The document discusses inspiration the author found from analyzing newspaper mastheads and article layouts. Some key points the author noticed include: using bold or capitalized text to draw attention; including descriptive mastheads to engage readers; employing large headline images; and utilizing a simple one-page layout with introductory text. The author intends to apply these techniques, such as using bold text and a large main image, in their own newspaper articles accompanying a documentary on eating disorders.

1. Inspirational texts for my
documentary follow up articles
By Aimee Corner

2. This is one of the red mastheads I stumbled across
whilst browsing the internet for concept ideas.
Although I like the burgundy coloured red that is used
for this palette (I feel it reflects the medical/danger
look I desire whilst also reflecting the gritty nature of
the documentary I am intended upon producing) I
am, however, discouraged by the font style as it seems
outlandish and far too ‘cartoon’ orientated for the
serious theme that is running through both my
articles, this is a type of font style I would commonly
expect to encounter in a heavy metal themed magazine
which does not correspond with the real life personal
edge I wish to achieve within my own product. If
anything I’m more encouraged by the shade of red
then the text style itself that is used to emphasize this
masthead.
Here is the main masthead for the sun newspaper. On an initial
glance it appears to be an unusual choice for the design I conversed
about in my rationale due to the main masthead colored a white tone.
Despite this, the reason I selected this particular title was due to me
personally being encouraged by the red hue in the background . The
red is perfect for the medical red I was aiming for in the masthead of
my two articles (it helps to significantly represent the danger of the
illness) so I would consider incoporating it into my final project. The
style of the font is not too unappealing, it is large enough to attract
the attention it is striving to achieve and I like the looks of it for my
own masthead so I would consider maybe using something along
similar lines during the final construction of the final idea.
Here is another masthead that caught my eye whilst trawling
for inspiration. The colour palette overall obviously doesn’t
relate to what I desire mine to be (red in my primary
concepts and not black). However disregarding this, it is the
font style which I have decided to select it for – I believe it is
perfect for grabbing the audiences attention to the article, the
text is nice to look at, easy on the eyes without too much
unnecessary detail and the boldness aids it in standing itself
out upon the page more. I am also intrigued with the
burgundy shade that the ‘in’ is coloured with – it isnt the
bright red I was attempting to recreate for my documentary
feature piece yet this colour is dark and gritty which relates to
the nature of my programme and the seriousness as well so I
may consider revamping my idea to include this shade of
color in addition to my existing concepts.
MASTHEAD COLOURS AND FONT IDEAS FOR ARTICLES

3. Presented here is an example of the masthead for ‘The Sun’
newspaper corporation as it would be viewed by the public in
the national media industry. The cover heavily emphasizes a
substantial sized image as the primary method of gaining
interest from amongst the audience, with the masthead itself
situated in the top left hand corner – demonstrating how
prominent and renowned the publication is that it doesn’t
depend upon its masthead purely to impress the concernment
of the congregation of the public. In my project it is not
required of me to fabricate a front cover for my newspaper
article – yet I have gained enthusiasm to include my own
masthead on the feature to re-illustrate to the audience the
name of the merchandise their reading. Most importantly I am
extremely impressed with the blood crimson red of the
background color palette shadowing the main text of the
masthead – it is feverently bright and eye-catching, easily
attracting thorough interest to the naked eye. This is perfect for
the shade of red I intend to excude in my articles as it is not
easily overlooked on an initial glance, connotating ideally with
my determination to engage with the audiences attention as
soon as possible.
I selected this scanned in image of a front cover to represent an issue
of the ‘Rolling Stones’ magazine so I could get an indication of how
the red hue of the masthead would contrast with the overall content it
is presented alongside with. Looking at my original feedback, I was
discouraged not by the color but the style of font the editors have
endured which was the main reason I wasn’t enthralled by this
particular text. However my view has been overturned and I am
thoroughly impressed with how this text signifies upon the page – it
is the most notable feature along with the gigantic image and the
deep scarlet red ultimately draws all attention to it. Despite me being
tempted by the tone used in ‘The Sun’s’ masthead, it is safe to assume
I’m overexcited about this shade of red and that it is extremely likely
this will be my color of choice for my final feature publication. This
cover is conventially similar to “the Sun’ presented opposite as they
both incorporate over proportionate central images as another
method of gaining attention

