hoping to encourage entrants. The font is different from the rest of the page with Calibri used is also smaller (approx 7/8), helping the viewer know this is not a segment of news.
The photographs used also helps break the bulletin up, with five photographs used and template for the competition. Although it is unusual to see quite glamorous photographs in a local paper there a three featured for the School Balls and Miss Harrogate which connotes the papers formal and enchanting feel. The message the paper is also trying to get across through these photographs is that Harrogate teenagers are not stereotypical and are thriving young people simply by their outfits of formal dress .A fourth photograph of a soldier repeats the point the Advertiser is trying to get across about Harrogate image. Cropping is used on all of the photographs I feel the ball photographs where cropped to centre the image and draw attention to the outfits.
Captions are used on four out of the five photographs to aid the reader into what is going on in the photograph and what the articles is about if they are in a hurry. As the captions are minutely important they are a small font of (approx 8) and a placed in bold just to notify the viewer that they are still there. An advertorial is placed on the page too to break up the layout and help promote a local business, this is again featured in a corner which denotes it is not noteworthy enough to be placed any where else.
On the second page I noticed how much information there is and how tactfully the advertiser had broken it up for t he audience to digest. I believe this is done by advertorials, the competition, the photographs and the used of different fronts, sizes and boldness .This is additionally done by the length of the articles and how they have mixed the news agenda up equalling into a mix of positive and downbeat news .Furthermore this is done more through the layout, where lines and boxes are used, adding a structure to the paper as well as trust from the audience as if connotes to them that they are organised and honest. Finally the placing of the articles adds to this, how they use the main centre of each page to place the more amplitude articles, making the reader know that this is the main feature and the unambiguous and meaningfulness stories surrounding it.
Overall from analysing my local paper is that they keep a similar layout throughout and the paper tends to focus on the content rather than the design which lets the papers articles and photographs speak about the town. Furthermore this is proved by the range of people featured ,which identifies to the audience as realistic and that the articles are more truthfully resulting in more copies of the paper sold and a returning customers because of the image it has.
Tuesday, 14 September 2010
Harrogate Advertiser-Semiotic Analysis (Front page)
June 11th 2010 Newspaper
In order for a local newspapers to be successful they need a basis of generic conventions the main ones that are featured on every copy are the barcode, website, price, date and masthead near the top of the page .The previous generic conventions gives audience basic information on the product-this being a newspaper, and are also the most useful conventions.
The main generic conventions help construct the paper layout as well, as they are always featured in the same place so they are recognisable to the audience .Taking note of this I have realised that without these as a basis, my newspaper would not be a success and would not convey a real local newspaper and the overall impression that the newspaper is trustworthy to the audiences and is telling truth throughout its contents would not be there.
Another key convention is brand identity/house style which distinguishes each newspaper. When analysing three newspapers from my local area, I noticed that the Harrogate Advertiser, Ripon Gazette and Wetherby News used this convention by having different colour backgrounds behind there mastheads .I feel this is an important convention as when people are in a hurry, they can tell the newspapers apart just by looking at the background colour and identify which newspaper they want this way .Newspapers also use the colour background as main input on the rest of the paper as it keeps mainly the same colour scheme making the paper look more structured, in cohesion and well planned to the audience .
In addition to brand identity using colour, newspapers also used the same font to keep within the structure .For example the Wetherby News uses Times News Roman as their regular font for articles which connotes a more formal and sophisticated appearance of the paper to the viewer. The size of the font does vary however depending on how big the article is and whether or not it is the main headline. ‘The time has come to free our Billy…’ was the core article for June 11th 2010 and the size of the font was 9/10 as the article was providing a lot of information and detail to the audience.
In comparison to this ‘A very lucky escape’ was a sidelining headline which was less informative and the use of ‘bold’ padded the articles space out as well as making the article seem as important as the main headline. When comparing the two above articles I also noticed the sidelining headline had a wider space for the (2) photographs which helps emphasize the importance of the article without having to give a lot of detail in the article itself .Although, ‘The time has come to free our Billy…’ had the same amount of photographs (2) but was given a less space as the article was given a lot of information to the audience and would take up to much space if the photographs were bigger.
