1. In what ways does your

media product use,develop or challenge

forms and conventions of

real media products?

The needs and expectations of the audience are that the newspaper is good value for money, looks professional and contains relevant, newsworthy articles. I think I have achieved this within my own work.

When creating my media products, I used many local newspapers/posters/web pages as inspiration. The main stories and images are usually about/of local people or local places, and I think this needed to be included in my publication… the readers expect articles that are of interest to them.

I have developed conventions by using modern fonts and brighter, contrasting colours throughout. I found that most local newspapers use dull colours and these don’t make them stand out on the shelf. Using bright blocks of colour keeps it looking professional but interesting, like the ‘Guardian’ newspaper.

I have challenged generics by using high quality images to make it look more glamorous. Local newspapers tend to use low quality images as they are cheaper to print, but I want my publication to look a bit more sophisticated and different. I also made the text bigger and set less columns across my inside page, as the older generation (which my newspaper is aimed towards) can tend to have poor eyesight. I wanted to appeal to as many people as possible.

Overall, I decided to use and follow conventions more than challenge them as established local newspapers are successful and my audience would be more receptive to my paper if it followed the generics.

Examples of how I have used, developed and challenged forms and conventions:

Examples of how I have used, developed and challenged forms and conventions:

Quotes from people

in the article

Inside Page:

Larger text and less columns

Brighter blues and yellows used, along with white to brighten the page

Examples of how I have used, developed and challenged forms and conventions:I identified the codes and conventions of posters using another media blog, found athttp://shsgaction.blogspot.com/2007/11/poster-conventions.html

Persuasive language: ‘It couldn’t be easier’

EyecatchingImage

clearly illustrates the product that the advert is marketing

A large title which attracts the eye

Motifs used to give the brand a recognisable identity

Bright colours are inviting

Poster:

I could choose to challenge the conventions of a local newspaper poster by printing it in 3D. This is a contemporary use of technology, but may not be necessary to appeal to my target audience.

Examples of how I have used, developed and challenged forms and conventions:

Local advert

Copy of the day’s edition and a way to subscribe to link with the publication

Search engine and search box for local services to allow easy navigationArticle headlines with images and a

small synopsis of article in a list down the page

Masthead included at top of page