Pre-Production Lesson 3- Analysis of 'The News' Print

Over the past week I've collected six issues (Tuesday 5th-  Monday 11th October 2010) of the publication to compare their designs to determine whether that have significant changes or similarities. This will then help me decide on important factors of the production process that I need to incorporate into my layouts later on.
The main sections I focused on included the headlines, language features, content, images, basic layout and advertising:

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Caption: IT'S ALL ABOUT YOU

By using contraction 'IT'S' makes the text seem more casual and conversational for the reader. By using the personal pronoun 'YOU' it isolates the reader creating a sense of individual speciality. Black is simple and is the continuity colour throughout the paper.

The colour connotations for the title are significant to the location of the paper. As Portsmouth is situated by the sea and prominently linked to the navy, the logo is written mainly in blue. The icon of a boat in the centre is an obvious and clear association with the cities history and therefore presents the reader with something they can relate and respond positively too. Finally the font is simple and not targeting a specific age group etc. allowing a larger demographic range.
Also a a marketing scheme they include a sentence "Newspaper of the Year" which shows it's critically acclaimed and therefore worth purchasing. Also as it's written in red it stands out against the white background. 
The main headlines all consisted of local news automatically given it proximity and prominence:
"Taser used in CO-OP knife raid drama"(Gosport- Conflict news)
"Dinosaur fire was an accident"(Southsea- Destruction and currency)
"Taxi driver guilty of sex attacks"(Portsmouth-impact) 
"Tragedy of mum who died in sleep" (Waterlooville- Loss of life)
However there were headlines that branched out to national news but remained focusing on important issues that affect Portsmouth's naval influences:
"The wrong message"(Senior naval officer today criticised the government over strategic defence review- impact and consequences)
"Hands off our Navy, David"(' The News'Hands of our navy campaign- currency)
Although the stories differ in categories of newsworthiness, they still have a defining connection which is 'local'. All this variation in headlines and topics allow the paper to be more versatile and therefore interesting for their readers. 
The language devices also contribute to the overall appeal of the headlines. For example, hyperbolic lexis such as 'Tragedy' and 'Drama' accentuate the content and add a dramatic quality which draws an audience in. Also the use of a metaphoric figure of speech 'hands off' creates a noble, proud feeling for the city as it's 'defending it's Navy'.
The images used for the titles are another important addition to any paper, as it presents a visual insight into the story; 'a picture says a thousand words'. Issues 4, 5 and 6 all placed an image on the right hand side of the text and consisted of an above the waist photography of the focal person involved.  All the covers, apart from one, placed the text within the boundaries of the image:

Issue one broke the norm as the image was too small to include text. Instead they chose to place a large competition advertisement above to fill space. (GET YOUR SECOND DISNEY BOOK JUST £2.99 TODAY)

Personally I feel 'The News' incorporates too many advertisements, as the paper and website look too busy. However just like the website, the print paper also has significant adverts that link to the surrounding area. For instance in issue 1, there is a chance to 'WIN TICKETS TO POMEY V WATFORD'.

I'll probably choose to include some advertisements, but not to this extent as I want the page to remain clear and focus more on the stories.

The layout for all the front covers remain relatively the same:

The first two pages include information detailing the contents of the paper including World news, Your views, comments, agenda, daily essentials, Business, Classified, Family notices, Public notices and Sport, as well as page numbers. It also has 'The Guide' which focuses on what's going on in Portsmouth. This could possibly be a way for the newspaper to target a younger demographic. The weather has an entire column and specifies not only local, but national and international forecasts. Finally it consists of more advertisements and usually the cover story on page 3 and other smaller news articles.