Abstracts

Newspaper design has changed dramatically since its inception, with recent emphasis on combining photography, infographics, and modular design to catch the interest of readers. The main objective of this study is to critically evaluate the newspaper design techniques of some selected newspapers in Cameroon.

Specifically, the study sought to find out if newspapers design techniques affect information readability, to identify the challenges faced by newspaper publishers in Cameroon in adopting a particular design technique, and to propose recommendations to combat these challenges. To achieve the study objectives, the study sample 50 staff and employees of three selected newspaper publishers in Cameroon, using a structured questionnaire through a purposive simple random and convenient random sampling techniques.

Collected data were analyzed using SPSS (21.0) were frequency, and percentages of variables were calculated. Findings revealed that elements or components of good design newspapers were the front pages, the bolded write-ups, the pictures, the colors, and the headlines.

The study also revealed that newspapers in Cameroon in their desire to achieve excellent design are faced with certain challenges which range from inadequate equipment, inadequate support from the government, poor attitude of Cameroonians towards reading newspapers, lack of professional designers, and inadequate finance.

The study recommended that Newspaper companies in Cameroon need to focus on the issues and opinions expressed by the readers to increase the number of readers, especially young people.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the study

The graphic form of a printed newspaper is part of the communication pact established between a publication and its readers. Gäde (2002) believes that the readers’ trust in the content of a periodical is related to the way the original and authentic visual aspect is presented to them, how it is perceived: taking into consideration the texture and quality of the paper, the quality of the printing, how elements are arranged in the page and so on.

The recurrent visual structure makes a periodical recognizable, even though the content changes completely from one day to another. Design is strategic to guide the readers’ eyes through the page since the disposition of the visual elements can describe different reading movements (Gruszynski, 2011). The graphic planning acts as a mediator that gives a form to the periodical, thus structuring the organization and the hierarchy of the informative elements according to the editors’ criteria.

Newspaper design techniques have evolved significantly starting from the colonial era in 1690, during this period; the design technique was “book style designs”. During the 1850th which was considered as the traditional design era, the design technique was called larger format design. (Mitchell, 2013).

During the optimum format era, the designed technique was the evolved design technique (1937) with better technologies available. Finally, in the redesigned era which is the present time, digital allows design ideas to flourish (Mitchell, 2013).

During the second half of the 1990s, the first page of French daily newspapers truly became the front page for most of them, i.e. not only reflecting the selected reality by journalists but also becoming the central feature of a newspaper’s design and identity.

This is the result of a long process of ‘professionalization’, which began in the 1970s. Traditionally, the different sections of the paper did not exist yet and politics, economics, general information, and sport competed for newspaper space.

Papers were organized in a vertical layout until the end of the 1970s. However, the reconstruction of the social environment, as well as of politics, were amongst several elements that encouraged editors to provide a better ‘constructed’, ‘clearer’ journalistic product.

The gradual specialization of political journalists, for example, was concomitant with the appearance of the rhetoric of ‘critical expertise’, and of ‘society’ services, which divided politics into big policy issues while political correspondents began to focus on political parties and the declarations made by political actors (Hubé, 2014).

Journalism occurs within a social context. People and society rely on accurate and credible reporting of events (Rosenstiel, 2014). Without the news, we would have understood only a small portion of the information given to us in our everyday lives. There is therefore a demand for specialized broadcasting media which, in turn, justifies the existence of journalism.

The profession has evolved based on its “specific role of disseminating information about everyday life” (Franciscato, 2005, p. 36), and thus, having greater cultural and social significance in the places where it works.

Similar to how the printing press has become available on the Internet, the form in which the news is absorbed has also evolved. Printed presses are losing space to digital media and, as a result, the gathering, processing, and delivery of content are continually innovating. While the first online editions were faithful reproductions of the printed type, modern platforms are eliminating the texture, thickness, scent, and other features of the paper and are replaced by screens of different formats (Gruszynski et al., 2016).

Béguin-Verbrugge (2009) maintains that the information is not tangible, is only measurable through its verbalization or the application of any assistance. Its type of support and application types, which render it visible, are both design items. Yet the realization, filing, and dissemination of information is still the result of journalistic work. Thus, “its objective crystallizes a body of evidence that reveals the status of the information it brings to the society that uses it” (Béguin-Verbrugge, 2009, p. 38).

