News
Tuesday 13th September 2022
What is News?
LO: To explore the history of the news industry and the genres of newspaper.
What is the purpose of news?
To educate people on things that are currently happening via articles so that people can stay up to date and informed. To entertain people by giving them something to do/read.Social interaction as people can share, comment on and like news online. To make profit through advertising and people buying the magazine. To influence and persuade people into believing/doing certain things.
Which news sources do you use regularly?
Usually online news websites which appear to be trust worthy, popular and reliable. I also get a lot of news from the radio.
Which do you trust?
I usually trust sources such as the BBC or The Guardian
How do you decide which news sources to trust?
If they seem reliable, or are very well known for being factual/reliable.
Does it make a difference whether it is online or not?
It does make a difference as online things can spread fast and can be edited meaning that things could be taken out of context or edited to seem like a completely different story whereas printed newspapers are more set in stone and reliable however online things tend to be more up to date.
'News was not a spectator sport' what does Stephens mean by this?
We have always spread news without realising it via gossiping and telling each other information however now there are news sources that spread information as news.
What developments 150 yrs ago made it possible for people to make a business selling news?
Television(1950s-1960s) allowed people to sell and circulate news. The circulation of newspapers fell due to this however in 1965 reading more than 1 Sunday newspaper was common.
We can now access news anywhere, from our own ideas and opinions and even contribute ourselves. Stephens says this is 'mostly a wonderful thing'. Why? Do you agree?
People are now able to express how they feel about something that is happening in the world even if it contrasts the opinions of popular sources of news. I agree that this is a positive thing because every story has multiple sides/perspectives meaning that in order to see the full extent of a news article we need to be able to know the different opinions surrounding it.
Tabloid
Broadsheet
Tabloid: The Mirror, The Sun, The Daily Star
Hybrid:The Daily Express, The Daily Mail
Broadsheet: The observer, The Times, The Guardian, The Telegraph, The Financial, The Independent
Tuesday 27th September 2022
What is News?
LO: To explore the nature and ownership of the news industry.
What is wrong with the media ownership in the UK?
71% of news in Uk run by 3 big companies run by wealthy people. The main issues are that it is usually owned by rich people who are privileged and are interested in different topics to the general public therefore meaning that a lot of news sources don't address certain issues that are relevant to the public who will be consuming the news but not to them who would collect and share the news. A lot of news paper companies are also not about sharing news but are purely about making money therefore meaning that it is likely to be biased or may even contain fake news/propaganda. Companies like the BBC tend to promote theirselves as non-biased and being about sharing factual news from different perspectives due to the fact that they are not purely about making a profit as they are funded by the public and the government so they have a lack of commercial pressure. However a lot of the time,especially when the company loses money due to the fact that not everyone is able to afford a tv license due to the cost of living crisis, these companies share news favouring a certain opinion as the BBC want to please the government who help to run/fund it.
Ownership models
1. 'Media Barons'- owned by wealthy individuals or proprietors. E.g. Rupert Murdoch(owner of the international), Richard Desmond(was the owner of the express)
2. Trusts - a legal arrangement that transfers funds from the owner to a 'trustee' to manage and control the running of the paper E.g. The Guardian(run by the scott trust, charity not for profit, gives lots of people voice)
Newspaper Funding
Newspapers are not PSB (like the BBC) they are commercial publications.
This means that their main aim is to make a profit and not necessarily to share important news. Therefore the content in the newspaper will only focus on popular news stories/events that have/are taken/taking place in the world even if there are more important news stories to share. They do this as if they share popular news people are more likely to buy the newspaper meaning the company will make more money. A lot of these newspapers are also biased as the do not have the funding to include different opinions and they want to make the audience believe a certain view. They are subtly biased otherwise it may become too niche and could come off as extremist. This impacts the audience negatively as it tricks the audience into thinking that the news stories are important and factual when actually the company doesn't care if they are factual they just want you to entice you to buy the magazine. People often see big newspaper companies as reliable therefore making it easier for the public to be fooled. This also means that certain important news that isn't popular can be hidden. The newspapers can pick and choose what stories they use to fit their ideologies.
Newspaper Ownership
77.8% of Uk newspapers are run by billionares.
This influences the news that the audience see as people tend to trust big companies and have faith in what they are saying which allows the companies to only show biased or selected stories without the public being suspicious of it and tricks the public into believing it. This also creates an unfair playing field for smaller yet more trustworthy companies who share diverse and factual views and stories as the bigger companies are more privileged and more trusted. It also means that very important news that just isn't popular yet will have less of a circulation rate.
