Newspaper Supplements - Research and Analysis.

After researching different local newspapers around the country, I was reminded about publishing supplements in newspapers which are often slotted into newspapers weekly.

They commonly give information on reviews, films, art, music, days out etc. This is the sort of information and content i want for my newspaper so i thought i would research further into supplements. I have done a little prezi of information about supplements:

Supplements on Prezi

I have also found a website which has information and pages on most of the newspaper supplements in the country, both local, national and regional:

http://www.mydigitalnewspaper.com/aboutus.aspx?id=1

Analysing an existing newspaper supplement:

The newspaper supplement that i am going to analyse is Evening news' 'Going Out' supplement. Here are a few facts about it:

• It is the same size of the newspaper itself but as it is central in the newspaper, it can be pulled out.
• It has information on whats on in music, art, film, books, days out, TV listings etc.
• It is known as 'What's on' on the newspaper's website.
• It looks and reads like the actual paper so they are connected to each other, but it has quicker, less tabloid information.

Here is a scan of the front and next page in for me to analyse. I will split my analysis into the front page and then the next page in. This supplement is easily missable in the newspaper as it is central in the paper, but it is interesting to investigate how the newspaper has tried to get people reading. I can use my knowledge of semiotics to analyse them. Due to the size of my scanner, i couldn't fit the whole newspaper in, but you get the idea:

Aethetics

Colour: The background colour is black so whatever is applied ti it, such as coloured writing and photos stand out and catch the viewer's eye. The colour of the writing is white, red and yellow, these colours aren't associated with Norwich in particular but they are bold and impacting, giving the impression that whatever is in these colours is an important thing to read.

Layout: the headline is central and below where a headline traditionally is. this makes the photo the main focus. The name of the newspaper is traditionally at the top and advertisements of other articles inside are on the side. It also has at the bottom of the page a list of what music and comedy acts are in this issue. This is so the audience recognises a name and can instantly and conveniently search for that article. However it doesn't state which page they are on - a ploy to get the reader to look on every page?

Typography: The text on the front page varies from capitals to not. The word 'JOKERS' is in capitals because it catches the eye of the reader and is an important word in the article. Most of the sizes of the texts are quite big, but there isnt much of it, so doesn't go into elaborate detail. This is so the reader looks inside. There are no staring articles on this page.

Photos: There is only two photos on this front page, one of the world-known star Johnny Depp and the other of the not so well-known comedian Daniel Sloss. As one of them is more well-known than the other, it balances it out to have a very well-known star on the front. The central photo of the comedian is displayed as a joker on a card which supports his day-job and what the article is about. A reader may recognise his face and then want to read the article inside.
Adverts: there aren't actually any adverts on this page, probably due to space and the idea that there is a lot of adverts in the official newspaper. They are only advertising articles inside on the front cover which isn't in much detail as they are just lists of names.There is the supplement's website just underneath the paper's name so that the reader can read even more and the main newspaper can gain visitors to their website. There is a bit of text on a competition to win tickets for a comedy show - gets the reader even more interested in looking inside.
Overall: This is a very simple and readable front cover. There aren't any articles starting, or elaborate information on the names in the list. Everybody likes comedy so i can see why having a not very well-known comedian central would work compared to a huge Hollywood star.

Audience

The audience of the Evening News wasn't disclosed to me when i sent them an e-mail. As i know for definite that it is for people who are local and proud that they are, having an article about who is coming to their local area would be an interest to them. The article advertised about Johnny Depp has nothing to do with the local area, other than the people of Norwich knowing who he is and being able to watch his new film. Most people like comedy, so having a list of the comedians featured in this issue would attract the right kind of attention. 

As this is a supplement in the newspaper, it isn't misable. This guarantees that every reader of the newspaper will flick past the pages of this supplement which is the same size and made of the same paper as the whole newspaper. Even though this is traditionally not what a newspaper supplement is lie as they are usually much smaller and made of magazine paper, it is still classed as one because it has separate information that the actual newspaper.

Purpose

The overall purpose of this newspaper supplement is to provide extra information for the reader which isn't in the official newspaper so that they read the newspaper as a whole for longer.

Readers may mistake this supplement for part of the official newspaper because it is the same size and made of the same paper, therefore might be more likely to read it even if they aren't interested instead of skipping. 

The purpose of the text is to catch the readers eye and stand out from the neutral, 'normal' colours of the entire newspaper. The purpose of the two photos on this front page is to support the articles inside the supplement and to act as something which the audience will recognise and then want to read the article.


Production

I suspect that the producers of this newspaper supplement are different to the people who make the whole newspaper, however the two have to reflect each other in some way. Whether that is linguistically, visually or by values or subjects, it doesn't matter. For the front page there are no articles so the main work would be around the visual design of it.

The photos would have had to be taken or bought from a company for exclusivity or usage.



Second Page

Here is the second page from the newspaper which is after the front page. It has part of the article of the comedian on he front page and also has little articles on dance, theatre, art and family shows. I have taken a closer look at this part of the page because it has the sort of content i want to write about and feature in my newspaper:

Aesthetics

Overall the look of this second page is also simple. It is easy to locate where certain information is if this has never been read by somebody before. I have only looked at the next page in which features the main article spread out over the two pages, meaning that i have had to split the main article in half to analyse.

Colour: There is a red and yellow border around the main article so it is similar to the cover - it connects the two. There is a thin blue border around the articles which write about what is on in the local arts. There is no background colour like the front page because it doesn't need to catch the readers eye so much, so it is very easy to read.

Layout: It is also very simple which could attract a wide audience. The articles about what is on in the arts is all in one big box so it is locatable.

Typography: The days of the week on the arts article are in bigger and brighter texts so that the reader can find out what day they are free or want something to do and find it easily. It is very similar to a TV listing.

Photos: Photos are supporting the arts articles which help the reader to know what sort of thing they would be watching. There is a central photo of the same comedian from the front page as it is the same article. The photo is humorous which relates to the fact that he is a comedian. The photo is very big and impacting.

Adverts: There are again no adverts on this page, not even about the newspaper's website, which i find convenient as a reader. This is a good example to use as i am planning not to have any adverts because i think for the little amount of space i want to include i will not have enough room.

Overall: this is a very simple, boxy designed page and i like it. It is easy to look at and is approachable. They have made the page more interesting with colourful borders and photos. I am planning to use colour, boxes and photos to make my pages look more interesting and target my audience of educated adults.

Audience

The type of person that would be interested in what arts are going on in the local area are local people, families and the educated reader - so a very varied audience. Somebody who would be interested in the comedian on the front page would be interested in the article on the second page in which wasnt declared on the front page.

This is an supplement aimed at local people who want to know what is going on in their area, so having an article on a visiting comedian to Norwich/Norfolk would interest the reader.

Purpose

The purpose of the article is to keep the readers hooked, especially the readers who were interested in the comedian on the front page. As soon as the reader starts reading the articles they need to be hooked in order to keep reading, therefore spending more time reading the whole newspaper.

This is the type of supplement which could be pulled out or kept slotted in the newspaper to be read - convienient for the reader because this supplement can be kept for longer.