Brazil’s major newspapers have made many graphical improvements since 2008. Some journals such as Folha de São Paulo decided to use this phenomenon as a tactic for exposure in this sense (Gruszynski, 2012). In other contexts, major investments have been made in recruiting firms specializing in the creation of new visual ventures that underline the value of graphics among all improvements made.

The graphic form of a written newspaper is part of the correspondence pact between the publisher and its subscribers. Gäde (2002) claims that readers’ confidence in the material of a publication is connected to how the original and genuine visual component is displayed to them, how it is perceived: taking into account the texture and consistency of the paper, the quality of the printing, how the items are organized on the page, and so on.

The recurrent graphic arrangement makes the periodical familiar, even when the material varies entirely from one day to the next. Design is strategic to direct the reader’s eyes across the page since the arrangement of the graphic elements will describe the various reading motions (Gruszynski, 2011). Graphic preparation serves as a mediator that provides structure to the periodical while structuring the organization and hierarchy of informative elements according to the requirements of the editors.

According to Golin and Cardoso (2010, p. 9), one of the striking aspects of the journalistic approach is the visual appearance, where “historically, this segment uses graphic design as a form of discursive differentiation.” The opinion of one of the newspaper’s photography editors, Jefferson Botega (2011), reveals a paradox. At the same time that there is no doubt about the importance of the role of the picture in the newspaper, he mentioned that the staff of photographers has been diminishing throughout the years at Zero Hora.

Additionally, Botega (2011) revealed that many newspapers have not been investing in their photographic coverage and, as a result, they will not have different registers of a certain fact, from a particular point of view, since most pictures have the same origin and the material contributed by the newspaper itself is limited. A recurring approach to the layout we saw during our observations was that the composition of the pages had the picture as a starting.

Virtually the whole industry clings to outdated graphic types, as Philip Ritzenberg, design editor of the now-defunct New York News, wrote in Print in 1971: “Virtually the entire industry clings to archaic graphic forms. While newspaper journalism continues to change and grow, the average newspaper itself still resembles a bulletin board hung with shreds of information, disorder passing for spontaneity, stridency passing for immediacy.” It eventually dawned on them that they could not relate as well as or better than TV, which had undergone rapid improvements for the better of Ong, Peter (1987).

 

In the mid-2000s, the invention of social media and the rise of online journalism prompted many a think piece about the inevitable death of the newspaper. With ad revenues and subscriptions in decline, it seemed like the printed paper would soon be a thing of the past. Instead, what we have seen is a rethink of the newspaper format.

Print is now just one part of a multiplatform approach to reporting that includes video, social media, and even VR and editors have had to question the newspaper’s role in a world where most of us consume news on a digital device. This has also prompted a rethink of the way newspapers are designed.

The Guardian redesigned its print edition to offer a more focused and curated reading experience, while the New York Times has introduced special print-only sections and Transform its weekly magazine. Newspaper designers today have to think not just about making the news legible but offering a reading experience that other mediums cannot.

A new book from Gestalten offers a comprehensive look at the changing face of newspapers through in-depth case studies and insights from leading editorial designers and raises some thought-provoking questions about the medium. As clearly shown in this study, the study hopes to look at newspaper design, taking a case of some selected newspapers in Cameroon.

1.2 Statement of The Problem

It should be noted that Design techniques provide a way to maintain consistent layout placement in Newspapers. Lack of equipment’s to aid newspaper publishers to carry out their Designs, even though the world is advancing technologically; some newspapers in Cameroon still don’t have good equipment to use for Design.

Again, professionalism is at the core of Newspaper designs, designing a newspaper requires some technological talent, most Newspaper publishers do not recruit professional designers, most newspapers are being designed by Amateur designers. This is a great problem identified in this study.

Another issue identified in this research is the challenges faced by some selected newspaper publishing houses in their design and redesign in Cameroon. Newspaper designs techniques tend to hinder rather than aid the papers’ main aim. Design helps to communicate to readers and to attract readers.

However, the design goes deeper than the visual and clean, good looks. It is the successful marriage of visual elements such as typography, photography, colour, illustrations, information graphics, and white space with good editing, taste, and judgment. Done successfully, it attracts the reader and then gives him the information faster and easier.

1.3 Research Questions

The research questions of this study are divided into the main research question and the specific research questions

1.3.1 Main research Question

What is the design technique frequently used by newspapers in Cameroon?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

1. How does newspaper design technique influence the public’s opinion?
2. What are the challenges faced by newspaper publishers as regards newspaper designing in Cameroon?
3. What recommendations can be made to combat these challenges?