Daily Mirror - Front Page Analysis

On this particular front page of The Daily Mirror, it features a large photograph of Barack Obama and they have presented the publication as a sort of collectors-edition. For example in the top right hand corner, it reads "Historic Pullout Inside" and the word "historic" suggests that the content is important and worth keeping for future reference. This could attract people who are interested in history or culture to purchase the newspaper, as it gives it an air of importance that many other publications do not have. The fact that these words are written in gold lettering further suggests that the newspaper are trying to give the impression that this edition of the newspaper is precious and valuable. This section advertising the "Historic Pullout Inside" on the top right hand third of this newspaper cover has been deliberately located so it will hang out of the edge when the papers are lined up on the shelves, giving the target audience most chance of seeing this main attraction. Many newspapers use this technique of cleverly locating the most attractive contents to be expected inside so more people will purchase their newspaper. 

The bright red background to the masthead/faceplate at the top of the page effectively stands out amongst other popular titles helping the publication to sell more copies. Red is also a colour connoted with honour, pride and is one of the colours of the American flag which obviously relates well with the main article about the American president, Obama. Red is also not gender exclusive which is one thing I have noted so far in my research of newspaper front pages. Using colours that can appeal to both genders is very important in order to attract the highest number of people, and not subconsciously make people feel too intimidated to purchase the newspaper of their choice. For example, by using the colour pink, many male readers may feel obliged to purchase a different newspaper as pink is most commonly associated with the interests of females. 

"REBORN IN THE USA" - This cover line initially gives the impression of new beginnings and an important change in history; making the audience value the content further without even having read the article yet. There is a sense of pride and power in this line suggesting that by reading the article the reader will be given a new sense of hope and honour through reading it. 

Overall, I think this is a really effective front page for The Daily Mirror, however I wouldn't use this style of layout for my own newspaper product because it doesn't show enough of the expected newspaper front page conventions to attract the target demographic and I don't think it shows enough information as to the articles included in the newspaper, or the various other content to be expected. By using mainly just one large cover photo, the content of the newspaper could potentially be a little lost and I may find it difficult to attract enough of my target audience by using this one technique. I will aim to use a mixture of text and photographs on my own front page, despite thinking this particular cover is effective for it's own reasons.