Newspapers Exam Q.

How has the newspaper industry maximised profits in response to technological change? Refer to The Mirror+ The Times in your answer (12 marks)

Technological change has affected the newspaper industry due to the impact of the internet. Whilst for audiences it has been a positive change, allowing more availability, choice and feedback, the industry has struggled to deal with the minimising profit and control and constantly drifting audiences.
Newspapers have attempted to adapt by moving their content to the internet through websites, however they manage their finances differently. The Times has a paywall, meaning the audience has to subscribe in order to be able to consume more content. In this way the newspaper has tried to adapt to the changing landscape by being aware of the different ways news are consumed nowadays, through phones, tablets and computers and not just by print anymore. This is why the cheapest subscription at £1 per week includes the newspaper app whereas if you include the physical paper copies it rises to £10. They are able to price their content due to their audience, middle class people. The Mirror chooses to maximise profits solely through advertising, which fits due to less serious, sensationalist tone. Furthermore, there are comments sections on The Mirror's news articles which allow the audience to respond to the product, as per Shirky's end of audience theory, due to people being able to voice their opinions back to the media through the internet. Even though The Times doesn't do it in the same way, this theory applies due to the opportunities to share the articles on social media. Therefore, the websites are effective and well-designed for the newspapers different audiences in order to maximise their financial gain.
The audiences are constructed and targeted in order to maximise profits. The specific content of the newspapers appeal to different people. The Mirror constantly includes images throughout the coverage of their news, appealing visually with fairly large images. On the other hand, The Times only uses them sparingly, as the focus as a broadsheet is on high-quality news. The story values for a spreadsheet like The Times therefore are more informed and unambiguous than the reliance on shock value through headlines by The Mirror. The 'elite persons' in a tabloid aren't limited to politicians, but also celebrities as there's a chance for gossip and appeal to the wider audience. The lifestyle and entertainment-based news stories in The Mirror contrast with the political and business focus of The Times. Audiences are constructed as outlined by Hall's representation theory; the often monosyllabic headlines of the labour working class- targetted newspaper juxtapose the more elaborated ones by the middle class- focused newspaper, suggesting media language and codes are being used to contribute to classism, reinforcing the idea that the middle class is more educated and the working class won't read as many politics articles. Nevertheless, profit is ensured as the structuring and choice of news stories persuades the audience to consume.
The newspaper industry has mainly maximised profits through vertical and horizontal integration. Through wider ownership, conglomerates like News UK, are able to have a higher market share, and so finance their newspaper. In this way, newspapers like the Times are able to be sustain themselves without the need of too many advertisements, unlike The Mirror. Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Times and News UK, has effectively maximised profits by horizontal integration as he owns a fair share of the newspaper industry.

Newspapers: Ownership & Audience

INDUSTRY+ AUDIENCE FACTS

Tabloid (Red Top, popular press): Sensationalist, gossip and scandals, patriotic, concerned with national 'British' issues 

Broadsheet: Educated, middle to upper class, serious news, politics, more likely to have informed opinions and an open mind, international and not just national issues

Middle Market: Conservative, traditional 2.4 children, Pro-Brexit, anti-immigration, white and older age bracket, upper working to lower middle class, concerned with national 'British' issues

Key terminology

A large business corporation that is comprised of a range of different parts or smaller businesses	Conglomerate
This is when a Media Company owns different businesses in the same chain of production and distribution.	Vertical integration
This literally means ‘to work together’ and is where one form of media product ‘cross sells’ another form of media product to their mutual advantage of increasing sales/audiences.	Convergence
This means  that there is a diversity of viewpoints available and consumed across and within the media industries and prevents any one media owner or voice having too much influence over public opinion and the political agenda.	Plurality
This is the process of how the media product gets to its audience after production	Distribution
This is when a sector of the media industry such as newspapers is dominated by one or a small number of large organisations.	Monopoly
This is where a media company tries to maximise its power and profit by combining elements of its business into a more concentrated and more effective model.	Consolidation/ synergy
This is the process of a company expanding its media production in the same area of media. For example, one newspaper company buying another newspaper company. This can happen by internal expansion, merger or takeover and can lead to a monopoly.	Horizontal integration
This is where two or more companies, usually of similar size, combine to form a larger single company.	Merger
This is where a larger company buys a smaller company	Takeover
This is the combination of different areas of the media coming together to maximise profit	Synergy

