Radio Advert Research

Below are four radio adverts that I have found on 'YouTube'. I came across much difficulty when attempting to find radio adverts for newspapers so I looked into other radio adverts which I can use to analyse the techniques used.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRJPqJMWhoo

This radio advert is a campaign against fighting HIV / Aids. The advert is read by football player, Rio Ferdinand. The use of using a famous sports star will increase the effect it has on younger listeners, preferably the same listeners who belong in the target audience in which STD worries are a concern.
The up-tempo music in the background will affect the same age range by grabbing their attention rather than someone of an older age.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ8kW7w0Tl8

This advert conveys the 'Don't Run The Risk' concern.
To make itself effective, the speaker asks the driver (assuming the listeners are currently driving, also aiming at drivers) three questions. This technique will allow the advert to become interactive and therefore more efficient by involving the listeners to the ad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odyuao_-UJg

The advert is for the restaurant; Nando's.
It is very entertaining and effective as the speaker has a Mexican accent. This not only gives the advert an interesting take, but advertises the type of food sold at the restaurant. It is clear that voice and accent become important in advertising.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aj0LS8m-xVc

The last advert I analysed is advertising book tokens in 'The Sun' newspaper. The advert has a very interesting number of techniques which advertise it's product well.
The sounds used in the background make out that the scene is happening in a newsagents which is useful for setting the location in which the product can be purchased.
There are also several other sounds featured in the background, such as the rustling of paper and the sounds of children. The effect this has on listeners will inform them on the outcome of buying the tokens; helping children in school.

I understand from listening and analysing the techniques used in these adverts that there are many important features to consider before creating a radio advert. I have to consider the sounds and voice used to be able to attract my specified audience. As there is no visual aspect, the radio advert must get its point across within the 30 of 60 second take it has using only sounds. I will begin to plan my own radio advert by writing a draft script including as much detail as possibe (music, voices ect.)

Poster Planning

Simple Design

Created on a blank white background, a giant number one exact to the letter ‘O & 1’ in the masthead, will be placed in the middle, in red and black. Below, in the remaining space, I could include the tag line from below the newspaper masthead or maybe include a new statement that invites the readers.

I have tried this idea, however, the basic theme is far too basic for what I tried out and I have begun to re-think this over, seeing what I could add or what other designs I could try.

Image Design

Another idea could include a photograph which includes my newspaper, maybe a member of public carrying it or of it being picked up by a member of public.

Montage Design

Similar to the Echo adverts, it would be interesting to include a variety of photographs relating to Liverpool, to attract the local public who live in the city. People may recognise the images portrayed on the poster and be able to relate to them simply because of their hometown location.

Cartoon Idea

Another idea came to mind during my analysis of the Metro posters. I thought about having cartoon humans carrying a real image of my newspaper, it will create an entertainment effect and also will allow the newspaper stand out. It will also generally affect the younger age range of my target audience.

I will also include the tag line featured on my front page;

"One City, One Paper, One News."

Below are some of my drafts, the start of my planning.

The left image will feature an image at the top, covering almost half the page. I have not yet decided what the image will be but am still thinking. Under the image will be a statement relating to the picture, maybe a joke or a pun. Under the statement will be the 'Daily One' logo to clearly portray the item being advertised. Below that, the tag line feature on the front page.

The right image is very basic and simple and will feature a lot of colour in the tag line. My concern for this draft will be that there is very little on the page, however, it's basic design could increase attractiveness and increase the effect of catching the eyes of the audience as less is more.

Analysing Newspaper Poster Campaigns.

Looking at the front cover of the Liverpool Echo, it is clear that both the paper and it's poster adverts share similar conventions.

It is evident in the above images that all the forms of media contain a red/blue element to their design.

This on-going theme and colour code gives both the newspaper and its adverts their own colour characteristics, and also links the two together.

The adverts also contain the Echo’s title and in all images, it is clear that the consistent font has been used throughout, and with the added liver bird allows the posters and the paper to share an overall identity.

