When I began designing my newspaper I already had a fairly clear idea of how Sport is generally represented in the mass media. Local newspapers purely dedicated to sport tended to be quite uncommon but given the popularity of sport within the UK I felt that perhaps there is a niche in the market.
My newspaper is a local newspaper aimed at sports fans of both genders. I focused on basing the codes and conventions of my newspaper on existing newspapers that are popular for their sports sections, such as, The Sun. Furthermore my newspaper had to be local, so I aimed to develop my newspaper’s identity by merging the codes and conventions of local newspapers with those of typical national tabloids.
I based the design of the front cover of primarily on national red-top newspapers; though considering the fact my newspaper is a local newspaper you could argue that this is breaking the conventions. I put together my masthead, by using a simple Sans style font on top of a dark blue box. I changed the colour so the masthead wasn’t misleading as it is ultimately not a national red-top tabloid. I felt this suited my target audience and the masthead’s conventional positioning would stand out on shop’s shelf. I based the pricing of my newspaper on the results of a questionnaire I did at the start of my project.
I found that most tabloids tend not to have many, if any, articles on their front covers. I decided to stick with these conventions when designing my cover so I included three images and a large advert along with two short articles. These articles finished inside the newspaper and if the newspaper was real this would persuade interested buyers to purchase the paper in order to read on.
The second page of my newspaper tends to match the conventions of existing local newspapers. It seems to be common for local papers to include a contents page. They tend to promote their best stories on the second page whilst including conventions such as adverts, pictures and short articles. Hence, I used a fair amount of pictures on my second page, an advert in the form of a voucher and three short news items.
My poster took the form of a bus stop billboard. I found that common conventions of such posters were designed with a large message/picture in the centre. This allows the target audience to associate themselves with the product. My posters consists of a golf ball about to be hit by a driver, which would immediately grab attention because it gives an illusion a ball is about to be hit in the audience’s direction. Plus, it would show that my product relates to sport. I also used the slogan “Have you bought your Southend Sports Paper today?” to help create a false need amongst potential consumers.
Considering the genre I had chosen, I based my website pages on the design of already established sports websites. I found these websites tended to include a large amount of links to current news items quite often represented using images. Newspaper websites used the same masthead as their actual newspaper hence I mimicked this convention so my audience could associate my website with my newspaper. For the same reason, I used matching colours and narratives written in similar styles to those in my newspaper. This helps to strengthen the identity of my product. Local news websites tend to have at least one promotional item on each page justifying my decision to include an advert on both of my website pages.
I used a questionnaire at the start of my project aimed at my target audience to find out what they look for in a newspaper. I found that tabloids were slightly more popular than broadsheets and national newspapers were slightly more popular than local. This is partly why I chose to combine tabloid conventions with local newspaper conventions. Sport is culturally different depending on location. For example, the most popular sports club in Southend is Southend United yet in St Helens it is St Helens Rugby Club. I therefore decided to include Southend United in an attempt to appeal to my target audience. I also found from my survey that football and hockey were the most popular sports.
In hindsight I don’t feel my newspaper or website represents females as well as it does males. Although you could argue that the media products I was basing my products don’t meet these expectations either. If I was to do this project again I would try to find out more about hoe females want sport to be represented in local news in order to get a more balanced representation of both genders.
The three main programmes I used were Adobe Photoshop, InDesign and Dreamweaver. Photoshop helped me to create positive representations of sport in Southend by allowing me to finely edit images to suit my target audience. This allowed my newspaper to attach a positive association to sport in Southend. I found the layer tool particularly useful to help me arrange my content in an effective style. InDesign was particularly useful for modelling a layout that would suit my genre. It allowed me to create an arrangement that imitated those of already existing media products. I used both programmes together to create a positive representation and a suitable layout to fit my genre.
Overall I am pleased with my final products as I feel they serve their purpose well and suit my target audience. I feel my newspaper develops the forms and conventions of existing products effectively plus I believe I have given my newspaper and identity that will suit sport within Southend.
Saturday, 30 April 2011
Sport - Genre
My newspaper is a local newspaper aimed at Sports fans. It is important that the layout and design of a newspaper represents it's target audience well and consistently. Sport is a type of genre. A typical newspaper would not focus specifically on sport, instead it would have a section that would be devoted to sport. This is where my newspaper is unconventional as it focuses on a specific genre. However local sports papers aren't as rare as national ones. For example a lot of county's/towns have newspapers that focus on fishing or motor vehicles. National newspapers, such as The Sun, have pull outs that are dedicated to sports fans.
