Inspiration for my TV listings Double Page Spread from Newspaper Articles

I struggled to locate a TV listings based double paged spread article on the web so I drew most of my inspiration from newspaper articles to give me the impression of what I am expected to create regarding the layout/presentation of my own double page product. Here are two examples I have selected from the Daily Mail newspaper that specifically cover TV styled reality programmes/documentaries and provide an interestng article relating to them within the content. Both of these features have been reproduced from the infamous ‘Daily Mail’ newspaper, the underlying reason I used them as samples was due to the nature of their content – eating disorders- which my documentary is based upon. The screenshot on the left is a story that covers the ‘I’m a child anorexic’ documentary that was screened on BBC three in late 2006 and depicts how younger and younger children are developing eating disorders. Throughout the presentation the newspaper article relates back consistently to the documentary, patients and doctors as extra evidence to support the statistics they have claimed. The image on the right focuses upon the health show ‘Supersize vs Superskinny’ emphasising how this programme and those alike can be a monumental trigger for people to develop life threatening eating disorders, through the use of the weight loss diets featured on the show . I observed these screenshots rigidly to aid me in brainstorming more potential ideas for how to shape the magazine/newspaper features I am expected to produce alongside my documentary and drew inspiration from what I found.  Firstly I am going to begin by focusing on my discoveries from the ‘Child Anorexic’ story. I’m particularly fond of how the ‘SIX’ is emphasized through the combination of bold and capital lettering, this allows it to easily overshadow all other text presented along side with it drawing anyone’s source of visual focus immeditelly to this single word. I believe this common editorial tactic would be essential in my newspaper articles byline – this would be beneficial in capturing audience interest that more easily. I am fond of how the Daily Mail structures the presentation of their stories, with quite a longer then average masthead that creates interest through a moderate amount of information concealed within it – I believe if I can offer a similar amount of detail in my own masthead then it will be more likely to be focused upon by my target audience through its descriptive tendencies. This was partially the reason I selected these two features from the internet as I have been thoroughly swayed by the visual impact of there said mastheads. 

The use of the length of these mastheads helps to confine as much information as possible to provoke audience attention yet is dramatic at the same time with the use of ‘trigger for eating disorder sufferers’ in the Supersize article and ‘Young as SIX’ within the feature on anorexic pre pubescent girls to highlight the seriousness and comprehensible danger that these features withhold. I may be going against traditional conventions by opting for a long masthead but I firmly stand by the argument it will allow me to gain the maximum numbers of target audience I am aiming for, if there is a decent amount of detail then its highly likely them to mentally perceive there is a worthwhile  story to spend time reading.  Both articles have adverts surrounding them (due to them being of a viral newspaper campaign) if my brief on my documentary is to look effective in my newspaper then I think I should consider the possibility of perhaps in addition placing maybe a couple of adverts on the page to make it look more authentic and ‘on the market’ rather then something that has merely been produced by a student at college. Even though there is a huge contrast between an Internet based newspaper product and one that is printed, adverts are still a beneficial and universal theme in them which is worth abiding by and reproducing within my own product.  Very noticeable in the ‘anorexic girls clinic’ feature is the use of bold font in highlighting the first paragraph, this essentially draws the audiences attention to the most vital and considerably note worthy part of the article itself – it is also a way of provoking interest as the more detailed, informative and dramatic it is, hence forth more of the public will be intrigued and are likely to persevere with reading it rather then glance in disinterest. By drawing inspiration from this text I think it would be highly in my best interests to use an attractive bold/colorful font for the initial paragraph to the topic I’m discussing in my own feature as regardless of anything else my primary focus is to gain interest as soon as possible from my acquired target population. 

Both of the articles have high definition images inserted onto the page, in my rationale I conversed about using my own images (a large main one with the possibility of secondary smaller shots) by looking at the ones used in the Daily Mail its safe to suggest I should continue with this idea as a photograph of what your portraying in the feature makes it more visually seductive to the audience to look at and is likely to successfully gain more interest compared to another article that was absent of any images. A lack of images would make the presentation appear boring, dull, mediocre and certainly not interesting enough to waste effort reading – the use of carefully captured shots in my own work should aid to illustrate the content of my feature before the reader has even had an opportunity to browse the text themselves and they should have a vague idea upon what they will be reading before even beginning to browse the feature. The font for the main paragraphs detailing the story are of identical size in the different articles, big enough for the audience to read without difficulty or being overly large so as to dominate the page. Getting the sizing correct is essentially one of the most important aspects I need to focus upon and seeing first hand how the Daily Mail displays them gives me a rough impression of what mine is to be presented like for my own television listings product, I’m tempted to use these articles I’ve discovered as guidelines to ensure that my font is coherent and consistent enough for my audience. Furthermore I am thoroughly swayed by the simple but effective layout in each article, neither of which are spread over a double page but are kept in consistency with the paragraphs following on from one another over the course of an entire page. Since the feature for my newspaper is not one of an incredible amount of content I believe it would be practical to confine it to one page only, this effectively saves time but prevents it being ‘dragged out’, sometimes too much information can be off putting to an audience – keeping it short, simple and sweet is sometimes the most effective way of gaining recognition with the public.

