Deconstruction of Local Newspaper: 'The Post: Barking & Dagenham'

Front Cover:

The Title of the newspaper is at the top of the page and is clearly visable among the white background; in effect making it stand out; also clearly visable just below the title is all the important information that a buyer might need/want to know; such as, the date of issue, the website and the price. Unlike other newspapers it specifically states how many people buy the paper a week.

The Headline is short and to the point. The Headline is important to the newspaper because it is what a consumer will see first; if the Headline doesn't capture the reader then most likely they will not buy it. Therefore, the impact of the Headline is the most important feature of the newspaper. The Headline 'I'm No Yob' is set to cause some controversy and intriguement into what has taken place. The Headline is short and snappy because the newspaper wants to create as much of an impact as possible in order for people to buy it. The headline is placed on the left hand side of the page with a picture in the middle. What is different from many other papers is that there is no other headlines on the front page, only advertisements. The Headline is set against a black background and is put in capitals to make it stand out and to show it's importance.

Below the Headline there is a box which states the journalists name and the fact that the story is 'EXCLUSIVE', a term which many papers use if they have an interview or if they get to the story first. It contrives the audience into believing that the paper is on top of the news also the writning in this box is red which makes it stand out on the page. Below this is a text box which features the first part of the story; developing on the headline above. It's set into coloumns which is a design that most newspapers use. Also next to the box (and underneath the picturte) there is the information that the story 'continues on page three. This information is in white and can easily be seen against the dark background.

There is only one picture and it is placed in the middle of the front page. The picture takes up around a fifth of the page and refers to the person in the article. The picture hasn't been edited and looks realistic. The only part that has been edited is at top and at the bottom of the page where the background has been removed.
There are many adverts placed around the front page, many from local companies in the area. One of the adverts is placed directly below the title of the newspaper and is easily clearly visible to the reader. It takes up rather a large amount of space on the front but adverts are important to local newspapers because the adverts are a main source of income for them. There are a couple more adverts placed around the page, one is directly next to the title and another is placed below at bottom right hand side of the paper. The adverts are important because they are not from large conglomorate companies; instead local companies that are in the area.

The layout of the newspaper (especially the front) is important. It is what people first notice when they see a newspaper and is the moment when someone decideds if they will buy it or not. The layout to the paper is quite bland, there is only one headline on the page and only one picture. Instead of other headlines they are replaced by advertisements around the page. The title (like most other papers) is placed at the top of the page in the left hand corner; another paper that also does this is