General Conventions of Newspapers

-         Made of newsprint

-         Bold, big headlines

-     Not much colour

-         Masthead – name, date, price, internet address, award, stars

-         Type of paper, e.g. tabloid or broadsheet

-         Puzzles and free giveaways

-         Images (photos, graphics, maps)

-         Weather

-         Adverts (classified, dating page, independent companies et.c)

-         Sections (business, sport, entertainment, racing)

-         Columns/articles

-         Double page spreads

-         Letters from readers

-         Horoscopes, cartoons, TV/radio guides, obituaries

-         Announcements

-         By-lines – name of journalists writing the story

-         Sub-headings

-         Most important information first in the article

-         Weekend newspapers – bigger, more expensive with colour supplements (like magazines)

-         Reviews (films, gigs)

-         Pun-based headlines (more common in tabloids)

-     A house style, bacically, also: their websites will stick to this to be recognisable

Article - Saint Nicholas' In Danger of Closing

This is probably the biggest article I have had to complete as it continued from the front page into a debates page. In addition to the main article,  I also had to write two pieces from 'columnists' and some quotes from 'random people' off of the street, asked about their opinions on the issue.

"Popular market St. Nick’s has been revealed this week to be in danger of closing.These ‘permanent’ market buildings are located on Corn Street, near the Broadmead shopping district. Saint Nicholas Market is home to many colourful and beloved independent retailers,bringing together a variety of goods, including art, wholesome food and alternative clothing. This iconic location is a grade one listed building, and so may not be demolished or renovated without consensual contracts."

This is the section included on the front page and then a jump line tells the reader to go to page 9. It then continues

"... Apparently this is not enough to protect it from Bristol City Council, who, wish to turn the entire building into offices. One unnamed council member claims it will bring in more revenue, is this a good enough reason? We ask this week’s columnists; Annalise Bogart and Imogen Tentet."

This then goes onto the opinion pieces from the 'expert' columnists. The main idea of each piece is summed up into a quote, which acts as a title for each section.

"Upon entering this market, I am hugely disappointed. The stalls have nothing I want to buy, the integrated smell of the different food stalls fail to entice me. The  hype is worth nothing. The City council will do well to convert this building into an office block, besides, Britain is in a recession, yet many seem to have forgotten that and have opted to carry on as normal. The renovation will barley damage the building, many features will be kept in their original condition. Much of the building is already hiring out offices, and what harm do they do? Nono, in actuality, the average office space generates over £200 per calendar month. Despite the concerts in the sixties, many customers and even  some of the stall owners don’t remember them. They are too young! In this day and age, we should not be nostalgic, we should be proactive and secure our new generations’ futures. Imogen Tentet."

Then the next piece immediately follows;

"Wondering around this treasure trove on a saturday afternoon is close to my idea of bliss. These independent stalls  are the only decent accumulation of traders I can find within this area. When I look around, gone are the ideas of meagre markets in small towns, selling cheap merchandise at unnecessarily high prices. Not only can I assimilate this bustling community with joy, but I can also notice the architectural achievement John Wood The Elder completed in 1743. This historical building have unique and innovative features, including the nails on the boulevard, essential trading posts from the Edwardian era and the antique clock, featuring several different hands for different times in many locations. Then I fast forward, thinking of my memories from the 1960s, when legendary bands played at the exchange, including the epic Rolling Stones. This brilliant little market should not be subjected to the whims of City Bristol Council. So what if hiring out this beautiful building as offices will bring in more revenue, what about the revenue created from the stalls and their trade, especially during the tourist season? If St. Nick’s closes, the city will have an uprising. Annalise Bogart."

Afterwards, there come three quotes from various members of the public with the caption - What Do You Think?

I have already taken the photograph for this story. I took it at the entrance of St Nicholas' Market in Bristol on Corn Street in the evening so that it would look more artistic. I took it from a low angle so that it would look more impressive as I was to readers to be more bias towards St. Nick's not closing.

A google map view of the area.

My finished photo

Article - "Criminal Captured and Convicted"

I noticed during my research that many titles to articles have word play and alliteration. Originally I was going to make the title "Thief Captured and Punished" but I thought the newer title would be more eye catching. This is quite a short article because it is a 'news in brief' type article.


