Daily mirror

• The daily mirror is a British daily national tabloid newspaper
• Established in 1903
• Target audience is mainly working class
• Left wing political stance
• The sun is the mirror's main competitor which targets a similar socio economic demographic but usually adopts a more right wing stance
• The daily mirror is one of the only newspapers that consistently supports the labour party and their policies
• As a mostly left wing newspaper the mirror has been largely critical of the Conservative government and it's handling of the coronavirus pandemic
• The newspaper's slogan 'heart of britain' suggests the newspaper stands up for the ordinary person and is a key part of social and cultural life of the uk
• This edition of the newspaper deals with the scandal surrounding allegations regarding parties and social gatherings held by the Conservative Party at a time when it's leaders had enforced strict restrictions on the people of England that prohibited such gatherings
• The story was first reported by the daily mirror in November 2021 and alleged that during the lockdown over the Christmas period in 2020 parties had been held at downing street some of which had been attended by the prime minister Boris johnson
• This led to an inquiry being undertaken by senior civil servant Sue gray the results of which were published in January 2022
• The scandal surrounding these allegations came to be commonly known in the media as partygate. The suffix gate was first used in the water gate scandal in the US in the early 1970s which resulted in the resignation of president Richard nixon. It has since been used to suggest a far reaching scandal usually relating to politics or government
• On the date this edition of the newspaper was published it was reported that sue gray had revealed that the metropolitan police were investigating several possible breaches of lockdown by no10 and Boris Johnson had refused calls for his resignation
• All newspapers including the daily mirror reflect the social and cultural contexts of the time in which they were produced

  The daily mirror targets a lower middle class/working class readership and does so through the news value of the paper, selection of stories and how particular social groups are represented
• The choice to focus on this particular story also reinforces a common social theme for this newspaper us vs them , politicians vs ordinary people in society the idea that the government had issued rules that they feel they don't have to abide by
• In the editorial the newspaper asserts itself as the voice of the British people allying with them using the personal pronoun us in it makes us look cheap and nasty. The newspaper's plug also reflects a cultural context advertising a feature on platinum jubilee reinforcing cultural heritage of uk
• The layout and design are convential of this style of this newspaper which is generally text led rather than image led. The masthead is bold and recognisable red top, tabloid newspaper
• The typography chosen is strong and the name of the newspaper conveys messages about how the paper may hold a mirror up to what is taking place in society
• The newspaper's plug reflects a cultural context advertising a feature on the platinum jubilee and reinforcing the cultural heritage of the uk(the monarchy)
• The page is split between the political story and a plug promoting the platinum jubilee future with the political story taking prominence
• The slogan within the masthead heart of britain suggests the role the newspaper has in society and that it cares about what is happening to people of the UK
• The sub-headings provide more information through the employment of numbers for dramatic impact. The headline is brief and dramatic typical of the papers style and uses emotive lang such as zero shame
• The strapline gray report fallout sums up the context of the story with negative connotations
• The language used is emotive and reflects the values and attitudes of the newspaper and their political allegiance referring to Boris Johnson as shameless (critical of the Conservative government)
• The mode of address is direct using colloquialisms such as cops and lockdown bashes to engage with the target readership
• The image of Boris Johnson dominates the front page and anchors the headline he appears unconcerned
• The newspaper reinforces this viewpoint with the inclusion of the caption I'm not going suggesting his failure to take responsibility for what has happened
• The caption accompanying the image of the labour leader keir starmer is crushing reinforcing the left-wing stance of the newspaper
• The double page spread is busy and eye catching it incorporates a range of different newspaper features including the editorial a letter, personal direct quotations, cartoon, large images as well as central story
• It is relatively unusual to have all these features on the same page suggesting the story's importance
• The branding of the newspaper continues onto these pages with the use of colour red linking to red top masthead
• The subheading, pull quote and keir starmer's are also in a red palette connoting the political allegiance of the newspaper
• The headline is large and emotive echoing the front page headline with the repitition of the word shame conveying the values and beliefs of the newspaper and its opinion of what has happened
• The central images are emotive, dramatic, juxtaposing the scene from the hospital ward with one of the prime minister smirking, looking furtive and holding a glass of wine
• The selection of these particular images further reinforces the point that members of the government broke the rules while people were suffering
• This tone is supported using direct quotations from ordinary people telling their own tragic covid-19 stories
• The pull quotes in this section emphasised using large quotation marks use language that conveys the feeling of the newspaper continues to lie a mockery
• The language used across the double page spread villifies the government and their actions
• Binary opposites are used to reinforce the point 'quiet dignity set against lying bombast'
• The editorial 'the voice of the mirror' is more opinion led which can be seen in the standfirst : 'Boris Johnson is prepared to destroy and everybody around him to survive at all costs