Evaluation

For my media coursework I was asked to create and produce my own newspaper (2 pages), a poster advertising the newspaper and a two hyper-linked website. To do this it was vital that I researched into existing media products to give me ideas and a better understanding of the of the codes and conventions they regularly follow. It was important that my newspaper reflected realistic stereotypes to appeal to a modern day audience but I aimed to produce a new kind of newspaper aimed at teenagers aged between 15 - 19 as there appear to be a knish in the market. Therefore, this led me to the decision of making a local teenage newspaper with an emphasise on students which meant some codes and conventions would have to be challenged in order for me to create this specific idea.

Typical forms and conventions of a newspaper are key to follow when designing my own product to keep on the same scale as mainstream papers that are around already leading to a successful outcome. The Sun was highly influential in the layout and mood of my design due to results from a questionnaire I created (see below), so there are several aspects from it in my own newspaper.

As you can see I have used the idea of having one main story to take up most of the front page and have a bold black background against white simple font making a 'bold' statement. I also put my title big and bold at the top of the paper and put a smaller story in the right, bottom corner of the front page. However, I wanted mine to have more on the front page, so I placed an extra picture referring to the other story and also included more writing and a large advertisement just underneath the title. Unlike The Sun, I placed the price so it is well noticeable as it is important
that younger people see the price as it is an easy way to get them to purchase a product if it is cheap. I liked the idea of using a pun as the main headline as it is a good way to attract teenagers by using slight sarcasm and humour.

Overall, I feel that my piece is a reflection of many newspapers by using a main title, advertisements, headers, sub headers, columns and headlines. Nevertheless, I feel as if I developed these typical codes and conventions by introducing a more colourful approach and giving a a typical paper layout a bright 'mood' and a bolder statement to appeal to my targeted audience.

I began by researching into the difference in tabloid and broadsheet newspapers to gain a basic understanding of typical features of each newspaper, (see post: Existing newspaper research). By doing this I could get an idea of what type of newspaper I wanted to design. However, when making significant decisions I found it extremely helpful to receive opinions and feedback from piers to ensure I was creating something that they would potentially purchase. Consequently, I made a questionnaire to gather useful information that I then took into consideration when forming my work.

Questionnaire - (results from 15 people shown in brackets)

I kept my questionnaire short but to the point and informal. The people who filled them out ranged from 15-19 in age.

Q1: How often do you read newspapers?

A1: Every day (2)
A2: 3 - 4 times a week (4)
A2: Once or twice a week (4)
A3: Once a month (2)
A4: Hardly ever (3)

Q2: What articles do you generally enjoy reading about?

A1: Celebrity updates (5)
A2: Sports coverage (3)
A3: Real life stories (4)
A4: World wide news (2)
A5: Other (1)


Q3: What is your favourite existing newspaper?

A1: The Sun (7)
A2: The Daily Mail (2)
A3: The Star (5)
A4: The Daily Telegraph (0)
A5: Other (1)

Q4: Would you read a newspaper aimed at 15 - 19 year old?

A1: Yes definitely (10)
A2: Yeah probably (4)
A3: No way (0)
A4: Not sure (1)


From the information I gathered by using this questionnaire I found it a lot easier to know what I needed to create. Question one helped me decide on how often I would sell my newspaper to the public, as A2 and A4 received the most votes it was clear that this targeted pier group do not particularly read newspapers often enough to produce one on a daily basis. Question two told me what perhaps is a 'must have' read in my newspaper and although they all received votes and I would include all this topics in my paper its clear that celebrity gossip and sports coverage is what teenagers most like to read. From Question three I learnt a lot about what should be my inspirational existing newspaper and 'The Sun' came out on top so I intended to incorporate some of its codes and conventions within my paper as it seemed to be successful. Lastly, Question four gave me the confidence boost I needed that my piers would actually read a newspaper specifically aimed at their age group, the answer 'Yes Definitely' received 2/3 of the votes making it the top answer.

Once I knew that I was certain I wanted to produce a teenage newspaper, specifically aimed at students it was time to design my idea. My college is lucky enough to have Apple Mac computers for media students to use so I was able to use Indesign, Photoshop and Dreamwether to create and produce my newspaper, poster and web pages.

Indesign

By having access to Indesign I was able to be highly creative in my designing and could use a variety of tools to produce exactly what I imagined. I used this professional software to design my newspaper as this is its typical use.

Photoshop

I was able to use Photoshop to design all of my art work to then place into Indesign and Dreamweaver. By using Photoshop it allows you to be creative without having to go through a difficult process. All my art was created in Photoshop and some of my primary images were edited using this to give them a sharper and better effect. I also used this to create my poster.

Edited image

I was able to improve the photos image by using the 'sharp' tool and the 'noise tool' as well as heightening the contrast and brightness, overall I believe it makes the image quality look better.

Dreamweaver

This software was what I used to create my web design. It was easy to use and I was able place photoshop art work within it. I also turned my newspaper and poster into 'pdf' files and successfully uploaded them not the Internet.

Research, planning and evaluation stages:

Part of my task was to show my planning and research to took place while making my work. To do this I used the Internet to research into other website (See Post: Website Research) and to portray my development and planning of my work I used Blogger.com to show this and eventually evaluate my final pieces. When it came to planning and research I also found it useful to use primary products to get a real image of existing media products to give me some ideas, therefore I researched into real life newspapers.

The effectiveness of my main product and ancillary tasks:

As I have to create a combination of three different media products that all support each other it is clear to see how effective they are. Within modern day society there are so many ways to advertise and promote products causing a competitive market. Therefore, it is necessary to succeed in a competitive field to use as much advertising as possible to gain the recognition that is deserved. I feel that my main product of a newspaper is able to sell its self with its new approach to the public and unusual look for a newspaper but having posters promoting it will lead to a greater success. I would have posters put up in shop windows and around South-East Essex college to appeal to my audience. Also by creating a website to combined with my newspaper can lead to a wider audience, especially from teenagers as they typically use the Internet on a regular basis. I believe that the three products support each other and work together to promote 'The Epic'.