the tabloids! - Arts & Activities Magazine

on the ART CAREER TRACK
Everyone has had a laugh reading sensational tabloid
headlines while standing in line at the supermarket.
Nonetheless, there is no denying that tabloids such as the
National Inquirer, Globe and The Weekly World News have a
broad audience in the United States and Canada. North
American laws marginalize most of the tabloids and, while
we smile, few of us take any of it very seriously.
In Europe, however,
it’s a different
story. The tabloids
there—especially in
Great Britain—have
an exalted status,
and it’s not unusual
to see headlines that
border on slander
broadcasting current
news from London’s
main streets.
For students
learning about magazine
layout or newspaper
design, the
tabloids are an extraordinary
study in the
effective use of
images, typography
and design. Headlines
are boldly set in
a font that can be
read from a distance.
Most of these publications
are printed in
black and white, with
spot color used for
emphasis.
For this assignment,
students were
required to create a
front page for a
tabloid, supplying
images, text, captions
and headlines that
would mimic the
tabloid style. Students
were offered the
AN ALIEN’S STORY OF WHAT HAPPENED AT AREA 51
WEEKLY WORLD
NEWS
choice of reworking an existing newspaper, or the option of
creating their own.
As we looked through our class collection of tabloids,
one issue from 2003 that claimed California Governor–elect
Arnold Schwarzenegger had received election help from
extraterrestrials was quite popular with the students. So, we
decided that our tabloid feature stories and images would
SECRET ALIEN
BASE FOUND
at STONEHENGE
ALIENS
RIGGED
SEMESTERING
POLL!
EXCLUSIVE
STORY
THE WAR AGAINST GIYGAS!
A silent alien invasion is among us!
It must be true ... we saw it in
THE TABLOIDS!
by Irv Osterer
40 arts & activities ❘ october 2006

follow a similar theme.
We were able to purchase several convincing
alien masks from local distributors and, using
our school’s digital camera and a few willing
models, we photographed a series of posed alien
images that were placed in a folder on our school
server so they could be accessed by my students.
They then downloaded the files they wished to
use, converted all the images to black and white,
and adjusted the contrast accordingly, using
Adobe Photo Elements.
After the photos were taken, students were
asked to render several tabloid concepts in
their sketchbook. After their concept was
approved, they were free to begin assembling
their page.
For their secondary and tertiary images, students
used Internet sources, as well as scanned
images. Everyone was warned about issues of
copyright, as well as the poor quality that often is
EXTRA:CALIFORNIA ELECTION SCANDAL! TOTAL RECOUNT
WEEKLY WORLD
NEWS
October 23, 2003
ARNOLD’S CROOKED
CAMPAIGN EXPOSED
INSIDE
ALIEN
ALL
FOR
SEMESTERING!
Tabloids might make us laugh, but for high-school
students learning about layout and publication
design, they are an extraordinary study in the
effective use of images, typography and design.
The covers pictured here are by (clockwise,
starting from the left) Allen, Ryan and Heather.
ELVIS AND TUPAC
FOUND ALIVE ON
ISLAND IN SOUTH
PACIFIC! See page 6
RUN IN WITH POLICE LANDS
NICK CARTER BEHIND BARS!
BACKSTREET
BOYS DISOWN
CONVICTED
FELON!
HEAR NICK’S SIDE
OF THE STORY!
.50$ US / 6.00$ CAN >66
EXCLUSIVE: BIG MACS MAKE BIG MOMMAS!
WEEKLY WORLD
ALIEN
INHABITS
LIBRARY:
BOOKS
ABDUCTED!
McDonald’s
food
impregnates
innocent
women!
NEWS®
November 13, 2003 Issue 46
WHAT THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T WANT YOU TO KNOW
MORE
PHOTOS
INSIDE!
Students combined their
own digital photographs
with photographs found on
the Internet.
characteristic of images that have been compressed
to appear quickly on Web sites. All the
layout and design work was done using
QuarkXPress desktop publishing software,
and the work was printed on the art department’s
color inkjet printer.
The final projects were worthy portfolio
pieces that showcased each student’s facility
with words and images. Of particular note is
one student’s work that has our school principal
getting some extraterrestrial help
championing the cause of semestered
timetabling, which recently was a big political
issue in our school.
Incidentally, the results of a vote of
Merivale High School’s entire educational
community was overwhelmingly in favor of
installing a semestered schedule the next
fall. Hmm ... perhaps the aliens really do have
some influence on us Earthlings. ■
Irv Osterer is Department Head of Fine Arts
and Languages at Merivale High School in
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
www.artsandactivities.com 41