Audience Feedback Questions

These are a selection of questions for my audience feedback. This is so I can see whether my media text had the impact on my audience that I wanted and how well it might be received in real life.

• What is your sex/gender?
• What is your age? (Will include several options, e.g - 12-18)
• Do you read newspapers often? (This'll be multiple choice, e.g - never, once a month et cetera)
• Which newspapers do you usually read?
• Regarding the above question - why?
• Would you read my paper?
• If you were new to the city, (Bristol, UK) then what would you infer about the city, from the paper?
• Please write down what you think of The Bristol Nomad's layouts (e.g- professional) and why you think this.
• What do you think the ideology of the paper is? e.g - morals, political standing et.c
• What are your views?
• Do you think that the ideology of the paper matches some of your views? Which?
• Do you think that there is a hole in the market for a paper such as this?
• What do you think of the photographs?
• Looking at the adverts in the paper, would anything in them interest you?
• Do you think the articles are relevant to a local Bristol paper?
• What do you think of the newspaper articles in Nomad?
• Do you think the paper accurately represents Bristol and it's residents?

To gain feedback, as well as asking people I know (such as family, teachers et.c) I will also be asking those I know in the 'blogosphere'. Some of the questions, however will not apply to them, therefore I must choose which might apply to them, and which won't. For example, I wrote question 7 for people who don't live in, or have never been to Bristol, for example those who live in America. Hopefully I will get some useful answers I can use in my video evaluation.

Some Genre

The genre of my media text is of course, a periodical local newspaper. This encompasses a variety of conventions, most of which would be different to both international and national papers. This is mainly because local newspapers have specific content, filtered according to geographical location of the target audience, for example a Bristol paper would only report Bristol news for people who live in or near Bristol.

It wouldn't report anything about international celebrities, it wouldn't really discuss national political debates, the focus would be on anything happening in the vicinity of Bristol, or whatever region or city a local paper is based in. It's debates would be whether a new office block should be built instead of a new park, it would follow local celebs such as Banksy or Justin Lee Colins, perhaps even celebrate Isambard Kingdom Brunel or The Wurzels. People like Keira Knightley, Cheryl Cole or Johnny Depp wouldn't matter unless they visited Bristol for work or an event.

Of course, I can choose to keep or subvert conventions depending on how I want my paper to be, for example I wouldn't take up ten pages describing the top television picks for that evening, because I have more important things to put into those ten pages, such as letters from the readers or reviews of local events. People might not to choose the paper because of its ideology, but its likely that other than people with a particular political bias, the readers are going to be mass because the paper will include lots of little niche stories. For example, athletic people or males would look at sport stories, anyone with a family will look at a school related story.

Conventions of a print advert

Print adverts usually contain one or more of these features; one key image; logo; tagline; puns; contact information and colour scheme. In my adverts for the newspaper, most of these conventions are adhered to.

This has several conventions used within it, for example the pun - "Need Filling In?" works on multiple levels. It refers to actually needing some DIY done on the house and it refers to catching up on all of the local news stories. Additionally, I've deliberately left a gap before the contact information is given, as this implies that the gap needs 'filling in'. Contact details for a handy man are obligatory as obviously, without them no one will know how to get the service if they want it. The picture adds interest and is relevant to the advert as it is obviously a builder's tool. The colour scheme is blue and white because I wanted something fairly simple for this as it is easier on the eye.

I felt that having a fun, community based ad would be important in creating more verisimilitude in my local newspaper. Obviously there is a main image of the fireworks which I created in photoshop. The overlaying text states the information the reader needs clearly. I chose white for the text so that it would show up well on the black background. I felt that the font had a rebellious 'rocker' feel to it, which matches with the Guy Fawkes plot against parliament/ bonfire night. The colour theme is purple, black and white which seems simple in words, but I wanted it to stand out so that the 'event' would get publicity.

