Newspaper:

For my coursework I have chosen to do Brief two. I am going to produce the front cover and double page spread from a local newspaper called “The Jersey Telegram” that reports on the effects of those in authority and the corruption involved. The news paper will comment on hard news regarding the social issues across the globe. I aim for this newspaper to have a libertarian, left wing political compass because of it’s focus on the oppressed social groups within society which links into Habermas’s theory of the public sphere and the free liberal press.

My main story will be a slightly fabricated non-fictional report featuring the new abortion ban which has been put in place in America. The stand-first headline on the front page will be “Misogyny disguised through apparent ethical choice ban abortion in the U.S” My style model in which my layout will follow is the ‘Jersey Evening Post’ which is a local newspaper in Jersey. I will include links to supplementary stories as well as a secondary story and a masthead. I will use ‘Adobe Photoshop’ and ‘InDesign’ in order to create a professional newspaper design. I imagine my audience to engage actively rather than passively as I want them to challenge and reflect by using their voice and opinions to take action.

On the double page spread I will include six images which will have a caption underneath and a headline that stretches across both pages. On the left-hand side it will consist of a fictional story about a student at Hautlieu School and her efforts in protesting against pro-life opinions whilst also linking to the UK’s criticism for silently removing the pledge for sexual health rights. On the right-hand side it will include talking about the effects and updates of the abortion law in America.

Promotional Flyers:

I intend to create three promotional flyers with a target audience of sixth form college students which will help to inform students of their options when it comes to supporting the issue and if they know someone who may need the help themselves. I will use the already official hashtag of #womensrightsarehumanrights and a series of images as dominant signifiers. The campaigns would be produced by an independent group in order to educate young people about their options and the importance of knowing the choices available.

For my first flyer, I aim to raise the importance of shame and guilt that many women feel when they are presented this choice by using the image of a girl looking at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. The next flyer will focus on the importance on talking to someone and not using self-isolation or silence as a coping strategy. I intend to include a picture of a girl sitting on the floor against a wall. She will be holding a pregnancy test whilst her facial expressions will reflect a negative reaction. Both images in each flyer will be in black and white. I have decided to do this to create a more intimate sense for the consumer whilst also mirroring the seriousness and importance of the subject. The final flyer will include statistics about abortion around the world to show abortion as essential health care. I will use a pie chart and the shape tool to create some design to the flyer in order to make this more intriguing and an easier read. All three flyers will include the same four colours: Black, white, pink and red. The colour red is a symbolic signifier and will be used to symbolise the importance and danger around the topic. By utilising the same colours, I have shown the link from one flyer to another but whilst also keeping their unique presentation and focusing on the different parts around the controversial topic.

STATEMENT OF INTENT

For my NEA Coursework, I have chosen Brief 2, where you create a front page and a double page spread from a regional newspaper reporting on a social and/or political issue of interest to its broad local audience. 

For my main story, I will focus on the United Kingdom’s teenage mental health. This is a serious subject and by doing this, I can raise awareness and explore into the causes of mental health. 

For my campaign flyers, I will create three that raise awareness for mental health. To make these, I will use Photoshop along with Canva. All three flyers will have the hashtag #YouAreNotAlone as a social media challenge for people to connect people together going through the same thing. 

For my first flyer, I intend on using the main text to read ‘You are NOT alone’ the same as my newspaper headline. I intend on creating a digital design of a head that has a bouquet of flowers coming out, which will represent how amazing the mind is, and how we should look after it. I will add a floral print background behind the head with flowers, this is to add depth and carry on the floral theme, symbolising that you should treat everything like it is a flower, even yourself. 

For my second flyer, I intend to create a blue gradient background, with a brain in a dark colour to symbolise the fact that you need to take care of your brain/mind. I intend on writing ‘Be kind to your mind’ as this will hopefully remind people, they must be kind to themselves. I will also write ‘It’s okay to not be okay’ inside a speech bubble coming from the brain, to show people that it is okay to not be okay. I will add a QR Code that takes you to the helpline page on Mind’s website so people can get the help they need. 

For my third flyer, I aim to imitate the google search bar. To make this, I will create the ‘Google’ logo and I want this to be a pink gradient to match the pink/orange background. Google frequently changes a letter to an icon; I will imitate this by putting a brain icon to symbolise mental health. I will make it look like somebody is typing into the search bar ‘It’s okay.’ to which I will put the ‘answers.’  

Newspapers all have different Political Compasses/Political bias, where the readers and audience also have those same political views. I will make my newspaper Libertarian left wing, as this will represent my political bias, and the fact that my story is on Mental Health. As theorist James Curran said ‘Reflect a wide range of opinions and interests’, and this is exactly how I intend on my newspaper being. 

For the front cover, I will take a photo of two teenagers talking. I will use the headline ‘You are not alone’ to match with the hashtag on the flyers. The masthead will have a blue background and will read ‘The Island Local.’ This will have a picture of the Jersey flag. I intend on 5 complementary plugs along the side and above the main story. I aim to include an advert at the bottom of the front cover with a barcode, and a contents line underneath to inform my audience what they can find in the newspaper. I aim intend on having the Subheading ‘Teen’s mental health has been worse than ever, how do we make it better?’ and the strap line: ‘Looking into the reasons why teens mental health needs more attention, Natasha Rawley explains how to help young adults in need.’ 

To write the body of the article, I will use Microsoft Word, and then I will import it into ‘InDesign‘, which will allow me to shape the body easily. To design my work, I will use photoshop. For my images, I will take photos and upload it onto InDesign.  

For the double page spread, I aim to take a candid photo of the same teenagers and caption it underneath. The header will say ‘You are not alone: Teen Mental Health.’ The main story title will read ‘Teenager’s mental health reports have increased significantly. What can we do to help?’ To fabricate the newspaper, I aim to write a plug article linking to mental health. I will also write a notice article on Mental health awareness month explaining what the newspaper have done to help. Following my style model, I will have a headshot photo of myself next to my name showing that I am the reporter. Looking into THEORISTS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. My main article will have a drop cap on the first letter of the story, along with my plug article. I intend on creating a header too, this will state the date, page and the name of the newspaper.