Chosen project from brief 

From the brief I have chosen to do:

The first two pages from the local newspaper, together with two of the following three options: 

• A poster for the newspaper;
• A radio advertisement for the newspaper; 
• Two hyper link pages from the papers website

The two options that I have decided to work on are: 
A poster for the news paper and 
the radio advertisement for the newspaper. 

My reason for choosing this brief is that from the beginning I was interested in print media and how the newspaper is published everyday. What is most interesting to me is the daily beat of the journalists and how they gather news and create stories out of just facts. Investigative reporting is also something I am interested in and hope to take it up once I'm done with my A Levels.  

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Research on National and Local Newspapers available in Pakistan 

To familiarize myself with the codes and conventions that determine what is involved in producing a newspaper I conducted an in depth research on local and national newspapers to understand how they were different and similar. 

National newspaper in general terms

The two big national newspaper present in Pakistan are the Dawn and the Daily Times. Dawn is circulated in Lahore, Karachi and Islamabad-in short in the most densely populated cities of Pakistan, whereas Daily Times is distributed in the same cities but reaches a much lower readership. 

Both cater to the same audience and an amazing fact about Dawn is that it is founded by the creator of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah and is among the oldest newspapers present today.

They both features news on politics, business, sports, religious news and on entertainment.

Codes and conventions of National Newspapers

• Masthead is obviously present on the top, its a statement written on the issues of a newspaper, it contains the name of the owner of the newspaper with the name of the staff imprinted also.
• The main headline is always big like the masthead and is of course spectacular providing the preliminary study of the first and the main story in the few lines in order to divert the attention of the assemblage reading it.
• Date, price, locations, and the website link is printed on the top every time under the masthead.
• After the headline or the story line the name of the author or the reporter is mentioned.
• In particular to both newspapers they don't have a colour scheme; all text is in black and white only the images present on the newspaper main page are coloured. This can be claimed as a big drawback because colours draw in the readers to take more interest in reading it.

Local newspaper in general terms

Local newspaper are more to the point and provide limited information of a particular area or location. Like The Friday Times is a local newspaper issued only in Lahore on weekly bases, it is founded by Najam Sethi a well renowned journalist of Pakistan, it mainly focuses on the social issues present in the society of Pakistan.

Codes and conventions of local newspaper

• Advertisement is given more part in the newspaper than the stories itself. Advertisement of different products, also of local jobs available, also advertisement of sales that have been hooked up lately.
• Special messages are given by the mayor or messages from different people, this is what shows and makes the local newspaper more personal and people tend to buy them more because they get the news of what is happening around in a more immediate format.
• Local stories are written for example news on the grades of local schools are provided with the accomplishments of the people or businesses operating in that specific target area.
• Some national or international news is provided so that the people those who are buying only there newspaper don't get neglected from the world or from there on countries news as a whole.For example news like sports and fashion is given.
• Other features like masthead is placed in the same way as in the national newspaper with the same information but its relatively cheaper than the national papers this is a big feature which motivates the people to buy local newspaper.

Codes and conventions of newspaper

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Research On radio

Another task left over or the last task was to make a radio advertisement for the newspaper that I am currently working on, so in order to perform the first step like always is to research on it so i am researching on different radio adverts and i have come to these two adverts which I will analyse further.

Radio advertisement 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QY42anoQmo

• The voice used in this ad is very loud and forceful, his voice tone is very impenetrable. 
• The level of his loudness and firmness shows and indirectly compels the audience to listen to this ad and specially for those audience who eat low fat food or people who are on diet.
• After five seconds the background music stands and the voice changes another person intrudes and give the rest of the information while singing which inputs in making the people enjoy while listening to the ad.
• The total ads length is thirty-one seconds in which all the information is provided to the people in a very appealing way half ad without music and half ad with music, its abrupt and enlarges the idea that the advertisement is clamorous and conspicuous, obliging people to pay contemplation to it and thereby making them want to find out what actually is so special about the offer that karaoke is with. 

Radio Advertisement 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyBdszeJ4vY

• The voice in this ad is of a woman because sunsilk is basically a product for women. The tone of this woman is soft and low which makes it difficult for the audience to understand what she is actually saying.
• The length of the advert is thirty seconds there is no music in the advert but still the actual message could not be delivered as it should be.
• All the information is provided in the first thirteen seconds all the good effects of using sunsilk is described.
• While in the left over seventeen seconds the website link is given where sunsilk shampoo's information could be gathered and the location of the stores where the shampoo could be purchased from and yet again in the last 2 seconds another benefit is told of using sunsilk and the advert finishes.

