Naming my Newspaper

From my research and the wide range of different newspaper names, it is clear to see that the name has to be short, brief and slightly catchy. As I am aiming my product the a fairly young generation with an emphasis on students the name needs to be something the would appeal to them and suggests it is typically for this age group.

As I am seventeen and therefore have a great understanding of my desired audience, I had an advantage when it came to thinking of names that would attract potential buyers.

I came up with name 'The Epic'.

I chose to name my newspaper this because people within my selected area typically refer to something that was really good as 'epic' and I believe this is a good way to catach the attention of my target audience by using a name they can relate too. I also came up with this idea because it is short and simple which seems to be a typical convention that newspaper names follow.

My idea in detail

After researching into newspapers that greatly differ, I noticed a knish in the market for a newspaper specifically aimed at people ageing between 15 - 19. The majority of this age group tend to be students so I intend to create and produce a newspaper distinctively aimed at this age group with an emphasis on students. I wish to make my newspaper a local one for people in Essex so it can contain local neighbouring news, updates and upcoming events.

This age group are the main readers of The Sun, so this newspaper is going to be my inspiration for the content I wish to include within my newspaper.

I plan to focus my articles and stories on celebrity gossip, sports coverage, upcoming local events, local news, horoscopes, male and female fashion, music and film reviews, a page dedicated to readers to write in about any local situations and updates and a feature page of places offering discount for students in surrounding areas.

As people between 15 - 19, especially students are constantly trying to budget money, particularly in the current economic recession, I plan to distribute my newspaper once a week for a retail price of 40p. The day each week it would be on sale would be every Tuesday as it will give people a chance to plan their weekends around weekend events advertised within the paper. Also I believe there will be a higher percentage of buyers during a week day than a weekend because people are out on a weekend are doing their own thing and therefore may have less interest and less chance to buy and read a newspaper if they were in a usual routine of going to work or college.

Existing Newspaper Research

To achieve a newspaper that is going to become successful I have researched into a variety of different ones to gain knowledge of what I may need to include and what I may be competing with:

Example 1 - The Sun ..

The sun is aimed at the working class citizens and the younger generation, the price is usually a cheap aount of just 20p. The articles found within the Sun range from news, celebrities gossip and sports coverage. It's read by a wide selection of people and many different age groups. It is a daily newspaper. The overall tone of the front cover is very loud and it is only showing one headline implying that it must be a very important one. The logo of the newspaper is always the same and is easy identified by the public as one of the top newspaper companies. The headline is brief but is in very large font to grab the readers attention; once hooked the smaller writing is used for a vague introduction ot the story to keep the reader interested. The picture is very colourful and is fairly large making it eye catching.

Example 2 - The Daily Mail ..

The daily mail is read by the majority of middle class citizens, its main focus is on world news and politics. The header is the newspapers name and the font is not your classical newspaper style, hinting it is a slightly more sophisticated read. From the front cover it is clear to see the involvement in global stories from one of the advertised stories with a main focus on Britain. There appear to be two main stories, the other one based on health care. The first article seems to portray a negative point of view and this is given away by the title referring to the man in the caption as an 'evil, old terrorist the photo used is support this accusation as he looks angry and there is a large gun placed next to him. This story would be gripping to a reader because it raises a debate about a huge current issue in today's society. The text has a black background and is underlined in red adding to the hinted anger the author is portraying. The second story has no caption to intrigue readers but the font is very large and therefore, eye-catching. The title is written within inverted commas suggesting it is a quote, not a fact, from someone or somewhere. This and the fact it is based on saving several human lives if true, invites readers in by creating a sense of curiosity. In the top right corner, there appears to an advertisement for a promotion within the newspaper offering something 'free'. This is always a good way to appeal to many people who are contemplating purchasing the newspaper, especially in the current economic climate where people are trying to save as much money as possible.

Example 3 - The Daily Telegraph ..

The daily telegraph is a broadsheet newspaper, automatically suggesting it is aimed at more educated people who have an interested in 'hard' news rather than informative articles based on celebrities, know as 'soft' news. The typography of the title is in sophisticated font which suites the contents of the paper. The articles mainly found within the Daily Telegraph vary from political and international news to articles that raise topics of discussion referring to the middle east, philosophy, sociology etc. and in this case the new president of the United States is the main feature. The front cover of this particular newspaper is consumed by a large centered image of Barack Obama and his wife extremely happy. The header reads 'The dream has come true' straight away implying he has become president as most people would already be aware of the current election taking place in America so this would make this story an interesting read and appeal to many people as it is a current affair. This newspaper comes out on a daily basis. The overall tone of the newspaper is pleasant because of the warm picture, however, the layout of sophisticated font and an in depth article makes it seem serious and intellectual.

Statement of intent

I intend to produce the first two pages of a newspaper, a poster advertising the newspaper and a two hyperlinked pages from the paper's website. My targeted audience is for people aging between 15 - 19 (teenage years), with an emphasis on the growing population of students which is a first of its kind in local areas such as Southend. Although I aim to produce a newspaper with similar layouts to existing local ones (such as the even echo, the sun etc..), the content will differ dramatically to appeal to the targeted audience. I hope to achieve a newspaper that includes items of interest in terms of show-biz news, music and cultural interest, fashion/clothing, sports, upcoming student events in local areas and a page for readers to have a say in anything they wish too in regard to the newspaper and surround area events. I intend to distribute my newspaper on a weekly basis and to come out on Wednesday so the readers can arrange their weekends around the weekend events if they desired.

I am going to produce a poster advertising the newspaper with a catch slogan and a unique and eye catching logo that will appeal to my audience. To do this I am going to research into other logos and slogans that are aimed at teenagers and young adults to inspire me. Also, I will look into existing websites for newspapers and see what are the typical codes and conventions I need to enforce in my own work but also ones I fell I can challenge.

As part of my research to guarantee I am producing a paper that is going to become successful and achieve a substantial amount of profit I am going to create a questionnaire and ask people within the age group of the targeted audience to answer it. It will cover topics I need too decide an answer for such as is it worth making a newspaper for teenagers and the exact stories I need to include.