Analysing the front cover also made me recognise the significance of captions which are used under a photograph to anchor the image and give a snippet of information quickly about what is happening within the composition. Furthermore the use of having photography and captions help to illustrate and support the articles and provide a visual explanation of the article enabling the audience to sum up the article themselves just by looking at the image featured
Harrogate Advertiser’s front cover has eight articles including the main headline as well as a further four cover lines meaning there is no blank space. I also found that smaller articles tended to be positioned alongside of the page for example on Harrogate Advertiser the right hand side column consisted of 9cm vertically and 4cm horizontally per article. I feel having the main headline and article featured in the middle connotes its importance and is what the audience see when first glance at the paper .The three of the four cover lines are placed at the top of the page and the caption lines are placed underneath the photographs which act as a visual aid into what the stories inside are about. A different font is also used on the cover lines (Impact size 28) helping to break up the page and the use of block capitals assist the audience into knowing the stories inside are just as significant.
The layout is placed so the main headline ‘Schools 20mph victory’ is at the centre with the biggest font and in bold writing (Times new roman in size 48) the only headline to feature a byline .The main headline has six columns and 16 paragraphs and the average length was 7.5cm across and 5cm down which helps empathize its importance from a distance as it takes up the most amount of space .This could also be shown by the lack of photographs that are placed with the article .The rest of the articles are positioned around this and are not as compact as the main headlining article, most also have a bigger photographs to accompany the articles, especially when there is not must information in the article for example ‘Sir David Frost in Harrogate’.
Continuing to analyse the front cover, I began looking at the stories themselves. On this particular copy of the Harrogate Advertiser (11th June 2010) the articles were more based around human interest and hard news. Covering a range of serious stories such as ‘Warning after sixth form boy is diagnosed with TB’ and more happier stories as well like ‘Schools 20mph victory’; having a mix of stories in the newspaper helps break down the negativity to the audience .
The stories of the Harrogate Advertiser also reach to a wide range of audience as well ‘Ashville and Harrogate Grammar Prom Pictures’ and ‘MP’s £40,000 farewell payout’ prove this .Furthermore to this point I also found the stories in the local newspaper where far more relatable that those of the national papers, as the stories featured are specific to the local area and in my opinion more interesting and honest as the local journalist don’t tend to paint a fake picture like national journalist do .
Overall what I have learnt from my research and analysis into local papers is that there is a lot to take into consideration. As well as the routine layout of the basic generic conventions (Barcode, Price, Date, Masthead and Website) local papers have to think a lot about the layout in general, by the means of the placing or articles and how to make the main headline the key focus before the rest of the other articles .
In my research I found that all local newspapers in the supermarket where of the same price of 90p as well as the fact they all follow a house style and do not use much colour which connotes the sincerity of the article and makes sure the paper is more about the content and getting the news across then creative features such as colour, font style and imagery .I also found they all feature a big advertorial at the bottom ,these being local business which helps also promote the local area and breaks up the front page .
In order for a local newspapers to be successful they need a basis of generic conventions the main ones that are featured on every copy are the barcode, website, price, date and masthead near the top of the page .The previous generic conventions gives audience basic information on the product-this being a newspaper, and are also the most useful conventions.
The main generic conventions help construct the paper layout as well, as they are always featured in the same place so they are recognisable to the audience .Taking note of this I have realised that without these as a basis, my newspaper would not be a success and would not convey a real local newspaper and the overall impression that the newspaper is trustworthy to the audiences and is telling truth throughout its contents would not be there.
Another key convention is brand identity/house style which distinguishes each newspaper. When analysing three newspapers from my local area, I noticed that the Harrogate Advertiser, Ripon Gazette and Wetherby News used this convention by having different colour backgrounds behind there mastheads .I feel this is an important convention as when people are in a hurry, they can tell the newspapers apart just by looking at the background colour and identify which newspaper they want this way .Newspapers also use the colour background as main input on the rest of the paper as it keeps mainly the same colour scheme making the paper look more structured, in cohesion and well planned to the audience .