After having a research on both the local newspaper and the radio I think I have now i can make my own newspaper and radio more appropriately, this is because i have researched in depth the codes and conventions and of newspaper and the radio.  

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Research using questionnaires 

As the part of my research and planning I have formed some questions to be given out to the people and filled by them. In order to do this i will have to take out printout and give the questionnaires to the people personally. I have chosen questionnaires rather not any other means of gathering information because this is a cheap way and people are far willing to answer the questions where they don't have to interact so many people. The results gained from questionnaires are bona fide because face to face answering is better. I have developed nine questions and i have forwarded the questions to different people and they can consult me again if any question they don't understand.

Results of questionnaires

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Story Board

Front Page
Main story: the main story that will cover my front page will be the most popular and rushy area of Lahore that is the Kalma chowk which is under construction of Kalma Chowk from the last two years or even more. My main reason for covering this issue is that i have travel and pass by this area everyday and I know how difficult it is when you are get stuck in the traffic everyday for twenty minutes at least.It is the centre of hub and all the main areas are linked to Kalma Chowk. I am highlighting the problem on the congestion that has been created in that area and the surrounding areas.

Second story: The second story which I will be encompassing on my front page is on the Lahore canal, it is surely one of the oldest and one of the best sources of irrigation around side but maintenance of the canal should take place regularly and properly. People use the canal water for there everyday use but they are not acquainted for the fact that it is dirty and not suitable for use.


Second Page
First story: The story on the second page I am planning to highlight is on metro bus services that are being made to facilitate the people of Lahore. This a big project which has been completed and have started to operate, now people wont have to change different buses to get to a specific destination. It will enhance the communications and have already improved the infrastructure of Lahore.

Second story: A second story I have chosen to be a part of my second page story is on the heritage of Lahore, Lahore is one of the oldest cities of the world and has a great value when it comes to the buildings and architecture left by the British, Mughals and before the Mughals. People come from around the world to visit such old places so that they could experience of the beauty that the former dynasties have left.

Equipment's

I have used my mobile camera with a mobile recorder. No lights were used for the pictures because all these images are outdoor and taken during the day.

Layout design

Here is the final two layout from which I will chose my front page and the second page for the newspaper.

Front page 
Layout 1

In this layout i have used the main elements of a newspaper front cover. Masthead is always on the top like every other newspaper i haven't changed this major fact of a newspaper. The skyline under the masthead, under the skyline there comes the dateline and the website address on the same same line. Then comes the "Main Headline" which is actually the most appealing and eye catching part of the newspaper, with the main headline on the right comes the main image, and on the left side of the main image three columns for the main story which the main image is correspondent to.

Beneath the main image comes the second story headline/subheading, on the left side comes two images of the second story and a three columns for the story the other pictures are kindred to.
                              
                              



Second page 
Layout 1

This is my second page final layout design, it consists of a dateline on the top which is compulsory form of information for my newspaper. Underneath the dateline is have designed for the advertisement, on my front page there are no adverts somehow. Then the main headline for the second page and along the headline on the right is advert two and two images under the headline and then comes the further details of the images in the form of report.

Second headline of the page with also two images, I have chosen two images for both the stories because images are the main factor which attracts the reader, right side the headline two is the other story box which compose of stories happening in other localities.








First Page
Layout 2

This is the layout two its totally different from layout 1 of the front page cover. The masthead is always on the top most, below is the advertisement banner, newspaper is a main source of advertisers to advertise there product. Lower it is the date and the website address row, underneath the dateline is the "Main Headline", beside the main headline is the weather update of the day in detail.

Main image like always under the main heading with a captain, beside the main image will come the details of the news divided into three columns. Beneath comes the headline of the second story and then the image for it and the details under it branched into three columns again, on the end left side comes another small advert. Two small stories of what else is happening in the city with less importance. As you can see i have only used two images in the front page unlike in the previous layout, this is because i want the audience to focus on the news more than the images.






Second Page 
Layout 2

The layout till the headline and the advert 2 is the same, rest I have made some changes in it like I have decided to put only one image instead of two. Further analysis of the story is apportioned into three columns with another story under the third column as you can see in the layout, lower the first column is the exchange rate data given should always been given as an additional information, prayer timings is made available under the advert 2.

The second main story of the second page is with the image instantly under it with a captain, further the news particulars are present in two columns. Third story under the prayer timings which is the smallest and the least important among the other news written. 

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Sketch design for the poster 

                            

After going through different layouts for my newspaper poster I have finally made my decision and work on the poster layout given below. On the top the price will be listed, its cheap and everybody can afford to buy it, under the price tag comes the name of the poster "The Guard" as the headline. Beneath the headline an image will appear which will show that this newspaper is specific for the people of Lahore. After the image, on the left side the date will be printed and then on the same line the website address will come on the right side. With a information that it is out and available for the people to buy, than comes the slogan below we can also say that its a kind of a convincing statement for the people to buy our newspaper.

