Audience

This paper will target a local audience, but a broad one.  People of all ages and from all socio-economic groups will be reading it, as well as people from different religious and family backgrounds, with different interests and different political views, so it should appeal to the whole of the audience.

Primary media is when people pay very close attention to a media text.
Secondary media is when they skim through it and look for something which will catch their eye.
Tertiary media is when the media is present but people are not consciously aware of it (e.g. adverts in a newspaper).

Circulation
One person buys a paper, but it can be read by thirty or more people during the day - family members, friends, people who pick up a paper that they find (e.g. at a bus stop), people in waiting rooms, etc.

Local newspapers are different to other newspapers because people generally keep them for the entire week after issue, instead of throwing them away after one reading, so they can refer back to it.

Generic Conventions of Newspaper Front Pages

The Knaresborough Post:

• Cost: £1.00
• There are five stories on the front page, two of which are accompanied by pictures.
• One of the stories is carried on on another page, but the others are not.
• The columns are all approximately 1.5 inches wide.
• The font size and style varies between headlines.
• The colour of the masthead background is used throughout the page, to create a sense of cohesion.
• The headline of the main article on the page is above the fold, although the majority of the body of the article is below.
• The main picture on the page is wholly above the fold, as is the accompanying article.
• There is an advert occupying the space at the bottom of the page.
• The date of the issue, price, and e-mail address of the paper are between the masthead and the rest of the page - not distracting from the rest of the paper, but visible at a glance.
• There are lines separating all articles on the page, and some of the articles are also surrounded by a thicker box.
• The two words that make up the title of the paper are written in different fonts, which is eye-catching.
• The colours are muted but clear, so they catch the eye of a passer-by but are not overbearing.

The Ripon Gazette:

• Cost: 95p
• There are two stories on the front page, both of which are accompanied by pictures.
• Neither of the stories is carried on on another page.
• The columns are all roughly 1.5 inches wide, althought the height of the columns varies.
• The font size varies between the two headlines.
• The colour of the masthead background is used throughout the page, to create a sense of cohesion.
• The headline of the main article of the page is above the fold, as are both the pictures that accompany the article.
• There is an advert occupying the space at the bottom of the page.
• The date of the issue, price, and e-mail address of the paper are between the masthead and the rest of the page - not distracting from the rest of the paper, but visible at a glance.
• The top article on the page is surrounded by a box.
• The two words that make up the title of the paper are written in different fonts, which is eye-catching.
• The colours are muted but clear, so they catch the eye of a passer-by but are not overbearing.

Newspaper Story Ideas

Story	Images?	Facts?	News Values
GCSE/AS/A2 exam results	Students with results	Statistics about results in area	Meaningfulness, numbers, personalisation
Shoe shop opens in BB	Shop windows covered, opening day		Meaningfulness
Aldborough Show	Horse jumping, families, crafts		Meaningfulness
Poetry competition - print poem	Photo of winner		Meaningfulness, personalisation
Prom	Students celebrating		Meaningfulness, personalisation
Allotment Show	Allotments, winners	Statistics about allotments in past six months	Meaningfulness, personalisation

Generic Conventions of Newspaper Articles

The Knaresborough Post:

Speeding - time to act

• The first sentence is twenty words long, and informs the reader who, what and where.
• The article was written by one person, and includes a byline.
• The first word of the article is capitalised, in keeping with the style of the paper.
• The article is sixteen paragraphs long, as it is the main article on the page.
• The article ends with the e-mail address of the paper, and an invitation to the reader to give their opinion on the story.
• The article contains quotes from several people involved in the story, some of whom have contradictory opinions, which helps to make it three-dimensional.
• The article is aimed at an older audience, of both genders, especially residents of the area referenced in the story, who would be more interested.
• The article is arranged in seven columns, each of which has twenty-one lines.

The Ripon Gazette:
Hotel fire victim wanted to leave "ropey" accomodation

• The first sentence is twenty-seven words long, and informs the reader who, what and where.
• The article was written by one person, and includes a byline.
• The first word of the article is capitalised, in keeping with the style of the paper.
• The article is twenty-six paragraphs long, as it is the main article on the front page.
• The article ends with the e-mail address of the writer of the article.
• The article quotes the man in question, and his family, making the story more personal.
• The article is aimed at an older audience, of both genders.
• The article consists of eight columns, of varied length, as they are arranged around two pictures.

Terminology

Masthead - title block across the top of the paper.  In colour.
Headline - title of the main story.  Bold, in larger font.  Uses puns, alliteration.  Blunt and to the point.
Byline - name of the journalist who wrote the article.  Not always used (some articles written by more than one journalist).
Exclusive - story only apears in one paper.
Pug - 'ears' in top corners of page.
Splash - story designed to shock or grab attention.  Always has a big headline, bigger font.
Caption - anchors visual image to article, provides visualisation.  *Look at positioning*
Kicker - font style and size will stand out, different from the rest of the page.
Strapline - introductory sentence/headline (smaller font) to introduce story.
Standfirst - introductory paragraph
Nag: News At a Glance - often down the side of the page, quickly updates the reader.
Nib: News In Brief
Topic Sentence - first sentence, gives the gist of the story.  Use 5Ws (who, what, where why, when).  About 20 words long.
Above the Fold - top half of the front page, articles which grab attention
Cropped - article shortened by the editor.  Also refers to image manipulation.
Deadline - when the paper goes to press.

