CONTEXT

• The Daily Mail is part of British media culture but is also probably the most controversial British newspaper. It’s infamous editor for over two decades Paul Dacre was responsible both for the newspapers huge success but also for its notorious reputation
• The paper is famous for openly exhibiting a right wing ideology combining truthful factual news with other controversial news stories or articles that are exaggerated or biased and sometimes not even truthful at all. These controversial news stories are often criticised as being racist,sexist or inflammatory.
• The Daily Mail newspaper was first launched in 1896. It has a current print circulation of approx 1.4 million.The Daily Mail is the most popular and widely read newspaper brand in the UK in terms of combined online + print readership.
• The Daily Mail is the second biggest selling print newspaper in the UK (after The Sun). It is considered a RIGHT WING newspaper supporting the Conservative Party.
• BLACK TOP - MIDDLE MARKET TABLOID

  The Daily Mail is a black top tabloid newspaper which are sometimes also called middle-market tabloid which is a hybrid combination of a broadsheet and a tabloid. It reports hard news and soft news. Soft news is often a dominant feature that will appeal to readers emotions,focusing on human interest stories,scandal,celebrity and gossip.
• D  M  G  T   M E D I A

  The Daily Mail is owned by the giant media conglomerate called D M G T Media. Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT) is a British multi national media company. It owns The Daily Mail and several other titles. Its chairman is the 4th Viscount Rothermere. The company manages a multinational portfolio of companies, with total revenues of almost £2 billion.
• The company operates in over forty countries.

  DMGT is a conglomerate which also owns property and financial companies. This is also an example of diversification of media industries.
• DMGT Media as owners of the newspaper will have a huge influence on both the political stance, news values and ideology of the Daily Mail and the stories and opinions that it prints.
• TARGET AUDIENCE

  The main target audience for the Daily Mail appears to  be predominantly women:-

  5 3 %  F E M A L E 

  and

  45%  M A L E

  Its audience is also part of the:-

  6 3 %  A  B  C 1  + C 2  category 
• also falling into the age demographic of Baby Boomers. There is also a smaller demographic of lower income D E readers who also buy the Daily Mail.
• A  B  C  1 (Predominant  63 % Audience )

  + 

  C  2  D  E (Secondary 37% Audience )
• This demographic includes 'white British people' age 65+ who are predominantly female and have some right wing views and are concerned about issues such as immigration and trust the papers support of issues that affect the British people such as most recently  B R E X I T.
• The readers of the paper according to a recent YouGov survey describe the paper as being:-

  "in touch with ordinary people,informative,interesting and stands up for ordinary people". 
• The Daily Mail’s mode of address is aimed at women so the language is planned to appeal to a preferred female audience. The mode of address creates a relationship between the producer (or addresser)and the audience readership (addressee).
• The Daily Mail will follow and promote the ideology and news values of its parent company and owners D M G T media and its editor Paul Dacre. The Daily Mail supports right wing conservative party policies. The Daily Mail will support and portray positively the views of right wing conservative politicians such as Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak or Michael Gove. 
• It can often be a little controversial or even seen to be extreme in some of its views and opinions such as being tougher on immigration(with some similar views to even extremist parties like UKIP criticising people on benefits('benefits culture')and supporting anti european policies such as BREXIT. This has led to the paper being accused of promoting an intolerant racist ideology.
• The Daily Mail was very clear in its support of the campaign to leave the European Union known as B R E X I T. This is in line with the Daily Mail's ideology about being proud to be British and standing on our own. It promoted the Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage campaign to leave Europe despite many of the reasons for leaving turning out to be inaccurate,exaggerated and even lies. A recent poll aired on Sky News illustrated that 87% of the British public did not feel that BREXIT was successful or beneficial to the country despite the Daily Mail promising that it would be.
•  The paper is famous for publishing alarmist headlines that have in the past caused offence and led to the paper being accused of being 'politically incorrect' by being sexist, Islamophobic or anti immigration. The paper and its editor Paul Dacre have also caused controversy in the past by actually breaking the law by naming and shaming the gang accused of murdering the black teenager Stephen Lawrence(before they were convicted in court and technically still innocent) and this can also break press industry regulations on what is acceptable in newspapers.
• The papers editor Paul Dacre said that he wanted The Daily Mail to be a campaigning paper. Paul Dacre’s view or ideology is supported by the papers owners DMGT Media and is based on the opinion that Britain suffers from too much political correctness and should not be ashamed of its past. Paul Dacre and DMGT believe that the vast majority of the British population simply do not share that politically correct left wing viewpoint. They strongly believe think that the majority of British people and most certainly their own readers have a different set of views and values.
• Paul Dacre has always claimed that the British people scorn or do not like political correctness; They believe in the sanctity of the nuclear family (that the liberals mock and undermine). Daily mail readers are uneasy about the high levels of immigration that the liberal politically left wing(such as Liberal and Labour party supporters) have promoted; Daily Mail readers are fundamentally proud of their nation and its history and resent being called racist or chauvinist bigots for it.
• BREXIT

  They supported B R E X I T and leaving Europe and encouraged their readers to do so by publishing stories that followed Paul Dacre’s anti Europe ideology which were alarmist and often inaccurate about immigrants. The paper has also been critical of elitist organisations like judges and the police as well as being very negative toward the NHS, teachers and unions.
• ''If You Believe In Britain Vote Leave''

  The Mail supported right wing conservative politicians like Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage following its stated right wing ideology and news values of being "in touch with ordinary people" that share the same right wing values. 