The above images are all advertisement campaigns for the Guardian newspaper.

It is clear that all the adverts share a similar theme. They are all very simple in nature, sharing the blank white background and share a multicoloured element in front. They all provide a statement that allows readers to understand their involvement with the newspaper itself, allowing them to be part of a debate and being able to read more than one view on a particular topic. This inviting statement, being in a range of bright colours, will draw readers in to this uncomplicated straightforward advertising campaign.

The creators of this poster advertise through colour and through eye catching, simple designs.

The above images are poster campaigns for the Metro newspaper. The images are three very similar adverts and all share identical colour themes, blue and red, similar to the Echo and also similar to the Metro’s logo.

Each advert however has it’s own pun and humourous related cartoon image. The taglines on each advert are all esstentially normal statements however, their corresponding images provide a witting pun effect. This provides an entertainment factor and will draw more viewers and interest more to read the metro.

The creator of there adverts uses humour and simple cartoon entertainment to attract their audience.

----

The current adverts that I have looked at and analysed all share something unique within their own range, whether it be a certain colour code or certain theme. Most of them also have very basic simple designs which also have a greater effect by being eye-catching and fairly interesting.

The Echo adverts however are not as simple as the others but still convey an interesting aspect to them, including photographs of several unique sights of Liverpool, which will attract locals to the poster and then to the paper.

I like the idea of having a very blank and simple design, as it will be less complicated. I will begin to plan my newspaper's poster using my idea's gained from previous posters.

Second Page Final (And Focus Groups)

Second Page - First Draft.

The image to the left is my first draft for my second page. It is evident that the current draft images shows lack of detail, colour and text, purely because it was simply a layout plan, to be used for future construction.
This draft does change as development continues as I held yet another focus group.

I left the space to the left as I firstly thought about adding an advert or another story, maybe a side story.

The weather idea came to me during my planning, although I have not used any weather details in my final product, I used Google's Weather to help plot my draft.

.

This is my second draft. It is evident that it differs highly from my first. Only the main story and contact box remained the same. I began construction and inserted these two articles first as they were the only two I was confident about.

I decided to make the lottery numbers smaller as I thought they took up a lot of the space at the bottom which contrasted their importance. I moved them to the left as I decided that a full information column on the left would be suitable.

Due to not being able to lift images, I decided that I would leave out weather information as the only possible way I could include it would be provided as text only.

I chose to include a contents box, a 15p off voucher and a mini-story to fill my remaining space. These factors all play a part in creating a suitable second page. During analysis of other second pages, I noticed that content boxes were included in many of them and also mini stories.

I only saw a voucher once in a front page during analysis, but the idea remained during construction.

.

Focus Group

I held a minor focus group to discuss my current draft.

They agreed that every time the colour blue is used, it is a different shade, and we agreed that they should all share the exact same shade.

We decided that the content box was not using the wrong colours, but was simply using them in wrong way and that it should be a white on red layout.

Finally, it was decided that the font used for the lottery details should be changed to a more modern font to match my corresponding theme.

.

Changes from Focus Group

To the left is the same image with the minor changes brought up in the focus group.

I changed the colour blue in both the mini story and also the contact box to create a more modern colour theme similar to my front cover.

I changed the contents box to create a similar look as the front covers masthead.

Finally, I applied the same font to all text on the page to link it all together and create an identity for my newspaper.

Front Page Final (And Focus Group)

The image on the left is my very first draft. It is visible that it lacks detail and content as it was just a layout to work on during construction.

I have used lifted images in this draft such as the Christmas advert and the River Island advert, however, these are simply decoys to help me determine what will go where.

My headline displays 'Local TV Star Story.
This was just another decoy headline as I knew what my main story would be about.

The Facebook blurb displays a very blank look, however during my construction I will be making it look more interesting.



