The Home page of the observer uses lots of different media language and techniques to create meaning and encourage more people to follow them. Firstly, on the main page, there is a featured bar to bring together all of the different types of news into whats most important/newest. In this featured section, the put famous celebrity names in them because they know that these people have large social media based followings which means that any off their fans that see the celebrities name, will click on it.
Also, they make the most controversial topics largest and use colors and, in most cases, out of context language to draw viewers in and create meaning. For example, "Can i forgive the man that raped me" stands out to readers and encourages them to read the story. Another example of how the observer has used the home page to create meaning is by categorizing different news and putting the most relevant on the front page. This is important as it means that the news has a broader appeal to people that read it.
Seb Hardy
Mark 2 and a half out of 5
ReplyDeleteYou make several sensible general points, such as about celebrity names, the use of colour in the layout and the way that the page is organized.
You do understand that you need to analyse specific uses of language from the online extract given, and draw attention to the way that the top left article engages readers, but you should identify specific language techniques here, such as the use of a question to engage reader involvement.
Can you find other specific examples? For instance, can you pick out examples of hyperbolic, emotive or sympathetic language? Use of metaphor? Concerns with gender politics or social diversity? How is photography used?