My Evaluation

For my Media Studies A2 production I have created a local newspaper, ‘Wymondham Whispers’, which is aimed towards middle-aged women who, stereotypically, have more conservative views. This was the basis for the stories and the editorial that I have written. Alongside this, I have created a newspaper poster and a website that continue with the ideas that I have presented within my local newspaper.

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

1.      Newspaper (used)

            In terms of the conventions that my main media product uses, there are various similarities. These similarities include the presentation that this newspaper has taken. Since my target audience is middle aged women I have chosen to present this newspaper as a broadsheet. Had I chosen to present it as a tabloid newspaper this would not have taken the interest of my target audience since, typically, they are more interested in the news around their town than celebrity news. When looking at the contents of the stories within my project they are typical of a broadsheet newspaper – the current economic situation. Not only is this a typical story, but also the main story of a woman being beaten by teenagers means that women can not only relate to her age but also the view on teenagers is, stereotypically, negative in the press and is therefore using a convention of real media products. The editorial, too, is opinionated on the latest news, which is also using the typical conventions. The photo’s used within this photo, typically, link in with the story that they are placed with. The main front photo presents the middle-aged female bruised and unhappy, which clearly relates to the story. Each photo is not very eye-catching, which is similar to newspaper. The tone I chose to take was a conservative point of view, which was the most used view points from my research and was the most popular political group from my quantitative research.

(Developed)

There is not a lot of development within my newspaper, which is one of the problems with my newspaper because it was not more creative than others of its kind and was not creative enough. Within the second page of this product, instead of having the traditional weather section, the editorial is placed there instead. Despite the fact that the second page is not as popular, since it is on the left and the eyes do not tend to drift there, this is closer to the front page and will therefore be easier to find. The editorial is a popular part to a newspaper as it displays the opinion of the editor himself and provides the eye for a conservatism view. Also, instead of using a simple headline that is usually used, a repetition of a certain letter, such as in ‘Teenagers Trouble the Town’ is clever and is easy to remember, and therefore develops an idea into my newspaper. Also, typically, a political story is placed as the main story of the newspaper but has instead been placed as a secondary story. This is to present variety within the magazine and drift away from the constant discussion of politics. This action was favoured by my social group because, although interested in the daily politics, do not wish to read it constantly every day.

(Challenged)

There have not been many challenged forms and conventions within my media product. The layout of my newspaper has challenged traditional newspapers due to the fact that stories are normally placed next to each other rather than on top of one another. This makes it easier to read and more chronological. Also, the picture is traditionally more dominant on the main page. However, the headline is the most dominant text on my page, therefore challenging tradition. The name of the newspaper, too, is challenging because no other name takes literary devices like Wymondham Whispers does. This form of challenge was received positively by my focus group. Also, the font was well received, which is also challenging because it is not bold and colourful like usual names. Also, photos usually do not range between different shots. Despite this, some of my shots are from different distances and different angles, which challenge my research. This, however, was not favoured by my social groups and was one of the parts of my product that should be changed. There were no flashes within my media product. This was a challenge because all newspapers have flashes for free gifts that were inside the paper, which mine did not have. Although this meant that the paper was not trying to bribe people to read the newspaper itself, people do enjoy the free gifts they can get from newspapers, so therefore was an unpopular challenge that my focus group would have changed about my product.

2.      Poster (Used)

            The fact that there were little posters that mine could be compared with, I have noticed that my poster does not follow the forms and conventions of normal newspaper posters. However, I have used the name of the product, as well as the slogan, within the poster itself, presenting what it is advertising. This is a tactical advertising because it is a blatant message that is being given over and you know immediately what it is advertising. It is not giving over a brand image and it just displays what it is, what it does and how much it is, which does follow the traditions of other posters.

            (Developed)

            This poster develops the idea of Darwin’s theory of evolution into a new idea – using the development until the final picture, where the logo is placed. Using the logo within the poster develops the poster because it demonstrates a link within the products and develops the importance of the poster when looking at the magazine. The slogan, too, has been developed within the poster. At the end of the slogan I have used the words “for only 99p!” in order to make the advertising more tactical – to push the message instead of making it strategic. This development was also favoured by my focus group because of how blunt and to the point it is, and you know immediately what it is and what price it is.