This is my second draft, which is almost complete.
It includes all my finished articles and images.
There are a few changes that have been made from my first draft, such as the swap of the 2nd and 3rd articles. As I was using the Facebook story on my second page, I thought it would be more interesting to have it as a secondary story blurb for more emphasis rather than the third story.

FOCUS GROUP

I held another focus group to help decide what was liked and disliked about my product. Here is what their views were;
-The date is wrong compared to the top advert.
-The ONE sport blurb and the River Island advert get cut off a little.
-River Island is a brand and I should create my own shop.



This is my final draft.

I have changed the Christmas countdown so it stands out more using the colour green.

I have changed the Sport blurb and Bottom advert so they look even and nothing is cut off.

I have also invented my own shop; 'World of Trend' so that no real brands have been used on my paper.
I corrected the date on my paper and also added 'to go' onto my Christmas countdown, so that it was clear what the it was counting down to. I have now completed both my front page and second page and can use my designs to help create my poster.

Advert Construction

I have created an advert for an invented shop called 'World Of Trend'.

The shop is aimed at teenagers proven by the word 'trend'.

Below is how I began constructing it. I used the current teenager shop 'River Island' as a guide to help me construct.

I then used a christmas themed 'green' colour along with a snowy blue and white to make my final advert look colourful and allow it to link in with my papers release time.

Constructing Final Pages.

I am currently in the process of constructing my front and second pages. I have not blogged recently as I have been using the time to create the final construction of my pages which have changed from my simple drafts created earlier.

I have almost successfully completed the two pages and will be fully finished very shortly. During my construction, I have taken or used my own pictures to accompany my stories.

Along the process of my construction, I have referred back to several parts of my research and planning to help myself construct accurate pages in terms of my target audience's interest and favour.

I have referred to my drafts and mock layouts in terms of plotting the location of the different pictures, stories and articles etc. I have also referred to my questionnaire which guided me through my decisions on the topics I had chosen for stories.

After completing my pages, I will upload them both as a blog post and explain my reasons for the articles that I have used, their location and things that I may have changed from my previous drafts.

After completing this part of my project, I will then begin to research into Newspaper posters and radio adverts, and then will be able to move on to planning and constructing my final pieces of the project.

Mastehead Final

I have fully designed my masthead using the title 'One'. Below is the image of my design.


I was influenced by designs, similiar to my own, such as 'The Echo', 'The Mirror' and 'The Star', who also use a white on red template. I stuck to typical conventions as it is a very eye-catching design and would be useful for attracting readers. I added black coloured dupicates behind each letter to create a shadowed effect for more impact.

My influence for the letter 'O' came from when I analysed the 'Echo', I learnt that having a logo (In the case of the 'Echo'; It was the Liverbird) creates an identity for the paper and makes it more recognisable. If my paper's name needed to be shortened for any case, using the letter 'O' with the '1' inside would still be able to portray the papers name and can also be used as a logo.

Stories

Main Story

Headline: LOCAL TV STAR’S DRUG STASH

Topic: TV Star’s house raided after suspicions of drug use.

Why I am using this story: TV stars are seen as idols, it would be a featured eye-catching story, especially for the front page.

The star from ITV’S hit drama ‘Shop Keepers’ has been arrested on suspicion of drug dealing late last night. Matthew Webb, 20, sat alone in his house in Rainhill when Police raided the semi detached building after anonymous witnesses noticed and recorded a suspicious van un-loading as they describe; ‘a few bags of grass’.
Webb denies all charges. However, mobile phone video footage is being analysed to prove eye-witness accounts of what they described as a drug deal. A police spokesman says “Mr Webb is currently in custody and is being questioned whilst a thorough search of the house is to be completed later today.”

CONTINUES, PAGE 6 >>

I researched similar stories concerning drugs such as this one. I chose to research similar stories as I have little knowledge about investigations of drug crimes.

Second Story (Featured on Second Page)

Headline: FACEBOOK MASS DESTURCTION

Topic: Facebook status about house party leads to destruction as unwanted visitors show up.

