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 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.