Newspapers are not legally obliged to be un-biased. This is not known to the general public as if companies make it obvious that they are biased people won't trust it so they have to subtly make it biased. Biased companies tend to alter or hide certain news stories or statistics that favours/demonises certain groups of people however they try to do this subtly so that people will not get too offended and will still trust it. This means that the people reading these magazines are likely to actively agree with and believe these articles.
There are no legal consequences for newspapers who share fake news/ break the ethical and moral codes of press conduct meaning that they can easily continue to do this and will not be prosecuted or suffer any consequences. This means that the general public will continue to be fed unreliable news stories and will continue to believe these fake stories.
Newspaper groups Titles Owned Daily Market Share
DMG Media ltd Mail 39%
News Corp Sun Times 28%
Reach Star, Express, Mirror, People 16%
Daily Record
Telegraph Group Telegraph 5%
Guardian media group Guardian, Observer 2%
Nikkei Financial Times 2%
How can the ownership and funding of newspapers impact the news content?
Biased opinions can be shared to fool the public, news accuracy may be altered to favour/demonise certain groups or only popular news may be shown in order to convince people to buy it in order to make money.
Tuesday 11th October 2022
Newspaper Funding & Regulation
LO: To explore the impact of newspaper funding and regulation on the printed press.
How does media ownership contribute to news bias?
The people in ownership will have bias opinions meaning that the news produced will be biased with the same opinion as the person in ownership. This means that the news could be altered or hidden to favour in the opinion of the person in ownership of the company. The opinions tend to be presented as factual news instead of opinions so therefore the opinions are more convincing. As 71% of the media is owned by billionares there is a small amount of variety of opinions due to the fact that billionares have very privileged views and there are mainly 3 different people's opinions presented in the media which means that there is even less variety. Commercial advertisement within the newspaper will also contribute to the newspaper being bias as the newspaper company cannot write any articles about a company in a negative light otherwise they could risk that company not wanting to pay the newspaper company to advertise them. The people associated with the owners will also try to influence them to present them in a positive way meaning that the newspaper may alter or hide a story to protect someone that they are friends with.
Newspapers are not usually profitable but are seen as a means of gaining political and social influence so are often owned by rich individuals rather than conglomerates so these businesses tend to mainly specialise in newspapers rather than a range of media.
The Guardian and Observer are owned by a trust set up in the 1930s to protect the editorial independence of the guardian newspaper and to safeguard journalistic freedom and the newspaper's liberal values. These liberal values have meant support from the Guardian for both the Labour party and the Liberal democrats with the newspapers trying to express a range of views from slightly right of centre to left wing.
The Guardian Media Group bought The Observer in 1993 after a disastrous period in which it had been used by its new owner as a weapon in a vendetta against a business rival. This is an example of the sort of editorial interference that the Scottish trust was set up to avoid.
History of The Observer
Political Bias of Newspapers
The Guardian
Left Wing/Labour
The Mirror
Left Wing/Labour
The Independent
Left Wing/Liberal
The Times
Right wing/Conservative
The telegraph
Right wing/Conservative
The Sun
Right wing/Conservative
The Daily Express
Right wing/Conservative
The Daily Mail
Right wing/Conservative
Newspaper editors invariably insist that the public that the owner never interferes with the content of the newspaper. The owner, however will appoint the editor so they have a great deal of indirect power. British politicians have routinely met with Rupert Murdoch before elections presumably to seek his support. Most politicians and the newspapers will deny this. The Leveson inquiry into the press found that politicians of all parties have 'developed too close a relationship' with the press.
How do newspapers make money?
They make money through selling the newspapers/circulation, pay subscriptions/membership, trusts, advertising, sponsored content, donations events & other sales.
What does the term 'free press' mean?
It means that the press/newspapers are not regulated and/or censored to allow freedom of speech and to prevent the government causing the newspapers to become biased by hiding stories that the present the government negatively.
What did the press do to jeopardise freedom of the press that also lost them a lot of credibility/trust with the public?
The press started to do unethical things in order to find information for stories/articles to present someone in a negative light in the favour of the opinion of their company. For example journalists listening to people's including the public's phone calls in order to find out personal information about that person in order to find an excuse to present them in a bad light. This made them seem untrustworthy to the public and also highlighted how biased they are as they have to invade other people's privacy just to find stories that favour in their opinion instead of just sharing contrasting perspectives and opinions that they don't have to do unethical things to gather information on. When it is obvious that newspapers are biased people are less likely to buy them as they will know that the stories are untrue and that other stories are hidden so they won't see a point in spending their money on them.There are both arguments for and against newspaper regulation. The reasons for regulation include that the press are untrustworthy which was proven within the Leveson inquiry after a journalist had invaded a politicians privacy by going through their chid's bag and after another person's phone had been hacked by a newspaper company in order to find information/stories. Regulation helps to prevent this as if newspaper companies are regulated they would not be able to get away with breaking the law by invading other people's privacy. This also shows that the press cannot draw a line between right and wrong meaning that they could potentially do unethical things such as hacking towards the public so in order to protect the public, regulation of the press is needed. Reasons against regulation of the press are that the regulators who have the power over the regulation could easily be biased or unethical themselves meaning that they could easily have a huge influence on what is shown and what isn't shown on newspapers which could increase the amount of false and hidden news. Another reason against regulation is that it may violate the Free Press law put in place which states that everyone has the right to release and print anything they like and regulation would go against this as the regulators will be able to change anything that the public have an issue with so the person who published the news that needed to be changed after being regulated then loses their right to release/print whatever they wish to.
