Evaluation Question 1

The main product through this coursework was a newspaper; I also made other products which run alongside this. I made a poster for the newspaper and a website with two hyperlinked pages.  I am going on to university to study publishing and believe that this coursework will help me within that field, along with my AS coursework of the music magazine and school magazine.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

A real media product uses conventions to enhance what the viewer sees.  I have looked at other products before I produced my newspaper such as the EDP, the Guardian and The Daily Mail, focusing primarily on the EDP. The ideology of the ‘EDP’ is a right wing, rural interested, family newspaper with a conservative ethos and seemingly anti-outsider. It uses a mix of gravitas and female engaging register to target its audience.

The ‘EDP’ for example, uses local events within their paper to involve the community. The register is informal but academic because it is a friendly, local paper but aimed at educated housewives. They are successful because this is what people want within their local newspaper – local stories about local people. This also shows Hegemonic Theory of representation because the news is in control of what people think – they rely on the newspaper to give them the correct information. The Hypodermic Needle Theory of Representation also applies as the audience is passive and believes what the newspaper tells them. The EDP is a tabloid newspaper it seems that this is what their audience wants to read. The setting of the photographs is also important and this along with the photograph in general is always linked to the story it is placed with. Therefore, the photo means something to the reader rather than it not being related to the text. The stock characters if used are always linked with the text in some way but many times, the characters may not be placed in the picture as their may be a focus on another aspect of the story itself. The props used within the pictures were also always connected to the article in some way.  The camera angles in the EDP show believable pictures for the story so that it looks like it was not a picture which was set up but they were probably there at the time of the story. The lighting used also intertwines with the camera angles as from the lighting of the picture you are able to see that the picture was taken at the time of the incident. 

Newspapers also used codes to help how the product is designed and viewed by the audience. The simple, clear fonts in the Daily Mail and the EDP used for the mast head and the general text which is written in sans- serif text is sophisticated and easy to read and therefore attract a right wing audience, which is the target audience, and achieves them a high selling rate.  Flashes are used on the front page and attract the eye as they know the audience they are targeting at will involve themselves in competitions. The subheads used within the articles are the same size and font as the rest of the text but they are bold, this therefore helps it to stand out and the reader can choose which section they wish to read. The columns used are always three columns because it makes the article easier and clearer to read as they are smaller sections of text. There is a strapline which says ‘Britain’s regional newspaper of the year’ – this tells the reader what is good about the newspaper and makes them confident about it.

There are not many newspapers which use posters to market their newspaper except the Guardian Newspaper. This therefore was the one that I looked at in detail.  The posters used do not use stock characters within their posters; instead use illustrations to communicate how the newspaper works with others. There are no props used within the poster which is surprising as it is therefore more difficult to understand what is being advertised. The posters contain clever slogans so that people have to read it and understand them - showing that the poster is sophisticated and would be suitable for a right wing audience. Genuinely illustrations are used instead of photographs – I believe this is because they are able to edit the illustrations to be recognizable to that one newspaper.

The Guardian uses very colourful posters with very bright colours for fonts and patterns to attract the eye of the audience. It will also attract the eye of all ages and I think this is what makes them so successful because you cannot help but stop, look and read their poster.  Although, the clever thing with the guardian’s posters is that there are always the same colours used or same kind of design and therefore people always recognize it. The fonts used are quite bold as to attract the eye of the audience the same way as the colours do.

I have analysed the EDP’s website and I have found out many conventions about it. I have seen that they use stories from the newspaper and also use the same pictures to connect them together. Local news values are used again, which suits the target audience and represent the audience as community people who like to help each other and know about what is happening in their village. There is also a homepage to help the viewer navigate around the site easily. The layout is also very simple and can be used by everyone as it is very clear, I think this is important because you don’t want to overload the page or confuse the audience. The pictures used have picture captions below them to help the reader realize what it is about. The website tends to be picture led on the homepage until you take the hyperlink to the news page where it could be said it is text led. I think this represents the audience because they want to see pictures of the stories to understand it more but they also want to read the story on it to understand it completely. The lifestyle page contains very useful day-to-day information – for example on buying cars or looking for a job. This helps the audience in their daily life and this is why it works well.