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Original images 

These are all the images that i have shot but not all will be used only a few which i think is suitable for the newspaper will be put on.

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Development process of the newspaper 

                                                                                       
I will show the development procedure through screenshots which I have taken while making it.

This is the starting of my newspaper front page with the masthead in red colour with a background colour of black, beneath the masthead i have put the advertisement banner showed in the layout 2 of the front page.

  

Next in step is i made different boxes, for the dateline and the website address, than for the "Main headline" under it the details divided into three columns and a by name of the reporter. The main headline size is the biggest because it will catch the eyes of the people.

  
In the third step i have put the main image on the left side and under the main headline with a captain to make the people aware of the situation of the place. I have put a subheading as it can be seen that the size of the subheading is smaller then the main headline this is to show that it is of less importance.

This is the second page i have put all the advertisement, exchange rate and the prayer timings banner but later i decided to change the advert 2 that will be demonstrated on the 5th screenshot. With the date and the website address on the top most.

The second page main headline imprinted and the the details lower it as shown in the layout 2 of the second page.

This is the complete second page, as i have said i have changed the advert 2 because this seamed more important and appealing than the previous one. The subheading size is smaller than the headline, lines are drawn so that the reader does not have any confusion of which text is with whom, only the images are left in this one.

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Development procedure of the Poster

I will show the development procedure through screenshots which I have taken while making it.

This is the beginning of my poster i have used the same colour scheme for the name of my newspaper, with a price tag of on the top as shown on the sketch. 

  

After the name comes the image of the "Lahore Fort" which shows a symbol that its a local newspaper for Lahore, plus with a date and website address below the image.

"IS OUT" is telling that the newspaper is out and people can go and buy it from there nearest stores, with a slogan that "TIME FOR IGNORANCE IS OVER" this is to show that people are not alone, they have a guardian who will protect them.

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Final Product

The Local newspaper

Local newspaper Poster

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Script for the radio advertisement

After looking into number of different radio adverts and further into there elements ahead I think I can compose a radio script and further a radio advert.

The script: 
Person 1: The guard is here 
To safeguard your rights
To guard your present and future
To guard you from the hardships of the society in which you live
You will receive a monthly magazine for free with it
Time of ignorance has finished because the guard is available in your nearest store for only Rs. 15
Person 2: How much?
Person 1: Only for Rs. 15
Make sure you get your copy
For any information please call us on our toll free number 0800-54321.

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Radio Advert

Audio recording software >> ________________________________________________________________________

Problems faced during the formation of the newspaper and the radio advert

During the formation of both the things I had to face many problems for example in the research department of newspaper I had to go through different newspaper in real, I had to travel alot to gather information and I had to study deep into the pure codes and conventions of the newspaper, as compared to the research on the radio it was less hectic because most of the advertisements were available on YouTube so I really didn't had to go through difficulties much.

During the questionnaires session I had to give questions to different people and before filling the questionnaires most of the people showed hesitation and most of them even refused to fill the questionnaires. In the formation of the newspaper I had to face delays because of the images that I had to shot for example the first date of inauguration was 27 January 2013 but it got postponed till 10 February 2013. Even my newspaper got delayed due to the lack of usage of Photoshop then later I realized that it could also be made on Microsoft publisher.The recording of the radio advert got discontinued because this was my first ever radio advert so I had to look into different ads and then the people who would speak the script.   

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Evaluation Questions

1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge codes conventions of real media texts?

The newspaper poster that I have made is matching almost all the conventions of a archetypal English poster, which has obviously a white background which makes the text in different colours stand out and the message is conveyed to the audience without any hindrance. The masthead is very clear and big which makes it easier for the audience to know the name of the newspaper and what is it inside which forces them to buy this newspaper.

As my main product is a "Newspaper", during the construction of my newspaper I have made sure that all the codes and conventions of a local paper is met in it. To induce my local newspaper adequately, I have looked into many enduring local newspaper, for example "The Lahore Times" and "The Friday Times" from these newspaper I have learnt alot of different things that I have amalgamated it in my newspaper product, for example I have attained how to target my audience most efficiently, although the official language of Pakistan is Urdu and most of the local people understand only Urdu but still I have worked on English newspaper because there are also a large amount of public who prefer reading English newspaper, I don't only want the local  people to witness my newspaper but also people around the globe. I have also apprenticed how to layout my sentence structure of the same specific way in which it is portrayed in the newspaper, I have followed the entire codes and conventions of the newspaper this is because they are really competent in seeking the eye of the audience, regardless of the fact that the new technology is stepping in every moment the old and traditional way of gathering news from the newspaper is preferred more.

