Olivia LyonsA2 MediaAdvanced PortfolioNewspaper Analysis- Front Cover and Second Page

Newspaper Analysis- Front Cover and Second PageSalford Advertiser

Olivia LyonsA2 MediaAdvanced PortfolioNewspaper Analysis- Front Cover and Second Page

Genre Elements ConventionsCharacters- A headline on the front cover states “Paula

gets cooking on veggie mission”. This portrays a stereotypical representation of gender in the sense of cooking being a woman’s job and that women belong in the kitchen.

Narrative Events- Levi Strauss’s narrative theory of binary opposites can be applied to the front cover of the Salford advertiser as the two stories on the front contrast each other and are therefore opposite. One story covers a positive news story from the local area about a recent firework display, whereas the other is much more negative about a local man that has been found dead whilst on holiday. This highlights both good and bad.

The front cover shows an image taken from a recent firework display, which is put alongside the headline to illustrate the story.

Todorov’s 5 part structure can be applied to the image as it defines a state of equilibrium. Roland Barthes stated how meaning in literature could be defined by the role of the active audience. His narrative theory can be applied to this particular image and story as it is the audience’s interpretation of the event that has led to the writing of the story.

The second page of the newspaper features a crime related story which is conventional and seen in most newspapers. Propp’s theory of character types can be applied to story. The man that has been killed takes the

Olivia LyonsA2 MediaAdvanced PortfolioNewspaper Analysis- Front Cover and Second Page

obvious role as the victim and the police and detectives who are working on the case to find the murderer are the hero’s. Todorov’s 5 part structure can also be applied to the story as the headline immediately establishes stage 2 where there has been a disruption to the equilibrium. In addition to this, the story also covers stages 3 and 4 as the police have been informed about the murder and are carrying out enquiries to find the murderer.

Iconography- On the front cover of the newspaper, in the centre of the masthead design, there is a poppy; an iconic remembrance sign for the British armed forces. The Poppy is recognised as a sign

of respect to all service men and women who have sacrificed their lives to serve and fight for their country. The poppy is massively iconic and a hugely recognised design for Britain.

The newspaper uses a consistent house style and colour scheme throughout its pages which adds an overall professional look. The front cover features a conventional newspaper masthead at the top of the page in a serif font, making it clearly stand out from the rest of the text. The use of the red background around the masthead also does this as it draws the audience’s attention to that particular section of the page. The headlines and cover-lines are written in a sans-serif font which makes them appear differently to the masthead as the text is much plainer. Uses a conventional newspaper layout with the text of the stories written in columns.

Olivia LyonsA2 MediaAdvanced PortfolioNewspaper Analysis- Front Cover and Second PageTechnical and Audio Codes- On the second page especially, there is much

more text than there are images which is conventional of newspapers as they are factual sources of information. The language used throughout the newspaper is journalese, which conforms to convention as it provides formality and a sense of reliability.

The headline on the second page leaves out elements of the sentence by missing out words to create a short and effective headline for the story. This is often seen in newspaper articles and can therefore be seen as being conventional.