The Avon Echo

By Edward Crowe

DIFFERENCE IN LAYOUT IS NOTICEABLE

One thing that’s apparent when reading the early versions of The Echo is the difference in page layout and design. While the newer editions are filled with various images and illustrations, the oldest editions are far more text heavy in comparison, with illustrations and other sections included only sparingly.

Another major difference between the two is how compact the stories are on the oldest editions of the paper. The modern editions usually have one or two stories on a page and give each story a dedicated chunk of said page.

Meanwhile, the earliest editions tend to have way more stories on one page with them being more compacted together so they fit. The only thing separating these stories from each other is a small line between them.

WHERE DID ALL THESE QUOTES COME FROM?

The biggest differences in terms of writing are the length of the stories and the writing style. In regards to the length of the stories, the oldest issues have more stories of a smaller length than the longer stories of the newer issues. For example, the old Echo story “FRESHMAN CLASS HAS A PARTY,” which is only a paragraph long.

Another big difference is the writing style. For one, the stories in the oldest editions have far fewer quotes included, outside of sections dedicated to them. This is in stark contrast to the extensive use of them in the modern stories. The lack of insight from quotations make the older articles focus a bit more on recapping or announcing events.

TOPICAL CONSISTENCIES

Despite numerous differences between the new and the old editions, there’s a major consistency: the topics that are discussed in the paper.
For example, both versions of The Echo have many stories dedicated to what goes on in sports in Avon. There are also stories relating to club activities, and despite the previously mentioned differences in reoccurring sections, both Echos have sections for editorials and opinion pieces.
Of course there are still differences between both of them. There’s a dedicated club section in the oldest issue and there’s only one editiorial, for examples. But despite these difference, there are some things that stay consistent.