Sport is very popular in British culture, and depending on location, different types of sports are more dominant. My newspaper is based in Southend where it could be argued that the biggest sports Club is Southend United. Sport in Southend is therefore often associated with Southend United so I feel it is important for my newspaper to represent the club positively and regularly. If my newspaper was to be produced on a regular basis, Southend United would become one of the main subjects of the newspaper.
Genre is a way of categorising a piece of media. Different pieces of media present their information using common structural elements to define the medium’s identity. I have tried to make my newspaper fit in with its genre by using iconic colours and a conventional layout. For example the use of dark blue on the masthead is iconic of sport in Southend.
Christian Metz had a theory on genre.
He believed the way in which a genre is constructed can be put into one of four categories, which are:
1) Experimental - A new or challenging approach to presenting the medium’s genre
2) Classical – Using typical codes and conventions to represent the genre. Classical relates to when the genre establishes itself.
3) Parody – Intentionally changing the context of the typical codes and conventions. For example, in film, Scary Movie is a parody.
4) Deconstruction – Encouraging evolution of the genre by developing the current codes and conventions of the genre.
I have constructed my newspaper in an experimental fashion. Sports newspapers are still quite uncommon so experimental is the most appropriate. My newspaper does however match the codes and conventions of sports sections within current newspapers. It could be argued that a ‘classical’ sports newspaper has not been established yet as they are still quite rare and vary depending on the culture that they represent.
David Buckingham would argue that genre is constantly developing through negotiation and change. As society changes genre’s change too. The popularity of a genre depends upon what is happening in society at the time. Maybe sports newspapers aren’t common as sport is not popular enough to justify sports newspapers. Also technology is developing and other forms of media such as TV and radio are becoming more popular than print media. Perhaps print media does not serve the purpose as well as radio and TV, for example.
Kate Wales would argue that in a postmodern society, we have more fragmented media. This means pieces media that distinctly represent a genre are less common. They have become (sub-genres). Perhaps this is why sports newspapers are uncommon but sports ‘sections’ within newspapers are very popular. For example The Sun’s sports section is one of the paper’s main selling points.
I decided to produce a sports newspaper as I feel there is a niche in the market. Most forms of media report on sports on a daily basis, as it is very popular in British culture. For example the TV dedicates programmes to sport and so does the radio. Internet sites, both local and national, keep people up to date with sports news.
Audience
Although media has become a highly influential ideological tool, the way in which a form of media is interpreted varies depending upon the individual. For a piece of media to be successful it needs to communicate in the clearest possible way to large amounts of people. The closer the interpreted message is to the intended message, the more successful the media is.
When I began my project, I hoped to make my newspaper/website appeal to both males and females. However, on reflection I feel my newspaper in particular is a lot more appealing to males. The front cover of my newspaper focuses mainly upon two sports which are football and hockey. It could be argued that males tend to identify more with football and females identify more with hockey. However a large chunk of my front cover is dedicated to football, including the headline, the main photograph and the advert at the bottom of the page. The article is also referring to a male football team and is written from a male perspective (me). The hockey article is also focusing on a male hockey team. It may therefore be harder for females to relate to my front cover than males. The articles on the second page of my newspaper are more neutral in terms of gender although a large chunk of the page is again dedicated to football. In our culture, football is a generally a male dominated sport, and the way in which it is represented in the media is often considered sexist. Laura Mulvey’s idea of the ‘male gaze’ links to this. The ways in which my articles are presented suit a male point of view.
On reflection, I feel my newspaper does not cater for females as well as it does for males. Therefore if I was to do this project again I would rearrange the layout and the representation to equally appeal to both genders.
My newspaper is a local newspaper, it’s cultural codes and conventions will only suit those people that understand sports within Southend. The newspaper in itself is representing a geographical culture (Southend) and a sub-culture (sport).
Representation
Representation is often a controversial subject, particularly in print media. Representation can allow messages to be changed and manipulated in the advantage of the producer. Large media companies such as news international are often taken to court over misrepresentation in their news reports.
