Further Research of Newspapers

Newspaper Identity

Whether it is a national, local, tabloid or broadsheet, each newspaper has its own identity. Newspaper employs its own specific codes and conventions to create their identity. For instance, The Sun has defined its own position within the genre of tabloid newspapers, defining and exploiting its own particular codes and conventions within the genre of national tabloid newspaper. It remains secure within its own, clearly established, ideological position. However, newspapers such as The Wiltshire Times which is a local newspaper uses codes and conventions of national tabloid newspapers. This is to achieve a particular identity within its local market. There is a conflict between this attempt to operate as a national tabloid and its identity as a local newspaper, reporting on local issues. The audience for The Sun and The Wiltshire Times may overlap but the audience for The Wiltshire Times may be seen as educated, traditional from the middle class and affluent.

The key conventions of the popular press are common to all newspapers; however, the way they are employed is quite distinct from the quality press. Typically, front pages are designed to grab attention and generate the audience’s interest and use short, bold headlines and an enlarged dramatic central image. Even within the popular press itself, there is variety and difference between titles. Newspapers use a mix of snatched and posed photography and images can be cropped or enlarged using various technologies such as Photoshop. The way a picture is positioned and the accompanying caption are all part of a number of factors that can affect the audience’s interpretation of an image.