  Interestingly It has also made a point of avoiding any recent stories that point out the negative effects of BREXIT on the country such as a significant loss of trade and key workers including doctors and nurses going back to Europe as a direct result of the controversial referendum.
• The Millie Dowler phone hacking scandal which led to the shutting down of the News of The World and the setting up of the Leveson Report to investigate press behaviour led to a fundamental change in the way newspapers are regulated and controlled.The Press Complaints Commision(PCC) was replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organisation known as IPSO in an attempt to hold newspapers up to a higher standard of behaviour and news reporting. Another regulator called IMPRESS was also set up with Royal Charter support to regulate press behaviour.
• CURRAN & SEATON

  The media theorists Curran and Seaton say that the freedom to publish in the free market ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests in society. They argue that newspapers have to reflect the needs,interests and desires of the reader to maintain circulation sales and readership. They would say that the press is the people’s watchdog scrutinising the actions of government and holding the country’s rulers to account. The Daily has certainly followed this by prop rating to reflect the people’s needs certainly in terms of its own right wing readership.
• N  O   1   U  K   N  E  W  S   B  R  A  N  D

  The Daily Mail is the most popular newspaper brand in the UK in terms of combined online + print readership.

  N  O   2   U K   P  R  I  N  T   P  A  P  E  R

  It is the 2nd most popular print newspaper after the Sun.

  It is owned by the big media conglomerate DMGT Trust.
• 2.3m average print readership. 62% ABC1 readers. 53 minutes average reading time. 60 average age of readership.
• 53% female readers
• The Daily Mail has a controversial history with its owner and founder Lord Rothermere supporting fascism in the 1930's. He was a personal friend and supporter of Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party.
• The Independent Press Standards Organisation I P S O is the largest independent regulator of the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK to promote and uphold the highest professional standards of journalism in the UK. It deals with complaints against the press such as accuracy, invasion of privacy, intrusion into grief or shock and harassment. 

  I P S O has the power to force newspapers to print corrections and apologies and can fine them. 
• B   L   A   C   K     T   O   P 

  M  I  D  D  L  E       M  A  R  K  E  T

  T   A   B   L   O   I   D  
•  "in touch with ordinary people,informative,interesting and stands up for ordinary people"  - Paul Dacre
• ANTI GARY LINEKER

  The Mail was recently very critical and negative about the BBC sports presenter and ex England footballer Gary Lineker because he criticised the Conservative governments controversial right wing policies on immigration. The Mail showed their bias and support for the Conservative government by attacking Gary Lineker and asking the BBC for him to be sacked from his job. Other newspapers supported Gary Lineker for his comments and eventually Gary not only kept his job but got an apology from the BBC.
• DMGT, or Daily Mail and General Trust, is a media company that owns a number of newspapers, magazines, and digital media outlets, including the Daily Mail newspaper. The company was founded in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, a prominent British newspaper publisher, and has been owned and operated by the Harmsworth family for several generations.
• Under the leadership of Lord Northcliffe and his brother, Harold Harmsworth, DMGT grew rapidly in the early 20th century, acquiring a number of newspapers and magazines and establishing a dominant position in the British media industry. The Daily Mail newspaper, which was founded in 1896, became one of the most popular and influential newspapers in the UK, known for its conservative political views and sensationalist reporting.
• In the decades that followed, DMGT continued to expand its media empire, acquiring new publications and investing in digital media platforms. In addition to the Daily Mail, DMGT now owns a number of other newspapers and magazines, including the Mail on Sunday, the Metro, and the i newspaper, as well as a range of digital media outlets and events businesses.
• Despite its success, DMGT has faced criticism over the years for its editorial practices and political bias, particularly with regard to its coverage of immigration, crime, and other social issues. The company has also been the subject of controversy for its links to far-right and anti-immigrant groups, and for its role in spreading misinformation and propaganda.
• Today, DMGT remains a major player in the UK media landscape, but its future is uncertain as the industry continues to shift towards digital media and away from traditional print publications.
• Benefits of online news media in comparison to print news media:

  • Appeals to youth audiences - digital natives
  • Accessible globally
  • Up to date and current
  • Free for consumers mostly, cheaper for the producers
  • Allows participation and interaction e.g. sharing allows for free distribution
• Right wing story: ‘Does anyone give a fig about all us hard-working taxpayers whose lives are being wrecked by strikes?’