Front cover

• Enigma codes

  The ellipsis in the main headline creates suspense and puts the reader in a position of waiting hoping but not knowing if their will be an apology or not only to be disappointed when it is followed by ” and still zero same “ putting them in a position of having even more disTain and almost a feeling of betrayal from boris
• action codes

  the headline is comprised of a list of action codes all doing more context and suspense to the situation, action of Boris leaving to give a statement and insisting he will “fix it “
• semantic codes

  • single connotations
  • used to convey Boris as an unprofessional leader e.g his appearance in the photo, the words zero shame, headline “ tear/s for the king”
• symbolic codes

  • repeated connotation aspects aka motifs
  • the yellow numbers in the headline used to convey the extent of the situation
  • may purposefully not be. using red the colour most commonly associated with anger and urgency because they don’t want to associate the Labour Party with negativity
• cultural codes

  • the intertextual cultural code to watergate ( another political scandal which also lead to distrust in leaders ) will not be understood by all readers but to those who do, will help to further their anti conservative agenda
  • king George - not only will some readers not recognise the photo especially because he is young, but many may not even know that he is the father of the queen
• conventions of a tabloid newspaper

  • red top
  • few stories + lots of images
  • generally reports on pop culture and celebrities
  • emotional imagery
  • San serif font
  • informal language
• Generally reports on pop culture

  Whilst the daily mirror frequently reports on this type of news, since it is enjoyed by their C2DE mainstreamer audience, the 1,2,22 issue has a front cover dominated by politics with a mention of the royal family, whilst this is a subversion of the usual conventions it is highly typical of their political views and the agenda that they are trying to promote which would likely resonate well with an audience of left-leaning readers
• emotional imagery

  ( semantic code) connotes Boris as unfit to be a leader, disheveled and unprofessional with denotations of a creased shirt, messy hair and an “unposed” feel to his bodylanguage
• informal language

  Partygate, although a reference to the watergate scandal, is a slang name for the Covid-19 party scandal
• Context

  • aimed at an audience of mainstreamers ( world of domestic and everyday )
  • C2DE ( working and lower class )
  • owned by reach PLC who also owns daily express ( right )
  • one of the only left leaning national news papers
• barthes -semiotics

  • 5 code symphony
  • connotation and denotation
  • creates myths
  • they fail to create the intended myth that the conservatives are the lesser party since whilst it is naturalistic it fails to be reductive or reinforce existing power structures since it only reflects ideals held by a specific political group
  • anchorage: zero shame put right under the photo of boris to prevent people from feeling sorry for him ( mediation )
• Levi- Strauss : structuralism

  binary oppositions

  • between the public and Boris, “whilst the rest of the population was diligently sticking to the rules “ seems like he thinks he is better than “us” the readers and not only creates an us vs him mentality but frames him as a selfish and cruel leader
  • between keir and Boris “he is a man without shame”, pushes pro labour agenda
  • Between the two front cover stories, “zero shame” putting down leaders, vs “tears or the king” platinum jubilee article
  • no clear resolution to oppositions shows that it is an issue which cannot be resolved
• Baudrillard - postmodernism

  Boundaries between real and media have collapsed in an age of simulacra and the mirror uses this to their advantage through selection and mediation to make readers take whatever they read as fact