1. Trinity Mirror plc is the largest British newspaper, magazine and digital publisher after purchasing rival Local World for £220 million, in October 2015. It is Britain's biggest newspaper group, publishing 240 regional papers as well as the national Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People, and the Scottish Sunday Mail and Daily Record. Since purchasing Local World, it has gained 83 print publications.
Consolidation; Takeover; horizontal integration

2. News UK is a British newspaper publisher, and a wholly owned subsidiary of the American mass media conglomerate News Corp, owned by Rupert Murdoch. It is the current publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times, The Sun and The Sun on Sunday newspapers as well as the Times Literary Supplement and Times Educational Supplement. Until June 2002, it was called News International plc.
Conglomerate; horizontal integration; monopoly

3. Trinity Mirror, the UK’s largest local newspaper group and publisher of the Daily Mirror, is eyeing further consolidation, as the industry races to tackle the long-term decline of print publishing. “We see ourselves as a consolidator in the newspaper industry and will continue to do so subject to tight financial returns,” said chief executive Simon Fox, as the group reported like-for-like print advertising revenues fell 18 per cent in 2016. Trinity is in early stage talks with Northern & Shell, the parent company of the Express newspaper titles and OK Magazine, which could lead to it taking a stake in some of the Richard Desmond-owned assets. The move is part of a wider shake-up in the UK newspaper industry, as media owners face steep drops in print advertising combined with the existential threat from digital groups like Google and Facebook, who are taking the vast majority of new digital advertising revenues.

Convergence;

Ownership and Control

Explain how ownership shapes media products. Refer to EITHER The Daily Mirror OR The Times to support your points                                                                                                                         (12 marks)

• Key relevant facts about newspaper ownership
• The impact of technological change and vertical integration
• The impact of ownership on content and how different audiences respond
• Relevant theory to support points (Hesmondhalgh, Curran and Seaton, Hall, etc)

Ownership = news agenda
News UK (Rupert Murdoch)- The Sun, The Times, The Financial Times...
Daily Mail group, Northern& Shell...

political bias

Ownership affects media products as it directly affects the news agenda due to gatekeeping. The people in charge of media products like newspapers will decide what headlines make the front cover depending on their own perception of news values.

Digital online websites: Audience research

The Times: Times+ subscription - paywall (subscription to continue reading £1 a week for 8 weeks)

attempt to personalise content (how do you like to read the news? 3 mediums are technological advances i.e. phone, computer, tablet; which sections do you read first?) 

e.g. Digital pack- Ultimate pack £10 per week 

• An ultimate pack includes all of the digital pack (full website access and smartphone+ tablet app) and The Sunday Times, The Times mon-sat

Advertising on the background

The Mirror: "Advertisement"- "promoted stories"- "sponsored"- reason why The Mirror is more accessible as there are numerous ads that allow the newspaper to monetise its website.

Jenkins' Fandom and Shirky's End of Audience theories: The Mirror's newspaper website offer opportunities and encourage audiences to respond to it, by including sharing links to various social media, as well as encouragement to like the newspaper's pages on Facebook and Twitter. Furthermore, there are comments sections so that the audience formulate their own opinions. Even though The Times doesn't contain comment sections or sharing links, they do utilize pop-up notifications to encourage audiences to subscribe to the newspaper just like The Mirror encourages viewers to subscribe to the newsletters.

Hall's Reception theory: The dominant messages differ in the two websites. Encoding allows the audience to decipher The Times' more serious tone, conveyed by the headlines and advertisements, and The Mirror's more sensationalist focus.

Negotiated and oppositional readings?

The Mirror and The Times: Analysis

Analyse the following covers in terms of how the technical codes (main image, headline, pull quote, etc) persuade the audience to buy the newspaper and how the audience is being persuaded to respond to the main news story. Consider issues of iconography, binary depositions and semiotics. 

Daily Mirror- The newspaper has chosen to tie its main close-up image to iconography that represents American values through the Statue of Liberty. In this way, along with the mono-syllabic headline "What have they done?" the Daily Mirror emphasises the negative consequences of Trump's election. There's a contrast between what the image represents, bold liberty and how it is being represented, despaired. As according to Barthes' semiotics, the audience will be able to form meaning from their associations with the main image, which accompanied with the dark and shadowy background suggests an apocalyptic future. The subheading invites the reader to look inside as the readers are directly addressed ("what it means for you and the world") In this way the issue of importance is brought up, as the second headline, continuing the same bleak theme, is an accident that occurred in Britain, therefore in more proximity to the readers in Britain than an American news story, however as the sub-heading suggests the election will have consequences even to non-Americans ("you and the world") Therefore, readers are more likely to respond to the jump line and read on. 