(Challenged)

            This poster is not as eye-catching as it could have been. Despite the fact that it follows the colour scheme of the newspaper there are no other colours other than black and white used. This would not be appealing when on a billboard or on the side of a vehicle, and therefore was not a challenge I should have taken. Also, the fact that the picture has been drawn out, rather than edited on a computer programme, was not a challenge I should have taken as it does not look professional. Since the picture does not have anything in its background there is a vast amount of white space. This is therefore unprofessional as there is very little or no white space in traditional posters, so therefore is not a challenge I should have taken.

3.      Website (used)

            This, too, has not taken the traditions of typical websites. The name of the website has been placed at the top in order for the audience to know immediately what website it has joined and the slogan is just underneath, similarly to most websites. On the main page the main stories are placed in the middle of the page so that they are obvious to the audience when they go onto the page, which was favoured by my target audience. Also, similarly to some websites, there are links for pages that are related more to jobs around the area that the newspaper is set around and property news as well, instead of the conventional news. The other themes for other pages are also similar – a weather section, sports section and a general news section. These have all been incorporated into my newspaper. Finally, like most websites in general, there is a search bar that can be used to search for relevant news articles within the website in order for the audience to gain easy access to articles within the website.

            (developed)

            My website has developed the types of stories that it presents on the website. For example the news on traffic in the local area is not used in newspaper websites. I have included it for people that plan to travel somewhere or into the town but do not want to get caught in the traffic. However, my focus group believes that other websites already do that, and that newspapers do not need to do it because there is no benefit from it. Also, instead of using the text to continue onto another page, there are buttons next to the text that you can use. This has been done because sometimes clicking the text does not work and it is therefore more difficult to get to the article. This was also not favoured however, because people normally will click straight onto the text and will not think of the button next to it. Therefore it was not a popular choice and was overall not popular developments overall and should be changed.

            (challenged)

            My website does not have as much colour as other websites in general would have. This is due to the lack of page styles that my website programme provided for me as well as a lack of colour choices. Therefore the website suffered and was not as good as it could have been. Also, whilst my focus group would have liked to see more animations with the text and some more substance to the website as there was more white space than there usually is within a website. The poster that advertises the newspaper has also been placed in the corner of the website, this is challenging because traditionally this is not needed or on the website itself. However, since the logo of the newspaper is within the poster, it has been used on the website as well although this was not a favoured challenge with my focus group.

How effective is the combination of the main product and ancillary texts?

            When looking at the codes and conventions of my products as a whole there are not many similarities between the two. The contents of the stories between the newspaper and the website are linked, due to the fact that the main articles are the exact same, and also include the same photos. The main photo of the middle ages female is used on both of these texts. The text is also exactly the same, which links the two texts together. Similarly, the newspaper’s name and the font it is set in are also used throughout all three of the texts, as well as the font used for the slogan, which is also the same throughout all three of the texts. The logo, finally, is also similar throughout the texts, and is the main point in the poster, which presents the same fonts that all three texts used. However, the slogan is not similar to the other two texts, as it is changed to be a more direct poster. The representation of social groups is also the same throughout. The colour scheme through these texts does not change and is plain and uninteresting. Although this may not be eye-catching to my target audience it does link my texts together and they stay true to one another. They do not necessarily conform to the traditions of normal texts, but they do combine with one another well.

How did you use new media technologies in all stages?