Images also play a vital role in diverting the the attention of the audience towards any event, as far as I have analysed people more or less are attracted to those images which show dangerous situations in it, like images of wounded people beaten up people and etc, audience want to read further about what happened with that person and show sympathies towards the injured person. History is also one of the most appealing topic of all time so I have used some historic buildings images and I hope it will for sure catches the eye of the people. My most of the stories rotate around the problems of the people nowadays and trying to teach them how to overcome these problems, I have concentrated on the red hot topic of nowadays "The CNG Crisis".

I have also made a radio advertisement for my newspaper. Before doing this I made some look into the present radio adverts and I have noticed that there are a couple of codes and conventions of it for example I have witnessed that most of the radio adverts have a reverberate to consort the advert, this is really efficient because this helps the listeners to memorize the the advertisement, radio adverts don't have a visual its only audio so to make it remember-able the voice used in it is very strong and clear so that the listeners can witness the importance of the product for which the advert is being run. Radio listener ship is shrinking rapidly but there are still alot of people who listen to radio on regular basis.


2. How effective is the combination of your main product and ancillary task?

The combination of my main product and the ancillary text goes very well with each other, its basically highlighting my main product and therefore they are all tightly linked together. Like my newspaper poster is precisely exhibiting my main product, the newspaper that I have developed is really effective because the font and the colour scheme is the same as on the poster and the newspapers front page. This is because my newspaper is I believe going to be a big success and I want it to compete with the other newspaper in the local form that's why I have made it accordingly.

As far as my radio advertisement is concerned, its also advertising my newspaper and telling the people what is happening around them of what they are unaware of. After going through alot of different adverts I wrote a very special radio script which will I am sure going to be loved by the audience, this is because I am key pointing towards the hardships from which the people are going through and I am comforting them and trying to convince them that the newspaper is coming to guard you from the evil that is around you. My advert is a little long but I believe the audience will like listening to it again and again because they want to know the truth and the truth is out now. Long advertisement means that the information in it is important and everyone should be knowing it, according to me short advertisement means that it has less importance and its only for specific a specific segment of people not as a whole. 


3. What have you learnt from your audience research?   

From my research that I have undertaken, I have learnt numerous things from it that my audience expect from a local newspaper and also how would they want me to go about producing my newspaper and the poster. Like from my research I have found out that my audience wants me to include all those events and stories which are up to date and covering there problems very openly, so in order to do that I have made the main story on that topic that is most favourite these days and people want to know when will they get rid of it finally "The Construction of Kalma Chowk Underpass Leads to Massive Traffic Jam", Kalma Chowk is a centre from which roads go to other towns and routes and its been more than 10 months that its under constant construction status and people find it very difficult to go to there specified destinations on time.

As I have researched that majority of teenagers don't read newspaper so I have switched my target audience to the elder and old part of my community who buy newspaper on regular basis and read through it thoroughly, this is surely effective in drawing in more people to buy my newspaper. Also from my audience research I have witnessed that there are relatively more percentage of people who listen to radio and take more interest in listening to the advertisement that is running in it. New forms of radios are being formed due to advancement in technology now there are satellite radio broadcasting, radio can be found in the cars, radio listener-ship over here is very high because maximum of the people can only afford a radio. A contemporary example of a radio advertisement that people are remembering for whatever reason, is the 'Go-compare' adverts, which are on television as well. These advertisements are often repeated by people who listen to these, and this is proof of just how effective these type of adverts can be.   


4. How did you use media technologies in the construction  research,planning and evaluation stages?   

In my construction process, the media technologies that I have used to create my final media products are, for my photos that I have used in my final product are taken from my mobile camera which is Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray it has 8 mega-pixel camera with high resolution as you can witness it, from looking the images that how clear and attractive they are looking, images are the one of the main thing which attracts the people towards reading it. For my research and planning I have used the blog and Microsoft word, Microsoft Power Point  blog is used to make the overall presentation, word is used to make the layout of the page and Power Point for the presentation of the results of the questionnaires. However for the construction of the two pages and the newspaper poster I have utilized the facilities of the Microsoft Publisher, this was the my first ever experience of using it at first I found it really difficult but eventually as I kept on using it, it became so easy for me and I hope I will make more things on publisher without finding any problem in it. 

For most of the information I have used the internet. For the radio advertisement I have used my mobile recorder which is capable to record a good quality audio. For my evaluation stage I have used the blog and my overall review of my portfolio, I have witnessed the overall work that I have done in my portfolio.