The voice

• the voice: launched in 1982, only British national black weekly newspaper, GV Media Group Limited, British African- Caribbean community, Val McCalla, £62,000 loan from Barclays bank, Barclays desire to show support for black causes to counteract the adverse publicity attracted by their investments in South Africa, loan guarantee scheme
• the voice: 1981- Brixton race riots share a spotlight on race relations in Britain, 1982- result of race riots
• representation of ethnicity- the voice: ethnicity is a set of genetically defined, biological characteristics, a set of culturally defined characteristic, representation of race in the media can consist of the same sort of rigid stereotypes that constitute gender portrayal, stereotyping of race is seen as more harmful than stereotyping of gender, racial stereotypes are often based on a social myth
• diaspora: a scattered population whose origin lies in a separate geographic locale, in particular those of an indigenous territory

  those driven to migration have developed a sense of ‘otherness‘ or diaspora identity
• the voice combats a diaspora identity: gives soft news as motivation, gives people a voice and a chance to talk about their opinions, focuses on positives of being black, not negative, avoids creating negative narratives of victimisation or villainy, based in Britain and abroad, part of black community- not separate
• kenya is banning men’s traditional clothing and saying they need to dress like a white man- because they have been colonised
• the voice: 50-60 years, men, black British, interested in politics and soft news
• the voice- dominant: black target audience, wind rush generation, mostly male content, focuses on sport, its part of their culture, target audience, lots of sports news
• the voice- oppositional: white, hegemonic ideologies, hate parents expectations and pressure, better life, lack of political content and analysis
• the voice- negotiated: traditional views, outdated news
• the voice: working class, lower middle, 30+, any gender, black or minority groups
• uses and gratifications theory: identity, information, entertainment, competitions
• dominant reading: receiver fully accepts preferred reading, reading it in the way the author intended, making the code natural and transparent
• celebrities change their names to stand out, brand names or product names need to be ‘catchy’ or for people to talk about it
• David Gauntlett: concept of identity is complicated, however everybody feels/ thinks that they have an individual one. religious and national identities are at the heart of major international conflicts. we create numerous identities in a short space of time depending on the circumstances (especially use of social networking sites). we like to think we are unique but Guantlett questions whether this is an illusion, and we are all much more similar than we think
• the voice: supports LGBTQ+, different places, inclusion of black communities, culture, men and women, range of ages
• the voice: not completely diverse (nothing on Gaza or Israel), too positive?, doesn't go deeper than Broad Africa and Caribbean, simple positive role models- no inclusion of more complex figures, Malcolm X, lack of disability
• Gauntlett:

  fluidity- identities can change over time, genders

  constructed- identities constructed through media, but not one single text, in collaboration with other media texts

  negotiated- negotiation of what you want to be and the media texts, role models

  collective- group identity, collective identity, fandom
• the voice- language: mainly black/ minority groups if people in images- less white/ western culture. news- grid layout, lots of subsections- Christianity lifestyle, sports
• the voice- representation: lets people have an opinions, lacks inclusion of complex figures and disability, doesnt go broader than African and Caribbean. positive and negative stories- black culture and what’s happening in the community, stories that aren’t on BBC- money notes- post colonialism, LGBTQ+ posts/ news
• the voice- audience: black community or minority groups, gauntlett and gilroy, diaspora. range of ages, men and women, LGBTQ+, different places, inclusion of black communities, different cultures. not completely diverse, doesnt go deeper than broad African and Caribbean, simple positive role models, no inclusion of more complex figures, lack of disability. explorer and aspirer. BAME community, allies, middle class
• the voice- industry: online based newspaper. book, interaction online, regulated before posting, newspaper subscription, first daily black newspaper
• when was the voice first published?


  1982
• the voice newspaper is “committed to celebrating black experience“ and aims to deliver “positive change“ by “informing the black community on important issues“.
• what does the voice write?


  • news stories
  • in-depth interviews
  • opinion pieces
  • investigations
• the voice remains “Britain’s most successful black newspaper“
• the production, distribution and circulation of the voice has changed dramatically since its first edition
• what did publishers of the voice have to do to repsond to the impact of new technology?


  move away from physical media to online products and downloads. the change in consumption forced the newspaper to focus more on digital output
• First published in 1982
• “committed to celebrating black experince“ and aims to deliver “positive change“ by “informing the black community on important issues“
• with its news stories, in-depth interviews, opinion pieces and investigations, the voice remains “Britain's most successful black newspaper“
• the production, distribution and circulation of the voice has changed dramatically since its first edition. publishers had to respond to the impact of new technology was having on the way audiences were consuming texts, especially the movement away from physical media to online products and downloads, digital revolution. this change in consumption forced the newspaper to focus more on its digital output
• hesmondhalgh believed companies involved in cultural industries were motivated by profit rather than a duty to PBS. no one was going to invest in a newspaper which targeted a niche audience unless it was going to make money. However, the social and politcal context of the early 1980s offered the founder of the voice, val McCalla, an opportunity to raise funds needed for such a risky venture
• Barclays bank was being heavily criticised for its investments in South Africa where racial segregation was institutionalised in a system known as apartheid. in a bit of impression management, the bank attempted to counteract the negative publicly by showing support for African caribbean causes
• McCalla secured £62,000 from barclays with the backing of the Loan Guarantee Scheme which was part of a series of initiatives set up my Margaret Thacthers government the help unemployed people start their own business. the voice enterprise was a success and the bank loan was paid off within 5 years
• the circulation of the paper peaked at 55,000 in the early 1990s with young women being a substantial majority of its weekly buyers
• paying over £3m, the Gleaner Company took ownership of the newspaper in 2004. they’re a Jamaican newspaper and media enterprise. thier subsidiary, GV media group, still publishes the paper
• in 2004 the newspaper had already “suffered from a delcine in advertising revenue and increased competiton“. while marketing agencies were moving online to meet their target audience and the demand for print continued to fall, the Gleaner company believed thier purchase of the voice was a “golden opportunity to better serve our readers of the diaspora“
• the shift in the publishing from print media to digital formats has been dramatic. the voice moved from weekly to monthly editions
• production costs are generally cheaper for online newspapers compared to the traditional tabloid. after some upfront expenditure to design and build a functioning website, the main running costs are for hosting, maintenance and security