1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real
media product?
My evaluation for my Local Newspaper front page,
inside page, website and poster.
By: Yurges Jaffa
3. My media product has many conventions
of a real media product. This is my front
cover and how it shows real media
conventions to a real life local newspaper.
My heading shows similar conventions to
the real local newspaper, the colours are
primary, Red is my heading as it connotes
urgency in many news papers and is a
formal colour also portrays a link and lets
you know what area it is aimed at and that
it’s a local newspaper. Also it has adverts
on the side like a real life local news paper
along with a website link and the pricing,
and location.
My newspaper also has adverts for local
businesses but also a competition from a
sponsor as my local paper is free and has
many sponsors to generate it. It also
develops conventions of a real product as
many papers have ads on them links.
4. My newspaper is titled ‘Brent News’ and it targets north west London’s
borough of Brent. The heading of mine is called Brent News as it is straight
forward and gets to the point. The colour RED is also one of 3 colours of the
Brent Logo and it will be easily recognized as theirs a link between the two.
My master head also has a subhead above it saying ‘North West London’s’
as it informs people what part of London it is but its also to do with the Post
Code of Brent as Brent’s post codes all start with NW informing the reader
straight away that it’s a local paper and its for people who live among Brent.
Also there are two ads both local businesses and one which is a sponsor and
a competition. The Mast head writing is formal as the writing shows its
serious and alike to a real newspaper.
5. Image & support story
The image on the left is my newspaper with the image and support story. The image and support story show
real life media conventions as both have a main heading in bold and imagine on the right and the story along
the side. Both of the images show
The Britney Spears story breaks conventions of a real life paper as it is not a traditional local story but in
London often local is national, also because I stated ‘at Wembley arena’ I have related it to my local town as it
is apart of the area. While the other story conveys a local issue of a day centre, my newspaper challenges
conventions as it is more of an informal one and lets people know what is going on just like a national paper
would do, my paper features more conventions such As a gossip and sport section but still keeps it local. The
conventions of my paper uses conventions of local papers as mine is very local and is related to the local area
such as Wembley arena in the main story as Wembley arena is a known place to the local community but also
London and the UK.
6. Side stories
My side stories which are located on the sides of news
papers show conventions and similar forms of real
media newspapers as many papers have side stories
introducing them on the front page leading them to the
page its on. The side stories on my front cover have an
image and a heading along with a preview of the story
and telling the read the page the story continues. The
side story column is highlighted as it challenges
conventions of a paper as not many local or national
newspapers have a highlighted section but they have
guild lines dividing them up. I added this in as it made
the side stories stand out more but also it flowed In well
with the news paper and it made it look more like a real
media newspaper.
Also the image on the paper is also clear and tells the
story and is a narrative as the audience want to read
more.
The first image is of a bus covered in snow to indicate
the snow day and the other is of a crime scene which
also tells the story and is relevant to the topic.
7. Main Story
My main story uses conventions of a real media
product as it contains the same conventions such as
a main image, heading, subheading, story and also
a picture title at the bottom of the picture, these are
all the conventions of a newspaper. My local
newspaper develops forms of a real newspaper as it
follows the same prints of a local newspaper.
The image itself is clear as it shows an image of
what the article is about and has a description under
it along with a story subtitle on the left telling the
audience what the story is about. The story itself
has a narrative as it says ‘continues on page’ which
portrays media conventions as all stories lead to the
next page.
8. Ads & Competitions
My local news papers front page also contains adverts such as
many newspapers. This uses many conventions as many local
newspapers contain local business ads and so do I in mine to as
I tried to make my media product as realistic as possible to a real
newspaper. The adverts contain phone numbers and addresses.
My newspaper front page also has a competition which most
newspapers usually do. This is a common convention. In my
competition it’s a holiday to win a trip for 2 weeks, it contains
similar forms to real products as it has the website info, bold
primary colours and writing and the page the competition is on
along with picture of the holiday.