Why I am using this story: Facebook is very popular among my chosen target audience, it will be a useful topic to attract readers and may also change how teenagers use the social networking site, maybe influencing them to be more careful.

Story:

Home destroyed by shock fire after teen announces house party on social networking site; Facebook. 17 year old Lucie Wilde planned a house party at her home in Whiston whilst her parents were on holiday for the week. After details of the party were leaked on Facebook, several uninvited youths trashed the house leading to a major fire before fleeing the scene.

It was several hours before the get-together began that one of Wilde’s friends posted a comment on Facebook revealing details of the party and the fact that her parents were away which she explains she meant as ‘a joke’. A young male, 19, currently in custody denies involvement in the ‘Skins’ style destruction. He claims that they left quietly when asked, hours before the fire started. Wilde claims that around fourteen young teenage males, dressed in tracksuits, gate crashed the party, stealing the alcohol provided for her and friends that night.

Fire crews were called to the scene at 11.30pm to extinguish sudden flames that erupted quickly. No known causes have been discovered yet however specialist investigators will return to the property today as they work to establish the cause of the blaze.

Police suspect that arson is the main cause as Lucie states that several of the teenagers spent time in the bedroom, which is now destroyed, a few minutes before smoke was discovered. Wilde’s parents have been contacted and Lucie is now staying with her sister, 22, who lives with friends in Leeds, until her parents return.

First Draft: Second Page.

The above image is a first draft for my second page. I have used several lifted images to help plan my layout. I have not yet decided what will be used in the space on the left, I thought about including more adverts as I understand that newspaper rely heavily on advertisements.

I have included lottery numbers and weather details as my focus group decided that the second page should be half informative and half news story. I have also included several contact details including social networking sites to aim at the younger generation of readers.

The main story on the second page will be a continuation from a blurb featured on the front page. During my focus group, They decided that the main story featured on the front page would be more interesting featured on a double page spread, as for this result, I decided that I would create a full story for a less relevent however still fairly interesting story.

First Draft: Front Page.

I finally decided on which layout to use for my front page.

(Refer to post: Focus Group: Potential Layouts - Layout 2)

However, the image shown for 'Layout 2' was changed during the construction of my first draft, as I didn't like how it was displayed. This is my first draft, which portrays my new layout and also my chosen stories and adverts. Some of my images are lifted, from the Internet, however, as I have not yet taken pictures, it was useful for drafting, I will not use lifted images in my final construction.

Masthead: Although I have not currently constructed a masthead, I have used just a red rectangle to display the location of where is will be.

Small Ad: The small square advert located at the top right of the page, will be a Christmas related advert. I have decided to do this as I have chosen my current newspaper to be released in the upcoming weeks to Christmas. Using a Christmas advert would be useful for attracting readers as Christmas will be a main topic on their minds. I have currently used a lifted image of another Christmas related advert to help construct my draft.

Small LFC/EFC Blurb: In my questionnaire, the results told me that not everyone wanted sport, however some did. I think the small blurb I have added is useful as readers can then decide whether it would interest them enough to turn to the specified page. I have chosen to use two local teams to prevent a biased front page and also to create a rivalry interest. I have not yet decided on a story for this blurb.

Main Story: The main story, takes up most of the space on the front page. In my questionnaire, Film/TV was chosen the most to interest readers. I decided to play around with this idea and write a story about a particular TV star, one which is also local. I have decided that the story would be based around either death, drugs or leaving a TV show. The headline is currently in 'Impact' font. My focus group had chosen another headline font. During my final stages of construction, I will try out different fonts to see which look better on the final product.

Second Story: My second story will be a gig review on the singer; Diana Vickers. The image used is not lifted, and was taken by myself after I went to see her play a gig in the Liverpool o2 Academy. I thought this would be useful as 'Celebs' and 'Entertainment' were some of the choices that were popular throughout my questionnaire, and being able to use a true celebrity would defiantly catch the eyes of her fans and also interested readers. I understand, that if I were a real newspaper editor, I would require permission to use this image.

