Type Cast, 2009

Type Cast reveals how headlines, in this case, those from the Hackney Gazette, contribute to the representation and construction of place through the development of place image, an oversimplification and labeling of place (Shields 1991:47).



This labeling has a negative impact, and in turn creates further headlines, changing not only one’s perception, but also spatial practices—if a ‘knife maniac’ is on the loose, we are perhaps unlikely to visit. It is often said that ‘today’s newspapers are tomorrow’s chip papers’, with the implication being that a newspaper is ephemeral in nature. Printed on cheap stock, primarily in one colour and more often than not recycled or thrown away before the end of the day, it is easy to see why.



However, the emotionally charged rhetoric of headlines is not as easily pulped as the paper they are printed on. It is likely that the place-image remains prevalent long after the place itself has changed in nature. The contrast of the cheap newsprint stock with the time-consuming craft of the letterpress process highlights the inequality between the media and its lasting effect.