Thursday 30 December 2010

I've now started to put the finishing touches on the front cover, I realised I was missing an advert on my front page which from my research I found that every newspaper I looked at included in advert so this had to be done, luckily I had a gap at the bottom that needed filling. I decided to insert a box and fill the colour in red, mainly because it goes with the ethos and housestyle of my magazine and the restaurant uses that colour too which was good although i understand in the future there is going to be lots of different adverts in that place that can't also keep up with the same colours and text etc. The only thing missing from this advert is a picture and seeing as it's a real place I'll be taking a picture and adding it to the advert.

 In order to make the newspaper look more newspaper like instead of magazine like where lots is happening i've decided to put spaces between the pictures and alot small lines which was easily done on indesign. I also had to make a decision about where the 'win a £500 westfield giftcard' should go. To help me make this decision I printed off copies of both versions of the front page and showed them to people and asked for there opinion, i made sure i asked people of all ages in order to avoid asking lots of similiar people all with similar tastes. Most people agreed that the first version on the left was infact the better design.
I've now started adding pictures more pictures to go along with the articles. From my pre-production research it showed me the basic structure of local newspapers and how they usually include adverts and competitions on the front cover in order to lure the reader in. I've decided to add a competition that enables the reader to win a £500 gift card to spend at westfields shopping centre in london. The picture i've used along with it is one i took myself when i visited the shopping centre, i took the picture by using the panorama setting/effect to enable me to get a picture long enough and it also saved me from adjusted the photo if it had been taken on a normal setting. I've also added pictures along the right hand side and put headlines above to explain what the pictures mean and also so it helps the reader understand what it's all about. Indesign enabled me to add thick lines in between the pictures so that I could make it seem more seperated. The only problem about this is that it seems like there is too much going on due to there being no gaps between pictures and headlines.

Wednesday 8 December 2010

I've now started creating my masthead, i've decided instead of having straight text i've put a 10% slant on it. This makes the name of the newspaper stand out alot more compared to other papers that may be on the shelf. I've also added a slogan/tag line for the paper that is 'something for everyone' this implies to readers that anyone in the local communitiy can read it and it doesn't just apply to certain groups of people. I've also added an anchor as a logo which i made on photoshop, i've chosen to use an anchor because the newspaper is Portsmouth based and Portsmouth is known for its Naval background.

I've decided to change my headline from 'firework success' to 'party with a bang' and also move the headline so it's at the side of the image instead of the top. I've decided to do this because the headline was covering the top bit of the image with the firework which is the main attraction off the image so by changing the headline and the position of it it's enabled the main part of the image to still be seen.

Thursday 18 November 2010


This is an example of my newspaper. There are two different versions, one with the headline over the picture and one with the headline just above the picture. I showed both versions to a selection of people and the newspaper with the headline on top of the image seems to be preferred. The only problem with this is that the headline overlaps the main part of the image, therefore i may have to try and find an alternative image. The bottom image has also been slightly edited compared the the picture used on the top, I've cropped the second image in order to loose the parts of the image that aren't needed and are just the black sky, this makes the image come across like more is happening and seems more 'busy'.


Tuesday 16 November 2010

Picture Examples






Here are some photographs I have taken which I hope to include in my newspaper.
I've also created a 'flickr' account which enables me to share my photos online, so as i've been taking photos i've been uploading them and this is my photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/56832525@N06/

Newspaper Article Examples

Here are some examples of newspaper stories I have written and hope to include in my newspaper:

