Week 11

unpacking meaning/distorting meaning:

The newspaper was capable of being produced by the thousands from a press, reaching people quickly and providing confirmation of events. Traditionally printed with CYMK (cyan, yellow, magenta and key – black) there are often limited colours used. With the technological advances we have now, there is an ability to select and choose the information we want to consume.

In comparison to newspapers, online articles are easy to read – screens are able to zoom with the simple tap of your fingers and more importantly, free of paper. They are arguably cheaper online also, as people are not paying for a whole newspaper where half of it is not relevant to their interests.

Newspaper design can appear clumsy. The layout of newspapers was not because it looked good, but because it was efficient for advertising, and printing methods. Blocks of text on a typesetting machine would be arranged in sentences, around adverts which were placed first, and that is why there are columns of text. This enables the reader to have no choice, essentially, as to whether they want to read adverts or not.

So technically, is it all about the adverts? Are newspapers and articles all just diverting our attention – whether it be links to more articles we may be interested in or to spend money. This has to be bad for our attention spans, surely? How are we expected to focus on reading something when there are colours and links distracting us?

500 words:

The articles I have explored are relating to the suggestion of an ‘Insect Apocalypse’. Upon reading all three articles I have not been convinced that insects have suffered catastrophic destruction and it’s clear that the large, dramatically worded headlines are to gain attention. 

BBC News article consists of minimal, short sentences. There are no links to factual evidence and there is heavy use of advertising with links and images all over the page. British people use television for the main source of news, ranking at 79%. The internet is second at 64% and newspapers are 40%. This suggests to me that the articles are subliminally designed to encourage viewers to watch television, especially as the BBC are a TV broadcasting service.

Both ABC/BBC News have chosen a sans-serif typeface for their articles. A clean and contemporary choice considering digital platforms, whereas DW News use serif throughout the articles. Serif typefaces are easier to read in print, not necessarily online. It’s interesting to me that as Germany is a country that is leading the way internationally with sustainability (especially with the introduction of Pfand system), has a typeface for articles that is best suited for print. Surely this would be encouraging paper waste, therefore increasing printing expenses? On the plus side, DW News article has three out of five images showing colourful data statistics, and have even provided a report as evidence. Germany’s population being the highest (of these articles) at 83.7 million, could be the reason behind providing honest information and optional online translation of languages.

Layout of newspapers was not because of aesthetics; the design was efficient for advertising and cost-effective. Adverts were the first pieces of content placed on the page followed by blocks of typeset sentences in columns, therefore readers were forced to find advertisements of interest. In comparison, these articles have hyperlinks and are arranged to the right or underneath articles, hoping to catch the attention of readers instead. ABC News share buttons are larger and contain more text, which encourages viewers to share on Facebook or Twitter. With the technological advances we have today, there is an ability to select and choose the information we want to consume, and also choose how we want to share. Word of mouth is replaced by a simple click of a share button, which reaches more people on social media platforms than at work.

Although there are many benefits to online articles; there is a sensory experience involved when reading physical copies that isn’t there digitally. Flipping paper page by page, the reader has freedom to mark or fold pages to psychologically connect with page. Nowadays with people being environmentally conscious online articles are a paper free alternative. Readers can avoid paying for pages of irrelevant content therefore sustainably reducing paper and ink waste. The debate of newspaper vs online is undoubtedly a difficult one but personally, whether relaxing with a physical copy or scrolling in a five minute break – I believe it’s down to convenience.