"A young thief has been recently captured and convicted of several robberies commited in the Staple Hill area. Jack Bergman, 20 has pleaded guilty in Bristol City Court this week, claiming that he needed rent money. Twelve different houses have been targeted. One of the victims, Mrs Croon, 73, states “I had just got off of the bus after doing my weekly shop. I was very worried when I noticed some things were missing. I’m just glad thet my pet corgi, woofy was not harmed.” Bergman has recived a year’s community service for his actions."

I felt that a custodial sentence was too extreme for a few thefts, especially under the character's circumstances so I gave the character community service instead, even though some members of the audience would prefer greater action for political reasons. I also added that the robberies were done in the Stokes Croft area to alert people living in that area what had happened. I think that making one of the victims older would invoke sympathy in the reader. I added some humour with the quote from the female character to emphasise feelings of sympathy with the reader.

I have taken the photo for this article, Tom Howarth was my model. I asked if he could make a moody, indifferent expression. He went with looking as if he had been taking drugs, which was fine as it adheres to the criminal stereotype. I did this on a plain white background as it fit in with the traditional mugshot type photo. I also made sure the shot was a close up and on a horizontal angle. I may or may not use this photo depending on the layout. Additionally, in a real newspaper the editor sometimes will deliberately exclude photos of the criminals in case they are recognised in the street and abused by members of the public or discriminated against. I may adhere to this convention as my paper is supposed to be ethical.

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).

Newspaper Articles

Recently I've begun constructing my media product, and I've finished writing the stories and I have placed them onto my photoshop layouts. Firstly I looked at real newspaper articles and how their narrative progressed as well as looking at narrative theory and the triangle method. I then came up with some generic stories and began to plan them. All of them began with an introduction and a summary of the event, followed by any other relevant information. Finally I concluded the article and sometimes added a line asking the readers to go to the website to find out more. Obviously this website doesn't exist but I want to make my newspaper as realistic/professional as I can. I also cut some of the stories from the paper when I realised that I only needed three pages and not four. However, I moved some of the stories around as I needed to alter some of the layout, especially on the debates page. The stories I have removed are

• The charity event story. This was because I felt it was weaker than the others as it was more of an account with no real narrative structure. 
• The news in brief story on science advances. This was because I didn't really know where I was going with it or what I would even write about. Additionally, unless I linked it to Bristol in some way, for example the research was carried out at a local university, then it wouldn't be relevant to the paper as it is not supposed to be a national type paper.

I have kept all of the others as I think that these were the strongest and were more relevant to the paper. I will be putting up the stories ASAP (if I put them in this post they may make it too long).

Todorov's Narrative Theory

This theory has a circular, sequential structure. There are five main stages that can, supposedly, be applied to any media texts. These five stages are;

Equilibrium - A state of balance and calm, usually placed at the beginning of a narrative, for example the first equilibrium in The Godfather is when he is at the top of the game and in control. This aspect of narrative usually cannot be applied to newspaper articles except in accounts of events.

Disequilibrium/ Disruption -  When the established equilibrium is disturbed in some way, usually as a result of the antagonist or 'bad guy' wanting something which clashes with the wants/needs/morals of the protagonist or 'good guy'. This stage can be applied to all media forms with a narrative: films, books, games, even newspaper articles. In fact, most newspaper articles begin with a disequilibrium, for example reporting a theft.

Recognition -  The main characters/protagonist/people recognise that there has been a disequilibrium. This can be applied in most kinds of media, although newspaper articles can be described as being mostly recognition of a disruption, as it needs to report it to the audience.

Attempt to restore equilibrium -  This one is self explanatory. The main protagonists attempt to get rid of the disruption in order for their lives to get back to relative normality. This is a common convention in most media products, for example, a movie may have a big fight scene in which the protagonists and antagonists go against each other more directly. In an article, this doesn't always happen. It only happens if the problem has a resolution to gain or if the people involved attempt to get rid of the disruption. This often doesn't happen as the people haven't yet attempted this yet, or if the newspaper gets disinterested/has other news tat takes precedence.

New Equilibrium - This is when the equilibrium is generally restored, however there may be some changes, for example, in The Godfather the son takes over as the head of the gang at the end. This again, isn't always in a newspaper article for the reasons listed above. Without going through one of the stages, the narrative cannot then progress to the next stage.

Equipment List

Microphone for recording the voice over
for the radio ad subsidiary

Paper

Printer

Mac and Various Applications (Including Safari, In Design, Photoshop and Garageband)

Digital Camera

A scanner