9. Pictures & headlines
My pictures and headlines both link in with the
story. The picture I have for my Britney Spears
headline is a clear picture of the star performing
which makes the audience recognize the star
straight away. The headline also is straight to the
point just like many conventions a real newspaper
would have. It uses many conventions of a real
media product and it being a local newspaper it
also states the local location of the article
‘Wembley’ to show that it’s a local performance. My
other images show a Local Metropolitan Bus which
drives throw Brent covered in snow hiding the
buses route number. The image is powerful as it
shows a bus stuck in the snow as its falling and
relates to the article, ‘Brent Snow Day’ another
article is ‘Brent crime rate shoots up by 5%’ with an
image of a pie chart showing different crimes and a
gun. My media product shows forms and
conventions of real media products as it uses many
forms of what they have and arte clear.
10. Types Of Stories
My stories of my media product challenge
forms and conventions of a real media
newspaper as they are not always ‘Bad
News’ but also tend to focus on news positive
news also such as the ‘Britney Spears Live at
Wembley arena’ story. But they also are very
local as they are constantly talking about
‘Brent’ which the news papers location.
The stories challenge media conventions but also provide the local feel, if you will to
the newspaper making all stories relevant as there about the local borough of Brent.
The ‘Brent Snow Day’ is another story about the snow day which delays the boroughs
normal day due to heavy snow, a story which will leave the audience wanted to read
more. Another is ‘Brent Crime Rate shoots up by 5%’ a story about crime which uses
conventions as many newspapers talk about crime and the matters with it.
12. Inside Page
My inside page is filled with lots of stories and
little parts just like many media newspapers as
it has many ads, pictures, main headings and
more. The cover is more of a ‘come on’ while
the newspaper inside page is more of section
which contains more news values and
information.
13. Image & Main Stories
My inside page’s images and stories portray conventions of a real media product. The images are clear and tell
you what the story is about as they are clear and fit page well. Also they both have captions under the pictures
just like allot of newspapers do and also the text is written to fit the image and the heading and the subheadings.
This shows real forms of media conventions as its all very similar to real media products. I used the same
pictures as in the front cover to give a graphic match, as when the audience flick throw the paper they identify it.
It also colloquial language is there as it is understanding to the general audience.
14. My inside page
main stories have
similar forms and
conventions to real
media products.
My stories are on the
right and the stories of
local newspaper ‘The
Kilburn Times’ are on
the left.
15. Ads & Competitions
My inside page has adverts and completions just
like many real media products have. It challenges
the forms of real media conventions as it as it has
local adverts but it being a local news paper it is
still relevant as it goes well with my newspaper.
The adverts are all of local businesses but also
ads provided by the local borough such as
‘Recycle for Brent’ which is provided by the local
borough. Another is the competition / advert for
the newspaper its self which is advertising the
app on the iPad which is available for free but you
could also be in for the chance to win one
yourself. This shows real conventions as many
real media products contain these forms.
On the adverts I didn’t add much images as most
of them don’t contain much.
16. Side stories
My side column stories are featured on the sides of the inside page
just like many newspapers have. This follows conventions of a real
newspaper by follows similar patterns. The side column stories are
one of which a missing girl which contains a picture of the victim
along with the story underneath. Another one was a drawn comic
mini story which national newspapers tend to use which challenges
conventions as local newspapers don’t tend to use them but the
image is drawn to help the story and aware people about its
headline ‘Keep Brent Tidy’ which has been a Brent slogan around
the town for years to advertise recycling. I added the image as it
challenges conventions and both stories look and have many forms
or real newspapers to give enigma.
As you can my side stories
have similar forms and
conventions of real media
products as they share
similar forms and patterns.
17. Pictures & Headlines
The images that are used both are on the front cover this is to do with a
graphic match as when the reader opens it, they will identify it straight away.
This shares forms and conventions of real newspapers as they both have
similar images also they both has captions below the images a and the
headings are in bold just like real media newspapers.
19. Poster
My poster shows conventions of a real
media product as it sells the newspaper
and tells us what its about and what it is.
You can tell my paper is a local news
paper due to the street sign and the post
code under it ‘NW’ along with the well
known ‘London Borough Of Brent’ this
poster represents my local area well
along with the street sign but also having
the newspaper in front of my paper and
the Free sign and the slogan makes it
look like a poster. The way the layout is
also shows that its also linked well.
