Analysis of my ‘The Guardian’ Front Cover

The Guardian’s editorial standpoint is left leaning, therefore I originally wanted to do an article covering the 20 minute phone call Boris Johnson had with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in an attempt to diffuse any hostilities, and present the Labour parties’ view on the way he wanted to deal with matters however, I decided it wasn’t front page worthy. Therefore, I thought the Ukranian plane crash was far more imperative and front cover newsworthy. I heavily researched different styles of The Guardian’s front covers and thought my layout was most appropriate as the picture followed the rule of thirds and would be the first thing the reader would notice. The target audience is well-educated, relatively young, predominantly male and liberal audience centred around London, however only by a small percentage more than female, and the newspaper is also very pro-feminism and against sexism, so in the skyline I included a reference to an interview with Salma Hayek and about being a powerful and independent female. I also included a reference to an article written with the help of Niomi Smart – a popular youtuber but also known for being vegan- and her new vegan peanut butter pancake recipe which through some research I came across The Guardian is also very much supportive of the vegan cuisine.

      The actual article I wrote from a very personal perspective and gave several mentions to a variety of different victims in the plane crash and detailed stories about their lives to really touch the reader and evoke emotions of sympathy.  I followed the 5Ws and the structure of an article, I listed the main facts and important events first then added quotes and more detail and other information that links into the main story. Moreover, I added a red quote box with a touching quote from one of the victim’s co-workers which The Guardian frequently include and a caption to the picture which explains what’s happening in the picture. Plus, I included a bar code for authenticity. Overall, because their target audience is well-educated and more young, the story will most likely be very effective and grab their attention and hold it as it’s a very devesting story.