What was the government response?
The government cannot regulate the press as this will only cause newspapers to become more biased in favour of the government and this also would not allow people to have freedom of speech. However clearly the press cannot self regulate as they continue to unethically find information so IPSO is used to regulate newspapers.
What self-regulatory body do most newspapers use today?
IPSO is used to regulate newspapers today however it is funded by the newspapers therefore meaning that it is still biased as if IPSO do something to upset the newspapers, they will stop being funded.
Tuesday 1st November 2022
Newspaper Case Study
LO: To investigate the Observer/Guardian publications.
Question 6 (1 mark)
Question 7 (4 marks)
Audience
The Observer (print) audience is equal in gender, are upmarket readers, live mostly in London and the south and are progressives. The online audience are mainly male, 35+ and middle class.
The observer target audience consists of an almost equal amount of both genders leaning slightly more towards a male audience. They are mainly upmarket readers of a lower middle social class who live mainly in London and the South. There political views are left-wing (liberal) progressionists who are interested in things such as art, culture and food. The majority of the audience are above the age of 35.
1. Define what convergence means.
Convergence is the merging of media of different types of mass media.
2. Explain how it applies to the Observer.
It applies to the Observer as they have a paper/print newspaper as well as an online newspaper.
3. Explain how digital convergence helps the Observer appeal to a wider audience?
A lot of people do not buy newspapers anymore so those who don't can still view it online (more convenient) meaning that the Observer are able to cater to a variety of preferences for consuming news. Online content can also spread to millions of people at a much faster rate than paper newspapers.
4. Explain how the newspapers and online version are similar?
They contain the same content and appeal to a similar audience. They also follow a similar layout.
5. Explain how online newspapers have changed the relationship between the audience and the reader.
They have changed it as some readers will prefer reading it online and others will prefer reading paper copies so those who prefer reading online will find it helpful.
Tuesday 15th November 2022
Active and Passive Audience
An active audience engages, interprets and responds to a media text in different ways and is capable of challenging the ideas encoded in it. Online newspapers have an active audience as they can share and comment so can therefore engage and respond.
A passive audience is more likely to accept the messages encoded in a media text without challenge and are therefore more likely to be directly affected by the messages. Print newspapers have a ore passive audience due to the fact that it is difficult to interact with the newspaper and voice your opinion on it. This means that the audience will not bother to challenge due to the difficult process of complaining to a newspaper.
Media Language
LO: To investigate how print newspapers use media language to create meaning.
Advantages of online newspapers: Interactive (comment, share), easy to edit so therefore is more likely to be kept up to date, easy to access, usually free for the reader to access, easy to complain to the newspaper and to have it altered, publish and view the articles at any time of day.
Disadvantages of online newspapers: They may have more adverts than print newspapers, sometimes have paywalls, more likely to contain false information, companies have a lack of sales figures, companies get less money for advertisement online, comments could be problematic.
Tuesday 29th November 2022
Media Language
LO: To investigate how online newspapers use media language to create meaning.
Write down the advantages and disadvantages of online newspapers.
An advantage of online newspapers it that the audience can access the articles at any time usually for free meaning that they are more likely to read the articles as it is accessable on most devices at all times and they usually do not need to spend their money on it which also makes it more appealing.
A disadvantage of online newspapers is that the industry make less of a profit as usually online newspaper articles are free to read meaning that their customers are not actually generating much, if any, revenue therefore meaning that the company makes less money that through paper newspapers that customers would have to pay to read.
Social Media
For the Guardian, the colour palette consisting of mainly blue and yellow remains the same on all platforms which helps to maintain the brand image and make it distinct which is important as people tend to trust popular newspapers more so if it is clear that it is the Guardian, people are more likely to positively interact with it and trust the information on there.
The Guardian also uses lexis throughout the different platforms in order to express its liberal, anti-conservative views which appeals to the target audience of people who have left wing beliefs making them more likely to be interested in reading that newspaper over other newspapers. This also helps to build a strong brand image making it more recognisable. The layout and images constantly look high quality and formal making the newspaper seem reliable and professional influencing the reader to trust it as a reliable source of news.