This ad isn't actually in the paper as I couldn't find enough space to fit it in. I also felt that the two adverts above were enough. There is a key image which connotes rehabilitation and relaxation and I felt that making the practitioner a doctor would make the advert seem more credible. Also, the paper would support alternate therapies  due to the nature of its ideology. My audience research indicated that these tree types of ad - practical, event and holistic therapy were the most popular and noticed adverts. These adverts aren't very glamourous, and are also typical of a local, low budget newspaper, rather than a magazine or national newspaper for example;

(Older) simple and practical advert page

Instead of;

A glamourous car - status symbol

A state of the art mobile - care free escapism

A more elaborate form of advertising
It makes you look twice and keep the image in
your mind

See the difference? However, that's okay as it is a local newspaper convention. And although the more glamourous adverts conform to more conventions, it doesn't matter as the product or thing that they're trying to advertise is completely different. I did not try to go for a complicated or elaborate technique of advertising as some adverts (See Virgin Media Radio advert above). However, I have tried to modernise my adverts a little through more contemporary design than line after line of serif text.

Bristol Nomad Poster (Subsidiary Task)

Toady, I have begun to plan and create my poster. I was not able to find ANY real life examples of newspaper posters, apart from those with a main headline taking up the entire page, like so;

Not very useful...

The only conventions I can glean from these examples are that firstly, it is essential to include the newspaper's masthead/logo so that people know what brand of newspaper to purchase. Secondly, there must be a link to whatever features you have in the paper that week. I felt that my link would be to focus on the eco friendly tips feature, as this is also included in my radio ad and would create a well rounded set of subsidiary media products with verisimilitude. The image that corresponds with this is a globe, as it is also the intended front page ear image, demonstrating the content. This image will be illustrated as I feel this adds an organic, natural element to the poster as well as drawing more parallels to the ideology of the paper. I will also be including a caption stating that its in 'this week's paper, so the audience will know in the future that it is a weekly paper and will remember to buy it. As my slogan is "At the centre of YOUR universe" the text on the poster will be placed around the globe image, rather than being overlaid, so that it links in better and makes a sound visual image.

Radio Advert Script

For one of my subsidiary tasks I have to create a radio advert.

The main idea of this script is that there is a new person in town, and he meets a Bristolian in a pub. They talk and the Bristolian (of course) mentions the Bristol Nomad and talks a bit about it. Then a typical woman voice over comes on and says the title and the slogan. Afterward the two men have a bit of banter about the woman randomly appearing...

Music and ambience in background to establish pub setting.

Bristolian: Hello there! Are you new in town? 

Irish Man: Hi. Yes I am! How can I find out about all of the local [pause/mumble as if searching for something to say]... news and jibber-jabber?

Bristolian: Well mate... you could try the Bristol Nomad!

Irish Man: What's that then?

Bristolian: Well it's the local paper int' it? Ever' one reads it. It's got news, debates, sport, competitions, jobs and this week it has a load of them eco friendly tips for yer house and that. All for just 20 pence see?

Irish Man: Well. That's pretty good, I might get myself a copy or three [pronounced tree]

Random Woman: Bristol Nomad - At the centre of YOUR universe. 

Jingle Plays and then silence.

Bristolian: Where'd she come from then? 

Irish Man: I don't know, but she's...gert lush innit?

Bristolian: Now you're getting it mate!

Woman: Don't objectify me please!

Both Men: Sorry!

I felt the humour would make the reader connect more to the brand. I also added in a little hint at the ideology of the paper with the part about 'eco friendly tips'. I might omit the objectification part as it doesn't really fit in with the rest of the comedic banter. In addition to this, the Bristolian mentions that everyone reads the paper, to persuaded a potential audience member to buy or read the paper. I used colloquial language to emphasise where the characters are from, as this is key to the narrative of the advert. Obviously the way the advert sounds is key so I also made sure the accents would be exaggerated and more stereotypical, for example, the Irish character saying 'tree' instead of 'three'. Again this is to emphasise where the characters are from. I'm hoping that having characters of both gender will attract a range of audience members. The price was added to show that the paper is a bargain 'all' and 'just' emphasise this.

