Monday, 25 February 2013
Thursday, 21 February 2013
Questionnaire Results - Analysis
In order for my local newspaper to be successful I have to consider the
answers given in relation to my questionnaire.
Question 1: How do you access the news?
Fifty percent of the people answered that they access the news through television whilst thirty percent are informed about the news through the internet and the rest of the twenty percent had other ways of accessing the news. This shows that teenagers of today aren't informed about the news through newspapers anymore. Baring this in mind, I have to consider when making my newspaper whether my target audience will actually read my newspaper. The twenty percent of people who had other ways of accessing the news relied on their news Apps on their phones and iPods. This shows that my target audience are more inclined to reading the news when its accessible through handheld devices.
Question 2: Do you enjoy reading a newspaper?
When asked this question, sixty-five percent of people said that they did enjoy reading a newspaper. This allows me to feel more confident about creating my newspaper as some teenagers do actually enjoy reading a newspaper. However, twenty-five percent of people said they didn't enjoy reading a newspaper, I now have to consider how to make my newspaper enjoyable, fun but still informative. The rest of the ten percent said that they enjoy reading a newspaper sometimes.
Question 3: What is your favourite newspaper?
Fifty of percent of people asked said that 'The Sun' was their favourite newspaper. Twenty-five percent of people said that 'The Metro' was their favourite newspaper. The rest of the twenty five percent stated different other newspapers. The answers given to this question didn't surprise me as I was expecting to see several tabloid newspapers as some of the favourite newspapers that teenagers like to read. This is simply because tabloids are more targeted to a younger, working class audience which is why most of their content is based on celebrities, fashion, horoscopes and competitions. With both 'The Sun' and 'The Metro' being tabloids they are more likely to appeal to a similar target audience of who I am aiming my newspaper to. This also suggests that in order for my newspaper to be successful I have to consider adding tabloid features to my local newspaper so that it will appeal to my target audience. The rest of the other twenty-five percent who stated other newspapers named 'The Financial Times', The Guardian and 'The Daily Mirror'. This shows that not all teenagers are interested in celebrities and fashion, some do enjoy reading about politics and finance. In relation to my newspaper, I will bare this in mind and still feature a political story in my newspaper which would hopefully attract the teenagers that do enjoy reading about politics.
Question 4: On average, how many times would you say you read a newspaper?
When asked this question forty-five percent of people said that they read a newspaper only once a week. Twenty-five percent said that they read a newspaper twice a week. Twenty percent said three times or more and the rest of the ten percent said that they don’t read a newspaper. My local newspaper will be distributed once a month, this is because I feel that teenagers don’t want to have an overload of news all the time. I think they would prefer to have a large amount of news given to them every now and then.
Question 5: What interests you in a newspaper?
Fifty-five percent of people said that celebrities interest them in a newspaper. Twenty-five percent said that sports are what they find most interesting in a newspaper. Fifteen percent were most interested in fashion and the rest of the five percent said politics. This has helped me to come to the conclusion that I need to feature some of these subject matters in my newspaper so that my target audience read the newspaper.
Question 6: What else would you like to see in a newspaper?
A majority of people at seventy percent said that they would like to see more of celebrities in a newspaper. While twenty percent said that they would like to more sports and ten percent had various different answers such as fashion, politics and even upcoming events. This questionnaire has allowed me to see that teenagers are mostly interested in sports and celebrities so therefore I have to feature these subject matters in local newspaper in order to please my audience.
Question 7: Do you feel informed about your community through your local paper?
Twenty- five percent of people said that they felt informed about their community through their local paper. Whereas, seventy- five percent of people said that they did not feel informed. This has made me think about how I am going to make sure that the teenagers of Blackheath feel informed about their community through my local paper. In order for them to feel informed I think I will create a newspaper that will only focus on the area of Blackheath rather than creating a borough based newspaper such as 'Greenwich Times' which focuses on all districts within the Greenwich borough. This is because I feel that a borough based newspaper only features major stories that have happened in that borough which means that if nothing major has happened in a particular district that district won’t even be mentioned in that newspaper. Therefore my aim is to ensure that I feature any story that will help people the teenager of Blackheath feel a bit more informed about their community.
Question 8: What would attract you to read your local newspaper?
Please consider layout when answering this question
Half of the people asked said that pictures are what would attract them into reading their local newspaper. Thirty percent said that the colours used are what would attract them and the rest of the twenty percent had different answers such as the font, the sizing and placement of everything. Because my newspaper is aimed at teenagers I have to ensure that there is a fair amount of pictures as not that many want to read long articles. I also have to consider using bright colours to attract my audience and to make my newspaper eye-catching.
Question 9: What would make you read your local newspaper?
Most people had different answers such as politics, a make-up column, cooking tips and some said nothing. Twenty-five percent said celebrities, twenty percent answered football and the remaining ten percent claimed that they would read their local newspaper only if it featured a fashion section. I will definitely consider these subject matters when creating my local newspaper.
Question 10: Would you read your local newspaper? If not please state why.