The logo is always obvious and is often the profile pictures of the accounts on different platforms making it recognisable and attracts previous and current readers.
The Observer also uses its distinct logo as its profile picture to help link it to the brand as a whole and makes it recognisable.
The lexis used on each platform usually links to themes of food, culture and left-wing ideologies which appeals heavily to the intended target audience of the observer who have a passion for those things.
The layout of the Observer is also formal and has a professional appearance making it seem reliable and therefore appealing to more people.
The profile picture of the Observer has been condensed to just an O however, due to the use of the same font and colour palette it is easily recognisable and associated with the Observer.
There are no bright colours in the skybox unlike in the print version as the format on social media does not need bright colours as the audience are evidently already engaged with it by clicking on it in the first place so bright colours are not needed in order to catch their attention.
Tuesday 13th December 2022
Historical Case Studies
LO: To evaluate the impact of social, cultural, political and historic contexts on 1960s newspapers.
What layout can we see as popular in the 1960s?
The mastheads in all of the 1960s Observer newspapers were small compared to the modern masthead suggesting that having a small masthead was a popular element of layout in the 1960s. Another element of layout that was seemingly popular in the 1960s was a dense amount of text on the cover of the newspaper with multiple articles on the front which contrasts to the now more simplistic, less crowded new cover layout of The Observer. The colour palette in the 1960s was purely black and white on The Observer as were other media sources such as TV. In the 1960s the people reading the Observer newspaper would have most likely been middle or upper class suggesting that the reader would mainly be focussed on the formal aspects of a newspaper hence why the cover layout heavily focussed on and included text and news articles as this is what would have been in the interest of the reader. A black and white colour palette also has connotations of sophistication which would have appealed to the formal audience that the Observer would have had in the 1960s.
Tuesday 10th January 2023
Historical Case Studies Question
LO: To evaluate the impact of social, cultural and historic context of 1960s newspapers.
The cover of the Observer broadsheet from 20th October 1968 and other Observer 1960s broadsheets reflect many different historic contexts that were heavily relevant at the time.
Headlines on the cover of the Observer broadsheet from 20th October 1968 such as "Jackie We're Very Happy" highlight the patriarchal society which was still fairly dominant at the time. This headline shows the lack of coverage of women in newspapers as women were only newspaper worthy if they were in some way associated with a man especially if they have reached a patriarchal milestone such as marriage connoting that women were only seen as wives and property of men. Jackie was the ex wife of the US president at the time and this headline refers to moving on from him and getting remarried. Despite this headline still highlighting the irrelevance women had without men, this headline is also slightly controversial to regular patriarchal standards as it is celebrating a woman moving on from her previous husband instead of being controlled and dominated by him. This goes against the old-fashion traditions, that would have been relevant up until the 1960s, of women only marrying once and being the property of their husband. This sparks some hope for a gradual change in gender equality and the fade out of a heavily male dominated society during the 1960s as although the newspaper was still only mentioning women associated with men, they were also celebrating a woman moving on from and not relying on her previous husband.
Another example of a headline within the cover of this broadsheet that reflects the context at the time of the 1960s would be "Hopes rise for cease-fire in Vietnam". This headline links to the Vietnam War that was taking place at the time. The use of lexis such as "hopes" suggest that they are on Vietnam's side and that they hope Vietnam will be able to defend themselves against the attack from other countries. This highlights the fact that people in the UK had become sympathetic for people involved in war due to WW2 which had ended approximately 15 years prior. People in the UK would have only just recovered from the war in the 1960s due to how recent the end of WW2 was prior. They wouldn't have wanted any war even in foreign countries such as Vietnam due to this anti-war movement at the time. This shows the change society as a whole was embarking on in the 1960s to strive for peace and equality. The Vietnam war is mentioned several times on the cover implying that this was a very relevant and important topic in the 1960s which stresses how deeply people cared and felt sympathy towards those under invasion. This could arguably also link to the cold war in the 1960s which would have made people in the UK even more anti-war due to how tired they would have been of confrontation and fighting with foreign countries. They wanted peace in the UK and in foreign countries.
Adress the question
An example
Explain
Link back to question
Tuesday 24th January 2023
Paper 2 Section B
Do Now (dirt):
(Sunday 9th October 2022 cover)
The modern Observer cover reflects contextual event that were relevant at the time such as the Ukraine vs Russia, and a new tory prime minister. An example would be the headline "Putin dealt bitter blow as blast cripples key bridge to Crimea" which links to Putin's use of explosives and his plots to invade and attack other countries. The key bridge to Crimea was important to Putin so the celebration of this explosion in the cover which is connoted by the words "blast" highlight the left-wing beliefs that this newspaper presents and the anti-war attitude.