The Times- The Times has iconography in the background of its main medium-shot image, with the American flag representing the country's values once again, however, in this front cover it is represented in a less negative way. The body language, with Trump's fist up and the vice-president's clap, suggest an emotive response, which along with the headline "the new world" shows a contrasting view of the consequences of the US election, as this 'new world' could be either good or bad. The pull-quote "You will be so proud of your President, you will be so proud" shows the recently elected Trump appealing to Americans. The repeated statement evokes patriotism, a value expected due to who they represent, Conservatives; the patriotism is not only suggested through the language of Trump's words but also his clothing, a red tie that along with Pence's blue tie lead back to the American flag. The constant utilisation of this iconography will capture the reader's attention as they will engage with the image as it holds cultural significance and it will have meaning to them through associations they make (semiotics).
Headlines, strapline, stand-first, by-line, stand-alone, slogan, central image, NIB/ sidebars, jump line, masthead, pull-quotes, adverts, puffs

Analyse which factors make up the news agenda (threshold, unexpectedness, elite nations/ persons, negativity, unambiguous, personalisation, proximity, continuity) are being considered in the choice of the cover story. 

Despite the different angle of coverage of the news story both newspapers take the same factors into consideration (1965 Galtung and Ruge's news values)

The Daily Mirror's front cover enhances the negativity through its two stories, a tram crash and the US 2016 election results. Given the unexpectedness of the results the news value of proximity is ignored, so even though the tram happened in the UK America's news story is given preference in order to maximise sales. Furthermore, the newspaper makes sure the audience doesn't feel ignored by directly addressing them ("what it means for you") including the threshold value.

Basic industry information

Tabloid or broadsheet? Tabloids generally contain more images, and its headlines often play on shock value and sensationalisation for a wider audience. Broadsheets generally tend to be more informative (covering more political and international news unlike tabloids) and have a more serious tone.

Tabloid (Red Top, popular press): Sensationalist, gossip and scandals, patriotic, concerned with national 'British' issues 

Broadsheet: Educated, middle to upper class, serious news, politics, more likely to have informed opinions and an open mind, international and not just national issues
Ownership? The Mirror: Reach plc (one of Britain's biggest newspaper companies) 

The Times: News UK, Times Newspapers Ltd. (British newspaper publisher + subsidiary of American mass media conglomerate News Corp)

Political bias? The Mirror- left-wing; The Times- right-wing. It means the newspaper is likely to hold values similar to its end on the political spectrum and not support political leaders from the opposite party.

IPSO (Independent Press Standards Organisation) is responsible for the regulation of the content of British newspapers. It considers complains from newspapers and magazines with IPSO membership. Also, complains made under the Editor's code. 

Radio Industry

1. LNWH is no longer broadcast by the BBC but it's still available online. Summarise the differences between broadcasting and podcasting for the audience and how it may affect the content and structure of a programme.

• Podcasts are digital audio files that can be downloaded on your device to be listened to anytime. Broadcasts are transmissions via terrestrial audio (AM/ FM) and/ or online
• Broadcasting covers various topics via talk shows, covering events e.g. festivals, interviews, music... In contrast, podcasts are usually utilised for news updates, features or interviews
• Broadcasting brings the opportunity for live interaction (typically controlled from a studio by a no. of DJs), but podcasting is also interactive in the sense that the listener is able to choose what they will listen to.  
• The audience of broadcasts is wider as it doesn't create a specific niche audience like podcasts do (due to the programmes being tailored to a specific audience)

The content and structure of programmes would be affected due to the live aspect of broadcasts (opportunity for interaction with the audience, hence they can have a say in the music being played, engage in talks through social media...)