Forty percent of people answered that they wouldn’t read their local newspaper and one of the main reason was because they found it boring. This has made me more determined to produce something that won’t be deemed as boring but fun. I think by including what my audience wants to see in a newspaper would make it more enjoyable and hopefully fun. However sixty percent of people did answer that they would read a newspaper.
Question 1: How do you access the news?
Fifty percent of the people answered that they access the news through television whilst thirty percent are informed about the news through the internet and the rest of the twenty percent had other ways of accessing the news. This shows that teenagers of today aren't informed about the news through newspapers anymore. Baring this in mind, I have to consider when making my newspaper whether my target audience will actually read my newspaper. The twenty percent of people who had other ways of accessing the news relied on their news Apps on their phones and iPods. This shows that my target audience are more inclined to reading the news when its accessible through handheld devices.
Question 2: Do you enjoy reading a newspaper?
When asked this question, sixty-five percent of people said that they did enjoy reading a newspaper. This allows me to feel more confident about creating my newspaper as some teenagers do actually enjoy reading a newspaper. However, twenty-five percent of people said they didn't enjoy reading a newspaper, I now have to consider how to make my newspaper enjoyable, fun but still informative. The rest of the ten percent said that they enjoy reading a newspaper sometimes.
Question 3: What is your favourite newspaper?
Fifty of percent of people asked said that 'The Sun' was their favourite newspaper. Twenty-five percent of people said that 'The Metro' was their favourite newspaper. The rest of the twenty five percent stated different other newspapers. The answers given to this question didn't surprise me as I was expecting to see several tabloid newspapers as some of the favourite newspapers that teenagers like to read. This is simply because tabloids are more targeted to a younger, working class audience which is why most of their content is based on celebrities, fashion, horoscopes and competitions. With both 'The Sun' and 'The Metro' being tabloids they are more likely to appeal to a similar target audience of who I am aiming my newspaper to. This also suggests that in order for my newspaper to be successful I have to consider adding tabloid features to my local newspaper so that it will appeal to my target audience. The rest of the other twenty-five percent who stated other newspapers named 'The Financial Times', The Guardian and 'The Daily Mirror'. This shows that not all teenagers are interested in celebrities and fashion, some do enjoy reading about politics and finance. In relation to my newspaper, I will bare this in mind and still feature a political story in my newspaper which would hopefully attract the teenagers that do enjoy reading about politics.
Question 4: On average, how many times would you say you read a newspaper?
When asked this question forty-five percent of people said that they read a newspaper only once a week. Twenty-five percent said that they read a newspaper twice a week. Twenty percent said three times or more and the rest of the ten percent said that they don’t read a newspaper. My local newspaper will be distributed once a month, this is because I feel that teenagers don’t want to have an overload of news all the time. I think they would prefer to have a large amount of news given to them every now and then.
Question 5: What interests you in a newspaper?
Fifty-five percent of people said that celebrities interest them in a newspaper. Twenty-five percent said that sports are what they find most interesting in a newspaper. Fifteen percent were most interested in fashion and the rest of the five percent said politics. This has helped me to come to the conclusion that I need to feature some of these subject matters in my newspaper so that my target audience read the newspaper.
Question 6: What else would you like to see in a newspaper?
A majority of people at seventy percent said that they would like to see more of celebrities in a newspaper. While twenty percent said that they would like to more sports and ten percent had various different answers such as fashion, politics and even upcoming events. This questionnaire has allowed me to see that teenagers are mostly interested in sports and celebrities so therefore I have to feature these subject matters in local newspaper in order to please my audience.
Question 7: Do you feel informed about your community through your local paper?
Twenty- five percent of people said that they felt informed about their community through their local paper. Whereas, seventy- five percent of people said that they did not feel informed. This has made me think about how I am going to make sure that the teenagers of Blackheath feel informed about their community through my local paper. In order for them to feel informed I think I will create a newspaper that will only focus on the area of Blackheath rather than creating a borough based newspaper such as 'Greenwich Times' which focuses on all districts within the Greenwich borough. This is because I feel that a borough based newspaper only features major stories that have happened in that borough which means that if nothing major has happened in a particular district that district won’t even be mentioned in that newspaper. Therefore my aim is to ensure that I feature any story that will help people the teenager of Blackheath feel a bit more informed about their community.
Question 8: What would attract you to read your local newspaper?
Please consider layout when answering this question
Half of the people asked said that pictures are what would attract them into reading their local newspaper. Thirty percent said that the colours used are what would attract them and the rest of the twenty percent had different answers such as the font, the sizing and placement of everything. Because my newspaper is aimed at teenagers I have to ensure that there is a fair amount of pictures as not that many want to read long articles. I also have to consider using bright colours to attract my audience and to make my newspaper eye-catching.
Question 9: What would make you read your local newspaper?
Most people had different answers such as politics, a make-up column, cooking tips and some said nothing. Twenty-five percent said celebrities, twenty percent answered football and the remaining ten percent claimed that they would read their local newspaper only if it featured a fashion section. I will definitely consider these subject matters when creating my local newspaper.
Question 10: Would you read your local newspaper? If not please state why.