The webpage of the EDP uses the same colours as within the newspaper. This is seen as the brand colour which is used across the title of the newspaper and through the website, of which the EDP uses blue. The fonts used are also very similar to that of the newspaper which are sans-serif and stand out for the target audience, as it seems that they do not want fancy calligraphy style writing or anything that is over the top because they would rather have it simple and easy to read. Subheads are used again to help break up the text so that it can be read in smaller sections along with three columns which breaks up the text so that it is clearer to read.  

The ideology of my newspaper is to have a local right wing, rural interested, family newspaper with a conservative ethos, a friendly newspaper which appeals precisely with housewives. Within my media product, I used some conventions that the EDP used within my newspaper. I have used local stories to attract my target audience. Using families within this as well because housewives like to know what is happening within other families in the community- especially involving children. I have used a story about a church hosting a fashion show for the poppy appeal as this is a right wing story containing children and families to attract the target audience.  My newspaper is also aimed at right wing housewives the same as the EDP is and is a tabloid newspaper.

 I used pictures, which related completely to the text so that the reader could visualize what was being said within the article.  The stock characters used are the exact people as what are written about in the article so that the reader gets a believable view on the story. As it is a local paper, this is what people want to see because a lot of the time they will know the people involved within the stories and it has to be clear that the pictures match the story exactly.  I also decided to add an editorial on the page two, this was on the student protests about the University fees rising – this is a very conservative view and it is written particularly to focus on right wing opinions.

The EDP contains an editorial but it does not on the second page. I decided to change around the layout of page 2 because I didn’t think there was need for so much weather and the page could include more news. However I did include some weather. I used the fact that the EDP uses a strategic advertising campaign and I also used this within my newspaper. I believed that it was important to use believable images because this is what the EDP does and makes it successful. For example, the story on the ‘Blue Moon walk for Teenage Cancer’ was a picture taken at the walk itself and therefore gives the reader an idea of what it was like at the time and see a believable picture. I think it is important to be there at the time and get an action shot of the story, as this is what the reader will appreciate more.  I also used the lighting of the time as well as I believe that it is important for the lighting to coincide with the time of the event. I used an informal register to make women feel comfortable reading the newspaper, but I wrote it in an academic manor which I believe will therefore appeal to the right wing audience. I used weather on my second page of my newspaper because this is what most newspapers do although; I made it simple and clear for my audience.

The codes from the EDP were also used within my newspaper. The mast head was written in sans-serif font as it is easy to read and looks professional. I decided to use size 12 Sans-serif fonts throughout within my articles which the EDP uses because it is simple and clear to read.  Three columns were used within the articles to make the text neater and also

breaks the text up into sections. Subheads were used and were written in sans-serif and bold, and broke up the article in sections so that it was easier to read. I included flashes on the front page to win a hamper – this not only attracts the eye of the audience to win something but it also appeals to the target market because it connects women to their traditional values of the kitchen and cooking. I have included a strapline on my front main page of my newspaper this says ‘ Local newspaper of the year’ – this is similar to the EDP in the way that the audience will then feel comfortable that the newspaper will be giving them correct information and can trust the paper.

With my poster, I used conventions similar to the guardian posters. I used a register that would appeal to my audience by using slogans. The guardian poster uses a memorable slogan or passage of text and I decided to use this within my poster because I this will make the audience read and remember it.

I used simple sans-serif text, which stands out to the viewer. I used coloured the text for the name of my newspaper and the slogan. This also stands out to the target audience, in a similar way to the Guardian did. I think when the text is a pastel yet vibrant colour it will attract the eye of the audience. The poster from the Guardian were very original and I only used the bright colours of font so that people stop and see the writing and have to read it to attract the eye. I also used bold fonts so that they stand out also while the target audience walk past the poster and will attract their eye.

The webpage that I produced, I used some of the conventions, which the EDP did within theirs.  The stories, which were used within my webpage followed the idea of the EDP as the stories included were those from the newspaper itself, which were local stories about the community, many of which including young people/ children and families which are the stories which attract the target audience of which are housewives. I also made my webpage more picture led so it was not too confusing to work out, but as it got to the news page there was much more text and could be said that it was text led. I think this works well because if the want to see the news page then they will want the articles and this is what I have provided, very similarly to the EDP. The homepage is very simple to navigate around and is not too busy and cluttered so that everything is apparent to the viewer. The layout is simple yet effective because it is plain to the audience how to navigate around – it is important for it to not be too confusing as the website will therefore get less views.

