Question 1 a2

Question 1: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Looking at my overall product I think it meets the conventions of real media products as I have done variety of researches of how these real newspapers use conventions to make this understandable and appropriate for audiences who would want to buy my newspaper. From analyzing each convention I was able to fully understand them and contributed this into my final media product. Before I started creating my product, I did some various background researches at national newspapers, billboard and radio advertising. Examples of newspapers that I used conventions to create my newspaper are The Daily Mirror, The Sun and The Guardian.

For the colour scheme this meets the conventions of real media products such as ‘The Sun’ and ‘The Daily Mirror ‘ by using red, white and black which are repeatedly used in tabloid newspapers. Based on my market research, majority of the people wanted a tabloid-looking layout but tabloid based stories. The colour scheme I have used presents all pages of my products (including ancillary of billboard and radio advert), which have been successful in creating this.

For the title of my newspaper, I wanted to keep the font very basic and simple similar to The Sun and The Daily Mirror. Especially the name of my product is very similar to ‘The Daily Mirror ‘ by using a red block background but a white font with black outline around. I wanted to challenge this to a more local rather than national. Differentiating this, the phrase ‘Salford’ is shaded in black and highlighted in a hint of yellow to bring an equal importance between the two words from above and below.

The slogan that I have created ‘A Friend to the Local’ brings a friendlier atmosphere for the audiences to see and hear. For example, from the billboard, I made the slogan to appear big for the audience to see. Another example would be from radio advertising by repeating the slogan at the end.

I have also Guttenberg principle by placing the masthead at the top of the primary optical area along with the main headline covering the primary optical area and the terminal area to make this balanced. When researching newspapers, they only bring importance on the primary optical area. When I analyzed the daily express’s front page, I realized that their newspaper was very unconventional that makes this evidently creative to attract the audiences. Although from the right side of the right headline and the advert it does meet the convention as the headline is at the primary optical area and the advert is at the terminal area. But the main image contradicts this for the reader to focus on that shows importance of the newspaper.

I’ve chosen to create layout ideas from my three chosen newspapers. My chosen layout for the front cover would be similar from my product research from The Sun. After choosing a final layout I slightly changed this from using two images into one. I wanted the whole page to concentrate on one image to emphasize the importance of the headline. I did this by creating the main image to mostly takeover with side headlines at the side and adverts to keep the conventions of newspapers in place. This also has a similar situation with the second page, from my chosen layout I wanted to show 2 images at an equal scale. This didn’t fit my whole story of this headline so I decided to focus on one image and making one smaller that over lays the main image to create a meaning of the headline. As an alternative, I used an extra image to create a contrast between the main image, I wanted to challenge the conventions of newspapers by doing this.

For the front cover, I used a medium long shot for the main image of a person dressed in black hoodie facing its back towards the camera, as my headline is not focused on one character but youths I didn’t want the characters face to be seen. This is where I tried to challenge the conventions of a local newspaper where I talk about the society instead of just focusing on one character. For the second page my shot that I used are long shot to extra long shot of the buildings. Many national newspapers do this to make their photography a high quality effect.

The story of my newspaper is based on crime and local-related. In most of my pages, 3 headlines are focused on crime to focus on a negative representation of the local area that brings similar headlines to broadsheet newspapers. Especially on the first page I wanted to do this because I believe based on my market research they preferred for the newspaper to focus on crime. Although at the second page I intended to focus on a local-story related that hasn’t happened yet for the audiences to feel they are part of the local. I also tried to challenge the conventions because I tried to link in crime stories and my main second story at my second page to create a balance effect on my newspaper overall.

There are different types of characters seen in my first page; the main headline would be focused on youth. Applying to Propps theory they would be categorized as a villain due to the headline focuses on bad things about them. Although this reveals why they are like that, it show’s that the headline isn’t being biased creating a fragmented and elliptical structure. For the secondary headline is slightly different where we both see two characters; a hero

that are the pensioners, and a villain that are the governments. In here I tried to challenge the conventions by referring to an economic context from a stream of consciousness narrative structure. For the second page, my main headline uses a hero and a villain; the hero would be the character who wants to redevelop the town Michael Mcgorton and the villain would be those who are opposed that creates an enigmatic structure. Usually, newspapers are biased when it comes to story headlines but in mine, you can see that I talk about both sides of the argument creating an unbiased feeling which challenges the conventions of newspapers.

For the first page I wanted to manipulate my image by blurring the character so the readers are aware that the story isn’t focusing on one person but as a local. This meets the conventions of using real newspapers to create the closeness towards the reader. For the second page my headline has a positive representation of the local area. So I manipulated the image into a greener atmosphere on the main image as well as the other images by using different techniques to create different meanings. This was easy for me to balance and making the sides symmetrical of my newspaper to create high quality pages. Real newspaper manipulates their images a lot more such as making this brighter. Although for me I wanted to keep the natural lighting of my images so I didn’t do much adjustments when contrasting this.

Doing this has helped me to spot the difference between tabloid and broadsheet. Tabloids uses louder color schemes such as The Sun, which uses red, black and white based on local stories and celebrity gossips. Broadsheet newspapers are more formal that are aimed at mainstream audiences