            For these productions I have used numerous different technologies. For my newspaper, I used the programme Microsoft Publisher to create it. This is a representation of new technologies as it was edited in 2007 in order to be more updated and therefore you can edit the text and photo’s more freely than you could before. Although there were numerous tools I could have used to develop my project I did not use them. The fonts used for my newspaper name and slogan were made through the website www.abstractfonts.com . This uses the internet, which is a new technology, in order to create a font suitable for my newspaper. The slogan, similarly, uses fonts from this website and therefore using new technologies. The photos used were taken with a digital camera. This use of a new technology will allow for the photo to be used on computers and then to be transferred onto the document. It will also not allow for photos that blur and allow them to be of more high definition than other types of cameras. For the website I used the programme Mediator. This programme allows the website to be able to go onto the internet and also to be able to edit it. However, this programme is not efficient enough because you have to choose a certain style that they provide and you cannot create your own. This, therefore, presents the reason why the website is not as eye-catching as it conventionally should be and also does not have as many animations as other programmes can provide for it. The website itself is a new technology. Finally, the poster was created through paint on Microsoft. Through paint as well as a drawing pad that links to the computer, I was allowed to draw the poster on the pad and it shows onto the computer. This new technology means that you can draw anything and it will show up on your computer and it can be edited through the paint programme. Overall there was not a wide range of new technologies used however different aspects of these media have been used for different effects.

What have you learned from your audience feedback?

            For my newspaper, the quantitative research provided to me presented that my target audience read more conservative newspapers, instead of liberals or labour party newspapers, which has been incorporated into my newspaper. Also, they have displayed their interest more in the presentation of a broadsheet, instead of a tabloid newspaper. In terms of content, they have generally decided in favour of news that link to the current economic crisis, as well as links with the government. Also, they side with stories that affect local schools and families, since they can most relate to them. They have also preferred for there to be more text to tell the story rather than the broadsheet being text led, however they would like to see photo’s within the newspaper, which has also been incorporated into the newspaper. There was more preference for a coloured newspaper instead of black and white, which matches with modern newspapers. The photos also do not have to be of different angles, just eye catching enough to draw the reader’s attention to the front page, which is the one that they will see when it is in the shops.

            Through qualitative research I have found that my audience’s feedback had been taken into account and they found it to be a good newspaper. The stories were very conservative and opinionated, whilst the editorial showed a conservative view to the articles. The pictures were also found to be relevant. The name of the magazine, the logo and slogan were “creative” as they were eye catching and the main name of the newspaper was easy to remember and not conventional and repetitive like other newspaper names. However, they believed there was too much white space and there was no prizes advertised to be given away, like in most newspapers. The newspaper was also not as colourful as they had hoped, and the text in the columns also did not match. It was overall a positive verdict, however they found a few things that needed improving.

            The poster, through research, is required to be eye catching. Although not through colour, the poster catches the eyes through its creativity and use of something that is of common knowledge – Darwin’s theory of evolution. To incorporate this idea into a poster is enough to catch the attention of the audience without having to be too creative. It is also needed to have the name of what is being advertised on the poster, rather than being too post-modern and merely having the logo of the company that is being advertised on it. Through research, they also like to see a creative name for the newspaper and slogan, which has been done. Finally, the twisting of the slogan was also created through this research, in order to make the poster stand out, and the reader knows the information it needs to know immediately.

            The poster, too, did receive positive feedback through qualitative research. Although there were no colours used beside black they believed it was different from other newspapers and was inventive and a different way of using Darwin’s theory of evolution. It was creative and inventive, unlike some advert campaigns. The use of the same fonts was also something that they found to be positive. However, they would improve on the fact that there is no colour so is not as eye-catching as other posters. However, since there are little newspaper posters to compare this with, my feedback is very limited and had to be based on posters of other media instead.

            Finally, through quantitative research, the audience wanted to see an eye-catching website that looked appealing. They wanted text that moved as it displayed the headlines and wanted to see colours that matched the newspaper itself. They also wanted to see a variety of stories labelled on the main page, whilst the hyperlinks should be easy to get to. They also thought that not only should it be about the stories that are in the local newspapers, but that there should also be different pages on different job offers around the town and pages on home care etcetera. Finally, they believed a newspaper website should also have links to newspapers from previous years as well.

            When looking back through qualitative research, I have found that I have not followed the advice of my quantitative research. Due to the programme I used to create the website, it was not as colourful and well laid out as I had originally hoped for it to be. Also, there were no animations with the texts that I had originally hoped for there to be. In order to have followed this, I should have used another, better programme that could have incorporated these ideas properly. Despite this, there were links to pages that were not all about news, and there were colourful pages that linked back to the newspaper articles they came from, which was one of the pieces of advice my quantitative research gave to me.

