newspapers

• (fp) what is the headline?

  “12 parties now probed by cops, 3 attended by the PM, 1 was in his own flat, 300 pictures handed over… and still ZERO SHAME”

  • numbers show overwhelming evidence of wrong-doing
  • bold, clear headline- ‘shame’ positioned under BJ, direct link, same colour as his shirt etc.
• (fp) dominant image?

  -smirking expression

  -no direct address

  -seems smug & dishevelled
• (Fp) What caption anchors the dominant image?

  "I'm not going"
• (fp) what is the standfirst ?

  “SHAMELESS Boris Johnson again refused to quit over Partygate despite Sue Gray revealing police are probing 12 lockdown bashes at No10”
• (fp) picture of keir starmer?

  -candid, he is mid-speech; active & dynamic

  -anchored by caption of him being 'CRUSHING'

  -BO to boris johnson

  -> reflects left-leaning bias
• (fp) what is the mirror's slogan?

  "the heart of britain"

  
  

  -they rep the public, for the ppl, public should be against actions of gov here
• (fp) heading of article in top banner?

  "tears for the King"

  
  

  -patriotism, RF presented as hard-working and respectable, contrasts BJ
• (dps) what is the heading?

  "a man with no shame"

  
  

  -reinforces front page
• (dps) dominant images?

  -picture of COVID nurses treating a patient next to picture of BJ holding a glass of champagne

  
  

  -> obvious BO, public vs tories etc.
• (dps) what is boris johnson described as?

  a "stain on our great nation"
• (dps) letter from who?

  -keir starmer

  -"the british people aren't fools"

  -"dear mirror readers"

  
  

  -> binary opposition

  -> left leaning audiences
• (dps) picture in bottom left corner?

  -(illustration) of putin saying he "can't be seen to associate with that sort [BJ]"

  
  

  -even putin cannot be associated with him, extreme shame he should have etc.
• (dps) 2 egs of stories on the side?

  -"he needs to go"

  -"I feel disgusted"

  
  

  -> consequences of his actions, what public had to deal with vs what BJ was doing
• what is the headline?

  "Police investigates PM's four lockdown parties"

  
  

  -focused with facts; broadsheet, formal, trying to appear centrist and objective
• what is the pull quote?

  “there was too little thought given to what was happening across the country…

  …there were failures of leadership and judgement by different parts of No 10”

  -Sue Gray (report)

  -anchors meaning of dominant image & article; he is guilty & should be held responsible
• what are the subheadings?

  "detectives examining hundreds of photos"

  
  

  "Gray criticises leadership and drinking culture"
• heading of secondary article to the right?

  "passengers face years of masks on flights"

  
  

  -Binary Opposition to lead article, makes BJ look worse

  -also shows ABC1 audience who can afford to travel
• two 'soft news' articles in the top banner?

  -"how to be fit? do the bare minimum"

  
  

  -"Anna Murphy: I was bitten by a pandemic puppy"
• image of BJ?

  -no direct address: avoiding accusations etc.

  -smug facial expressions: potentially some, but little, remorse
• eg of two stories at the bottom of the page?

  -"VAT cut is 'too risky' "

  -"Migrant crossings up"

  
  

  -> more 'intellectual' stories eg global issues, tax cuts reflects ABC1 aud; more educated and interested in stories

  -> reflects newscorp's status as a GLOBAL conglomerate
• ownership of daily mirror

  -owned by Reach plc

  -conglomerate, diversified to publish a range of newspapers from local papers to national ones

  -horizontally integrated (buys out lots of competition) which allows them to remain a market leader & to share journalists/resources btwn titles, reducing costs
• ownership of the times

  -run by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp (Rupert Murdoch)

  -large conglomerate involved (internationally) with news & tv/film production

  -vertically & horizontally integrated, lots of power and resources

  -this allows them to take risks, eg by introducing a paywall to garner more subscribers/readers despite this method usually deterring people from their website

  -material can be distributed worldwide

  -their power lets them bend rules, eg phone hacking scandal
• rupert murdoch - times owner

  -donor to Republican party - clearly right wing

  -his papers are likely to reflect his conservative political bias

  -however, newscorp claim their papers to be centralist and welcoming of all political views, lots of journalists from diff backgrounds etc.
• phone hacking scandal

  -journalists at News of the World, the Sun and the Times found to have hacked missing schoolgirl's phone and deleted evidence

  -caused huge scandal & newscorps' shares started depleting along w their reputation

  -decided to shut down news of the world to save reputation and money (curran & seaton profit and power, hesmondhalgh maximise profits minimise risk)
• regulation


  -both regulated by IPSO, run by the newspaper industry (self-regulated)

  -newspapers both expected to follow guidelines in order to have papers consistently published

  -IPSO criticised for being biased - since it is self-regulated they may be more lenient with rule breaking etc

