Website Planning

Plans for my website:

I asked people what they thought were the main features that should be included on a home page for a newspaper. My results were:

• Date
• Logo
• Headlines
• A button to log in
• Search bar for specific stories
• Advertisements
• Pictures from the articles
• A drop down menu
• Articles about the local area
• Weather reports
• A simple layout

So when I create my website I know that I will have to include these main elements as the audience find that this list is what is most important in a website design and layout

I then asked people and done a tally to decide which page I should create for my hyperlinked page. The most popular page was the weather.

Research on Narrative Theories

Vladimir Propp:
Propp is a Russian critic who proposed that it was possible to classify the characters and their actions into clearly defined roles.
Propp's character roles:
 • The Hero (seeks something)
 • The Villain (opposes the hero)
 • The Donor (helps the hero by providing a magic object)
 • The Dispatcher (sends hero on his way)
 • The False Hero (falsely assuming the role of the hero)
 • The Helper (gives support to hero)
 • The Princess (reward for the hero, also needs protection from villain)
 • Her Father (gives the hero his reward for completing quest)

I was able to somewhat apply the majority of this theory to one of the main stories for my newspaper, although there is not a straightforward hero, villain, etc.. I was able to apply it and show it in a sense. I chose the 'Passing Hextable student saves elderly lady from house fire' story.
Propp's character roles applied:
 • The Hero - Ben Jones, the Hextable School student
 • The Villain - The fire
 • The Donor - The fire brigade
 • The Helper - Firemen
 • The Princess - Elderly lady (was not the reward for the hero but did need protection from the 'villain')
 • Her Father - The local council (not the actual father of the 'princess', but it giving the 'hero' a reward)


Tzvetan Todorov:
Todorove is a Bulgarian literary theorist who suggests that most narratives start with a state of equilibrium in which life is 'normal' and protagonist's happy, this is then disrupted by a force which has to be fought against in order to return to a state of new equilibrium.
EQUILIBRIUM
           \/
DISEQUILIBRIUM
           \/
NEW EQUILIBRIUM

I was also able to apply this theory to the same story.
The student was walking to meet a friend which would be classed as his 'normal' day and here the protagonist is happy.
           \/
The force that disrupts this normal and happy everyday life would be the fire, the student knows that there is something wrong and that he would have to fight against it.
           \/
Once the fire has been fought and the elderly lady is saved, there is now a new state of equilibrium where once again the protagonist is happy and life returns back to a 'normal' state.

Questionnaire Results

Questionnaire results:

These are the results for which newspaper front cover i should create:

The results show that over 60% of the people that I asked agreed that 'Idea 1' would be the best one to create for my front cover.

Some of the feedback I received told me that the audience prefer a more simple and structured front cover as it was more effective and eye catching, rather than one that had a lot of pictures and text around it. The audience also said how the title of the newspaper should be in a red fill as it would make it stand out against the plain background, and as red catches the eye straight away. Most of the feedback told me that I should design the page as I had made my idea look, but some of the improvements that I got told to do were to take away the small article at the top right of the page and put the 'money off' voucher there instead.


These are the results for which newspaper second page i should create:

The results show that over half of the people that I asked agreed that 'Idea 3' would be the best one to create for my second page.

With the feedback that I received it told me that the audience preferred my third idea as it was neat and ordered and the main article from the front cover was carried on the next page. There wasn't much that the audience told me to change, other than instead of having an advertisement next to the information and number for texting in news stories, it should be a picture linked to the information, such as a phone or a person texting in to the number.


These are the results for which newspaper billboard i should create:

The results show that 46.67% of the people that I asked agreed that 'Idea 1' would be the best one to create for my billboard.

With the feedback that I received from the questionnaire the audience preferred Idea 1 as it was a simple billboard but still had enough for it to advertise the newspaper clearly and make it stand out. The only thing that could be improved with it is if the headline that would of been featuring on the right side of the billboard was changed to a slogan instead.


These are the results for which newspaper website page i should create:

The results show that over 46% of the people that I asked agreed that 'Idea 1' would be the best one to create for my newspaper website home page.

Billboard Questionnaire

Billboard questionnaire:

This is my questionnaire that I have created to find out what people think about my initial ideas for my billboards. There are the 3 options to tick to say which idea they preferred and then there is a part to give feedback on why they preferred it, and also a part where I can be told if any improvements are need so that I can take these on board when it comes to making my final product.
I will hand out 15 of them to random people of various age groups as my newspaper will be for all ages, I will then put the results together and see what people think, then I will be able to choose what style of newspaper I should create and if there are any changes that the audience think should be made.

Billboard Initial Ideas

Newspaper billboard, initial ideas:

This is my first idea, it is a very simple billboard that has one picture covering the background, the picture will be linked with the headline, and the newspaper website address will be in a large and bold font across the bottom of the billboard so that it is visible and easy to read but does not attract too much attention away from the headline.

This is my second idea, it is challenging the stereotypical conventions of a normal newspaper billboard by having the title of the newspaper on the top right hand side, instead of being on the top left. The whole of the background is covered by a picture that is to do with what the major headline is about.

This is my third idea, the whole billboard is advertising the newspapers number that you can text news stories in to. The background is of someone texting which has a small bit of information on top which would tell you the number you can text the stories to.

Newspaper Questionnaire

Newspaper questionnaire:

This is my questionnaire that I have made to see what people think of my newspaper designs. There are the 3 options to tick to say which idea they preferred and then there is a part to give feedback on why they preferred it, and also a part where I can be told if any improvements are need so that I can take these on board when it comes to making my final product. I will hand out 15 of them to random people of various age groups as my newspaper will be for all ages, I will then put the results together and see what people think, then I will be able to choose what style of newspaper I should create and if there are any changes that the audience think should be made.

Newspaper Second Page, Initial Ideas

Newspaper second page, initial ideas:

This is my first idea for the second page of my newspaper, it challenges the stereotypical conventions of a normal newspaper by having quite a busy looking page, including having three different advertisements on it which are all on the left side. There's only one picture on the page which is related to the article below it. The articles on this page are likely going to be related to the ones started on the front cover. The address for the website is also included as most people have some way of connecting to the internet and so would find it easier to access the newspaper from online. There is the weather for the week on the right side as it would be useful for the audience.

This is my second idea, half of the page is filled by an article from the front cover that is continued on this page, which I have done to make the audience turn into the newspaper to carry on reading, above this headline and article there is a picture that will relate to the story. There's only one advertisement on the page and it will be advertising something from around the local area. Two more articles will also feature on the page but they will only be small stories.

This is my third idea, it includes the address for the website as most people have some way of connecting to the internet and so would find it easier to access the newspaper from online. An article from the front cover is continued on this page which will make the audience turn into the newspaper to carry on reading. There's two advertisements on the page that will be advertising something from around the local area.