After looking at existing local newspaper websites I was able to recognise a layout that was common within these websites. All of the websites I looked at had a simple layout and interactive features that allowed the audience to connect with the website.

Research into newspaper websites-

All of these websites follow a similar layout and they all use the same features. Which is what i plan to replicate in my own website. The key features of the website appear to be

- A Masthead

- Menu bar- with links to other pages on the website

- hyperlinked article headlines

- adverts for local businesses

- interactive features such as feedback forms

- 'log in' feauture

- search bar

- accompanying images for articles

- captions on all photographs

Newspaper Poster First Draft-

This is the first draft of my newspaper poster. At the moment there is a temporary headline when I have created the newspaper front cover I will replace it with the headline shown on that. Seemingly from research he headline will be less shocking but related to incidents within the local area.
             The layout will remain the same with the focus being on the headline, while the masthead will be shown in the centre at the top of the page. The page curl in the bottom right of the page gives the effect of a newspaper page; it is as if the poster can be turned over to reveal more about the story. I have done this to draw the reader in and make them want to go and buy the paper rather than just look at the poster.

Questionnaire Results-

After undertaking a questionnaire it was clear the audience preferred one masthead in particular- Masthead 4 which is shown below. The questionnire involved a sample of individuals aged between 15 and 50 which is the age range i found were most interested in the news in their local area. The table below shows the results of the questionnaire. I have then converted the table of results into a pie chart which claerly illustrates the percentage of the sample that voted for each Masthead.

 

Masthead	Number of ticks
Masthead 1	4
Masthead 2	4
Masthead 3	3
Masthead 4	9
Total	20

The questionnaire results showed that Masthead 4 (shown below) was the favourite of the audience therefore this is the masthead that will be used throughout the production of my coursework.



Possible Mastheads -

The following are mastheads that I have created based on the earlier post about existing local newspaper mastheads. As there are several different options I have decided to make a questionnaire in order to decide which is the most effective and which the target audience like best.