  -newspapers may use ipso on purpose since they want free speech and shock value while also staying on the right side of the law
• regulation online, effects of tech. on newspaper industry

  -regulation overload - volume of authors making online content poses huge risk to regulators who cannot overcome it, therefore leaving lots of published content under-regulated (Livingstone and Lunt)

  -comments made on online newspapers may. be quickly regulated by bots, however content frequently gets misrelated or ignored by algorithm

  -human moderators may be employed by newspapers but they struggle to regulate large amounts of content as quickly as bots, also costly
• daily mirror circulation (print)

  -rapidly declining -readers moving online to make the most of free articles

  -online website necessary in order to compete with other newspapers, but they do not have the power/money to risk a paywall, unlike the times

  -however, their high numbers of online readership likely make up for declining circulation

  -online websites also allow for advertising, bringing the paper a new stream of profit, as well as an online dating site and gambling site which both require payment
• the times circulation (print)

  -unlike most print newspapers, circulation of times in recent years has either been increasing or staying the same

  -likely due to older target audience who prefer traditional means of reading news (print)

  -also, less readers switching to their online website due to paywall, which prevents access to articles without a subscription - 2 free articles a week to act as a taster

  -this is also beneficial to the times, since their readers who have moved online are likely to be m/c with the disposable income to spend on a subscription; they may also believe that their news will be more accurate/high quality than free online newspapers, since it is so costly
• rise of digital news representative of whose theory?

  -Clay Shirky - end of audience since websites and social media sites reflect increasing desire by audiences for interactivity with their news providers
• advertising


  -daily mirror - tailored towards C2DE audience eg. for shops like aldi, tesco & lidl

  -the times - tailored towards ABC1 audience eg. for shops like waitrose, m&s & harrods
• how do both newspapers attract audiences? (front cover)

  -the choice and style of the main headline and central image are important in attracting the reader

  -> they are helpful in communicating the view the newspaper is taking on the particular story featured
• how does the times attract audiences? (content)

  -appeals to the audience through its content and the inclusion of hard and soft news items

  ->eg. the lifestyle supplement 'times2' as well as their tendency to report on political/financial news
• how does the times attract audiences? (digital convergence)


  -launch of the edition-based digital format addressed both the need to target a broader audience and an understanding that readers of The Times preferred a digital edition->this digital edition, whilst having some daily updates, closely resembled the print format.

  -distributing the publication across digital platforms allows it to be updated, which will appeal to younger audiences, as will the launch of Times Radio
• is the times explicit in its political allegiance?


  -the front page of the newspaper is rarely explicit in its political allegiance,

  -> HOWEVER other pages in the newspaper, and on digital platforms, reinforce the right-wing ideology of the newspaper --> eg. the editorial/ opinion pieces and political cartoons
• significance of the times letter page? (details regarding how/where to send letters to the paper)

  -offers readers an opportunity to air their views and interact with the community of the newspaper

  -> this page and the 'Comment' section of the newspaper reflect the readership and their interests and concerns
• significance of both paper's readers'/producers' shared ideologies?

  -values, attitudes & beliefs of the newspaper and the way they represent particular stories will resonate with like-minded readers who may have chosen either newspaper because of its right-wing/left-wing stance

  ->readers will be made to feel part of the newspaper's community and that the stories and articles reflect & reaffirm their views

  -->this audience will accept the preferred reading of the newspaper
• how can gerbner's cultivation theory be applied?

  -audience exposure to repeated patterns of representation eg. Brexit, the economy, or the gov, by newspapers may shape and influence their views and opinions of the world around them

  ->GERBNER: this is not like 'hypodermic model' but rather depends on what the audience already believes

  -->newspapers function as opinion leaders & mediate the news for the readers with their political allegiance already in mind ----->these views will therefore be cultivated and reinforced by the newspaper and its content
• how can hall's reception theory be applied?


  -producers of newspapers encode ideas in their publications that their readers decode

  
  

  ->active audiences who agree with the ideology of the newspaper will accept the viewpoint of the newspaper that is evident in its approach to stories/opinion pieces

  
  

  ->readers who have a different political allegiance will have an oppositional response; disagreeing with the messages constructed by the newspaper

  -->will not buy nor read a publication that does not reflect their ideas and opinions
• how can shirks end of audience theory be applied?

  -the concept of audience members as passive consumers is no longer tenable in the age of digital technologies-> they have enabled the rise of the prosumerwho can create their own content submitting stories as a citizen journalist, offering an immediate perspective on news stories.->consumers can also actively engage and ‘speak back’ to the news media

  -->eg. The Timesnewspaper & website offers interactive opportunities for readers to comment on stories and features which gives them a voice as part of the newspaper’s community
• how does the daily mirror attract audiences? (content)


  -other pages in the newspaper and on digital platforms will reinforce the ideology of the newspaper

  ->eg. the editorial 'The Voice of the Mirror', the letters pages and opinion pieces