Newspaper Article - "Local Journalist Returns Home"

This is the first section of the story which is featured on the front page. I did not continue it onto the inside pages of the newspaper as I wanted some variation in stories. The headline is "Emily has returned"to make it more personal to the paper as the character is a former journalist for the Nomad. This also helps to give the impression that the paper has been following her story for a little while.

As you may have noticed, I have attempted to link in real life events and current issues into the article to make it have more verisimilitude. I do not mean to offend or bring up bad memories to anybody who is actually involved in the recent uprising or has been captive.

"Ex-Nomad journo [shortened to fit layout], Emily McHenreid has returned from Africa, where she was being held captive by an organised group of criminals. McHenreid was attempting to investigate into the recent Libya uprising against Gadaffi and his forces. Whilst researching in Tripoli, a group of criminals dragged her into a stolen vehicle, the owner of which had been shot dead just two hours previously. She states “I had woken up in a small cell, mouth gagged and hands bound. Barley any light entered the cell and I had no inkling of where I was or if I would escape."

The photo shoot has not yet been done but is currently being organised. I have the props and costume, the location and a model lined up. The location is Bristol Airport, I felt that this would be appropriate as the journalist had been in another country; she had to get back somehow. The props include a bandage and some luggage. The bandage demonstrated that she has been through a bad experience in which she was treated badly. The luggage again demonstrates that she has been out of the country, additionally, it may give the impression that the photo was taken spontaneously as soon as she returned, and that the photographer was in a big group of press people, a bit like paparazzi. However, I may choose not to take this photo as the story is continued on another page which is not seen. For the front page I may take an unrelated photo linking to another story within the Nomad (which will not be seen either) to make the paper appear less fabricated.

I feel that having quotes in my articles was a very important convention to conform to as it adds to the realism of the piece and adds more primary information/evidence for the reader. I also felt it important to add in any information for the journalist's experiences, the law experts and about the conditions in Libya again, to create more realism. I did not want to have a cold lonely journalist so I added a part about her family being relived to create less brutality in the piece (this part is not seen on any of the pages however because I chose not to continue the story inside).