I am going to use the front page, double page spread of pages 2 and 3 and one other page from 6 consecutive issues of the Northampton Chronicle, a local Northampton newspaper. I will compare the editions and find the conventional features that appear on each edition of the Newspaper and also things that are not regularly featured, this will give me an idea of what conventions a local Newspaper should feature, and I will use this information when creating my own Newspaper.

The editions I have looked at are between 27th September 2010 and 2nd October 2010.

Newspaper Research 27/9/2010

The inverted triangle or inverted pyramid is another technique used by journalists and newspaper editors, it is a specific way of writing a story or article. The purpose of the inverted pyramid is to give the reader the most important and vital information first and then move onto the other less important information. The main reason this is done is so that the person reading article can stop at any point and not be confused and still understand what the article is about and means, this is done more specifically by giving the reader the information; who, what, when, where and how in the very beginning of the story. Another reason that the inverted triangle is used is because it allows the article to be edited and cut shorter to fit the allocated space very easily, whilst still retaining all the vital information and making sense.

This diagram shows how the inverted triangle style of writing is structured;

Newspaper Research 20/9/2010

The Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) monitor the distribution and sales of all publications in the Untied Kingdom. I used their website to find out The News' ABC's; for each edition, 45,175 are distributed (Total Average Net Circulation).

Human Interest and Human Interest Stories are often used by Newspapers. Human Interest Stories are ones that can evoke emotion, sympathy, admiration and above all generate interest from the reader. Often the stories are about people who have achieved something amazing, have suffered something unpleasant or have overcome or are facing a problem. Newspapers and other Media Institutions are often criticized for using Human Interest Stor

ies to boost sales as they are manipulative and arguably, not important news.

Ethos is another thing that is relevant to the publishers of a newspaper. Ethos is the character, customs and sentiment of a social group or community of people.

New head teacher vows to turn round failing Portsmouth school

The head of Portsmouth's only school to be in special measures has vowed to turn it around after inspectors condemned it for serious failures.

Inspectors from Ofsted branded Paulsgrove Primary School inadequate and said it deprived pupils of an 'acceptable standard of education'.

The 'inadequate' label was applied in 24 out of 28 areas including the school's overall effectiveness, quality of teaching and outcomes for pupils.

Headteacher Darren Nickerson handed in his resignation over the summer and now interim head Andrew Olive has the task of massively improving standards.

Mr Olive, previously head of learning and achievement at Portsmouth City Council, said: 'The report pointed to a serious leadership and management failure.

'Teachers and all staff have responded positively and are committed to taking the school forward. We can't afford to jeopardise the futures of our children, so things have to change dramatically - but that won't happen overnight.'

Full article http://www.portsmouth.co.uk/newshome/New-head-teacher-vows-to.6540104.jp.

This is an extract of an article from the Monday 20th September 2010 edition of The News, this article is showing how The News values something such as education and that they believe it to have newsworthiness. This shows The News' ethos and what they believe to be right, this is often reflected by the beliefs of the readers. This shows The News ethos to be one that cares about education and the futures of children. This is put across to the reader through the language used such as; 'New head teacher vows to turn round failing school', this instantly grabs the attention of the reader and shows that The News values the standard of education in the local area.

Newspaper Research 28/6/2010

I am going to research Local Newspapers, looking at the layout. designs and features of example local newspapers so that I know what I should include when I come to designing my own Local Newspaper.

• Newsworthiness is something that is of sufficient enough interest to the public that it is worth featuring as news; whether it in a newspaper, magazine, or reported on television.
• News Values are how important news stories are, and how much attention they are given by the news medium and the preference they are given. This is often reflected and decided by the the impact and interest of the audience.
• Bias is when something is given with an opinion and is inclined towards one way of thinking, it favors one side of an argument or story; both sides are not given equal emphasis and one may be shown in a negative way. If something is represented with bias then it is not completely true and encourages people to think a certain way. Bias is often used in Newspapers and is a very powerful media tool, media areas often come under much criticism from being bias.

A local newspaper is one that focuses it's reporting on issues that effect and concern the immediate surrounding area of where the newspaper is based. They generally do not include articles and stories about national and global issues and happenings, as this is the the function of the national tabloid newspapers.

Local Newspapers often cover a very small and specific area; for example small village newspapers. However, they often go much further than just where they are situated by distributing the newspapers to surrounding areas.

For example; The News (situated in Portsmouth) distributes and sells their newspaper in the following areas;

• Portsmouth
• Southsea
• Fareham
• Meon
• Gosport
• Havant
• Waterlooville
• East Hampshire
• West Sussex

The News (Portsmouth) also produces specific issues for some of these places that are variations of the main paper designed specifically for Portsmouth.

The audience for The News are the people who live in the above listed areas, they read the newspaper to find out what is happening in their local community. It is also a way for them to get involved with what is going on in their community. For example; recently The News launched a campaign to stop the closing down of the Fire Station on Copnor road in Portsmouth, through the paper many of the residents of Portsmouth became heavily involved with the campaign and even signed a petition and held protests.