Local Newspaper - Front Page - Features/Layout

A2 Media Studies - Newspaper - Front Page Layout from rumelrahman

As you can see on the third slide of my SlideShare above, I have annotated features used on a front cover of the Bath Chronicle newspaper. A feature used in all types of newspaper publication is the use of a nameplate. Nameplates, are used to differentiate them from other newspapers. Almost all local newspapers will include the location the paper is regarding in their title. For an example, the one I included is 'Bath Chronicle'. A feature used by all newspaper is headlines. Headlines came into existence in the late 19th century, as competition started to grow within the newspaper business, editors used them to grab the readers attention. Headlines usually use a set of grammatical rule known as 'headlinese' which, due to the lack of space, are full sentences compressed into smaller sentences - by replacing long words to short sentences with the same/similar meaning. Headlines are usually humorous, puns or other words plays devices. In this example for Bath Chronicle the full sentence would be 'It is time to bulldoze the eyesore for a £35 million, four star hotel. The editors for Bath Chronicle has condensed this by missing the determiners 'a' and 'the'. Bath Chronicle has replaced 'million' for 'm', this lexical choice could be a result of common abbreviations or as the editors are aware this article will also be received online, this shortening of words maybe a result of a new convention of online articles. I will make sure to produce an effective headline in my piece. Another important feature of a front page is the main image and caption. It is very unlikely a local newspaper, will feature a main image that concerns the entire nation, unless the topic concerns the area.. It will usually display local events, sporting teams, local musicians etc. However, Bristol Post does not follow many of these conventions. As displayed on my seconds slide on my SlideShare, Bristol Post is designed with many different things layering on top of each-other. This maybe be used as a reflection of Bristol as a city. Bristol has connotations of being an art fueled vibrant location, and the editors of Bristol Post may have done this as it resonates with residents. This collage-esque layout, maybe a method of attracting young readers.