Forty percent of people answered that they wouldn’t read their local newspaper and one of the main reason was because they found it boring. This has made me more determined to produce something that won’t be deemed as boring but fun. I think by including what my audience wants to see in a newspaper would make it more enjoyable and hopefully fun. However sixty percent of people did answer that they would read a newspaper.
Monday, 18 February 2013
Primary Research
For my primary research I decided to create a questionnaire which included both open and closed questions. The reason for this was to establish what my target audience would want to see in a local newspaper and most importantly whether they would even read a local newspaper. My questionnaire was distributed to 20 teenagers within the age range of my target audience of 16-19 year olds.
NEWSPAPER
QUESTIONAIRE
1. How do
you access the news?
2. Do you
enjoy reading a newspaper?
3. What is
your favourite newspaper?
4. On
average, how many times would you say you read a newspaper?
5. What
interests you in a newspaper?
6. What else would you like to see in a
newspaper?
7. Do you
feel informed about your community through your local paper?
8. What
would attract you to read your local newspaper?
(Please consider layout when answering this question)
9. What would make you read your local newspaper?
10.
Would you read your local newspaper? If
not, please state why.
Conclusion Drawn
As my task is to create a local newspaper, I have decided to create a local - tabloid newspaper. This is because my newspaper will be targeted at teenagers so therefore it needs to be able to appeal to them. A broadsheet would have been too formal and serious for teenagers whereas a tabloid has characteristics that appeal to a younger target audience such as, huge illustrations and big, bold headings which are some of the things that I will include in my newspaper to help target my audience.
The main article of my newspaper will be based on the closure of Blackheath Bluecoats School. The reason for this is because, according to Herbet Blumer's theory based on Interaction and Structuration, 'human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them.' In relation to my newspaper I believe the local teenagers will be attracted to this article as it a story that is about their local area.
Tuesday, 4 December 2012
Audience Research - Theory
Individuals actively consume and use the media to meet certain needs, this iswhat was indentified by the theorisists Blumler and Katz. In this theory we see that there are four basic audience needs:
- Diversion where the audience use the media for escapism or emotional release from everyday pressure.
- Personal Relationships the idea that the audience needs companionship with 'known' TV programmes characters as well as the interaction with other people who an discuss the TV programmes.
- Personal Identity the ability to compare ones own life with characters' lives and situations, thereby gaining a perspective on one's own life.
- Surveillance being given the opportunity to see what else is going on in the world.
I hope that my newspaper will act as an escapism for those teengers that may be seeking something to take their minds off any personal problems that they maybe facing in their lives. I also hope that it will be entertaininng for them too.
Audience Research
Social Class of Blackheath
Blackheath is a village which caters to the middle classs. With so many independent and 'high -end' shops being located there, for instance Raffles, Fiorelli and Bullfrogs, this suggests that those living there can afford to shop in these shops and can also relate to the income and occupation of those living there. Income and occupation also helps to determine a person's social status whereby, the more someone earns the higher their social status is in society. Another factor which helped determine the social class of those living in Blackheath is education. The people of Blackheath are seen to be highly educated and with several private schools located there, this also helps to determine the social class.
Demographics
Blackheath is a suburb of London, located in the Lewisham Borough. Its name derives from the large open public grassland, which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west. The centre of Blackheath, 'the village', is located to the south side of the heath, near Blackheath Railway station. This is also where a lot of the shops, restraurants and pubs are located. There is also the 'All Saints Parish Church' which is also located on the heath itself. One mile to the north-east, Blackheath Standard is another shopping area.
Ethnicity
People that live in Blackheath are majority white. Despite this, Blackheath does have diverse ethnic groups.
Blackheath is a village which caters to the middle classs. With so many independent and 'high -end' shops being located there, for instance Raffles, Fiorelli and Bullfrogs, this suggests that those living there can afford to shop in these shops and can also relate to the income and occupation of those living there. Income and occupation also helps to determine a person's social status whereby, the more someone earns the higher their social status is in society. Another factor which helped determine the social class of those living in Blackheath is education. The people of Blackheath are seen to be highly educated and with several private schools located there, this also helps to determine the social class.Demographics
Blackheath is a suburb of London, located in the Lewisham Borough. Its name derives from the large open public grassland, which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west. The centre of Blackheath, 'the village', is located to the south side of the heath, near Blackheath Railway station. This is also where a lot of the shops, restraurants and pubs are located. There is also the 'All Saints Parish Church' which is also located on the heath itself. One mile to the north-east, Blackheath Standard is another shopping area.
Lifestyle
The lifestyle of those who live in Blackheath is reflective of their social status whereby the people of Blackheath are seen to be of the the middle class. This implies that because their of the middle class, their income is higher than those of the working class, so therefore they can afford to maintain a slightly wealthy lifestyle. The hobbies of those living in Blackheath include activities such as kite flying, croquet and yoga.
The lifestyle of those who live in Blackheath is reflective of their social status whereby the people of Blackheath are seen to be of the the middle class. This implies that because their of the middle class, their income is higher than those of the working class, so therefore they can afford to maintain a slightly wealthy lifestyle. The hobbies of those living in Blackheath include activities such as kite flying, croquet and yoga. Ethnicity
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