The Front Page Of Newspaper And Its Significance

As per (Kim & Chung, 2017) the newspaper’s first page is the prime location to find the depiction of the society’s most important events and news stories. It catches the reader’s attention and hence editors spend much of their time and vigour in deciding which news stories and categories should be put on the most valued page of their publication. The most dominant news stories should be placed importantly to tempt passionate buyers. Along with stories, other elements such as Headlines, Photos, and other graphic design are also given considerate thinking to focus on each news story. The design of the front page also reflects newspaper organization’s values regarding what is considered to be the prime news stories of the day deserving of being presented to their readers.

According to (JAMAL, 2014) the language used by journalists especially of print media is unique of its kind and helpful in connecting with the everyday readers. The effort on the journalist’s side is to develop a relationship with the reader by using a language which they can relate to with their everyday lives. The journalists do it intentionally to develop closeness and express solidarity with the reader. The people are provided with their daily dose of news and information through this very language of journalism.

The Indian media industry is booming on all fronts print, electronic, and web journalism. (Kohli-Khandekar, 2003) . According to the researcher (Murthy, Ramakrishna, & Melkote, 2009), the first page priorities of the four leading newspapers The Hindu, The Hindustan Times, The Indian Express, and The Times of India reveals that the Indian Print Media too had acquired the shape of market-driven journalism originally emerged in the US because of globalisation and privatization in the post-1990 era. (Murthy, Ramakrishna, & Melkote, 2009) point out that no paper could escape this phenomenon of market-driven journalism. The competitiveness of the media industry forced the newspapers to follow the principle of market-driven journalism. Despite the change in priorities with Crime and political news grabbing more space the newspapers were unable to escape this phenomenon, resulting in varying fonts and photographs of various sizes and shapes. There is intense competition between newspapers which is visible by the cramming of the front page with too many advertisements, small and large colour photographs, varying fonts for smaller news items, all these are sometimes more highlighted due to lack of news items. The majority of English dailies have still retained their accountability and ability to command explanations from the Government for growing cases of corruption, crime, failing governance, and all. (Murthy, Ramakrishna, & Melkote, 2009)

According to (JAMAL, 2014) on the front Page topmost is the Headline. The main headline of the front page is highlighted in a large, bold, font different from the rest of the page. The headline has strategic importance as they pull attention towards a specific story. The researcher mentions (Kumar K. J., 2007) that most readers first read the headlines and sub-headlines before selecting a news story for detailed reading. The primary function of Headlines thus is to grab the reader’s attention and also can be used in categorising news. The headlines can be made effective through the use of action words. The headlines must set a positive tone and must make an effort to convey the tone of the news story.