Co-created front cover of the Sun

A standard red masthead is used to created brand awareness, and sans-serif font to create a bolder, impactful headline that draws the reader’s eye. We have also used white on a darker, black background to make it stand out more and reflect to normal layout of the Sun. This links to Neale’s genre theory as our front cover reflects the standard conventions of a tabloid. There are more links to Barthes’ semiotics, as in the ad on the masthead, there is a hermeneutic code urging the audience to turn to ‘Page 18’ to see the lucky numbers. This ad is also conventional as the Sun is aimed at less educated, working/ lower class groups who are more likely to gamble than the higher educated, middle-class groups. This is also be reflected through the high image-to-copy ratio, with almost the entire cover being an image, which demonstrates that this demographic is less likely to be engaged through reading a lot of information.  We have also referenced Baudrillard’s postmodernist theory, as in the title, there is a slight intertextual reference to the Netflix show ‘Monster’, based on Ed Gein. This could also be seen as a link to Stuart Hall’s reception theory, as the audience is being positioned to have a preferred reading of the front cover and view Gein as a horrific creature due to his gruesome actions. Also, Ed Gein acts as a disruption to the equilibrium (the horrific discoveries disrupted the peacefulness and normality of people’s lives and their town) which is then resolved via his capture resulting in a new equilibrium - reflecting Todorov’s Narratology theory.

Co-created front cover of the Guardian

(First two columns were written by me)

The masthead is in the signature dark blue of the Guardian, which creates brand identity, it also contains a main image that draws attention to the headline story. There is a low image-to-copy ratio as the Guardian is aimed towards a more educated demographic within the ABC1 group; therefore, they aim to maximise the information output in the newspaper. Furthermore, the headline is written using a serif font, which is more formal and regularly used in conventional broadsheets, and the copy is laid out in columns to reflect the standard layout of the Guardian. There is also links to Barthes’ semiotics as underneath the quote in the masthead, and throughout the ‘Inside’ section, there are hermeneutic codes such as ‘see page 2’ that encourage the audience to purchase the newspaper in order to satisfy their curiosity and be fully informed on why the quotes have been said, or get informed about the briefly mentioned articles in the ‘Inside’ section. Symbolic codes can also be found in the image, as it is in black and white, which could suggest a more serious tone, and the face of the man behind Gein shows he is unsettled, which reflect the disturbing nature of Gein’s crimes, and the concern surrounding Gein’s mental state. In addition, Levi Strauss’ structuralism theory is also referred to through using binary opposition throughout the text, and specifically the headline, by utilising the idea of “innocents” vs “killers” to reflect good vs evil.