In addition to brand identity using colour, newspapers also used the same font to keep within the structure .For example the Wetherby News uses Times News Roman as their regular font for articles which connotes a more formal and sophisticated appearance of the paper to the viewer. The size of the font does vary however depending on how big the article is and whether or not it is the main headline. ‘The time has come to free our Billy…’ was the core article for June 11th 2010 and the size of the font was 9/10 as the article was providing a lot of information and detail to the audience.
In comparison to this ‘A very lucky escape’ was a sidelining headline which was less informative and the use of ‘bold’ padded the articles space out as well as making the article seem as important as the main headline. When comparing the two above articles I also noticed the sidelining headline had a wider space for the (2) photographs which helps emphasize the importance of the article without having to give a lot of detail in the article itself .Although, ‘The time has come to free our Billy…’ had the same amount of photographs (2) but was given a less space as the article was given a lot of information to the audience and would take up to much space if the photographs were bigger.
Analysing the front cover also made me recognise the significance of captions which are used under a photograph to anchor the image and give a snippet of information quickly about what is happening within the composition. Furthermore the use of having photography and captions help to illustrate and support the articles and provide a visual explanation of the article enabling the audience to sum up the article themselves just by looking at the image featured
Harrogate Advertiser’s front cover has eight articles including the main headline as well as a further four cover lines meaning there is no blank space. I also found that smaller articles tended to be positioned alongside of the page for example on Harrogate Advertiser the right hand side column consisted of 9cm vertically and 4cm horizontally per article. I feel having the main headline and article featured in the middle connotes its importance and is what the audience see when first glance at the paper .The three of the four cover lines are placed at the top of the page and the caption lines are placed underneath the photographs which act as a visual aid into what the stories inside are about. A different font is also used on the cover lines (Impact size 28) helping to break up the page and the use of block capitals assist the audience into knowing the stories inside are just as significant.
The layout is placed so the main headline ‘Schools 20mph victory’ is at the centre with the biggest font and in bold writing (Times new roman in size 48) the only headline to feature a byline .The main headline has six columns and 16 paragraphs and the average length was 7.5cm across and 5cm down which helps empathize its importance from a distance as it takes up the most amount of space .This could also be shown by the lack of photographs that are placed with the article .The rest of the articles are positioned around this and are not as compact as the main headlining article, most also have a bigger photographs to accompany the articles, especially when there is not must information in the article for example ‘Sir David Frost in Harrogate’.
Continuing to analyse the front cover, I began looking at the stories themselves. On this particular copy of the Harrogate Advertiser (11th June 2010) the articles were more based around human interest and hard news. Covering a range of serious stories such as ‘Warning after sixth form boy is diagnosed with TB’ and more happier stories as well like ‘Schools 20mph victory’; having a mix of stories in the newspaper helps break down the negativity to the audience .
The stories of the Harrogate Advertiser also reach to a wide range of audience as well ‘Ashville and Harrogate Grammar Prom Pictures’ and ‘MP’s £40,000 farewell payout’ prove this .Furthermore to this point I also found the stories in the local newspaper where far more relatable that those of the national papers, as the stories featured are specific to the local area and in my opinion more interesting and honest as the local journalist don’t tend to paint a fake picture like national journalist do .
Overall what I have learnt from my research and analysis into local papers is that there is a lot to take into consideration. As well as the routine layout of the basic generic conventions (Barcode, Price, Date, Masthead and Website) local papers have to think a lot about the layout in general, by the means of the placing or articles and how to make the main headline the key focus before the rest of the other articles .
In my research I found that all local newspapers in the supermarket where of the same price of 90p as well as the fact they all follow a house style and do not use much colour which connotes the sincerity of the article and makes sure the paper is more about the content and getting the news across then creative features such as colour, font style and imagery .I also found they all feature a big advertorial at the bottom ,these being local business which helps also promote the local area and breaks up the front page .