The webpage that I produced used many of the same codes as the EDP’s webpage.

It used the brand colour throughout the same as the newspaper so that it links the two together. The fonts used were san-serif; this stands out as it is a feminine, clear appearance. Within the articles, columns were used to separate the text neatly and subheads were used to section the text so that it could be read in whichever order the viewer wished.  

I developed the conventions of my newspaper by including weather on page two but also adding an editorial. I thought this would be more interesting than just having weather. Although the EDP I studied has mainly a page of weather, I developed this and added a small amount of weather which was clear and simple but also adding an editorial because my target audience is for right wing housewives and I believe that would prefer to see an editorial than too much weather.  I took the idea that there is a page with competitions and quizzes and decided to use this within mine. Although, I developed it by taking a picture of my own hamper to win and puzzles. I also took the idea of having blocks at the top of the newspaper, which give an insight into what is inside the newspaper but decided to change the colours to pastel colours to suit my target audience.

I Developed the ideas of the newspaper that I had studied thorough its codes. I used flashes but decided to make these so that they appealed to my target audience by including a picture of a hamper on it to win as this appeals to women by connecting them to their traditional values.

I developed conventions of posters; I did this by using a slogan but developing it so that it fitted with the ethos of my newspaper. Therefore, it will appeal to the target audience that I want it too.

I developed codes of posters by using bright colours that the guardian posters have but just using this on the text and not within an illustration.

I have developed conventions of webpage’s by using recipes available within; I am therefore making the newspaper like a friend and offering a service. There is also a Restaurant review search which makes the newspaper is work for the reader.

I have developed codes of the ‘EDP’s’ Webpage by using sans-serif text within the articles but changing the text slightly so that it was not the same. I also used this within the title as if it was the same text then it would be too similar to the EDP and not original to my own newspaper. I have also used coloured boxes where there is more information for the website on the far left but I have developed the colours from the ‘EDP’ and made them pastel colours as they contain connotations of motherhood and continue my newspapers’ ideology.

I challenged the conventions of real media products within my newspaper by including very female orientated stories. The ‘EDP’ isn’t just focused at women, it is also focused at men so the stories do it for both genders although it is said that some of it is female orientated. I have also decided to add one big story on the front with not many sections of other articles on it. The EDP includes information on other article inside on the front so I decided to not do this because it takes up space where more information from the main article can be written.

I challenged the codes of the EDP within my newspaper. One way I did this was the colours. The blocks at the top of the newspaper I decided to use more feminine, soft colours to attract the female audience because I believed that this would be more suitable.

I challenged the conventions of real media products within my poster for my newspaper because I decided to use props. The props I used were newspapers because it linked well with the main product and the ideology of the poster itself. The guardian does not use props, especially not their newspaper within their posters and so I challenged this. I thought that it would promote my newspaper better to the target audience and along with the photograph used, will focus clearly on my newspaper and give an individual look.

Within the design of my poster, I challenged the codes that I saw within the guardian posters. I used a photograph instead of an illustration. I felt that the Guardian posters were to individual as it was always very clear that the posters belonged to the Guardian newspaper. I thought that I needed to change the idea of this and decided to use a black and white photograph. The reason for this is because I wanted the text to be similar to that of the guardian using the bright colours but I thought a photo would attract the eye of the target audience more. I used a picture of a mother and daughter on a bench in a park reading my newspaper, I think this therefore captures the eye of mothers and makes them think about it. I believe my poster would be just as successful as the Guardian posters are.

I challenged conventions of the webpage of real media products through my lifestyle page. I also challenged it by using a motoring section because this would not be something that traditionally women are interested in – although I have done this because I believe that as times are changing, women are interested in thing for example motoring here.

On my webpage, I decided not to use picture captions as I thought it was obvious where my picture fitted with the story in the way in which I divided it up. The audience I am targeting, I felt would not need to be told what the photograph is about as the story is right beside it.