Third Story: I decided that Facebook would be a useful base topic for my third story. Facebook currently plays an important part in the life of teenagers and young adults. I have not yet decided on a story but my first idea was to write about a disastrous party after a teenager had posted about a small house party. This would be an interesting story and would also send out messages concerning safety using social networking sites.

Main Advert: The main advert currently stands with a 20% sale at River Island, with myself using a lifted image from the Internet. I decided from the start to use a clothes shop advert aimed at both genders, as I think clothes are important in a teenagers life and also, being during the winter, clothes will come to mind yet again.

Research Summary.

After reaching my target date for 'Research', I have managed to gather useful information to begin construction.

Using questionnaires, and the graphed results of the questionnaire, I managed to successfully understand the preferences of young adults in my target audience which is '16-24' when it came to local newspapers.

Understanding the views of the age ranged audience is useful for debating different features that I will consider when creating my newspaper.

I was disappointed when, after a month, I still did not receive any replies to the emails that I had sent, this could have been useful for my research, using professional views and facts.

After analysing a few current local newspapers, I was able to research into features and layouts used in the present day and was able to decide what techniques were popular, which were less interesting and in some cases, decide what is 'missing' from newspapers.

After holding focus groups for my chosen fonts and layouts, I was able to understand the preferences of people in my chosen age range and what interested them more about specific ideas.

Email Update

As of the 11th October, I have still not received any replies to the emails that I sent just under a month ago. However, I will still wait as I may receive some at any time before my construction finishes.

Focus Group: Potential Layouts.

FRONT PAGE

I have designed two potential layouts which can be used to construct my final product. I have also asked a series of students aged between 16 and 21 to comment on their likes and dislikes of each image.

Layout One
My first layout, in my opinion, looks like a combined newspaper and magazine, with the main headline covering part of the main image, similar to that of a magazine however, features such as the masthead and adverts share the same layout as a newspaper. I think it is important to use part of a magazine layout as my chosen target audience stereotypically would be more interest in magazine than newspapers.

Focus Group

After presenting 'Layout One' to my focus group, they decided that the 'Main Image' is useful for drawing attention to readers, however, with the size of the 'Main Lead' and also the 'Second Story', there would be too much text compared to the size of the 'Second Story Image'. They would rather read a little bit, and whether it interests them or not, continue reading inside the paper. They also commented on how the headline is in a prominent place, the centre.


Layout Two
For my second layout, I have chosen to use a very genetic layout which is most probably used in many newspapers, with the main image and headline taking up most of the space, and the usual location filled by the masthead and main advert (proven by my analysis of three different papers). Although this would be a typical layout to use, and would create a direct newspaper effect, it may also cause a lack of interest in readers if they desire something 'new' and 'different'.

Focus Group
My group decided that the amount of space taken up for adverts may distract people from reading or buying the paper, however, if the adverts were aimed at the readers, it would increase readership. This is interesting as I may
need to research more into what to advertise to readers. One member, again commented on how the image and headline are in a suitable position and are very eye catching, also noting on how the side stories are not too big and not too small, but give readers a wider spread of reading material.

Layout Three
For my third layout, I have chosen yet another typical newspaper layout however, unlike before I have included a sub-headline and a small box which would contain such things as 'Free With Today's Paper' or 'Inside Today's Paper' etc.

Focus Group
My focus group decided that the 'Free Offer' box is in the wrong place, if it was offering something valuable, in terms of attracting the audience should be placed near the top. They also commented on the Headline and Sub-Headline, noting it took up a vast amount of space of the page, compared to its small related image and lead. However, it's size would catch the eye of readers. The masthead is a in a suitable position and in terms of size is useful for being noticed.

From revising my audiences views on my layouts, they seem to comment more on how images will be more useful than text when it comes to catching the readers eye, also, using centered headlines and images would attract more people and direct them to the main story. It is also clear to include sub stories that do not take up a vast amount of space but also are not too small to be unnoticeable. The use of adverts should be considered as they need to aim directly at my chosen age range, without being biased towards a particular gender. These preferences will be informative to me during my construction.