4. INSPIRATION FROM NEWSPAPER
ARTICLES
Here are two examples I have selected from the Daily Mail newspaper that specifically cover TV styled reality programmes/documentaries and provide an interestng
article relating to them within the content. Both of these features have been reproduced from the infamous ‘Daily Mail’ newspaper, the underlying reason I used them as
samples was due to the nature of their content – eating disorders- which my documentary is based upon. The screenshot on the left is a story that covers the ‘I’m a child
anorexic’ documentary that was screened on BBC three in late 2006 and depicts how younger and younger children are developing eating disorders. Throughout the
presentation the newspaper article relates back consistently to the documentary, patients and doctors as extra evidence to support the statistics they have claimed. The
image on the right focuses upon the health show ‘Supersize vs Superskinny’ emphasising how this programme and those alike can be a monumental trigger for people to
develop life threatening eating disorders, through the use of the weight loss diets featured on the show . I observed these screenshots rigidly to aid me in brainstorming
more potential ideas for how to shape the magazine/newspaper features I am expected to produce alongside my documentary and drew inspiration from what I found.
Firstly I am going to begin by focusing on my discoveries from the ‘Child Anorexic’ story. I’m particularly fond of how the ‘SIX’ is emphasized through the combination of
bold and capital lettering, this allows it to easily overshadow all other text presented along side with it drawing anyone’s source of visual focus immeditelly to this single
word. I believe this common editorial tactic would be essential in my newspaper articles byline – this would be beneficial in capturing audience interest that more easily.

5. I am fond of how the Daily Mail structures the presentation of their stories, with quite a longer then average masthead that creates interest through a
moderate amount of information concealed within it – I believe if I can offer a similar amount of detail in my own masthead then it will be more
likely to be focused upon by my target audience through its descriptive tendencies. This was partially the reason I selected these two features from the
internet as I have been thoroughly swayed by the visual impact of there said mastheads. The use of the length of these mastheads helps to confine as
much information as possible to provoke audience attention yet is dramatic at the same time with the use of ‘trigger for eating disorder sufferers’ in
the Supersize article and ‘Young as SIX’ within the feature on anorexic pre pubescent girls to highlight the seriousness and comprehensible danger
that these features withhold. I may be going against traditional conventions by opting for a long masthead but I firmly stand by the argument it will
allow me to gain the maximum numbers of target audience I am aiming for, if there is a decent amount of detail then its highly likely them to
mentally perceive there is a worthwhile story to spend time reading. Both articles have adverts surrounding them (due to them being of a viral
newspaper campaign) if my brief on my documentary is to look effective in my newspaper then I think I should consider the possibility of perhaps in
addition placing maybe a couple of adverts on the page to make it look more authentic and ‘on the market’ rather then something that has merely
been produced by a student at college. Even though there is a huge contrast between an Internet based newspaper product and one that is
printed, adverts are still a beneficial and universal theme in them which is worth abiding by and reproducing within my own product. Very
noticeable in the ‘anorexic girls clinic’ feature is the use of bold font in highlighting the first paragraph, this essentially draws the audiences attention
to the most vital and considerably note worthy part of the article itself – it is also a way of provoking interest as the more detailed, informative and
dramatic it is, hence forth more of the public will be intrigued and are likely to persevere with reading it rather then glance in disinterest. By drawing
inspiration from this text I think it would be highly in my best interests to use an attractive bold/colorful font for the initial paragraph to the topic I’m
discussing in my own feature as regardless of anything else my primary focus is to gain interest as soon as possible from my acquired target
population. Both of the articles have high definition images inserted onto the page, in my rationale I conversed about using my own images (a large
main one with the possibility of secondary smaller shots) by looking at the ones used in the Daily Mail its safe to suggest I should continue with this
idea as a photograph of what your portraying in the feature makes it more visually seductive to the audience to look at and is likely to successfully
gain more interest compared to a newspaper article that was absent of any images. A lack of images would make the presentation appear
boring, dull, mediocre and certainly not interesting enough to waste effort reading – the use of carefully captured shots in my own work should aid to
illustrate the content of my feature before the reader has even had an opportunity to browse the text themselves and they should have a vague idea
upon what they will be reading before even beginning to browse the feature. The font for the main paragraphs detailing the story are of identical size
in the different articles, big enough for the audience to read without difficulty or being overly large so as to dominate the page. Getting the sizing
correct is essentially one of the most important aspects I need to focus upon and seeing first hand how the Daily Mail displays them gives me a rough
impression of what mine is to be presented like for my own newspaper product, I’m tempted to use these articles I’ve discovered as guidelines to
ensure that my font is coherent and consistent enough for my audience. Furthermore I am thoroughly swayed by the simple but effective layout in
each article, neither of which are spread over a double page but are kept in consistency with the paragraphs following on from one another over the
course of an entire page. Since the feature for my newspaper is not one of an incredible amount of content I believe it would be practical to confine it
to one page only, this effectively saves time but prevents it being ‘dragged out’, sometimes too much information can be off putting to an audience –
keeping it short, simple and sweet is sometimes the most effective way of gaining recognition with the public.

