Creating the second page of the Newspaper

I started to look at the inside/second pages of local newspapers. Normally the stories that are still impressive stories will be here as they didnt quite make the cover. I am going to run 2 stories on this page, one being a bigger feature taking up most of the space. I will then again use adverts for local attractions to fill the space and make the page look more attractive.
The main story of this page is actually a true one about a friend of mine, whom was a student and made it in the fashion industry. I am going to use my own pictures to back up the story and re-tell his story in my own words.
I played around with the headline and main picture, as well as the text until I settles with this layout.

I chose to use the main headline as black text on the white background of the page, as this is typical for a headline inside the paper. I then created a subheading in a black text box with white text to give a further lead into the story.

As I am trying to keep my paper relitivel simple in its layout, I decided to even out the space and add another picture to the story as well as some information under the main photo. I then wanted to make a clean divide in the page in order to make the next story place neatly in the area underneath, so I created an advert for a 'Bagel Bar' in Photoshop.

This gave the page a clean 'cut' in half and enabled me to fill the bottom section in a similar fashion, giving me a decent amount of space for another story whilst still looking neat.

The next story I decided to write was that about a University football team. This kept with the local spirit of the paper and featured a subject of sport which is popular amonsgt the target audience.

I created my story in the space available and came out with the finished layout as so-

I chose to use a black heading with white font as it is a smaller headline and this helps it to stand out from the rest of the text on the page without being too large. The story itself is not very long due to the space but it works very well alongside a picture of my local football team. I made this to fit directly underneath the 'Bagel Bar' advert which again makes the layout look very precise and as a  real paper would.

This meant there was only a small space to the left of the football story empty on my page.

I decided to fill this with an advert, this time one for a local shop. Again I created this on Photoshop, and used a picture of my friend in one of her modelling shoots to make it look as though a model is advertising the clothes.

I used some effects in the font in order to make the advert stand out as well as making the text readable on the bright background of the photo. After I placed the advert in position, my second page started to look like this-

 I then added the bottom strapline to the page in order to match it to the front page, and numbered it appropriatley.

This gave my paper a complete and finished look. All the space availalable on the page had been used and to the best effectivness. When I create the website for the newspaper, I will use theses same stories and information in a different format.

Creating the Newspaper Front Cover

To begin with I started to look at local newspapers and how they are set out.
It became apparent that the masthead is normally placed in the top left hand corner, like so.
After initially naming the paper and creating a masthead, I edited it appropriately for the newspaper, adding the issue date and price underneath, with a tag line.
I decided I wanted the paper to be issued monthly as there may not be enough news for that particular target audience to be updated daily or weekly, and being a monthly paper can ensure a good copy with plenty of information is produced.
Students also may not want to spend the money buying a paper everyday, and it makes the issue available for a longer period of time.





I then started to create stories and adverts for my paper. I again thought about the target audience and what sort of adverts they would like to see, and decided to put a small advert box stretching underneath the masthead. I created an advert in Photoshop and moved it into Indesign once I was happy with it.

Once placed underneath the masthead, it looked like this.



I had spent some time thinking of realistic stories I could use for my paper, backed up by images I could take myself. I decided to use a story about a new campus being built for the local University, and to take pictures of a local derelict car park to justify it. After trying many layouts I finalised with this one.

I used the headline in white font on a black background to make it stand out, and then underneath the picture a smaller sub headline to further grasp the readers attention. I also used an inserted text box of a different colour, made to be eye catching. In this I used a quote from the story given by a reliable source.

Under this along the bottom of the page, a small amount of space needed to be filled. I looked at newspapers I have at home, and noticed this is normally filled by adverts or earpieces to entice the reader. Local newspapers often encourage readers to share their local stories and information, so I decided to create an advert for this, and another for a local hairdressers.

There was also the long column of space running down the right side of the paper still empty. I decided to create an advert for a clinic to fill the top right corner. I wanted to use an advert in the earpiece as this is a good place for readers to notice an advertisement or story lead. For this advert along with the other adverts, I can re edit them and use them for the newspapers website.

Along with other adverts and a small side story I created to fill space, my cover started to look like this-

 I then used a story about a student winning an art competition and used a photo of my friends art coursework to create a sub story on the front cover.I started to evaluate my piece at this late stage, and decided it was missing something every newspaper has, a bottom footer, normally with the name, website name and page number on it.


I decided to add this, and this would be the same for numbering all the following pages.

