2. By creating a local newspaper front and second page, I needed
audience feedbacks on my work. I wanted to find out if my
newspaper is appealing enough for the particular audience.To assess
this, I have created a closed group in Facebook and invited enough
people to answer the following questions that about my media
product. Most of my target audience that I found in my market
research are mainstream although from my market research it is
aimed at 18-25, it doesn’t make sense to target these specific
audiences at a local area, especially now these days many of these
audiences doesn’t read newspaper but older audiences does. My
newspaper aims to form a relationship with the reader to make them
feel more relevant as my newspaper is local instead of a national paper
that may not feel relevant to them. I want to test how Stuart Hall’s
theory of sues and gratification and the hypodermic model of my
media text influencing these audiences. Most of these people that I
asked for this focus group don’t use Facebook anymore so I decided
to advertise the link of my media product directly to them through
private message and asked them the following questions similar to my
Facebook friends.These feedbacks were very helpful in order to make
my newspaper stand out a lot more towards the target audience of
my local newspaper.
4. 1) Preferred, negotiated or oppositional are the
three types of ways we can read a media text.
Which one can you associate with my newspaper?
Response 1: In my opinion, I think would be associated to preferred reading
because it meets the conventions of a real newspaper. Meeting conventions of
a newspaper is important in order to make this attractive.
Response 2: Probably people would consider this is preferred because your
front cover is attractive enough by the image mostly taking over the entire
page.This can also be classified as negotiated, as there is more negative
representation of Salford from the headlines on the front page and second but
overall I think this is good.Although you did this, your stories are very
interesting regardless how this shows a negative representation.
Response 3: Preferred - The pictures taken because that’s what attracts me
and other people who would read your newspaper.
Response 4: I think this might be a preferred reading because it’s both
combining conventions of tabloid and broadsheet newspapers.
Response 5: Negotiated.Your masthead makes this preferable to spectators
because you’re using similar things to real ones.At the same time, people may
argue that it may not have enough ‘extra’ features.
Summary
The response shows that 60% of the people chosen my newspaper as a
preferred reading which indicates that they want to buy and read my
newspaper. 20% chose this as negotiated as there are some certain parts they
think that may needs adding such as job adverts based on their opinions.
5. 2) Which parts of the newspaper do you like and
why?
Response 1: I like the photographs taken in you’re second
page, it looks professional.
Response 2: The pictures you took, and the masthead because
they are made good enough for people to read.
Response 3: The photographs and although you edited this
you kept it natural.
Response 4: The logo on the front cover of the side is
interesting because of the colours.
Response 5: Mainly the masthead, the colours you have used is
suitable for a newspaper.
Summary
60% of the people in my focus group all liked my photographs
of how I kept them natural to create verisimilitude of my
newspaper. 20% liked the colour theme of my newspaper
which is mainly used on the masthead which I think the ‘red’
creates the attractiveness of my newspaper.
6. 3) Which parts of the newspaper do you dislike and
why?
Response 1: The price tag is slanted and shouldn’t be
positioned at the middle.
Response 2: The smallest image on the second page
that overlays the main,
Response 3: The price tag looks too plain and is abit
awkward as its rotated.
Response 4: The small image on the second one may
be too much images going on.
Response 5: The headline at the front page might be
too big for your picture.
Summary
40% didn’t like the price tag design of my newspaper. I
may have to change this into a better format and place
this either of the sides that have a space.
7. 4) What makes my newspaper similar to
real newspapers; can you identify any
conventions used?
Response 1: The masthead, it’s very similar toThe Mirror where you
used red background and bold black outline.As well at the second
page where you used 4 columns similar to many broadsheet
newspapers.
Response 2: The advert seems to be realistic by how you made up a
driving company and using simple colours to make this look realistic
from how real newspapers does this.The logo looks the same asThe
Sun although you’ve made this different by adding ‘Salford’ and making
this glow.
Response 3: The use of headlines, the way you did this is very
attracting which many newspapers does this.
Response 4: The layout and the logo.
Response 5: Definitely the masthead is similar toThe Daily mirror
andThe Sun.Also the layout of your newspaper on both pages.
Summary
80% of the people thought my masthead followed the conventions of
real newspapers such as ‘The Sun’ and ‘The Daily Mirror’. 20% liked
how I set my columns out by using guide lines through Photoshop.
8. 5) Is there any section in particular
you think I can improve on?
Response 1: The headline in second page you can make this
slightly wider to fill in the spaces of some areas of the page.
Response 2: To make up the negative things, you can add more
adverts on the pages.
Response 3: On the advert in your front cover, you can add
more colours to make this more interesting because it looks
too plain.
Response 4: The image on your front cover, you can add
techniques such as blur to show that these ‘youth’ are quite
mysterious.
Response 5: You can add images?
Summary
Most the people said that I should improve on the adverts. I
think the draft of my front cover made them say this. Rom the
advert at the bottom right which doesn’t look attractive as
much as he adverts that I created.
9. Conclusion
In conclusion, I only need to make few
changes to create an ideal newspaper for
these audiences to make this appropriate
for them.This would be by changing the
format of the tag price and the advert.
Overall, I think all of the people who
participated thinks I have followed the
conventions of a newspaper.
