North Somerset Times Cover

The image to the left features an annotated cover of the North Somerset Times. The main story featured involves talking about how recent cost issues have caused Gordano School to put their pitch floodlights out on a night time. Also this story could be interpreted as boring and dull, the fact that it is centred around a local school illuminates the fact that the paper is locally based and therefore triggering the interest of local people. Similarly to The Post, the colour scheme featured seems to evolve around the patriotic colour palette of red, white and blue. This also illustrates the fact that the paper is British and gives an insight as to where the paper is based. However, unlike The Post, the colour scheme is not as clear or apparent seeing as the advertisements featured tend not to comply with it as much. The layout of the advertisements also seem to differentiate from the Post. Although both papers feature the use of multiple adverts forming some sort of banner, the Times seems to feature more than the Post and the adverts featured are much larger and located within the bottom third of the page. However, i don't feel that the layout of advertisements on the Times works as effectively as the layout of the Post as the adverts seem to dominate too much space on the page, and the use of primary colours draws attention away from the main story and cause distraction from its content. Also, the isolated advert located next to the nameplate appears out of place and does't fit well into the layout due to the different colours used and the adverts location. Yet the technique of featuring advertisements for local businesses works effectively as it helps illuminate the fact that the newspaper is locally based which could help the paper appeal to local readers. 

Unlike The Post, the nameplate featured on this paper appears to be split into two sections. A smaller much less bold nameplate is included above a much larger, shorter one. The nameplate is possibly split so that they could provoke the reader to shorten 'Nailsea, Clevedon & Portishead Times' to just the 'Times' which is much shorter and more catchy. The use of slang and abbreviation in this technique may also be a way to appeal to younger audiences which incorporate slang and abbreviations into their everyday language. Beneath the nameplate, the paper features the use of bar lines that act as banners to help split up the page. The bold use of blue and red help the bar lines stand out and links them into the colour scheme effectively. The fact that the paper features text inside each of these bar lines helps give the reader information about the paper such as the date and time so that the reader feels well informed and up to date with information. Unlike the post, a list of the main stories included within the paper is also featured to help give the reader an insight as to the papers content which could possibly trigger their interest.

The front page stories seem to be split into two sections. Although there are two separate stories featured, at an initial glance, the reader may be influenced to believed that there is just one due to the use of the larger bolder headline which is placed along the width of the page, despite one half of the width being occupied by a different story. This may confused the reader which could potentially disappoint as the story is not what they expected. However, the stories use columns and margins to help differentiate between the two stories as well as the use of a red border around one of the stories which shows the reader that the story is separate. The headline itself is enlarged and in bold which suggests the texts importance despite not being capitalised. Similarly to the post, the utilisation of jump lines at the end of each story informs the reader of where the story continues and creates potential interest as the reader may feel interested in the beginning of the story and will therefore buy the paper to continue reading.  A variance in text styles helps differentiate between the introduction between the introduction and the rest of the story which will make the introduction stand out amongst the rest of the story. This could grab the readers attention and persuade them to read on.
Along the bottom of the page, a bar line acts as a banner which helps frame the page effectively. It adopts to the newspapers colour scheme effectively which also helps link the whole page together to make it flow well. Inside the bar line, the newspaper promotes its advetising and gives the reader information about how to advertise inside of the paper. This is helpful for local businesses and also increases the likelihood of sponsors to help fund the newspaper.

Overall, i feel that the layout of this page works quite effectively as it follows a colour scheme, and features jump lines and information about the newspapers content which helps trigger the readers interest which persuades them to buy the paper. It also advertises local businesses which help attract local readers and gives them an insight about their local news. However, the colour scheme is not as clear as The Post's colour scheme due to the variety of different colours featured within the adverts. The adverts also take up a large amount of space and make the page appear significantly more busy and less attractive. Lastly, the use of one large headline heading two different stories could be misleading and confusing for the reader. Therefore i feel this cover is much less effective than The Post's cover.