FOCUS GROUP

I uploaded my work in a group inbox on the social networking site Facebook to find out what potential reader’s thought of my final piece. The four participants were asked to comment on the positive and negative points of ‘The Source’ front cover and 2nd page, if they would purchase the newspaper and what I could do to improve my work if I were to reproduce my final piece. Asking four people who hadn’t seen the production progress of my work resulted in a genuine response from a critic’s point of view.

Participant 1-

Participant 2-

Participant 3-

Participant 4-

The overall response from my work seems to be positive referring to the layout, headlines, images and believable stories. As participant 1 mentioned ‘the front cover has a beaten face on it which will shock the audience’ the use of a shocking manipulated audience successfully shocks the audience. However as participant 3 stated I could of added more text and decreased the amount of imagery on my front page, the photograph heavy layout could be ‘mistaken for a magazine rather than a newspaper’. Although participant 4 said ‘it is different from other newspapers which make it stand out’. The uniqueness of my newspaper should still encode the conventions of a newspaper; shoppers should be able to obliviously decode the aspects as a newspaper not a magazine. Another aspect of my newspaper that causes concern is the amount of colour I’ve used. Participant 3 stated ‘The use of colour is too frequent’ and ‘could be dulled down a little’.

If I were to produce another newspaper front cover and second page I would import more text onto the front cover. Participant 4 commented it needed a ‘more serious feel’ by increasing the amount of text the newspaper would be more informative. On the second page I would improve my work by filling the small areas of white with an advertisement or increase the article. The white space underneath the image of Mr and Mrs Dennison make the article seem unfinished. If I were to reproduce my product I would also edit some of the images and frames to black and white as the colourful layout could confuses the audience of the type of media text. I would keep the same manipulated images it provokes the audiences’ curiosity. I wouldn’t adjust the monosyllabic headlines and conventional serif masthead as I am pleased they follow the traditional conventions of a newspaper. Micro aspects of my newspaper such as the advertisements for local businesses, page numbers and named journalists also add realism to my final product.

The focus group helped me understand what the audience would expect from my final piece and if I have met the purpose of my final task. Understanding the participants’ opinions on my newspaper from their point of view, I would be able to use their constructive criticism to improve the concerning aspect mentioned.