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

1. In what ways does your media
product use, develop or challenge
forms and conventions of real media
products?
By Max Shearman

2. Using existing conventions / forms
• Establishing shots used in lead article to give context of the location.
• Pictures and captions to accompany articles which briefly explain the relevance
of the picture to the article.
• The use of the Times New Roman typeface – used in the compact newspaper
The Times, use of this font gives off semiotic connotations of being an
established and high quality newspaper. I applied more modern-looking fonts
(such as Futura) to correlate with my young target audience, but I felt as if it
showed too much resemblance to a tabloid or a magazine and lacked the
presence that the Times New Roman typeface has.
• The use of a variety of fonts (Times New Roman and Myriad Pro) – which acts as
a cue for the reader to be able to distinguish between different parts of the
newspaper.
• Quality, engaging, detailed and informative press – using a creative non-fiction
style to achieve these aspects, where my articles are accurate and use well-
researched information, as well as being interesting to the reader.
• All articles are about local issues of importance and include: local political
issues, infrastructure developments, business and the economy and ground-
breaking medical treatment.
• Non-linear lead paragraph with the rest of the article elaborating on the details.
• Dual theory used in the ‘Food banks report increased demand’ article –
containing the quotes of two high status individuals with opposing views.
• Compact size – width 215 mm, height 280 mm.
• Bus stop poster size – width 1016 mm, height 1524 mm.
• 5 W’s in lead paragraphs (Who, When, What, Where and How).

3. Using existing conventions / forms 2
• Website format of the newspaper – all newspapers have this and is seen as another way to access
the product and obtain revenue, but also to possibly overcome the readership decline of actual print
newspapers.
• Indents in articles – to signify the beginning of a new paragraph.
• Articles finishing on the final line, at the right – this removes the potential for any unsightly spaces
for the reader.
• Social network links – to allow readers to share articles with peers and help to increase the
readership.
• Eye-catching pictures (of the fireworks) – to draw the readers attention.
• Pictures that fit one of the 5 W’s – maintaining relevance to the article.
• Columns of writing - to give greater freedom with the layout of the newspaper, being able to place
pictures better without leaving a poor structure.
• The ‘puff’ – used to demonstrate the range of articles and topics in the newspaper.
• Lined-up pictures - to give greater freedom with the layout of the newspaper, being able to place
pictures better without leaving a poor structure.
• Price listed – to inform viewers.
• Lower price than national compact newspaper – this helps
to remain competitive with national newspapers.
• Sub-editing articles – used within the newspaper industry. When I asked a contact at the Eastern
Daily Press (a local, compact newspaper) he commented that when “finding the story is too big or
too small then this is sub-edited (sub’d) to cut the story down to the right size.”
• Hyperlinked pages on the website allowing users to read an article in full.

4. Using existing conventions / forms 3
• Menu of contents on the 2nd page – displaying the variety of topics in the newspaper.
• Advertisements – used as a source of revenue and most newspapers contain them. I
placed adverts from the local compact newspaper Eastern Daily Press into my
newspaper as I was not required to make my own adverts.
• A slogan – short and catchy identifying the unique selling point of the newspaper.
‘Quality News For Norwich’ highlights that my newspaper offers quality and engaging
press about local events. It is a firm and clear, assertive statement
• By-lines – providing the writer's name.
• Quotations – from high status individuals or those who hold a significant position in the
story (e.g. my article ‘Norfolk man receives revolutionary medical treatment’ has
quotes from both the recipient and the performer of the treatment).
• Large quotation – the quotes are reduced down from longer text with the
quote repeated in full elsewhere in the article. The quote will be intriguing, strongly
worded and dramatic usually opposing a social policy decision,. This draws the reader's
attention with a dynamic way of presenting the words.
• Graphic logo design – often used beside the masthead to create a brand identity.
• Date, name and page number – to provide basic information for the reader.
• For the website homepage, the latest and most significant articles are listed first.
• On the article webpage, the headline is first, then the lead paragraph, then the picture
and the rest of the article.
• Website URL listed on poster and newspaper – to draw the readers attention to the
other format they can use to access the newspaper.
• Website has the masthead top left, the menu bar below and going horizontally - the
eye is drawn to it as we read left to right, top down and users will instantly know the
site they are on and be able to navigate to a specific topic (e.g. sport). If this structure
was not present it could frustrate users.

5. Develop and creating innovation with
conventions / forms
• Developing a graphic design logo that is modern rather than traditional. Usually
in black and white with an animal as a symbol. This may work for a city like
Liverpool where the Liver bird is an iconic symbol of the city, however Norwich
does not have a symbol for the city. I decided to use the iconic buildings of
Norwich instead, which draws the viewers attention and confirms the fact that it
is a local newspaper immediately through this strong iconography. Making the
logo more modern helps to correspond with my younger target audience. I feel
that other parts of my newspaper create a traditional feel instead, such as the
masthead of ‘The Norwich Times’ and the use of the Times New Roman typeface.

6. Challenge and subvert conventions/ forms
I needed to challenge some conventions of traditional local compact newspapers to correlate with
my younger target audience and create unique selling points for my newspaper over competitors.
All local compact and national compact newspapers break conventions in some ways in order to
differentiate their product, cater for their target audience and create their own brand identity.
• Placard/poster – I found traditional newspaper placards far too plain, especially for my young
target audience, but I also noticed that posters often did not promote written articles
accurately. I decided to mix the two as I could demonstrate the quality, engaging writing my
newspaper has through a sample article, and also create a more graphic and dynamic way of
presenting this. By mixing the two together and creating a dynamic design the poster draws the
eye of my target audience and also advertises the unique selling points of the newspaper being
quality, informative and engaging writing.
• Use of blue – I feel this helps to add a dynamic to the newspaper and helps the reader to
distinguish between different parts of the newspaper.
• The ‘Off with a bang!’ article could be seen as being a feature tabloid, but I added it as I am
creating a local newspaper and felt that it emphasised community and solidarity, and also gave
me the opportunity to get eye-catching pictures of the fireworks (a compact newspaper
convention). When I conducted primary research from my target audience, I asked them to list
the things they wanted in a local compact newspaper. ‘Eye-catching pictures’ was a recurring
answer. However, the article I wrote has a SMOG grade of 18.8 which is conventional for a
compact newspaper.
• Four articles on the first page – this enables me to display the quality and engaging content of
my newspaper, one of the main unique selling points and one of the needs that my target
audience listed in my primary research.