Newspaper Practical Task

Create front cover of Broadsheet and Tabloid newspaper

Example: Daily Telegraph

Example: Daily Mirror

Broadsheet

I wanted to highlight and include the key features of a broadsheet in my newspaper including lots of copy, small cartoons and puffs, and minimum colour. This makes a broadsheet newspaper appear professional and standard, which attracts high middle class (C1) and over audiences.

I chose the Daily Telegraph because it is a popular and sophisticated broadsheet newspaper, and I prefer the layout of their front covers. It mainly includes a big main image, with small puffs and lots of copy. My puffs include a small Brexit cartoon which is favoured towards Boris Johnson and a small garden centre advert in the bottom corner. The Daily Telegraph is a right-wing political newspaper, meaning that they will have conservative views on politics. I had to make my headline and language match this so it seems real and informative.

My main story I chose was Jeremy Corbyn's plans for the NHS if he wins the general election. I was able to find this in both The Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mirror. I wanted to make the headline so that it was being critical of the labour party, by using quotation marks, but at the same time being professional and meeting the broadsheet standards. The headline is clear, bold and black, which highlights the standards and the outlook of the newspaper- Corbyn promotes a 'rescue' NHS plan for December election. I wanted the wording of the headline to catch the readers eye because it is having a dig at the labour party for having a plan which is supposed to save the NHS. However, it has been criticised massively by the Tories who think it will put the country in debt and stealing money from people who earn over £80,000. In addition, this would attract conservative-supporter readers who have the dominant-hegemonic position- Reception Theory: Stuart Hall. This is because they have the same views and opinions about the conservative party, and often criticise labour.

My main image is a close up of jeremy Corbyns face, which readers have described as 'scruffy' which makes him seem less professional and not as caring as Boris Johnson. In the background, there is a blurred image of the NHS, which could suggest that the NHS wont survive under Corbyns new policies, due to the blurriness of it. A close up image is key to the conventions of a Broadsheet newspaper and i wanted to include this to make my newspaper seem realistic and broadsheet-like. 

I tried to include the same/similar font to the Daily Telegraph as much as i could. The font i used was 'minion pro' which is a traditional and tidy font. It doesnt stand out too much as is quite small. I copied and pasted the logo because its traditional and iconic to the newspaper itself. Resemblance is key when trying to copy a newspaper in your own format and i tried to do this with the colour and font. Broadsheet newspapers tend to lack colour, so i tried to include my main colour in black and the cartoon is colourful- which would attract a readers eye. 

My cartoon is also critical of Corbyn; 

"Santas not real, y'know!" Johnson is targeting Corbyn, who is dressed as Santa, which could make it seem like his policies aren't "real" and won't do any good to the NHS.

My secondary story was the plague in China. This is a world event story, so i had to include it due to the conventions. It isnt as big as the main story about the NHS plan, but it still had massive coverage in all the daily newspapers. My headline is simple, yet striking, and i wanted this to be eye-catching which would make readers realise what was happening in some parts of the world. This wasn't included in the tabloid newspaper and was more in fact entertainment based, as tabloids don't tend to spread this type of news on their front page. I did my own words for both stories, but i used placeholder text and different line alignments to look professional and sophisticated.

Tabloid

The key thing to highlight about Tabloid newspapers is the BIG and OUTSTANDING  text and images that come along with it. I did manage to find the same main story, however a different secondary story which i think would fit into a tabloid newspaper.

I chose the Daily Mirror as it has a different political wing: Left wing, which supports labour and therefore, is critical of the conservative government, and is a popular daily newspaper in Britain. There isn't/ very little copy in a tabloid newspaper so i had to mainly focus on the headlines and choice of images.

I used lots of different colours to black, red and some blues, which would be eye catching to readers. Once again, this would attract a labour supporter demographic audience who have the dominant-hegemonic position. Very often, tabloid newspapers, especially the Daily Mirror have block fonts which are big and bold, and can either be in black or red. I tried to use both of these to match up to the typical tabloid conventions.

My headline had to be supportive of Jeremy Corbyn: "Labours plan to save the NHS from Tories". This is highly critical of the conservatives that they have to 'save' NHS from them. This could highlight political conflict between both parties, which would possibly attract a C2- audience because most people tend to look for drama in newspapers, as it is entertaining for them to read.

My main image is a picture of Jeremy corbyn at a labour confrence, with circle pictures on top of it which includes a old couple, the NHS logo and a UK boarder sign. I felt like this fits in to a tabloid newspaper as there is lots of colour and images, plus it leans more towards a labour propaganda as its trying to show readers what the labour party will make better and its 'beneficial' policies.

I included lots of adverts including puzzles and holiday puffs, to take up lots of space on the front cover, which is popular with a lot of papers. I had a similar Daily Mirror newspaper next to the one i was  creating, and i kept going back to check i was in the guidelines of their front cover requirements.

My secondary story was a Strictly Come Dancing story which i found a lot in tabloid newspapers. I tried to use similar language like the Daily Mirror to make it life-like. I also chose a colourful image which is smaller than my Jeremy Corbyn one, however it still stands out to the demographic audience. 

To make both newspapers look realistic, i included the same date newspapers and their prices, which i had to research on different websites to get the accurate price. Tabloid newspapers tend to be cheaper, than broadsheet newspapers and this could be because it focuses on less "serious content" and doesn't have a lot of copy than a broadsheet does. When you fold a broadsheet newspaper, typically, the main image tens to be on one side and on the other its filled with copy but the tabloid has the headline on both sides with lots of pictures surrounding it.