SECOND PAGE

During my focus group, I asked the participants about contents that would be useful to feature within my first page. I gave a variety of options (as shown below) and have ticked the most popular choices.

• Main Story (Continued)
  
• Secondary Story (Full) √
• Third Story (Full)
  
• Newspaper Contact √
• Lottery Numbers √
• Weather Details √
• Horoscopes
  

By looking at the decisions provided by my focus group, it is clear that the front page should be part-story and part-informative. The group decided that the main story should continue onto a full page to make it's contents more dramatic, therefore, the next best story should be told via the first page. Although it wouldn't take up the full page, the secondary story would take up about half the page, leaving the other half to provide information such as weather, lottery and and contacts. My group decided that horoscopes would take a lot of space and should be featured on a different page.

Current Layouts

The images above are duplicate layouts which are useful for my planning, I will not directly double the layouts for my own design but will use them as guidance and for ideas. The masthead seems to remain in the same location for all of the three papers and also, the headline almost remains in the same location, as do the main adverts.

Focus Group: Fonts & Title

After choosing several of my favourite fonts and titles which I think are appropriate for a newspaper, I created a focus group of three people within my chosen age range to enquire thoughts and opinions. All the participants are 18 years old. I have refered to them as Person A, B and C.

Person A and B are male, C is female.

Person A:
"Headline Three draws you in and seems very different, I don't like Headline one, it's too common and boring"
Person B:
"Headline Four and Six, the eroded look of them gives them more of an urban image"
Person C:
"Five and Six are my favourite, they look like a usual headline font but with a difference, the first two are too plain, they remind me of a boring newspaper which usually bore me anyway, something different would interest me more"

It is clear that Headline Six stands out more and seems to be liked the most by the audience, Although Three, Four and Five were also chosen, these could make potential sub-headlines within the paper.

Person A:
"Top Left and Bottom Right are my favourites. Top left is very different and looks like it's print related anyway, the bottom right is very ordinary but in a different 'casual' way, I didn't like Left: 2nd Down because the lettering size would annoy me, it's like random capitals!"
Person B:
"Bottom Left would suit a newspaper title aimed at our age because it's very casual and urban like the headlines, and would suit the target audience perfectly"
Person C:
"Bottom Left is very bold and stands out compared to the other fonts, and has that worn out effect on it which is interesting"

It is evident from the above opinions that the bottom left font 'You Are Loved' is the most popular. I will keep this font in mind when constructing my product as I am sure to use it.

Potential Names
I have come up with some potential titles for my newspaper, some include puns, others however, include simple newspaper related titles.

• LiverNews
• Huyton Herald
• Knewsley
• The One
• Liverpool Life
• Huyton Humbug

Person A:
"Knewsley, because it is different and creative."
Person B:
"The One, I think of Liverpool One, which is useful as it is local and interesting at the same time."
Person C:
"Knewsley made me laugh but wouldn't interest me and probably wouldn't interest others my age because Liverpool related titles would suggest city based news, which I'd rather read about rather than just about Knowsley."

From the opinions that I have received, 'Knewsley' and 'The One' stood out the most, Person C, however quoted that Liverpool related titles would suggest city based news and would be more of an interesting read that just Knowsley.

'Knewsley' is a creative pun and creativity is a stereotype of people my age.

'The One', however, sounds catchy and makes the paper sound important and featured, and also considers Liverpool One.

After considering my titles and the preferences of my focus group, I have decided that 'The One' will be my final newspaper title.

Initial Research into Newspapers.

Definition

[Wikipedia] "A newspaper is a regularly scheduled publication containing news, information, and advertising, usually printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. General-interest newspapers often feature articles on political events, crime, business, art/entertainment, society and sports."

Newspapers Should...

ü Attract the readers into wanting to buy.

ü Reinforce the newspapers identity through easily recognisable style features.