6. Displayed above is an Internet formatted newspaper article that details another story revolving around the ‘Supersize vsSuperskinny’ genre of shows, this
time it has been selected from a lesser known production (The Daily Record) focusing however upon how a woman used her experience on the show for
positive purposes which allowed her to increase her weight from a frighteningly low figure to a more a healthier build for her height which fortunately
allowed her to conceive for the first time. An immediate contrast to the other ‘Supersize’ article I selected is the difference in moods each feature creates.
I’ve followed an occurring theme in the examples I’m selecting as all of the newspaper publication regard the health/weight genre I am revolving my
documentary around. The Daily Records argues how involvement with these programmes can be beneficial to those who participate them (regarding
them in a positive light) whilst the other one on the previous slide indicates the devastation they can promote – especially by encouraging the
development of life threatening eating disorders to those that signed up and the viewers they influence back at home. Both the ‘Record’ and ‘Mail’ papers
situate their mastheads above the webpage search panel, although my product will be print based and not viral I think it may be of benefit to me to
acknowledge where they have decided to place the main masthead. It can be perceived that many newspapers will replicate their names and place them
inside the paper (or in this case above every article within the confines of the website) – this is obviously to emphasize to the reader the name of the
production they are reading. If the audience like the features that are presented to them then its more than likely they will purchase that said item again,
by being able to constantly relate back to the masthead on each page it burrows in the name, this will means its unlikely to be forgotten therefore re
alliterating the message that this is a worthy product for the reader to buy. Although it is unrelated to the content of my article I believe if I place a smaller
masthead above it in the corner, it will allow my newspaper to appear my authentic to the eye and add that professional feel to the final outcome. Both the

7. Their more likely to be persuaded to read the piece out of curiosity as a writer would not highlight something if it was not of any relevant
neccessity or importance, it is a vital method as importantly its techniques such as this which sell the product and make a steady income for
the company. Similarly as what I witnessed whilst deconstructing the two Daily Mail articles, the Record employs the use of capital font to
enhance the feel of a particular word or phrase. Instead of beginning with an initial introductory paragraph, the editors have employed what I
would describe as a short byline for the first word of which is in upper casing. Unlike the Mail which colors its significant text in bold, this
remains in the same palette of color as the remainder of the text. To assume it’s a universal feature of most newspapers to highlight major
segments of their features seems plausible, when constructing my final feature for my adjoining documentary product I am very foremost for
using large, upper case, bold font for the necessity in drawing in the target audience’s attention directly to the interesting sections of the article
– if they enjoy what they see they will be encouraged to continue reading and what’s more it is likely the emphasized fragments will linger on
their minds allowing them to muse over what was said (this is critical for the point I’m attempting to establish in my feature as I want others to
understand the complete desolation eating disorders can cause for an individual) Another point to focus upon is the use of a high definition
image amongst the paragraphs within the article, this can also be seen in the Daily Mail. I was originally planning on using one large central
photograph of an anorexic sufferer (who would be featured as a key element in my documentary) followed by a few subsidiary images placed at
the bottom of the page for additional visual information to the audience (these could be of other individuals, a hospital, home or city landscape
I wasn’t entirely sure of what else to include however it was established it must be of some reference to eating disorders). I am still thoroughly
set to use a blown up shot but I’m swayed to cut the extra images down to maybe just one as it seems newspaper articles do not rely extensively
on carefully managed and crafted photographic images to attract the underlying interest of the audience – it appears one is just suffice. The
Records newspaper article has a fairly simple yet effective layout, it mirrors the Mail by having an opening ‘byline’ as a dramatic introductory
sentence, which is quickly followed by the main photograph with the rest of the feature in continuation. This is yet another identification that
indicates a universal theme among general layouts in most magazines, despite me wanting a unique cover story for my documentary I think it
would be safe to abide by traditional conventions in some parts (such as layout, text and editing styles) as this is a common recognisable aspect
of many magazines which deems professionalism and a sense of respect from readers.