For the Comparison of Front pages, I chose two different newspapers to examine. One is from Chicago and the other one is from Los Angeles.
When I first looked at this newspaper, I thought that it had a lot of appealing features to it. This includes the color, to the font, and finally to the organization of information. The banner of the paper did not contain un-necessary information, but had the title, date, slogan, and website. I noticed one feature that was in extremely small print and it was the cost of the paper. Now, I know that papers are expensive to print, but the price seemed a little over done compared to our area. For people who live in the city or suburbs only have to pay 75 cents, but everyone else has to pay $1.25. Our hometown, Greensburg, paper is only 50 cents a day except for Sunday. I also liked the font of the paper because it seemed so stylish and clean looking. It was easy to read and did not strain my eyes.
This newspaper had a very different banner because of how much more information it contained. It had the date, the slogan, the weather, and a brief news statement about a sporting event. The font that this paper uses seemed similar to the font that the Tribune-Review uses. The price on the brand was at the bottom next to the index and it only costs 50 cents - like ours. Instead of a nice line under the banner, it had the newspapers website and some things that their website has on it such as sudoku and crosswords.
Finally, both of these newspapers had color which made the appearance more attractive. Please refer to Angela's blog entry for a detailed description of color in newspapers.
Click here for the course web page devoted to Comparison of Front Pages.
I looked at the page on a different day than you did, so I can't comment specifically on the pages you're referencing, but I agree that color can be a really big factor in catching a reader's eye. I remember the Setonian first started using color this semester, and it definitely caught my eye more than the black and white issues. Any time you have bright colors pop out at you, you almost can't help but look. Some of the examples I found on the site on 9/29 kind of overdid it in my opinion, though. The Irish Daily Star was kind of garish in its trashy tabloid-style photos, and while it caught my eye, it's not the kind of newspaper I'd be interested in reading for more than a few seconds because the design was so out there.
It is interesting to note what the papers have in common as well as what "personal touches" each paper has. I wonder if the decision on which information to place in the banner and which information to place at the bottom of the paper is based on what that particular newspaper publisher finds most important, if it is based more on what fits well and what doesn't, or if it's a combination of the two.
That's a good question, Jenn. I think that a lot of stylistic issues are associated with the editors and/or newspaper companies and their policies. It is just interesting how some papers are so attractive and some are full of text from top to bottom. Interesting observation, thanks!
Derek, this is really a great entry. You made me think about two things I hadn't taken into consideration in my own critique of the newspaper. These two factors are age and font. I'm pretty sure a child looking at two newspapers, one with tons of color and the other that is drab, would pick the colorful one to check out. But I would also bet that my gram and pap who are 80+ looking at the same two newspaper that the child is looking at would also pick the colorful one. Aesthetics is important to human nature no matter what the age. The other factor, font, is actually what I wrote my reflection on.
Derek, this is really a great entry. You made me think about two things I hadn't taken into consideration in my own critique of the newspaper. These two factors are age and font. I'm pretty sure a child looking at two newspapers, one with tons of color and the other that is drab, would pick the colorful one to check out. But I would also bet that my gram and pap who are 80+ looking at the same two newspaper that the child is looking at would also pick the colorful one. Aesthetics is important to human nature no matter what the age. The other factor, font, is actually what I wrote my reflection on.
http://blogs.setonhill.edu/AngelaPalumbo/2009/09/derek_brings_up_a_good_point.html