ü Demonstrate the newspapers attitude towards the news of the day (make the main headline stand out).

ü Show the main stories, hopefully including better coverage of these stories than any other paper in the area.

Codes and Conventions (Front Page)

• Photographs are used to grab the attention of the readers. It may or may not be linked to the main story and is often in colour.
• Captions in newspapers are the words below a photograph which explain its meaning or describe the contents of the image.
• The Headline is usually in large bold letters, taking up the entire width of the page. The headline is always important as it is one of the first eye-catching features of a paper and determines the main story.
  
• The masthead is the newspapers title and is also an eye-catching feature of a newspaper. It has to remain recognisable to provide the newspapers identity.
• News stores are split into columns for an easier read and make the paper look less complicated.

This allows readers to stop reading at any point and still understand the basis of the story gaining enough information needed such as who, what, where, why and when.

Colours Used on Masthead

• Liverpool Echo - Red + Blue
• The Mirror - Red
• The Daily Star - Red
• Merseymart - Red + Blue
• Knowsley Challenge - Red
• News of the World - Red

Looking at some of the more popular newspapers, it is evident that the colour red plays an important part in mastheads as it is an eye catching colour and stands out very well.

Fonts

After looking over several websites, I discovered that these fonts are commonly used in newspapers such as The Mirror and the Guardian;

Font One / Franklin Gothic Book

Font Two / Times New Roman

Font Three / Bodoni

Font FOUR / Impact (usually used for headlines)

Font Five / Microsoft Sans Serif.

Although the fonts are common in newspapers, their style may not appeal to my age range and may seem less interesting than other possible choices. As I have begun research on fonts, I will create several practise fonts which I like and would think are suitable for a newspaper and hold a focus group to determine which fonts others like, and hopefully, come up with a decision on which is best to use.

Questionnaire Results

1. What is your age?


2. What is your gender?

The Results of the gender question luckily left me with an equal amount of participents, both male and female.

.

.

3. What would / does attract you to read local newspapers?

Question 3 had many multiple answers to choose from and also left the participents to choose more than one feature of newspapers. As I had multiple answers that varied from one to four per question, I decided to convert the results into the amount each answer was chosen as a percentage. It is clearly visible from the above bar chart that Film/TV was chosen the most, 25% of the time, followed by News at 20%. These two features are evidently the most attractive of a local newspaper and would be useful for attracting my target audience to a new paper. At 15%, Sport, Entertainment and Celeb Gossip, would be useful sub-articles to use in my newspaper.

.

.

4. How do you receive current local news?

It is clear that people use the internet to access local news, as it is perhaps more accessible, this information is useful as links to my newspaper's website would be useful to include.

.

.

5. What price would you pay for a local newspaper?

It is interesting to see a group of people at this age would pay 25P-35P for a local newspaper, I was expecting that the FREE option would have gained a lot more.

.

.

6. Where would be a suitable location to access a local newspaper?

It is visually evident that a Local Newsagent is the automatic location to distribute a local newspaper. Only one chose College/Uni which, based on the age range, is surprising as this location would be a much simpler and easier access point.

.

.

7. Do you read any local newspapers?

The Liverpool Echo is the most chosen paper that my target audience read, I have previously analysed the Echo and will use my analysis alot more than my others to help with planning and construction as the Echo seems to attract it's audience well.

The Knowsley Challenge: Analysis

The Knowsley Challenge

This is a free paper distributed in College. It will be useful for analysis as my target audience will be students.

The masthead is similar to that of the typical conventions used in previous papers that I have looked at, it is located at the top left of the front page and is a reasonable size, using the colour red which could also suggest that the colours are being used to purely attract the eyes of readers.