Noam Chomsky argues that there are 5 filters that affect representation:
1) Finance
2) Ownership
3) Sources
4) Flak
5) Anti-ideologies
As my newspaper and all of its content has been produced by me it has not passed through any filters, although the newspapers which I based the format of my newspaper on will have done.
Local newspaper companies often don’t have the financial strength of national newspapers, so the quality of the newspapers they produce and their content might not be as consistent. However, the bigger a media company is, the more filters the content of its newspaper’s are likely to have passed through. For example, local newspapers will often rely on its own sources to gather news and information. Whereas bigger newspapers are more reliant on companies such Reuters to gather news stories before the articles are even considered.
My newspaper is a local newspaper aimed at Sports fans. It is important that the layout and design of a newspaper represents it's target audience well and consistently. Sport is a type of genre. A typical newspaper would not focus specifically on sport, instead it would have a section that would be devoted to sport. This is where my newspaper is unconventional as it focuses on a specific genre. However local sports papers aren't as rare as national ones. For example a lot of county's/towns have newspapers that focus on fishing or motor vehicles. National newspapers, such as The Sun, have pull outs that are dedicated to sports fans.
Sport is very popular in British culture, and depending on location, different types of sports are more dominant. My newspaper is based in Southend where it could be argued that the biggest sports Club is Southend United. Sport in Southend is therefore often associated with Southend United so I feel it is important for my newspaper to represent the club positively and regularly. If my newspaper was to be produced on a regular basis, Southend United would become one of the main subjects of the newspaper.
Genre is a way of categorising a piece of media. Different pieces of media present their information using common structural elements to define the medium’s identity. I have tried to make my newspaper fit in with its genre by using iconic colours and a conventional layout. For example the use of dark blue on the masthead is iconic of sport in Southend.
Christian Metz had a theory on genre.
He believed the way in which a genre is constructed can be put into one of four categories, which are:
1) Experimental - A new or challenging approach to presenting the medium’s genre
2) Classical – Using typical codes and conventions to represent the genre. Classical relates to when the genre establishes itself.
3) Parody – Intentionally changing the context of the typical codes and conventions. For example, in film, Scary Movie is a parody.
4) Deconstruction – Encouraging evolution of the genre by developing the current codes and conventions of the genre.
I have constructed my newspaper in an experimental fashion. Sports newspapers are still quite uncommon so experimental is the most appropriate. My newspaper does however match the codes and conventions of sports sections within current newspapers. It could be argued that a ‘classical’ sports newspaper has not been established yet as they are still quite rare and vary depending on the culture that they represent.
David Buckingham would argue that genre is constantly developing through negotiation and change. As society changes genre’s change too. The popularity of a genre depends upon what is happening in society at the time. Maybe sports newspapers aren’t common as sport is not popular enough to justify sports newspapers. Also technology is developing and other forms of media such as TV and radio are becoming more popular than print media. Perhaps print media does not serve the purpose as well as radio and TV, for example.
Kate Wales would argue that in a postmodern society, we have more fragmented media. This means pieces media that distinctly represent a genre are less common. They have become (sub-genres). Perhaps this is why sports newspapers are uncommon but sports ‘sections’ within newspapers are very popular. For example The Sun’s sports section is one of the paper’s main selling points.
I decided to produce a sports newspaper as I feel there is a niche in the market. Most forms of media report on sports on a daily basis, as it is very popular in British culture. For example the TV dedicates programmes to sport and so does the radio. Internet sites, both local and national, keep people up to date with sports news.
Audience
Although media has become a highly influential ideological tool, the way in which a form of media is interpreted varies depending upon the individual. For a piece of media to be successful it needs to communicate in the clearest possible way to large amounts of people. The closer the interpreted message is to the intended message, the more successful the media is.
When I began my project, I hoped to make my newspaper/website appeal to both males and females. However, on reflection I feel my newspaper in particular is a lot more appealing to males. The front cover of my newspaper focuses mainly upon two sports which are football and hockey. It could be argued that males tend to identify more with football and females identify more with hockey. However a large chunk of my front cover is dedicated to football, including the headline, the main photograph and the advert at the bottom of the page. The article is also referring to a male football team and is written from a male perspective (me). The hockey article is also focusing on a male hockey team. It may therefore be harder for females to relate to my front cover than males. The articles on the second page of my newspaper are more neutral in terms of gender although a large chunk of the page is again dedicated to football. In our culture, football is a generally a male dominated sport, and the way in which it is represented in the media is often considered sexist. Laura Mulvey’s idea of the ‘male gaze’ links to this. The ways in which my articles are presented suit a male point of view.
