NEWSPAPER REVISION

MEDIA CONVENTIONS

byline: tells us who's written it
standfirst: the bit in bold on the first paragraph (like bullet points)
sidebar: bar going down the side of the paper
online functionality: hyperlinks, embedded multimedia
online layout: margins, headers, footers, navigation bars etc.
mode of address: formal or informal depending on if its popular or quality.

THEORIES

barthes:signifier and signified, denotation and connotations, anchorage and myth.
todorov: classic linear structure- most stories have beginning, middle and end - there's a narrative.
Strauss: binary oppositions - good vs bad (i.e. theresa may)
baudrillard: hyperreality and simulacra (fake news?) versions of reality
Neale: genre as repetition and a shared code that changes over time, i.e. the thought that she shouldn't wear a bikini because she's too 'fat'.

ANALYSE DAILY MAIL COVER

Layout/conventions: The masthead is in a conventional space, at the top of the page, the masthead is not the same as the online version because on print it says 'daily mail' but online it says 'mail online' . There is no sidebar but the images used don't take a lot of space, the space is more used for the headline. 

language: is informal as it uses words like 'thug' and 'selfie' because its a popular newspaper rather than a quality one.

colours: are plain and simple, black and red to allow the focus to go to the story more.

use of Strauss, good vs bad, the good being the victim a young white girl who was murdered and then bad being the young black teen who got let off twice for stabbings.


things to talk about:
-a young man who has avoided jail time after being found with knives and drugs for a second time.
(daily mail dont think its okay and we know this by) the use of the word "smirking" which is anchored by image.
We dont KNOW that hes smirking, taking a selfie or even at court in the image taken. (image anchors the text and the way its presented gives us a specific side of the story)
"soft justice britain" means were weak and should be tougher on crime.
Strauss binary theory - using a victim of knife crime story and the story of the offender (bad vs good)
racial stereotyping - jodie is the white female victim / black male offender "thug". Large headline makes it more important than him- using him to represent people involved in knife crime. Masthead has a vintage style - the logo represents britishness. Byline- 3 journalists which means its very important.
ONLINE: embedded multi media (family of stab victim at the site of her stabbing) to make audience sympathise. Visually busy - loads of images, good clickbait.

NEWS VALUES

frequency - does the story unfold often
threshold - how big the event is (i.e. new zealand terror attacks)
proximity - how close to home it is (also cultural / otherness - non white being portrayed) news doesn't favour non white people, africa is closer than australia but a story from australia is more likely to get aired because they're white.
narrative- good/bad beginning/ end
composition- layout, balancing elements
personalisation- creating characters
negativity- the more negative it is, the more likely it is to be featured.

26/03/2019

shamima cover -
- reinforces negative stereotypes of muslim women ( gilroys "otherness")
using bold large red text to connote danger. shes smirking and it looks like she doesnt care. wearing burqa - suggesting she still has links to radical islamism. using image of her running away suggests binary opposition.

New zealand cover-
-picture of 'angelic boy' makes him look like a victim, a typical angelic boy is used as a shock tactic.

ESSAY QUESTION - the big issue

How does the big issue cover you have studied use media language to conduct an alternative representation of an event / group / issue?

The big issue cover i used was of the childs drawing of a home being rubbed out with the heading of council tax. The big issue cover used media language to conduct an alternative representation of the issue of council tax to explore the themes of how council tax is exploiting those in working class homes. The cover is of a child's drawing of a family home and it has a rubber going through it erasing part of the home, with the rubber labelled "council tax". This was intended to represent how council tax is ruining and breaking up these homes - its intended to be emotive as society is very child centered so using a child's drawing which is so innocent to out across the message that they are victims to this too and it affects them massively.  

The big issue used language anchorage which had a massive impact - The main cover line was 'WIPE OUT' is written in large red bold letters which stands out of the whole page and brings the readers attention straight to it. Another use of language anchorage was when they said council tax is "forcing people from their homes" which highlights the group of people who are affected by council tax negatively - therefore raising awareness. 

'The big issue' is the masthead and is printed in capital large bold black letters against a white background with a black border on the top left corner. the border can represent the 'box' in which the working class and lower class people are stuck in and confined because of the way the system tries to keep us stuck in the same place by things like council tax.

wix website

https://riaredman04.wixsite.com/mysite -

Press women's fashion (under the W)
AND
press workshop booking AND book now.

audience profile

mxrgAN by Ria

Audience Feedback

AUDIENCE FEEDBACK

contents page 1 (farihah)

-Add a website
-Fill space at the bottom of the page
-Add subscription option
-make '68' smaller and place on image

Contents page 2 (Sumeiya)

-add more images to fill blank space
-make numbering on sumeiya more noticeable
-Add a website
-Add subscription option

Front Cover (Farihah)

-Add price tag and use barcode with white background

Front Cover (Sumeiya)

-Add price tag and use barcode with white background

statement of intent

There are lots of examples of different conventions of magazines, there are high end fashion ones like vogue which follow a certain guideline, and then more quirky magazines like ID. Both of my magazines follow a lot of the typical conventions of magazines.

I will name my magazine 'MXRGAN' (pronounced Morgan), Im naming it this because Morgan is a family name from my Jamaican side, and I am focussing on brown skin people for my magazine. I want to focus on them because i believe that we need more ways to show everyone that young black people are not troublemakers, loud and rowdy. I will change the 'O' to an 'X' to resemble Malcolm X who was a minister, human rights activist and prominent black nationalist leader who served as a spokesman for the nation of islam during the 1950s and 1960s.

For my first magazine featuring Farihah, the shot will be more of a mid-shot which is less conventional for magazine covers because they usually use a close up of the model. However, it may be seen as conventional for more quirky magazines. For the second magazine featuring Sumieya, it will be more conventional for magazines like vogue because it will be a close up shot of the model. The mise-en-scene for the first magazine is going to have an outdoor background, there will be bushes and can be shot in an alley which already has a quirky vibe to it. The colour scheme is going to be browns and greens because of nature which I also can cooperate into the title. This is unconventional for magazines as they usually have plain backgrounds because they don’t want too much going on at once. However, My second magazine will follow the typical conventions of a fashion magazine with a more plain background (slightly grey) because of light and shadow. The title will be plain white which is also typical conventions for magazines.

My first magazine is really going to represent the youth in the most natural way, it will be  in a natural outdoor environment with a model who is not extremely photo shopped, she will have a natural face, natural hair and a natural body, she will not be used to set an impossibly high standard for women and will represent all of us. This is extremely unconventional for magazines because they tend to Photoshop and sexualise their models. Likewise, my second magazine will be the same, her features will not be changed, the only editing I will carry out is the contrast, light and texture and the words, not the actual physique or facial structure of the model. The first magazine will approach social issues of the shutting out and isolation of the youth, we are made to feel dependent and incapable, but I want to capture the youth in a more independent strong manner.

Both of the magazines I intend to target to youth mainly girls, but different types. The first magazine is going to be aimed at quirky girls such as the ones who would be audiences of magazines like ID. The second magazine would be targeted to more mainstream girls, such as the ones who could be audiences of vogue.

Finally, the way I would go about distributing and circulating my magazines in the real world are through talented and popular publishers and editors. For my magazines I would publish them through the company “DC Thomson”. They are a large UK based magazine publishing company. And I would sell them in bookshops like Waterstones and WHSmith and I would ask fashion and retailers to collaborate. I could ask shops like MAC, Topshop, Gucci and more to offer a free fashion magazine when they purchase a certain item.

Course Work CONTENTS X FRONT COVER