Below the masthead, is an immense white on black headline; COUNCIL FACES SHORTFALL OF £30M, the headline is an important feature of the paper visually drawing readers to the news story which appears to be the lead story as it’s columns take up almost all of the front page. The content of the news story seems to be aimed at adults as the younger audience would most probably have no interest in the council. However, this is contrast by the advert located at the bottom, advertising a Youth Theatre aiming at children and teenagers from the age of 12 to 21. This may only direct at adults with children but also older teenagers interested in performing arts, maybe who are studying it at college or university.

Situated at the top right is an advert for a taxi firm, this is interesting as the advert has no target audience to aim at. It is a useful piece of information valuable for those of any age including college students, workers etc.

On the right side of the front page lists the ‘Inside this month’ contents, this seems to go against conventions of previous newspapers which had their contents within the first few pages. This technique is useful for allowing readers to see what is expected inside by just looking at the front page.

Going over the first page, I noticed that as it contains many news stories, it makes this page over packed and very cramped together; this could also drive readers away as the amount of stories on the page looks very complicated. The main story stands out as it is the only direct white on black headline which in my opinion catches the eye the most.

Other news stories located on the page only have very small headlines and roughly around 12-20 lines each.

There is one advert on the first page, which is for Clarendon College, a school for 3-16 year olds. This advert is specifically for adults who have children as they may be considering sending their children here; it has also been placed besides a news story about young school pupils which is useful as both articles are aimed at the same target audience.

The paper seems to contain topics and adverts for a target audience beyond college students. It is aimed at more adults, mainly family orientated readers. However, it is useful as all of its stories and advertisements are locally related to Knowsley.

The Merseymart: Analysis.

Merseymart

The second paper I will analyse will be the Merseymart. This is a free local newspaper. I have chosen this as it is yet another local paper and with analysis, I will be able to examine not only the conventions of a newspaper but also, that of a local one.

The masthead is similar to that of the Echo’s, it is located at the top left of the front page and is a reasonable size, using the colours red and blue. The colours seem to be a typical convention of newspaper titles, which could be due to the Liverpool and Everton colours representing the local city's football clubs. It could also suggest that the colours are being used to purely attract the eyes of readers with its bright colours.

The paper displays necessary information such as publication date and the price which stands at FREE.

Below the masthead and details, there is a large image of what looks like a disastrous earthquake scenario. The story on the other hand explains that the earthquake was part of an exercise used to train firemen. The editors have used the image to attract readers to the paper. The image however, presents to readers a realistic disaster that will immediately attract the readers. The column for this lead is situated in a small box to the left and after reading; the dramatic story represented by the image unfolds.

It is then overruled by an immense white on black headline;

Splashing out over flood hell.

The headline becomes the next important feature of the paper visually drawing readers to the next news story which appears to be the lead story as it has more columns and a sub heading;

City to spend £500k on improving underground waterway.

However, with the news story using a vast amount of space, it only uses a minor sized image of a car splashing through what looks like the flood that the headline speaks of.

There are then three different advertisements located on the front page, two at the bottom and one in the top right. The adverts all target various ages and categories of audience.

-The first advert, located at the top right, is for a mobility shop including stair lifts and scooters, this advert directly targets the older audience or in certain cases, disabled people.

-One of the bottom two adverts is for a theatre art school for 4 to 16 year olds. This evidently targets families, and/or the parents who have young children.

-The final advert is for solicitors which would be intended for adults, preferably, those that work as the heading of the advert reads; Had an accident at work?

Overall, the front page tends to target a wide amount of readers. It also uses imagery to attract its readers and in the case of the Merseymart, it uses a white on black headline which goes against typical conventions of newspapers, compared to other newspaper that I have looked at.

The contents of the first page display about a third of the page on contacting the Merseymart for the use of advertising, distributing etc. The middle column of the page, also the largest column, is a news story on the TV show; The X Factor, which is very useful for entertainment purposes, however does not provide local news. In the case of the second page, it is very practical and encourages fans of the popular show to read, and then read on. The final column is split into five fillers which provide minor local news stories.

Another local newspaper which is also free is the Knowsley Challenge, however, this is useful as it is located for access at my college. I will collect a copy and analyse it.