BRIEF TWO: CODES AND CONVENTIONS RESEARCH + USING FOUND IMAGES

You work for an independent media production company. You have been given the task of creating a mockup version of the front cover of a new newspaper called Guardian Youth. This paper will be aimed at 16 to 25 year olds, who share similar social and political biases to the current readership of The Guardian newspaper. 

STEP ONE

Find (AT LEAST) six front covers of The Guardian from 2024.

Guardian-7.jpg (1609×2048) (tomorrowspapers.co.uk)

Use the link to navigate to different dates by changing the 03 (Month) or the 7 (Day).

STEP TWO

Create a PowerPoint in which you present an analysis of the conventions of the cover of the newspaper. 

You should include analysis of:

• The Masthead.
• The use of images (Think about what is in the image and the intended effect)
• Captions (Text that is beneath or inlaid into the image)
• The Header and Footer 
• The layout of the page.
• The content of lead article (splash)
• The content of the off lead (secondary article)
• The language used in headlines (is it sensationalist/subtle)
• Pull Quotes
• Teasers 
• PLUS - Anything else that you notice.

In addition, consider: 

• The ideological messaging.

STEP THREE

Once you have a clear sense of the conventions of  The Guardian, create a cover that develops and adapts these conventions to appeal to your target audience. 

NB: Your finished product should be recognisable as a Guardian product, but should clearly appeal to the new target audience.

STEP FOUR

Add your production to your PowerPoint and evaluate how you developed and adapted the conventions of The Guardian. Post the task to your Practice Tasks section of your blog using the title: PRACTIC BRIEF TWO: CODES AND CONVENTIONS RESEARCH + USING FOUND IMAGES

NB: This is a mockup task, so you may use found images. 

MARKSCHEME FOR LIVE MARKING

	L1	L2	L3	L4	L5
Research is thorough and well presented
Clear understanding of the conventions of the original text
Clear understanding of the needs of the target audience
Representations are appropriate to the genre and the audience
Clearly follows the details of the set brief
L1: Minimal, L2: Limited, L3: Adequate, L4: Good, L5: Excellent	1	2	3	4	5