Newspapers: The Times case study

Newspapers: The Times case study

Language

The main stories on the front pages are:

• "Scots want to remain in the UK, new poll reveals" which focuses on the referendum in which Scotland decided to stay apart of the UK.
• "Google: we won't remove a video that attacks Jews" this story focuses on google not deciding to take down an anti-Semitic video which includes the leader of the Ku Klux Klan

The main stories inside pages are;

• "Muirfield welcomed back to open after vote allows in women golfers" This story focuses the all-male golf club finally allows women in. 
• "Transgender fell-runner jailed for stabbing official" this story focuses on a transgender woman that has been sent to prison.

A large picture of Angelina Jolie is the main image on the cover of The Times. This is the first thing a potential customer would see along with the headline "Scots want to remain in the UK" Featuring a well-known actress who is also attractive will catch the eye of customers.

The Times is aimed at the wealthy, educated, and middle-high class people. This is evident in the language used and the quantity of text. The high level, sophisticated vocabulary would only be understood by someone who is well educated. An indication of wealth is from the pug "best places to live in Britain" which features a large expensive house.

In relation to political beliefs, The Times supports the Conservative Party and is against anything related to Labour. The Times will act as a voice for the rich, educated and wealthy.

                                                                                                                                                  

Audience

The Times' target audience is people aged 55 or over. in terms of social class, The Times is aimed at ABC1 classes. The front page would appeal to their target audience as it features things such as politics, expensive housing and other things that support right-wing ideas. Seeing as the majority of readers are over 55, they will be accustomed to traditional values; in this case, men being more dominant. The Muirfield story would interest readers as they would want to know what is causing disruption to the way things used to be.

Applying Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory:

• Surveillance: the main reason we read newspapers is to find out what is going on in the world around us. The Times allows readers to know about politics, current affairs and more.
• Entertainment: One of the main reasons we read newspapers is for entertainment. An example of this would be crosswords or cartoons. In reference to The Times, the reader will see information about Angelina Jolie and luxurious places to stay.
• Personal Identity: the newspaper you read what type of person are. The reader could potentially relate or agree to the points put forward by the newspaper. 

Representation

The Times features a story about Scotland wanting to remain in the UK. The Times seems in favour of this. The Times represents GB as being unified. 

The Times didn't seem in favour of the Muirfield golf club becoming exclusive to both genders. Certain phrases used highlights this. The fact that they are against it shows that they still believe in traditional values along with the older audiences.

Big companies have been talked down upon by The times. It is clear to say that the writer of the Times is against companies. Some of the hatred toward these companies is sometimes linked to their opposing party.

The Times focusses on a transgender woman who is jailed for stabbing someone. Throughout the article The Times avoids using personal pronouns such as "she" or "her". Which suggests that they are anti LGBTQ+ and believing traditional ideologies.

Industries

The Times is owned by the News UK. The News Corporation is a conglomerate mostly owned by Rupert Murdoch (Australian businessman with interests such as Fox network in the USA and Sky Television in the UK)

The Time's sold over 800,000 papers in the 1990s but in 2018 is decreased by 430,000 with a circulation of 430,000. Which is the result of the rise of the internet? Newspapers are being bought less as most news is conceived through the internet. As a result of this, The Times is beginning to move towards a multi-platform landscape.

Factors that make news most likely to be on the front page: 

• Immediacy, has it happened recently?
• Negativity, is it bad news?
• Familiarity, is it relatively close to us in Britain?

Blog tasks: Daily Mirror case study

Language

Masthead: The title of a newspaper or magazine at the head of the first or editorial page.
Incentive: A thing on the newspaper that motivates or encourages someone to do something.
Pug: A type of incentive which is placed on the cover to make something stand out. 
Splash Head:
Slogan: A short and striking or memorable phrase used in advertising
Dateline: a line at the head of a dispatch or newspaper article showing the date and place of writing
Kicker: A line of newspaper typeset above a headline intended to provoke interest readers
Byline: The byline on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article
Standfirst: Journalism an introductory paragraph in an article, printed in larger or bolder type or in capitals, which summaries the article.

One copy of the Daily Mirror retails for 70p. The main story of the CSP edition of the Daily mirror is "Fraud Cops Grill Tory MP". Although is is the main story, it only takes up a third of a page. The rest of the front page is taken up by the "Cheltenham Festival". This promotion includes a £5 discount which is used to bring in more customers. This advertisement would appeal to the working class. 

Audience

The target for the daily mirror would be C1, C2, D & E, this is because the mirror it contains soft news and human interests in which must working class people will be drawn to. The phrase "Prey and Display" is a play on words with the phrase "pay and Display" in reference to parking. This will interest readers as they will be able to relate to it. 
A reader might enjoy the Daily Mirror because of multiple Uses and Gratifications from Blumer & Katz theory:

• Surveillance -so audiences are informed on what's going on in the world around them. It also gives them the opportunity to find out the latest gossip/scandal.
• Entertainment - The readers can enjoy reading the opinions of others, reading cartoons or completing crosswords.
• Personal Identity - The personal tone of the writing reinforces the paper's ethos that it is speaking for the people.
• Social interaction and interest - Betting and watching sports can create opinions and social interaction with others.

Newspapers are read by older audiences as it is traditional as newspapers were common in the olden times  

Print newspaper generally is read by an older audience because it's traditional and it's easier for them to read a newspaper rather than trying to figure out how to interact with a phone.

Representation

How does the Daily Mirror represent the Conservative Party and its MPs? Look at the main front page story.
The headline for the Daily Mirror is 'Fraud Cops Grill Tory MP' The Daily Mirror used this title to put shame on the conservatives as the Dialy Mirror is a biased newspaper that goes against the Conservative party.

The Daily Mirror included an article focussing on a golf club that is now admitting female members. the language used in this article shows that they are in favour of this new idea. 

The Daily Mirror contains soft news such as human interests and celebrity gossip. An example of this would be the 'Prey and Display' article that focuses on ticket wardens and how they abuse their power. The readers of the Daily Mirror would be interested in this story as it relates to them.

The Daily Mirror represents the older people as being more interested in political news as most people who read the it are 65+. The fact that is a newspaper would attract older customers as it is the more traditional intake of news

Industries

The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper founded in 1903. It is owned by parent company Reach plc  which was formerly called trin ity mirror


Comparing the The Daily Mirror's circulation in  1990 to 2019, there is a decrease of 500,000. Other newspaper companies numbers have decreased due to the rise of the internet. News can now be accessed at any time and anywhere thanks to the interner. However, the Daily Mirror has realoised this  and they have producedd an online version of the tabloid itself.

IPSO stands for 'Independent Press Standards Orginsation' and it regulate the newspaper and magazine industry in the UK. Some people would likestroner regulation of british newspapers because some get away with derogatory language that could offend some readersz.