Second page analysis (Harrogate Advertiser)

On the second page of the Harrogate Advertiser there are twelve articles, all ranging in size. The main article fills up the top third of the page and is surrounded by a thin black border to encase it. The related picture takes up most of this space, the actual story columns only take up one quarter of the box, and the title is in bold and the largest on the page.

Four of the columns down the left hand side are very small articles, ranging from 2-7 paragraphs each and only have one column. Below these at the bottom of the page there are slightly larger, including two columns. I will most likely use this layout in my own design. Also, each story is divided from one another with a pale grey line.

At the bottom right there is an advert placement, I may attempt to create my own advert for my newspaper. Also, each picture has a caption underneath stating a summary of the article; the two pictures on the page are either extreme close up or long shots.

Semiotic Analysis of second front cover (Yorkshire Evening Post)

Unlike the Harrogate Advertiser; the masthead is located at the top of the page, and below that are the lures. The masthead includes a variety of typefaces – the ‘Yorkshire’ is in full capitals, sans-serif and black. The ‘Evening Post’ is in a much larger serif font, is pale blue (the boxes the lures are in are consistent and also pale blue) and has a thin border around each letter. In-between the two words there is an image of the Yorkshire Rose to show that it is a local paper. Below the masthead but above the two lures there is the website, date and price of the newspaper.

The front page mainly consists of one article, but also a large picture for another article which continues on page 2. The picture is a medium shot and is surrounded by a thin grey border to keep it separate from the other main story. The title is in a very large font with a smaller subtitle just below – just before the article starts it states the writer, his position at the newspaper and the exclusivity of the story. The first word of the article follows the generic conventions of all newspaper stories; in capitals. Also the whole first paragraph is in slightly larger font from the rest.

At the bottom of the page there is an advert, considerably smaller compared to the one at the bottom of the Harrogate Advertiser. This again is an example of synergy.

From both of these semiotic analyses, I will model my front cover on a variation of the two.

Semiotic Analysis of front cover (Harrogate Advertiser)

**----picture here----**

The masthead includes the name of the local area that it reports for and has two different styles of font, although both serif, the ‘Harrogate’ is in bold while the ‘Advertiser’ is in italics. The writing is outlined with a large blue box to make it stand out to the reader, easily viewable from a shelf. This helps it stand out from the rest as some other broadsheets are black and white, while tabloids usually stick to red (The Sun etc). Just above the masthead but still within the blue box there is a small subtitle saying: “Voice of the town since 1836”, showing that it represents the town and has done so for a long time to become a household name. Beneath the blue box there is the date, website and price; a generic convention of all newspapers. Also at the bottom left above the advertisement there is also the recycling logo and barcode.

Above the masthead are two lures, created to ‘lure’ the reader into purchasing the paper with interesting features. Here it includes a ‘free DVD for every reader’ and ‘Starbeck Gala picture special’ with a dividing line down the middle to separate the two. Note how both these lure titles are the same colour as the masthead box to show consistency, but are all in capitals and sans-serif to make them stand out at the top. They also have picture cutouts from the gala and DVD to further entice the buyer.

In total there are five articles featured on the front page. They all follow the simple format of small columns , with a few of them interspersed with pictures relating to the story. The main article is surrounded by a thin black border (Hospital almost at full capacity) with other minor articles around this acting as another border. There are different types of titles here, two of them are large and bold while the other three are slightly smaller and the text is not bold. This is done to show which stories are more important for the community despite all of them being on the front page.

Each article starts with the first word capitalised, although in some cases where the story starts with an ‘A’ , the following word is also in capitals. This technique is used to draw the reader in and also to start the article confidently. The main story, ‘Hospital almost at full capacity’, finishes with a message from the editor requesting concerns about the article and the text is in bold and bullet pointed to stand out from the columned text of the story. The message provides an email address and street address, encouraging community-level interaction with the editor.

The pictures on the front cover range from medium to small size, saving the larger pictures for inside the paper. The pictures are straightforward, containing the person/place/problem the article is dealing with. Below the pictures there is a caption, for the most part they solely contain proper nouns to state the name or place of the picture.

On the right hand side of the front cover there is a smaller blue box tab with the words ‘inside...’ – with stories which could interest the public such as Leeds Festival news, the New Look library and free open days around the district. Below this there is another similar tab for the website, saying ‘online...’, which has a voting poll. This is an example of media coming together.

Located at the bottom of the page is a large advertisement from a carpeting company. This is an example of synergy as both gain from it; the company pays the newspaper for the ad space while the carpeters receive more customers as a result.

Questionnaire, Results + Analysis

1. Are you male or female?

[] Male [] Female



From this it shows that the readership are mostly female but only by a small amount. It is interesting that they are almost equal, and I shall cater my articles/opinions to both genders.

2. Which age gap do you fit into?

[] 13-17 [] 18-22 [] 22-30 [] 30-40+



Judging from this it shows that a large amount of local newspaper readers are 30-40+. This is probably due to the content found in these papers, compared to magazines younger audiences would stereotypically buy.

3. How often do you buy local newspapers?

[] Regularly [] Often [] Occasionally [] Never



This obviously shows that people buy local newspapers often, and indicates the community interest by the amount they purchase one.

4. How much would you be prepared pay for a local newspaper?

[] 75p or under [] £1 -1.50 [] £2-2.50 or higher



This shows that the community would like a high quality paper without being too expensive. 75p or under might make people think the articles may be tacky or ‘tabloid-esque’.

5. Do you use your local newspaper as your main source of news?

[] Yes [] No - please specify others(TV, national papers, internet, radio etc)

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Judging from this, for national/international news most people go to other types of media. I will focus all my stories/adverts etc on local events and products.

6. Which title would you prefer as your local paper?

[] Harrogate Post [] Harrogate Letter [] Harrogate Link



This shows that the general consensus is that the Harrogate Post is the preferred choice.

7. Where do you get your local newspaper from?

[] Local shop [] Supermarket [] Delivery



If on sale, this shows where I would decide to sell to my main market and target audience.

8. How often would you want a newspaper to come out?

[] Weekly [] Monthly



9. What news stories would you be most interested in?

[] Hard news [] Human Interest [] Entertainment [] Sports



Here is what my articles and other elements of the paper will be based on; Hard News and Human Interest came out on top, although I may feature some small stories and/or adverts on Entertainment and Sports.

10. Would you like advertisements/family notices in your local newspaper?

[] yes [] no



From this result I can now look to design my own advert (mostly likely to be placed at the bottom of the front page).

From these results I recieved from handing out questionnaires to locals/peers, I can now shape my newspaper to the reader's needs and wants.

Proposal

My local newspaper is going to be based on the Harrogate town area and will touch on a range of local issues including human interests and hard news including elections , social events and more. It will focus on more news like this and omit any gossip/celeb scandals that tabloids would use.

Any national event will be looked on from a local perspective and how it specifically affects the Harrogate area; also my paper will be politically neutral to reach a larger audience. It will be ideologically conservative and maintain the status quo.

My target audience will be local families but mainly focusing on the middle aged parents. This ensures that the content is diverse and not constricted to just one style - so all people can enjoy it. It is also aimed at families so when a family member is featured in the newspaper at a public event - the whole family would buy a copy to see.