Inside Page Analysis

I have annotated two local newspaper inside pages (page 2) in order to research the common conventions of how inside pages usually look. I chose to do my research in The Daily news, which is a newspaper local to Portsmouth, and The Bath Chronicle which is local to Bath and Bristol areas. By researching these newspapers I will be able to reach a conclusion at what I should include in my own inside page of a local newspaper.

The Daily News

On this page, I found that there was no particular colour scheme or artist theme followed. In terms of graphology, the page is mostly black and white other than the images and one advert. the main image featured is of a local boy who appeared in a trailer for Strictly Come Dancing. This shows that they have included a sense of local pride as anyone who wasn't from the area will most likely not be interested. They have done this by including the feature word 'paperboy' in the headline - which in itself has many local and community connotations. 

This page also includes smaller stories about local events, for example "man suffers slash wound" and "CCTV of kebab shop attacker released" - which are both stories that occurred in the local area. 

The other parts of this page that are printed in colour include a quote from the main story about the local boy. They have done this in order for it to stand out and make it easy to get a sense of what the story is about even if the reader only sees the quote and doesn't want to read the whole story. Next to this quote, the editors have also included the boy's name 'Tom Cawte' - also in bold red font - to make it clear the quote is from the same story. 

The local advertisement is also featured in colour. This is a large advert in the bottom right hand corner of the page. The advert's text has been printed in white writing on a red background and on yellow backgrounds to make the ad more appealing. The advert is for a local carpeting company that is local to Portsmouth.

The Bath Chronicle

This page presents a lot of similar features that the other inside page that I analysed did. For example there are links to the newspapers website and social media username for the newspaper at the very top of the page, just like the other newspaper, which shows evidence of technological convergence. Along with this, as it is a local newspaper and not a global tabloid, where the author of an article's name is written, the editors have included a web address for the author or a contact phone number. This represents the fact that the newspaper will be read by a condensed number of people in a small area where people are more likely to include personal contacts. This is something that appears in both the newspapers i have looked at.

This page also doesn't seem to follow a particular colour scheme and the only parts that are printed in colour are the images and the adverts. For example there is a large advert banner across the bottom fo the page for a marketing website and a local vets - 'Bath Vets'. 

The text on this page has been written in justified columns and includes an introductory strap line to the main story. There are also three smaller stories included on this page; two of which only present jump lines as to where the story continues on a further page. this is something the other inside page did not have. 

As for lexis, the adverts on this page have used inclusive pronouns to entice their readers into buying their products/using their services. Shown in "Your weekend magazine."

The images included on this page are taken by local artists, (by lines under images) and show local children from the area holding their dog. this is something that is too personal to put in a National or Global newspaper and will only been found in local newspapers. 

Conclusion

From analysing these two local newspaper inside pages, I have identified common conventions that have been featured in both and seem to be a reoccurring theme. Such as using pictures of local people, taken by local photographers, including social media links and web addresses and contact numbers of writers and editors. I also plan to include adverts on the page's border that promote local businesses.