The poster also shows allot of red as my
Newspapers logo is red and so is many of the writing on the poster such as the ‘FREE’ puff,
the outline of the slogan and allot of the words on the street sign along with the background
being brick red. I also added the news paper on the side so the audience is aware of the
newspaper when they buy it. This challenges many conventions but also has many forms of
conventions as it has a meaning behind it as its local and so is the street sign and area and it
slows well and the slogan itself indicates it.
20. Comparing
Comparing my newspapers poster to other well known
newspaper posters my one fits in well but also challenges
conventions as its quite more different and is more image
then word based but it being a local newspaper many local
residents will understand it more as they know what's going
on in the poster and it tackle's a smaller audience then a big
national newspaper. The poster gets the message across
which is what most posters do.
22. Newspaper Website masthead
This is my newspaper website masthead for my website. It has the same logo as on my
newspaper front page. This has many forms and conventions to a real newspaper website.
On the right you see an update date and time to show when the website was updates and
on the other side you have the search engines such as Google and Facebook along with a
register and log in code, this has many the same conventions to a real website as they all
have this. It also contains a search button to search your stories. It also has contains a latest
news section which slides throw headlines just like the bottom section of the news and also
is used in many newspaper websites. This is a similar convention. Another is the website
name under the logo which is always used. I challenged media conventions as many
newspaper websites are all the same layout as there all from the same company ‘Archent’
and I challanged conventions as the layout is different then others.
23. Headline & Image
The main headline of my local newspaper is also features on the website, my main headlines are
put in a slider which also features other major stories of the week before of stories to come that
are added there before published onto the next weeks paper. This has similar forms and
conventions to real newspaper websites as many of them are very technical and have many
features to crap as much news onto there main page. the ‘HERE’ highlighted in blue is also a
convention which all websites have that leads you onto the next page. Also an image is usually
added onto the side to tell the audiences what the story is about. The headline is surrounded by
outlines to highlight the main stories as most media conventions feature this.
24. Top news section
I added this section onto my newspaper is It has many forms and conventions of a real
newspaper website. Many newspaper website have many news sections with images,
headlines and links taking u onto the next page. It also have allot of red arrows indicating
bullet points of what happened in the story. Also the comment sections are another form
and convention as many newspaper websites talk and ask the general public on there
views. Also this section challenges media conventions as most of the stories are in sized
from biggest to other headlines. But mine are all added in order just like the images on
the right of the sun newspaper website. I did this to make it flow and get as many stories
in as possible. This challenges conventions of newspaper websites but also still has
similar forms of a real newspaper website.
25. More local news section
This is my second news section I added
onto my newspaper website. This
portrays many forms and conventions of
real media products as many websites
have many sections in there newspapers
talking about news. My one has many
news in bullet points in the shape of
arrows in red, this is a conventions many
newspapers have as they many sections
of news. Another is highlighted links and
the read more section. Another is the
images also, this challenges conventions
as it adds the links in orders as mine are
all in the sections and not in the side only
26. Multi-Media Section
The multi media section is a section that has the conventions of
other newspapers as many newspapers are very multi media and
contain videos and other live medias such as radio, I challenge
conventions as my website has a media section but also is features
on the home page while many are featured on the video page. This
has many forms of real media products as my product looks like a
real website and the multi-media section is something they feature.
But mine also challenges conventions in forms of the layout.
27. Sports
The sports section has the
same conventions to a real
media product as all
newspaper websites all
have a sports section and I
wanted to portray the same
forms and conventions and
have one on my website
page, also Wembley being
in the local area I thought
id be good to include sport
as Wembley is a sport
town and is well known.
28. Ads & Competitions
My ads and completions on my
newspaper website challenge news and
conventions to real media products. I
added an advert for a school which
challenged forms and conventions as
many newspapers don’t have those
kind of adverts but it being a local news
paper it was okay to add those adverts
in. another ad is one promoting the iPad
add for the newspaper this was another
convention highly used in modern
newspapers as it’s a part of synergy.
Another convention is a trip to a holiday.
This is a common convention as
competitions are always used in
newspapers and there websites.