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The IX Terms:

Rhetorical Strategy & Reason for its use.

While newspapers use many ​strategies, such as color, sequence/movement, framing, and more in their websites, to simplify my analysis for this project, I chose the four predominant strategies I found in use. Newspapers are complex, with multiple audiences, thus, these strategies often serve multiple purposes. Newspapers are news sources, but they are also a community hub, and a service organization which provides various services to the communities they serve.

1. Organization: ​​

An organizing strategy can come in many forms, from a grid, to grouping certain elements together, using boxes to enclose information, and color-coding, among others. The first strategy newspapers use is a grid/column format, specifically for the three papers in this study,  a 3-column grid in which to organize the information or text (news and other community information) they publish. (One of my first jobs was to "dummy" the newspaper, placing all ads as requested, followed by the news. this has changed in the digital age, but grids are still employed on websites, just as they are in print.) Once the grid is established, the other design elements, such as text, color,  lines, images and more are employed (such as all caps and bold face) to further organize information.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ It's important to note that a template is established for each publication (website), which identifies where certain information is always to be found, so that each edition or page is consistent and uniform, not random. This serves the audience because it lets them know they can always expect to find certain information here or there, which is a convenience to  the reader.

Reason Why:

One of the primary objectives of good web design organization is to make the site "sticky," or in other words, a place where the visitor stays for awhile, to read the information, click on multiple links, including ads (which drive revenue). Good organization makes it easy for readers to find the information they want most often, or works to lead them to a page they've searched for. For example, organizing information onto separate pages (categories) such as Classifieds, Obituaries and more helps readers find the information easily. Another organization strategy newspapers use, is to put the story they feel is of highest interest to the most readers on the front page, with the largest headline and with a large associated photo (this strategy relates to proximity and emphasis, discussed below). On the website, this strategy is also used.

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2. Element:

The newspapers all employ similar elements as part of their rhetorical strategies, including photos, images, text, flash media, lines and more.

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Reason Why:​

Specific elements are employed for a number of reasons, for example, to tell a story; each article is a story, and newspapers now use a style of writing called narrative, which draws the reader into the story, much like your favorite novel. A good photo, a solid headline and a good lead all work together to attract a reader's eye. Newspapers also use elements in order to add context to the story, such as photos of main subjects, included with news stories, along with captions. Various images, such as social media icons are used as "way finders" to direct people to those sites. Text is used to highlight information, for example category headings are often in all caps and bold, and can be "color coded," i.e. with a different color for various categories, such as sports, lifestyle, business. Advertisers employ flash media, and clickable links which take a reader to their own websites, to attract attention, and to drive sales. There are also videos to add further depth to stories. All of these are strategies used to provide a richer experience for the reader, or for advertisers, to drive traffic to their websites, in order to generate sales.

3. Proximity and emphasis.

Newspapers often employ these two strategies in tandem. For example, how close an element is placed in proximity to another increases the value of the position of that element, because it adds emphasis to that element. (It can also have the opposite effect) For example, all three newspapers position their logo (an element) up top left, with a prominent ad (element) in close proximity. They also position the weather symbol up top, next to important items. This increases the emphasis of this ad or icon, and the value of the advertiser spot, increasing the amount of money which can be charged for that space.​ This strategy is similar to location, employed in commercial real estate, where they say, location, location, location, and it's why you see McDonalds and Burger King across the street from each other.

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