Firework Success
Portsmouth's biggest firework display went ahead last night after fears that it could be cancelled, it was deemed to be a huge success by the local community. Fears arose that the event was to be cancelled this year due to the trouble that it attracted last year. It was reported that three fights broke out during the event last year and left a teenage girl in hospital with head injuries.  Portsmouth City Council who runs the event ensured that the security was increased this year and also made the decision to remove the usual ‘fun fair’ in order to attract less trouble. The event that took place at King George V playing fields in Cosham seemed to run smoothly and was a safe and enjoyable event enjoyed by 10,000 people.
YouTube Hit
South coast idol winners, One Voice from Waterlooville, have managed to secure a record deal with Sony music. This came as no surprise after the groups winning performance has received nearly 900,000 views on YouTube.
‘We’re ecstatic to of been given this opportunity, we never thought in a million years we would managed to get 900,00 views on YouTube, let alone managed to secure a record deal with song music!’ The group told us.
Twelve Homes Evacuated
Twelve homes have been evacuated after a gas leak in Havant after a 700 800-litre tank leaked at a property. Residents were told to evacuate at 2pm on Wednesday morning after the alarm was raised at 1pm. The emergency services were informed of the leak and sent out a fire engine and a specialist gas unit. The residents are currently staying at the St Michael & All Angels Church Hall until they receive the all clear to return to their homes.
Flood
Flood warnings were issued today after extreme torrential rain hit the south. Residents have been evacuated after serious flooding in Hayling Island. The flood warning has been issued to cover the area from Milford to Calshot. Residents have been evacuated to St Mary's Church Hall in Hayling Island where they are being offered warm clothing and food.
I used various differen't websites to help me when writting these stoires such as
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/News_writing

My Newspaper Flatplan

After looking at various newspapers i have come to the conclusion that this is how i would like my newspaper to look. I've decided this because it's a conventional layout and consumers are used to seeing typical newspapers with this layout. I'm going to call the newspaper 'Local Eye' this is because it's a local newspaper and it's like it's keeping an eye on the local area. I'm going to stick with the main colour of red because it's eye catching and will stand out to consumers. I also propose to use the font 'arial' because it's a simple font which isn't complicated for the reader. As well as the font because simple it stands out due to it being big block like letters.

Sunday 7 November 2010

Pre Production flatplans

'The News' layout from the 21st October.

Pre Production flatplans

'The News' layout from 25th October.


Pre Production flatplans

Here are some flatplans taken from 'The News' which is a local paper in Portsmouth. This is an example of the layouts which local newspapers use. The first one is the front page and the second page two of the newspaper.

October 26th

Thursday 4 November 2010


What is newsworthiness? News values? Bias?
Newsworthiness is if something is classed as sufficiently interesting to be reported in a newspaper.
What is a local newspaper?
A local newspaper is a newspaper that is published in a small area and the stories that are contained in the newspaper are local stories to where the newspaper is sold.
The News 
The news is a  local newspaper that covers the areas of Portsmouth, Gosport and Fareham and Havant and Waterlooville. The newspaper is aimed at all age groups ranging from 15-75+, 18% of readers currently are in the age gap of 15-24 which implies quite a few students read the news and its also the highest percentage compared to 9% of readers who are aged 75+. This implies that the news is aimed at younger people and appeals to them much more than the older generation. 
It's average daily circulation is 47,382 which was calculated by the ABC from Jul-Dec 2009.


What is human interest?
A human interest can be a feature story that discusses a person/persons in an interactive and/or emotional way. It presents people and their problems, concerns, or achievements in a way that brings about interest or sympathy in the reader or viewer. Human interest is about standard people just like everyone else and not well known public figures, if well know figures are included it would be a story about maybe a standard person coming into contact with them. 
What is ethos? How might this be expressed in the newspaper’s language?
Ethos is the distinguishing character, beliefs or moral nature of a person, group, or institution. It can be expressed in a newspaper's language by the font they use, the logos, and the layout of the newspaper. For example if the newspaper front cover was full with storys and information it would be classed as a 'busy' newspaper. If the newspapers front cover was more spaced out and used colours such as blues, it may be perceived as a much more calmer newspaper.
What is the “inverted triangle”?
The inverted pyramid is a metaphor used mainly by journalists and other writers so that it can illustrate placing the most important information first within a text and normally the least important information at the bottom. For example this means that readers do not have to read the whole story in order to understand what it's about and can read just the first few paragraphs and still have an insight and understand the story.