Writing A Newspaper Article

1.       The headline – accurate and in the present tense

2.       First sentence – 5Ws – no more than 22 words as a grabline

3.       First paragraph – make the reader curious; include a hook

4.       Be accurate; facts should be correct

5.       Avoid clichés

6.       Search for the special ingredient which makes your story stand out

7.       Paragraphs throughout should consist of only two or three sentences

8.       Use quotes (expert opinion or direct witness

9.       Keep language simple

NINE GOLDEN RULES

1.       KISS: Keep It Short and Simple.  Local newspapers normally have shortened sentences of between 16 and 20 words.  Keep to familiar, simple vocabulary which a broader audience can access.

2.       Read for Speed – sentences and headlines are short.  Crossheads break the story down into bite-size pieces.  Columns are narrow and easy to read.

3.       Never Use Three Words When One Will Do – one will rarely see the following phrases in newspapers: “in the near future”; “in the first instance”; “on the subject of”; “in the small hours”; “in consequence of”.

4.       Don’t Repeat Yourself – don’t use two words which mean the same thing, e.g. “uniquely special”, “final outcome”, “important essentials”.

5.       Use Active Verbs – e.g. “burglars took the corgi” rather than “the corgi was taken by the burglars”.

6.       Play With Language – use puns, e.g. “Chippy gets a battering”, “Steve Davis arrived on cue”

7.       Make the Story Personal – particularly in local papers.

8.       Categorise People In the News – e.g. “grey-haired pensioner”, “secret lover”, “mother of two”, “retired teacher, sixty-five”.

9.       Things To Avoid:  Clichés; euphemisms; gossip; unnecessary use of foreign/American phrases.

Ideology

Ideology is a set of beliefs and ideas which are held by a society or by individuals. E.g. the dominant ideology in England is mostly that of white, middle class, middle-aged, conservative men, who hold most of the positions of power in the country.  Local newspapers keep to this ideology so as not to upset any of the audience.  The layout of a newspaper's front page is quite formal, designed to give a sense of reliability to the paper.  The front page acts as an advert for the paper and has a range of features (pictures, adverts, etc.).

News Selection

All news involves the selection of information by journalists, because it would be impossible to include every single detail.  When photographs are taken, the process also involves choices by the photographer about how they wish to represent the event.  Captions underneath the pictures help to lead readers towards a preferred reading of the image.

News Agenda

The news agenda is the list of stories that have been selected for the newspaper, ranked in order of priority; more important stories are longer and are accompanied by more images.  News values are the same for all news organisations and their audiences, but some organisations will give priority to different news values than others.  E.g., a broadsheet newspaper might give priority to elite nations, but a tabloid newspaper will give priority to personalisation.  For a local newspaper, the most relevant news value will probably be meaningfulness.

News Values

There are millions of potential stories which happen every day that could be part of the news, so journalists need a method to help them decide which stories to include.  They use a set of criteria called 'news values' to help them select stories.

Frequency
If something happens quickly and its meaning is established rapidly it is more likely to get into the news than an item which takes time to establish an understandable plot or which will evolve over time. - e.g. rape/murder
Threshold/Amplitude/Numbers
The more people affected by a news item, the more important and relevant it is to the public, so it is given more attention. - e.g. E.Coli virus
Unambiguity
The media often use stereotypes to explain stories - making people into 'goodies' and 'baddies' - to make it easy for the public to understand, so simpler stories are better to report. - e.g. Colonel Gadaffi
Meaningfulness
Culturally relevant events are more likely to make the news, as the audience is far more interested in events which happen close to home, or events which contain references to values, beliefs or attitudes that it shares. - e.g. 15 Landrovers robbed in one month in Harrogate
Consonance
Events which meet the public's expectations are more likely to become news. - e.g. the Royal wedding
Unexpectedness/Surprise
Events which hold a large element of surprise are also more likely to hit headlines and arouse public interest. - e.g. Osama Bin Laden's death
Continuity
Events which have been initially defined as news will continue to carry more weight in a news agenda than other unrelated stories. - e.g. war
Composition
News editors try to ensure a balance between home and foreign news, or make sure that there is a lighter element to a particularly upsetting/depressing bulletin. - e.g. the dead donkey story
Reference to Elite Nations
Other major Western nations are more likely to make it into the news than Third World nations, even if the events are less shocking. - e.g. the USA re-election
Reference to Elite Persons
Events which contain references to politicians, stars, royalty and so on are all more likely to become news. - e.g. Wayne Rooney's hair transplant.
Personalisation
Events which are personalised are more likely to be reported than those which have no specific individual concerned. - e.g. cancer patients discussing possible cures.
Negativity
People are interested in bad news that does not concern them; they are interested in good news that does.
Actuality
If a paper has pictures to accompany an article, the story is more likely to be reported than it would be without the pictures, because they aid the reader in comprehending the story.

What Is News?

The dictionary definition of 'news':

• News must be new or fresh or at least have a fresh angle.
• News must be presented as something that is not mundane; it must be an event.
• The fresh event must be reported to become news.

Some other definitions of 'news':

News is people

The human angle is what interests the public in stories - celebrities or people similar to themselves.

Dog bites man - no interest.  Man bites dog - news.

The extraordinary is interesting, and makes for an exciting story.

News is anything that makes an editor say "Gee whiz".

Stories should be interesting, shocking, exciting.

News is what someone somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising.

If someone wants to keep a story secret, they must have a reason.
When people contact news agencies with stories, they want them to be heard.

News is fresh events reported.

The news must be current and up-to-date.

Production Requirements

1. Front and second pages of a local newspaper
2. Website with two working links
3. Poster

Blog

Evaluation: powerpoint presentation with script