Theoretical Framework:
Audience, Industry - press ownership, Representations, Media Language
Q6. 1 mark question: industry and terminology
Q7. 4 mark explain question: social media and online press (industry)
Q8. 5 mark unseen extract short analysis: Contemporary print (media language and representation
Q9. 15 mark unseen extract long analysis: contemporary print(media language and contexts)
Q10. 10 mark analysis: historical case study (representations and context)
Question Six
Globalisation
Broadsheet
Soft News: Sensationalised, celebrity, gossip
Explain one advantage for a newspaper of each of the following:
- publishing in print
- publishing online only
An advantage of publishing in print instead of online is the profit made from selling print copies. Print newspapers cost money for people to purchase and read meaning that the newspaper company will be able to make more of a profit and will therefore have further funding to go towards publishing and printing more newspapers.
An advantage of publishing news online only is the more publicity gained from online news. Online news can be shared and interacted with meaning that it could reach millions of people and may even expand more globally meaning that you are more likely to have businesses pay to be advertised in your online newspapers meaning you will make a large profit as you do not need to put any of the profit made from advertisements into printing paper newspapers.
Question Eight
An example of a representation of a social group in this extract would be the negative, perverted representation of white, upper class, tory MPs. The headline "Disgraced MP "broke law' by watching porn in Commons" whilst referring to a tory MP not only expresses the left-wing views that are enforced within this newspaper due to the negative and perverted connotations that watching pornography in an extremely formal setting in a room full of people holds. This reflects onto all male, white, tory MPs as there are no other representations of them in this newspaper and the MP lacks a name in the headline therefore generalising this and formulating it into a general stereotype of this specific social group.
Question Nine
I agree fully with the statement that the representations within this extract reflect the values and beliefs of The Observer newspaper. A representation featured in this example is that of black people who are a minority group. They are represented as making a positive difference which can be seen in the main image which focusses on the sign that uses the lexis "silence is violence" linking to the black lives matter anti racist movement. Due to this being the main image and the featuring of the anti-racism sign suggests that the newspaper is supportive of them and wants to give minority groups such as black people a voice. There is also a black person stood in the front of the crowd connoting that black people are able to make a stand and have a positive impact on the world; they can be leaders as well as white people. This prevalent theme of anti-racism within the extract reflects the inclusive, diverse and liberal values and characteristics associated with and displayed by the observer due to the black lives matter movement tending to have connotations linked to similar liberal and inclusive movements and beliefs. Liberal beliefs are all about inclusivity and giving minority groups a voice which this extract successfully does by empowering and positively representing minority groups fighting for justice.
Another representation within this extract that reflects the newspaper's beliefs and values is that of gardeners.
Tuesday 7th February 2023
Question 9 & 10 Guided Responses
LO: To explore the exam response structure for Q9 and Q10.
Question 9
15 mark unseen extract long analysis - contemporary print
You must analyse the extract and make a clear judgement according to the question. You also need to include an analysis of how the extract reflects the media contexts that are relevant to the extract.
Context: (LIAR)Language, industry, audience, representation (Theoretical Framework)
Media Language: Lexis, Image, Typography, layout, colour palette
(10 marks)
Genre conventions: Of specific type of newspaper such as a broadsheet or tabloid and the political stance of that specific newspaper.
Make a judgement (how far...)
(5 marks)
At least 3 or 4 paragraphs
Important points: Media language reflect genre conventions, analyse, make judgement, different areas of theoretical framework and media contexts
Level 3 - 4 marks (5 marks with another paragraph)
Modern Case Studies Question
Cover 1: "Johnson threatens Sunak's bid to end deadlock over Brexit." This links to political context. Tension between ex PM and current PM. Country still effected by and split over Brexit.
Cover 2: "Cabinet split over NHS pay piles pressure on Sunak." Links to the strikes that are currently occurring and highlights the unfair pay of NHS workers. Suggests that it is Sunak's (a conservative PM) responsibility to solve these issues yet he is struggling to. This shows the left wing, anti-conservative views that The Observer portrays.
Cover 3: "NHS hospitals push private route to 'quick and easy' care.' Links to struggle that the NHS are currently facing whilst the England has a conservative PM which connotes that this may be due to the governments' funding towards the NHS. Private vs public healthcare shows the divide of classes in British society.
How far, media language, contrast, serious hard news, soft news gossip, and skybox.
1. "Cabinet split over NHS pay piles pressure on Sunak"
Political situation - not agreeing. NHS pay is the disagreement. Class divide.
