Research & Planning

Below is going to be the order I am going to schedule out my research and planning for my local newspaper. I do not know the exact times and dates I will carry these out, but this will give me a basic idea of what to do on a step by step basis.

Research

For my primary research I am going to produce a simple questionnaire aimed at the age group of 16-19. I am choosing this as my target audience, as I belong to this age group and I have a direct opinion on the given topic. There is also a gap in the market for a free local newspaper for a teenager of this age group. The questionnaire I will produce will be asking 16-19 year olds what they would prefer a newspaper targeted at their age group to be like. Although my main newspaper will be targeted at this age group I will also have news that would relate to all ages. When I have collected the results I will create a graph to easily identify the most popular trends. For secondary research I will also look at other local newspapers and look what information they give and if it fully appeals to their target audiences. I will also look specifically at free newspapers to see what type of advertising they use. I will then also hold a focus group to obtain more in depth information to help me produce my final draft.

Planning

Planning is essential in all areas of media, especially when making a newspaper. The planning that I carry out will hopefully develop my final product to be as good as it could possibly be.

I will plan basic structures, layouts, colours and fonts on photoshop that I think will be appropriate to my target audience. I will want my pages to be busy and every space filled to keep the audience interested. I will also plan the content of my newspaper, deciding what is newsworthy for my front and first pages.

I will always update my blog and check what I have last completed and what I need to do next.

As my newspaper will be available to access in local colleges and other local services in Knowsley, i.e buses, sports centres and NHS buildings, it will be free to access and will earn all profits from advertising.