What is a masthead? Also known as the ‘nameplate’, it is the top piece of the newspaper that includes the title of a newspaper, and details of the newspaper, such as newspaper price, issue number, slogan or a website address. Mastheads have basic designs, with little colour and imagery included in them.
National Newspapers:
The Daily Mail includes a simple black and white design,
with a styled font for the logo, and a simple font displaying the price, date
and website. There is also a logo separating the words, which could be used for
identification.
However, The Sun is a lot more colourful, with the title in
bold white text, with a red background. It includes the date, website and
slogan in a simple white text, while the price is much more visible. In
comparison to the Daily Mail, the red box and large text makes the paper stand
out more. This style is replicated in other papers, such as the Daily Star and
Daily Mirror, which are examples of Red-top Newspapers.
Local Newspapers:
In comparison, the Suffolk Free Press has a horizontal grey
bar with gives the price, date and website address, as well as information on
social media accounts. The title is written in a styled blue font, with ‘Suffolk’
written in a smaller, black font.
The Halstead Gazette has a simple masthead. Gazette is seen
in a red text, while Halstead is seen in a smaller black text, like the Suffolk
Free Press. The date, website and price are visible in black text, with the
slogan in a red text – which stands out.
The masthead of the East Anglian Daily Times is very similar
to the Daily Mail, in terms of design. It has a simple black font for the title
of the paper: East Anglian is written larger than Daily Times. The website and
a slogan is included in orange text. Below that is a grey bar featuring the
issue date, issue number and price.
Most local newspapers I researched appear to separate the
circulation area from the title. The area always tends to be on the top of the
masthead. This could show that the publishers are trying to emphasise that the
newspaper is aimed at a certain area. Mastheads in local newspapers may also
include advertisements aimed at a certain area.
Conclusion: Mastheads can be used to identify newspapers,
and have a simple design, with little colour and little imagery. Local
newspapers tend to include more content, including issue numbers and slogans,
within their mastheads.