2. "Food banks at breaking points as demand hits new high"
Class divide- lots of people struggling for food. 2023 - cost of living crisis/food crisis.
Media language is used fully to show a contrast between soft news and hard news. Within the main section of The Observer cover, various genre conventions of hard news are portrayed in contrast to the sky box which contains many genre conventions of soft news through the use of media language. The skybox consists of a bright, saturated colour palette which has connotations of stimulation, fun and lightheartedness which fully fits into the informal genre conventions associated with soft news. In contrast to this, the main section of the newspaper consists of a darker colour palette such as black and dark blue which both have formal connotations and therefore fits into the serious genre conventions of hard news. The blue accents used within the main section reflect the main cover image which consists of our current conservative PM agreeing to a deal with the USA. Not only is blue associated with the conservative party but it also links to the colours of the USA and UK further showing the patriotic nature of the conservative party which reflects the liberal beliefs of The Observer. Despite this, the bright colour palette in the sky box connotes that despite having liberal, inclusive beliefs on serious political contexts, they still have the luxury to be playful and access a sense of escapism from serious political events. This further connotes that they are upper class due to their high interest in hard news such as politics yet an ability to have a softer contrasting approach within their own lives. This contrast also further shows the class divide. Therefore I fully think that media language has been used to show both a contextual and literal divide between soft and hard news.
Media language techniques such as lexis are also used to show a contrast between the soft and hard news contained within the cover. In the main section, which has formal connotations due to the domination of text, there are cover lines such as "food banks at breaking point as demand hits new high" in reference to the current cost of living crisis in the UK, which is considered to be a heavily impactful and serious topic. Food banks being described as at breaking point connotes a sense of empathy towards those who cannot afford food, highlighting the liberal, left wing beliefs of the newspaper and the audience and shows that they are interested in hard news as they genuinely care about the lower class. However, due to the use of lexis in the sky box such as "Free food magazine" the audience are presented to have luxury and it is suggested that they are not directly impacted by political events such as a cost of living crisis. They are able to live with excess and luxurious food whilst food banks are struggling due to many people having no money. Due to the combination of the saturated colour palette and potentially tone death lexis being used to contrast the formal section of the cover, it is suggested that they are able to still engage in soft news and acknowledge formal news at the same time showing that they are wealthy and have the ability to escape a crisis unlike the lower classes who cannot. This contrast further highlights the class divide.
Level 3 (I think)
Tuesday 14th March 2023
Question 10 Contextual Analysis
LO: To explore the structure for Q10 and contextual issues in news.
Espionage - "North Sea Spy Game" Fear, several headlines linking to it showing importance and fear of invasion. Influenced by society as it links to fear, threatening and builds the them vs us mentality. Post WW2 fear.
Patriarchy - "Jackie: We're Very Happy" Patriarchal milestone such as marriage is what makes the topic of a woman relevant. Next to an image of her with a man's arm around her reinforcing the dominance of men and objectification of women. However sparks some hope as they are happy that a woman has moved on from her husband which subverts the patriarchal society but not fully. No other women mentioned- only women getting into relationships is presented as relevant. Women somewhat developing independence yet not being relevant on their own.
Gender Equality emerging - "Lawyers will urge divorce by consent" Links to women gaining independence as they are now allowed to divorce a man whereas before the choice of divorce was mainly dominated by men. Both genders will equally be able to make the choice to get a divorce not just men.
The newspaper cover reflects the heavy influence that context had onto the representations within newspapers during the 1960s. For example the emergence of gender equality in society after "lawyers urge divorce by consent". The mentioning of this in the newspaper shows the development that society is embarking towards gender equality as before the 1960s divorce was typically decided and tainted by the power of men due to the insignificance of women's views and needs within society especially if they went against those of men. The fact that women's ability to be independent has been engrained into the law and printed into a newspaper shows the powerful voice that women were begging to develop and gain. Clearly The Observer newspaper were in support of this new legislation encouraging women to be independent due to their intentional making of that as the main headline. This highlights their liberal and inclusive values and shows that they care about contextual occurrences happening within society.
Tuesday 25th March 2023
Exam DIRT
LO: To reflect on the exam and identify areas to improve
Hard news. Formal language and topics discussed. Mainly dominated by text with one image. Colours mainly consist of formal colours with some bright colour accents in the skybox.
Red skybox, colourful. picture dominated, gossip, soft news, casual language.
Print newspapers often contain less adverts than online newspapers which tends to be more appealing as the adverts are on the paper and are not interactive so do not distract from the information and can easily be ignored unlike online newspapers that often contain pop up adverts that are interactive and may be distracting or come off as very influential and as dominant over the newspaper articles. Lots of pop up adverts could suggest that the newspaper only cares about making money rather than delivering information.