Proposed Names
1. Harrogate Local
2. Harrogate News
3. Harrogate Gazette
4. Locally Harrogate
5. Harrogate Reports
6. Harrogate Voice
I asked a range of (15) people in my area that would by the local paper and they said they preferred Harrogate News. I kept a tally when collecting my audience preference so the result would be fair I also noted down some quoted reasons why they favoured the Harrogate News These being it 'sounds more informative’,’ more professional' and 'reach a wider audience'.
Below the pie chart shows the results via percentage:
2. Harrogate News
3. Harrogate Gazette
4. Locally Harrogate
5. Harrogate Reports
6. Harrogate Voice
I asked a range of (15) people in my area that would by the local paper and they said they preferred Harrogate News. I kept a tally when collecting my audience preference so the result would be fair I also noted down some quoted reasons why they favoured the Harrogate News These being it 'sounds more informative’,’ more professional' and 'reach a wider audience'.
Below the pie chart shows the results via percentage:
1st mock up of layout
In order to get an idea of a typical newspaper layout, I created the mock-up to see where the typical Generic Conventions go.
My Proposal
My ultra local paper will be focused on the Harrogate area simply because I live there and this will help me provide honest reports along with events to the local public as the information is accessible to me.
The Unique Selling Point for my paper is the fact that it is local and will provide more specific information on the area unlike regional papers and will represent a sense of community of the area. Adding to this is the fact that local newspaper Institution Ackrill found that 60% of adults read the Harrogate Advertiser on a weekly basis which shows highly that local news is a huge importance. As local papers have to appeal to the entire area of different ages form teenagers to the elderly, genders, beliefs, status etc my paper will be neutral political and will maintain the status quo.
My product will be distributed in Local news agents, supermarkets, be available for delivery and will be in other shops such as WHSmiths .As all local newspapers in my area are a price of 90p this is probably which I have as my price as will match the typical newspaper convention in my area. Local newspaper are also weekly in my area and are available for sale every Friday which is also something I will match when adding conventions such as date.
The Unique Selling Point for my paper is the fact that it is local and will provide more specific information on the area unlike regional papers and will represent a sense of community of the area. Adding to this is the fact that local newspaper Institution Ackrill found that 60% of adults read the Harrogate Advertiser on a weekly basis which shows highly that local news is a huge importance. As local papers have to appeal to the entire area of different ages form teenagers to the elderly, genders, beliefs, status etc my paper will be neutral political and will maintain the status quo.
My product will be distributed in Local news agents, supermarkets, be available for delivery and will be in other shops such as WHSmiths .As all local newspapers in my area are a price of 90p this is probably which I have as my price as will match the typical newspaper convention in my area. Local newspaper are also weekly in my area and are available for sale every Friday which is also something I will match when adding conventions such as date.
Tuesday, 7 September 2010
Research Skills
In order to develop products correctly in the media industry, research is designed out to find out exactly what the audience want from the product, how they consume the media and how they interact with it. Additionally this helps producers and advertiser identify there niche markets and advertise their products more effectively.
Types of Research
Having a selection of techniques such as the ones below will help me gain more experience of research and help find an understanding of my audience.
• Quantitative-usually involves using large amount of people and is based on a number of statistics .A reason that quantitative research should be used is it looks more official and authoritative but is limited.
• Qualitative-involves analysis of people opinions/attitudes and is attempting to explain something .This is usually with a focus group or a very small number of people.
• Primary – is original research.
• Secondary-is using the finding of others
Different types of Research
• Questionnaires
• Surveys
• Interviews
• Piloting
• Analysis
Types of Research
Having a selection of techniques such as the ones below will help me gain more experience of research and help find an understanding of my audience.
• Quantitative-usually involves using large amount of people and is based on a number of statistics .A reason that quantitative research should be used is it looks more official and authoritative but is limited.
• Qualitative-involves analysis of people opinions/attitudes and is attempting to explain something .This is usually with a focus group or a very small number of people.
• Primary – is original research.
• Secondary-is using the finding of others
Different types of Research
• Questionnaires
• Surveys
• Interviews
• Piloting
• Analysis
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