On reflection, I feel my newspaper does not cater for females as well as it does for males. Therefore if I was to do this project again I would rearrange the layout and the representation to equally appeal to both genders.
My newspaper is a local newspaper, it’s cultural codes and conventions will only suit those people that understand sports within Southend. The newspaper in itself is representing a geographical culture (Southend) and a sub-culture (sport).
Representation
Representation is often a controversial subject, particularly in print media. Representation can allow messages to be changed and manipulated in the advantage of the producer. Large media companies such as news international are often taken to court over misrepresentation in their news reports.
Noam Chomsky argues that there are 5 filters that affect representation:
1) Finance
2) Ownership
3) Sources
4) Flak
5) Anti-ideologies
As my newspaper and all of its content has been produced by me it has not passed through any filters, although the newspapers which I based the format of my newspaper on will have done.
Local newspaper companies often don’t have the financial strength of national newspapers, so the quality of the newspapers they produce and their content might not be as consistent. However, the bigger a media company is, the more filters the content of its newspaper’s are likely to have passed through. For example, local newspapers will often rely on its own sources to gather news and information. Whereas bigger newspapers are more reliant on companies such Reuters to gather news stories before the articles are even considered.
Website Research
Below are sports news websites belonging to News International, ITV, Liverpool Echo, Southend Echo and the BBC. I found that most sports orientated webistes had a fair amount of page space used up by links (usually represented by pictures). Lists of headlines and webiste features were also quite common on the home pages.
Other typical conventions included:
- Adverts (in relation to the website's theme)
- Videos
- Search Boxes
- Headers
- Straplines
- Blogs
Other typical conventions included:
- Adverts (in relation to the website's theme)
- Videos
- Search Boxes
- Headers
- Straplines
- Blogs
Monday, 25 April 2011
My Poster
1) Original picture (background)
2) After slogan and logo had been added
3) Final, finished poster.After researching bus stop posters and finding out the dimension I started to construct my poster. I found that bus stop posters are generally quite simplistic and don't have too much information on them. I also found that there tends to be a main image or message in the middle to grab people's attention.
I decided to use a golf ball about to be hit by a driver to grab attention. At a bus stop the image would be very large and it would give the illusion that the ball is about to come out and hit you. I used the slogan "Have you bought your Southend Sports Paper today?" to create a false need amongst consumers.
The image relates to sport and generally suits my target audience. Golf is a sport that most my target audience are likely to have played which builds a relation between the advert and it's consumers. If I was to make more adverts I could use this advert as the basic principle. Maybe a future advert could be a football about to be kicked or a rugby ball being thrown. This would help the product build an identity.
Development -
Originally I tried to mimic the posters I had gathered in my research by putting the logo of my product in the bottom right hand corner however this did not suit the image I was using so I have unconventionally put the product's logo at the top and in quite a large format. Although given the fact my product is new this could be more beneficial.
Posters
I decided to make my poster a bus stop poster. I found the dimensions for this at: http://www.vinyl-banners.co.uk/billboard_poster_sizes.htm .
The images below are of billboard advertisements generally found at bus stops.
I found that they usually have a main image or message in the centre to draw people’s attention. The adverts tend not to have too much information on them and sometime’s it is not clear exactly what is being advertised until the consumer looks at the advert in more detail. Often the logo of the company being advertised is relatively small and in a corner or at the bottom. The posters aim to draw attention first and then provide enough information to make people explore what is being advertised further.
Some people would argue that advertising is to do with creating false needs. This is why I have chosen to use a slogan of “Have you bought your Southend Sports Paper today?”.
Edward Bernays would say that the secret to a successful advert is to give the illusion that a consumer’s subconscious desires are culturally acceptable. Therefore, adverts often use techniques to manipulate the natures of the consumer’s desires instead of changing or altering the actual product. The advert is making the consumer feel that they are suitable for the product and therefore making the product desirable. Notice in the Carling advert (below), it claims to be made with "100% British barley", perhaps this a way to make us feel better about purchasing the product by using our cultural pride to make the product desirable. It is also associating the product with patriotism. I have tried to use this tactic by implying that the Southend Sports Paper is ‘yours’ and in Southend is culturally 'acceptable'.
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