Older woman as a film star
Vegans and vegetarians are a social group that are often under-represented in the media. In extract 3, this social group is presented as positively as within the skybox the vegan and vegetarian recipes are described with the word 'best' which has positive connotations further suggesting that theses recipes are enjoyable and perhaps even superior to non-vegan/vegetarian meals. This further connotes that the Observer wants to include this social group and represent them positively which further highlights the liberal beliefs of the Observer as a whole. In the skybox there is also a very presentable, colourful picture of vegetarian food which connotes that the food is vibrant in colour and therefore most likely contains a strong variety of flavours which reinforces this idea of vegetarian and vegan food being positive and enjoyable despite stereotypically being known as bland.
Target- Reach a conclusion (work on timing to finishes.
Media language was heavily used to promote the New Review and the free magazine as different from the news section of the cover. For example, the colour palette of the skybox, which contains the adverts for elements such as the free food magazine, has an extremely saturated colour palette with a very informal, not overly organised layout. Both of these uses of media language have very fun, stimulating and casual connotations and fit into genre conventions of soft news, which suggests that the free food magazine is very casual and almost luxurious as the skybox is above a hard news article connoting that the audience are in a position where they can indulge in luxurious, cultural media sources as well as having the compassion to empathise with those who may be stuck in serious, unfortunate scenarios.
The main body of text underneath the skybox, embodies a very organised structure through the use of columns and has a colour palette consisting of mainly blue and black. Both of these elements of media language have formal, serious connotations meaning that they fit into the genre conventions of hard news. This use of media therefore heavily contrasts the connotations created by the soft news content conveyed within the skybox. This contrast highlights the audience's privileged yet considerate societal and political decision; the audience are only likely to buy the newspaper if they can read hard news as well as being able to access a luxurious source of escapism.
Therefore, the in contrast media language between the media language in the news section is very obvious and evident which is essential due to the appeals and mindset of the liberal, middle class target audience of the Observer.
Target - Give specific examples of the contexts.
Social contexts such as the advancement of feminism have influenced print newspapers today due to the normalisation of gender equality within contemporary society. For example, in newspapers, especially liberal newspapers such as the observer, women are often represented within them as strong authoritative figures such as female politicians being positively conveyed and supported by the newspaper which connotes that women are just as capable as men to carry out stereotypically masculine and dominant roles such as being a politician which further symbolises the respect that women have gained over the recent years and the gradual decomposition of old-fashioned gender stereotypes. Another example would be the representation of women outside the contexts of children and marriage. In liberal broadsheets such as the observer, women are often represented as individual and are not objectified and are not made to seem like possessions of men or as children baring machines that are only successful after having children further highlighting the advancement of feminism and gender equality.
Tuesday 25th April 2023
Q10 Modern Analysis
LO: To explore the contextual issues of news.
Explain how social and/or cultural context influence print newspapers today.
Social and cultural contexts are heavily reflected within print newspapers today as a manifestation of their influence upon newspapers and the media. On the covers of most Observer print newspapers there are bright, colourful skyboxes containing adverts for products such as luxury foods, food magazines containing recipes, ranges of new books and gardening related products. This advertisement of products that are not essential to survival or every day life using bright colours reinforces the culture of consumerism within British society. The bright colour palette of the adverts will make the products appear as fun and exciting which therefore entices the audience to repeatedly buy products that they may never even use or that they do not need. Complex recipes and gardening products are not essential products yet companies selling them are still able to survive with ease showing that whoever sees their adverts has the urge to buy from them. This inclusion of the adverts on the newspaaper shows how normalised consumerism is within contemporary society and it highlights the class divide due to a lot of working class and some middle class families struggling for food whilst the upper middle class audience of the Observer are able to submit to their urges of over-consuming luxury products as they have large amounts of disposable income. Therefore the culture of consumerism heavily influences and is encouraged and incorporated within newspapers such as the Observer. This also contrasts to 1960s newspapers as adverts tended to be less dominant and colourful which enforced less consumerism showing that society constantly further embarking on a stance towards a society dominated by consumerism.
Another social context that significantly influences contemporary newspapers is the expanding LGBTQ+ community and it's increasingly positive position within society. Some Observer covers contain skybox adverts that present LGBTQ+ books as 'classics' which connotes that LGBTQ+ writers are of intelligence and that LGBTQ+ stories are seen as enjoyable to read therefore highlighting the inclusive culture that contemporary society is. In the 1960s, all newspapers were heteronormative and would have not represented gay people at all especially not from a positive, admirable perspective showing how society's attitudes have developed overtime. Due to the advert being in a newspaper with a middle class audience, it highlights the positive platform and relevance that is now available to the LGBTQ+ community.