Qualitative Research Script

Qualitative research

For this, I got a group of 3 people to look over my three products and evaluate them accordingly and asked them questions about what they thought of my product.

For my first artefact, my newspaper, did you think I managed to attract my target audience?

Person 1: I believe that, with your stories, you did manage to attract your audience. The person with your first story would have been able to be related to because she was of a similar age to your target audience. Also, your editorial did manage to attract the right audience due to its opinions, which would stereotypically be similar to that of your target audience. However, I believe that the layout of your design was too simple and, even though middle aged women do not find illustrations as interesting as younger audiences, it would have been good to see less white space that could be filled with pictures.

Person 2: The colours that have been used within this artefact are too bland and un-interesting to any audience. Black and white is too simple and does not draw an audience in. However, I do like the title of the newspaper itself as well as the font. They seem to be very well thought out, as well as the articles that have been written. The third article about the schools would definitely attract middle aged women as most of them will have children themselves and can very much relate to why so many people would be angry about it.

Person 3: Whilst I believe that your stories do attract your target audience efficiently and your titles are eye-catching, the layout of the piece is not typical of other newspapers of its kind. Had there have been an advert at the top of the first page or maybe a weather section on the second page it would have been much more similar, however you have used the second page for an editorial. Despite this, I do think the editorial is the best piece of the newspaper.

My second artefact was my poster. Would this have attracted you to read my newspaper if you saw it?

Person 1: Not upon first sight. Without the use of colour there is no interest to the poster and therefore makes it very bland. However, when looking at it, the idea of evolving is very clever and very eye-catching, but it would have been more eye-catching if there had been some colour to it.

Person 2: I, too, believe that there should have been at least one other colour. However, when you look at the poster you know immediately what you’re looking at if you know what the poster is advertising. It is not known immediately that it is a poster for a newspaper unless you understand the message the picture is giving to you.

Person 3: I was initially confused by what the poster was selling at first, until I looked at it properly and realised what it was for. If the picture was more clear I may have understood what it was advertising, however when it was explained to me I understood it and thought it was very clever.

Finally, on my final artefact, would you have visited the website again, and did you think that it attracted the right audience?

Person 1: It was very simple to use and, unlike the second artefact, it had more colour nd style to it. I would have liked to see another page with an article on, instead of travel news and weather news, because I can go to other websites and use that instead. However, I can see why it was done and I think that it would attract the right audience.

Person 2: I believe that there were some definite points to the website that would attract the right audience. With the recession at the moment it is good that you placed a job list option onto the website to appeal to the local community. Also, the idea of putting the latest weather news is also good however, when you are sat at home, I don’t believe you need to know what is happening on the road, so I did not see the point in that. However, it was good to see another colour being used to make the website look more interesting.

Person 3: The website was very easy to use and it was easy to see what audience you were trying to attract. The use of a job list was very clever to use and it is very good that news from the paper was also used on the website. However, I did not see the need for signing up for the website, because any updates that happen will come in the newspaper anyway.

Final Website

I changed the format completely for this website and I made more pages in order to fit more onto the page. Instead of the normal 2 hyperlinks, this website has six to provide more information.

Final Newspaper

Although there were not many edits to this newspaper in comparison to my first draft the ideology used is increased greatly and the photos on the side of the first page has also been edited. As well as this, an extra story has been placed at the bottom to take up more space on the page. 

Final Poster

After editing my last poster (see December 2010) I edited the flaws of the last poster by creating my own picture and editing the slogan of the piece. Also, because I changed the font on the newspaper, I also changed it on the poster to keep the link between the three texts.

1st Draft Website

This website was made through Mediator, which allows for limited space and was not a very good programme. With my next draft, I will be sure to use a different programme and a different template.

1st Draft Poster

This poster for my newspaper links the two texts together due to the use of not only the name and the slogan of the newspaper as well as the font of the two texts being ver similar.