3. Sara Mcgranaghan
Characters
On the front cover the main image is of Broughton Rugby Team, showing a group of younger
men stood behind an older man who is knelt down. The image is quite intimate as they are
stood close together with their arms around one another. The rugby kit and rugby ball in the
image shows they are athletic. As the man knelt down is at the front of the group photo, he
looks the most important person in the image. He is 64 years old and has been playing for
the team for 45 years which is why he is the main focus in the team photo. This man is the
hero within the story as he clearly idolized for his dedication to the rugby club and is
admired by his fellow team mates for continuing playing rugby at an old age.
On the second page there is a small close up photo of the MP Paul Goggins who has passed
away. The image shows him looking very formal as he is wearing a suit. He appears very
clean cut and looks an important figure, showing he is a professional. He also appears a
happy and pleasant character as he is smiling in the image. He could be viewed as a hero in
this story as he was a politician who is described as being "popular" in the caption. Although
there are no images of the people involved, on the second page there is a story of a local man
who murdered a woman in Cambodia. As he is a very violent and dangerous person, he is the
villain in this story as he is a murderer. The Cambodian police who solved the murder case
and captured the criminal are the hero's within this story as they have remanded a
dangerous man.
Iconography
On the front cover the main image is of Broughton Rugby team. This rugby team is iconic of
Salford as it has been part of the community for a long time. Many people in Salford will
know this rugby team due to being around so long, having a positive impact. People who
recognise the players and who are familiar with the team will be encouraged to buy the
newspaper due to seeing a familiar club and faces.
On the front cover there is an advertisement for enrolling at college which shows the Salford
City College logo. This is a logo which is very recognisable within Salford as it is the main
form of sixth form education. As this is in the Salford Advertiser, it is iconic of Salford due to
being where many people young and old both gain qualifications, benefiting the community.
Setting
The team on the main image are all wearing the Broughton rugby team kit. This shows that
the newspaper is based locally as Broughton is a rugby team in Salford.
The advertisement for Salford College shows that this is a newspaper based in Salford also as
it is advertising for people to enrol for January courses. The logo is very familiar and people
who live in Salford will recognise this logo.
On the second page there is a long shot of a hotel. It says in the caption that the image is of
The Bolyna Palace Hotel in Cambodia. The hotel appears to be quite seedy and out-dated,
which is reinforced by the £12 a night fee the article states. Although this is not local news, a
man fromEccles has been arrested with the murder of somebody in this hotel which readers
are likely to be interested in.
4. Sara Mcgranaghan
Narrative Events
In the main rugby team image, Levi Strauss' theory of opposition is used showing youth and
age as the majority of the team look quite young apart from the man knelt down at the front.
He appears to be relatively older than the rest of his team mates and this is highlighted as he
is knelt down in the centre of the photo.
The headline on the front cover "Joy as IVF rejection is overturned after blunder" shows
Todorov's 5th stage, the restoration of equilibrium as it is clear to the reader that a problem
has been resolved. A woman was denied IVF treatment because she was single however this
decision has been overturned and she is now eligible for the IVF treatment.
In the Cambodia hotel article on the second page, Todorov's 2nd stage of disruption is shown
as a body was discovered in the hotel by a cleaner. This article also shows the 5th stage, the
restoration of equilibrium as the police have captured the criminal who was responsible for
the murder.
Technical codes
The Guttenberg principle has been used on the newspaper as the masthead has been
conventionally placed in the primary optical area, allowing readers to easily recognize it. The
main image takes up the axis of orientation; this is a local rugby team and so using the image
on the centre of the page for the local newspaper will interest the readers of the newspaper.
The use of photographs taking up a large proportion of the page is a conventional code of
local newspapers, based on ones that I have analysed.
There are two advertisements on the front page, and also two large ones on the second page.
Advertisements appear quite frequently on local newspapers, although they appear around
the main images and stories.
The colour scheme is red, yellow and blue which are very colourful. This is a positive image
which creates an informal image to the newspaper.