I hope that the ambience in the track will help the
listeners imagine this type of setting. Pub culture and
socialising is very important in Bristol and I
want the readers to feel part of a community.
In real life this would hopefully bring in more revenue and
 higher readership as I discovered
 people tend to stick to just ONE paper.

The radio advert needs to be quite short, around 30 seconds to a minute long so that it has more of an impact.

I couldn't find ANY radio adverts for a newspaper to model off of, so I listened to other adverts and watched some television adverts to do with both newspapers and magazines to see what they've included and translated the conventions into my script.

I've already got somebody lined up to do both the Bristolian role and the Irish role, and I can do the female character's role. For this I will need to use garage band, sound bible and a microphone for recording the voice overs.

Article - "School Celebrates Brand New Bursary"

This is a more lengthly article that I felt would fit in well with the conventions of a local newspaper as well as being an opportunity to tie in a hint of the Nomad's political views.


"Local Saint Micheal’s C of E Primary school has been learning all about local historical figure, Isambard Kingdom Brunel. There were several different events and activities for each year group. This included an exiciting vidit to the SS Great Britian for the year one  class. The lucky children recived several workshops, a tour from the staff members and free ice cream, courtesy of Tarrs. We asked the kids what they thought of their trip, Joe, aged 5  says “It was a really good day and I really like this hat. Do you know if there were any pirates on here?”5 year old Maddie added “Can I have some more ice cream please? It’s really yummy.” This day was organised in light of a recent bursary the school recived from the National Lottery. Over 300 schools across the nation have recived this bursary to assist any schools brutally hit by the recession. To celebrate, the teachers and govenors thought it best that St. Michael's primary celebrate in an educational yet fun way, and thought that tying in the famous inventor Brunel a good idea as the children to learn about Bristol City history. Even our Prime Minister credited the desision, one of his best choices so far in his reign over  ‘broken Britian’. Other events at the school included a performance of a short play, devised using information the children recived about the engineer. There was also an art class based on distorted images of Brunel’s work. Furthermore, there was a prize for the best suspension bridge model. Mrs Lorre, head teacher of the school says “We are delighted to recive this money. Hopefully it will give us all a new lease of life and create a better future for the children”. We at Nomad think the this is a positive step toward making our nation great again, but there’s a long way to go. Watch our footage of the day at www.bristolnomad.com"

I added interactivity with the mention of the Nomad's website. I also though adding quotes from the children would make sceptics about the scheme [if there are any] more agreeable toward it, as they can see its benefits. As mentioned within the article, Isambard Kingdom Brunel is an important figure in Bristol history so I felt it perfect to tie in as this would appeal to the readers proud of their heritage and inform others about Bristol history.

The photo for this will be 5 year old 'Joe' in front of the ship wearing a top hat. The top hat is of course mentioned in the article and is commonly associated with Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The child will also be wearing school uniform as this fits in with the fact that he is on a school trip. I've already got somebody lined up for this role [my brother] and some transport so we can get to the location.

Brunel and his famous top hat.

Article - "Ethical Store Debut"

Another news in brief story. I felt it appropriate for the paper to cover this as it is an ETHICAL store, and the paper is interested in all things ethical.

"The Source, a brand new ethical clothing store is due to launch on Saturday. The new shop, located on Park Street sells fartrade and handmade clothing for competitive prices. Ella and Samual Raines own and mangage the innovative venture and would like to invite members of the public to a launch party on Friday evening. Refreshments will be provided and the lucky party guests will be able to preview the mechandise as well as recive a discount for the first day of sales. The party begins at 8PM and is located at the shop, which is the College Green end of Park Street in central Bristol."

I felt adding an invite would help the reader feel more part of the Bristol community, perhaps if they're new to town. Additionally, shop parties are quite common in Bristol and I've even been invited to a few, however through fliers being handed out in the street rather  than through a paper. It seems like a shop would need the publicity though.

I have not yet taken a photo for this however, if I do it will be of the shop owners standing outside of their new shop.