Tuesday 23rd May 2023
Exam Format
LO: To explore the exam format and content for the news unit.
Q6 1 mark question industry and terminology.
Q7 4 mark explain question social media and online press(industry)
Q8 5 mark unseen extract short analysis. Contemporary print (media language and representation.
Q9 15 marks unseen extract long analysis. Contemporary print (media language and contexts)
Q10 10 mark analysis historical case study (representation and contexts)
Man talking about baking/cooking. Ukraine war.
Shows liberal viewpoint- newspapers usually take a political stance
More text than images.
Genre convention of a broadsheet.
Ukraine war, people in hospital beds.
Hard news which fits formal convention of broadsheets.
Luxury products being advertised, skybox has bright colours which connotes enjoyment and fun. Contrasts hard news and reflects privilege of the target audience who are able to indulge despite tragic things happening in the world. Audience also not greatly affected by cost of living or food crisis so are not working class.
Reflects/appeals to a middle or upper class audience who broadsheets are usually aimed at.
Website
The media language in Extract 3 fully reflects genre conventions of a broadsheet newspaper. The first aspect of media language within The Observer cover used is lexis. Headlines consist of serious topics such as the Ukrainian war and victims of war in hospital beds which is seen as hard news which appeals to the same formal audience that broadsheet newspapers appeal to therefore meaning it fits into the genre conventions of a broadsheet. The audience of broadsheets tend to be middle or possibly upper class who typically like to remain informed about formal and serious topics. Another example of lexis being used is when the Ukrainian people in hospital beds are described as victims which connotes that The Observer displays empathetic emotions towards the Ukrainians which links to liberal values such as multiculturalism. Broadsheets tend to embody a political stance such as being liberal meaning that this display of liberal values fits into the genre conventions of a broadsheet. Therefore, the lexis used reflects broadsheet genre conventions.
Layout is also used like within the skybox, there is soft news/adverts which link to baking and recipes and consist of bright colour palettes. A small quantity of soft news in the skybox is expected within a broadsheet newspaper and the middle and upper class, the audience of broadsheets, are likely to have quite a large disposable income meaning that they are able to indulge in luxury products such as recipe books and magazines and sweet, indulgent foods that are not essential to everyday living meaning that it will appeal to this audience further contributing to the layout of a broadsheet newspaper. The bright colour bright colour palette connotes light heartedness and fun which reinforces the appeal to a more privilege audience as the readers are clearly not personally effected by hard news and are able to have fun in spite of their sympathy towards those who are struggling. This could further link to the cost of living crisis; working class people are struggling to buy essential products so therefore it must be the middle and upper class reading these newspapers as they can buy luxury foods. Another example of layout used is the more text to image ratio which links to the genre conventions of broadsheets as more text tends to be seen as formal as it consists of a lot of information and connotes hard news which tends to be in broadsheets. Therefore the layout fits the genre conventions.
The cover also displays liberal values which is common within broadsheets as they tend to take political stances whether it is liberal or conservative; they tend to be formal and therefore political. It displays liberal values by subverting stereotypes such as gender roles. This is shown by a man in the skybox, with a bright, stereotypically feminine colour, within an advert about baking connoting that he enjoys baking and shows interest in it. Cooking and baking tend to be seen as feminine activities therefore meaning that stereotypes of men have been subverted. This links to liberal values such as gender equality suggesting that The Observer wants to encourage and display liberal values to their inevitably liberal, left-wing audience. The main image is of Ukrainian victims of war in hospital beds which shows that the newspaper wants to represent them in a sympathetic light which links to the liberal value of multiculturalism and diversity. Therefore, The Observer fully fits into genre conventions of broadsheets such as reflecting a political stance.
To conclude, all of these aspects of media language, such as layout and lexis; as well as the representations and values reflected within the cover, in The Observer cover combine in order to fully reflect the genre conventions of a broadsheet newspaper.
Values and beliefs of Observer
Liberal, inclusivity, equality, diversity, giving different people a voice, multiculturalism, culture, art, food.
Skybox- Male wearing bunny ears subverts male stereotype. Bright, stereotypically feminine colour palette.
11/10- Great work today Molly, Brilliant notes. T: 1. what are the arguments for and against regulation for the press.
ReplyDelete1/11- Q7:4/4 T: Fully explain both methods of funding for the newspapers.
ReplyDelete6/3- excellent response here. T: overall intro judgement and conclusion to just finish off the paragraph.
ReplyDelete25/4- excellent responses Molly well done. T: when referring to the Working Class as suffering from the cost of living crisis and then the Middle class and Upper class as targeted with the consumerist adverts.
ReplyDelete