Continuing in evaluating my paper, I realised that the name of the newspapers website is no where to be seen on the paper, so I needed to add this. The website name is normally shown just under the masthead on the front page, so I went back and edited my masthead to incorporate the site address.

Naming the Newspaper

I firstly had to think of a good name for my student newspaper.

As it is aimed at University Students in Essex, I wanted to incorporate the word 'Uni' into the title, making it clear to the potential target audience.

I thought of a list of words that all had 'uni' in them, and noted them down.

By placing them together in a photoshop document, it gave me a chance to look at them and pick what ones I thought stood out.

I originally liked Universal, but realised this may be an issue as there is already the media company 'Universal Studios'. I also liked Uniformer, as the paper is to inform students, but then I thought this was a bit long for the name of a paper. I then set my sights on Unique, as I have personally never seen a local newspaper aimed at students and the younger generation, so this itself makes the paper Unique in its own right.

After continuing to look at my list of shortlisted potential names, I decided to stick with Unique, as it seemed to give the right feel to the paper and the fact it is unique in its content.

I started to design a masthead for my paper in Photoshop, which would also be the logo and image used to promote the paper, in adverts and also for its website. This meant it being simple yet effective, so I decided to just use a splash of colour, red, which is usually seen in the masthead of local and tabloid newspapers. along with a simple block colour of grey to make the name itself stand out.

After much trial and error, my finished masthead looked like this above. 

I chose this font as it gives a formal feel to the paper, but decided to use the red colour for the 'Q' as it makes is stand out and is eye-catching. I didn't want the whole of the name to be in red, as found in the research phase, red top newspapers are often associated with informal gossip or celebrity based news, but my just using a hint of red, it shows the  is local not completely formal with an element of fun to it, which appeals to students. Combined with the choice of font and style, still gives a formal feel.

Researching my project

To begin my project I must firstly research into the genre of newspaper I am making. Research will also include looking at my potential target audience and unique selling points to make my product desirable for people to buy.
Firstly I am going to look my local paper and how it is set out.

 

 The 'Echo' is my local newspaper, which provides local information, news and events which are happening close by. As there are two universities and plenty of colleges in South Essex, my paper will be aimed at the students whom attend these Uni's and colleges, so the paper needs to include interesting and relevant news to the area.

Like the 'Echo' it will focus on stories based around the area, and about real local people, and also include adverts for places nearby. The masthead I will create will be quite simple like the 'Echos' one, and include the symbolic red text colour, making it easy to address the paper as a local or tabloid form.

I went onto do some genre specific research, including looking at an online student paper.

This again used the traditional red colour for the masthead, making it easy to see on first glance that it is an informing paper or text. A British newspaper that has its name in red at the top of the front page have a lot of readers, but are not always considered to be as serious as other newspapers, and emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, and TV and celebrity gossip. Local papers have also taken this form and structure on board, and use a red masthead and tabloid dimensions. More formal papers such as 'The independant' do not use a red masthead, as they are a broadsheet paper. Broadsheets deliver more political and serious news, or back a certain political party and act as a source for political activism by reprinting speeches.

The aim of my newspaper is to deliver relevant news to its readers and inform them of whats going on around them. Being a student myself helps make my newspaper appeal to other students as I can use myself when questioning what students might want to see in a newspaper. I made a questionnaire to hand to 30 students around my college to see what students would actually like to see in a student newspaper.

The results I found are seen in the following chart-

 

My newspaper will meet the needs of its target audience by including the above items and stories, and in order make the newspaper a success.

A2 Brief Of Work

A2 COURSEWORK

For my A2 Media Coursework, I will be creating two pages of a local Newspaper, with the content and theme of my choice. I will also be creating 2 linked pages from the Newspapers website, and a print advert advertising the newspaper. I will be using the programs InDesign, Photoshop and Dreamweaver to create my coursework and will be recording my progress using this blog, and going on to evaluate it once it is finished.

Firstly I will need to decide what sort of newspaper I would like to create. My first initial ideas were;

• Local Fashion Paper
• Local General News
• Local Sport Paper
• Local Student Paper

I thought about the sort of information, places and people I see everyday, and decided that seeing as I am a student, a student newspaper would work in my favour as I have access to the college, students and surroundings which I can use for photos and inspiration in my coursework.
The skills I gained through AS Media coursework will help me in using the programs I will need to create my project. These skills will hopefully be improved and I will learn more about the programs as I make progress with my Newspaper through the research and design phase.