Displayed above is an Internet formatted newspaper article that details another story revolving around the ‘Supersize vs Superskinny’ genre of shows, this time it has been selected from a lesser known production (The Daily Record) focusing however upon how a woman used her experience on the show for positive purposes which allowed her to increase her weight from a frighteningly low figure to a more a healthier build for her height which fortunately allowed her to conceive for the first time. An immediate contrast to the other ‘Supersize’ article I selected is the difference in moods each feature creates. I’ve followed an occurring theme in the examples I’m selecting as all of the newspaper publication regard the health/weight genre I am revolving my documentary around. The Daily Records argues how involvement with these programmes can be beneficial to those who participate them (regarding them in a positive light) whilst the other one on the previous slide indicates the devastation they can promote – especially by encouraging the development of life threatening eating disorders to those that signed up and the viewers they influence back at home.  Both the ‘Record’ and ‘Mail’ papers situate their mastheads above the webpage search panel, although my product will be print based and not viral I think it may be of benefit to me to acknowledge where they have decided to place the main masthead. It can be perceived that many newspapers will replicate their names and place them inside the paper (or in this case above every article within the confines of the website) – this is obviously to emphasize to the reader the name of the production they are reading. If the audience like the features that are presented to them then its more than likely they will purchase that said item again, by being able to constantly relate back to the masthead on each page it burrows in the name, this  will means its unlikely to be forgotten therefore re alliterating the message that this is a worthy product for the reader to buy. Although it is unrelated to the content of my article I believe if I place a smaller masthead above it in the corner, it will allow my newspaper to appear my authentic to the eye and add that professional feel to the final outcome. Both the masthead’s for the ‘Mail’ and ‘Record’ are filled in bold – this is just an additional way for the editors to make their stories more intriguing and appealing for the reader to observe therefore

   Both the masthead’s for the ‘Mail’ and ‘Record’ are filled in bold – this is just an additional way for the editors to make their stories more intriguing and appealing .Their more likely to be persuaded to read the piece out of curiosity as a writer would not highlight something if it was not of any relevant neccessity or importance, it is a vital method as importantly its techniques such as this which sell the product and make a steady income for the company. Similarly as what I witnessed whilst deconstructing the two Daily Mail articles, the Record employs the use of capital font to enhance the feel of a particular word or phrase. Instead of beginning with an initial introductory paragraph, the editors have employed what I would describe as a short byline for the first word of which is in upper casing. Unlike the Mail which colors its significant text in bold, this remains in the same palette of color as the remainder of the text. To assume it’s a universal feature of most newspapers to highlight major segments of their features seems plausible, when constructing my final feature for my adjoining documentary product I am very foremost for using large, upper case, bold font for the necessity in drawing in the target audience’s attention directly to the interesting sections of the article – if they enjoy what they see they will be encouraged to continue reading and what’s more it is likely the emphasized fragments will linger on their minds allowing them to muse over what was said (this is critical for the point I’m attempting to establish in my feature as I want others to understand the complete desolation eating disorders can cause for an individual) Another point to focus upon is the use of a high definition image amongst the paragraphs within the article, this can also be seen in the Daily Mail. I was originally planning on using one large central photograph of an anorexic sufferer (who would be featured as a key element in my documentary) followed by a few subsidiary images placed at the bottom of the page for additional visual information to the audience (these could be of other individuals, a hospital, home or city landscape I wasn’t entirely sure of what else to include however it was established it must be of some reference to eating disorders). I am still thoroughly set to use a blown up shot but I’m swayed to cut the extra images down to maybe just one as it seems newspaper articles do not rely extensively on carefully managed and crafted photographic images to attract the underlying interest of the audience – it appears one is just suffice. The Records newspaper article has a fairly simple yet effective layout, it mirrors the Mail by having an opening ‘byline’ as a dramatic introductory sentence, which is quickly followed by the main photograph with the rest of the feature in continuation. This is yet another identification that indicates a universal theme among general layouts in most magazines, despite me wanting a unique cover story for my documentary I think it would be safe to abide by traditional conventions in some parts (such as layout, text and editing styles) as this is a common recognisable aspect of many magazines which deems professionalism and a sense of respect from readers.