2. Define and give an example of a commercial and a public service radio broadcaster, explaining the key differences.


3. Explain the identity and purpose of the BBC based on its origins, history  and how it is funded
BBC (British Broadcasting Company) was founded in 1922 and John Reith was appointed General Manager. It originally was a private company and became a public service corporation. 
1927: established by Royal Charter as the BBC, defining objectives, powers and obligations (Reithian directive to "inform, educate and entertain") 
The 1930s brought TV and the BBC was the first broadcaster to begin a regularly scheduled TV service in 1936. The company continued its radio service.
1946- Woman's Hour (1947 managers worried about the topic of menopause being discussed so after the 60s topics like 'keeping house' and childcare were featured less)
Muffin the Mule- first children's programme in new studies at Lime Grove
1948- news + first televised Olympic Games 
1950- The Archers- longest-running soap opera and 1958- Blue Peter second TV debut
1960s- Radio 1 goes live, youth market

4. How does the BBC broadcast or provide content nationally, locally and globally? 
(give examples)
BBC was the first broadcaster to attempt a programme that involved satellite broadcasts (end of 60s)
BBC World Service- globally
BBC Arabic and Persian Television (news and youth and current affairs respectively)


5. Content  and style of BBC Radio 4    
Based on the types of programmes available, the branding of the station, the choice of presenters and listening to the content, explain the general content, identity and audience of Radio 4 give some examples of speech-based radio programmes from the station.

key text: late night woman's hour

CONTEXT

History and background of BBC:

Supposed to create content that satisfies all its audiences.

History and background of LNWH:

Late-night edition of Woman's Hour (a radio program from BBC Radio 4) on air since 1946, created by Norman Collins & originally presented by Allan Ivimey (Radio Times: specialist in "writing for and talking to women").

Weekly podcast format (+ modern, similar purpose as the re-branding from BBC iPlayer Radio to BBC Sounds).

Summary of content and audience of Radio 4:

• Spoken word
• Middle class, 40-60 women

TEXT

Themes and subjects covered:

From older feminist issues such as the pill to recent ones like makeup on public transport. Plus notable attempts to reach out to a modern audience and be more on-trend with 'James Charles/ Tati Westbrook' and 'Love Island'.

Structure and content of typical episodes (interviews, feature pieces, discussion, phone-in, etc)

Interviews conducted with various female professionals of different backgrounds e.g. 'Love Island' had a Danish comedian and body positivity campaigner Sofie Hagen and journalists Zing Tsjeng and Yomi Adegoke. Formal audio code-wise with the BBC Sounds intro but informal in tone as there's swearing and conversational language. Mode of address isn't necessarily direct as it's a light-hearted discussion between the women present.

However, there's an attempt to reach out to its audience, e.g. in 'Makeup on Public Transport' they lead listeners to their Instagram poll (Opportunities for audience feedback)

Most episodes have adverts at the end of the podcast. 'Makeup on Public Transport' had a 30sec advert for BBC Sounds podcast Planet Puffin. It seems to be only BBC content that is advertised as in 'Home' Lauren refers to 'one popular book website' without naming it.

LAUREN LAVERNE: 2015-18

• 41
• Sunderland; criticised for regional accent
• English radio DJ, model, TV, presenter, author, singer (pop-punk band Kineckie at 16), comedian

EMMA BARNETT: 2018- present

• 34
• Surrey
• British broadcaster and journalist, The Telegraph editor and BBC Radio presenter
• Previously on 5 Live

The target audience of LNWH (age, gender, class, use of media, etc.)

35 to middle-aged women, middle class, various interests but aware of current issues of mostly progressive views, technically-savvy due to text format (not radio programme but podcast)

THEORIES

Hall's reception theory: 

A male audience, part of Radio 4, might respond negatively

A young audience might not resonate with episodes like 'Love Island' and the podcast in general

White middle class

Curran and Seaton's media industries and power theory:

Giant corporations= less creative, imaginative and interesting content

No pressure to make money- publicly funded

Giant corporation

COURSEWORK: Statement of Aims

For my project, I will be focusing on music marketing for the pop-rock artist B.M. Bloomfield, with the established record label Interscope Records.

When shooting the music video, I will be including a wide range of locations to capture the wanderlust aspect of the product. It will satisfy the 30-49 mainstream audience as travel is popular among this demographic. Additionally, the general conventions of fast-pacing in pop-rock music videos will be enhanced. Certain shots will visually interpret the lyrics literally, to convey the artist's care-free attitude. However, I will also include symbolism such as a key to highlight the rise of “latchkey children” in the demographic’s childhood years. There will be a range of close-up shots to show the artist's vulnerability, as well as mid-shots and wide shots for other purposes. These will help outline the narrative of an unbalanced relationship (in line with the original artist, Jade Bird, whose songs often include themes of disillusionment, divorce, cheating...), linked to divorce rates increasing in the 1960s before peaking in 1980. Also, the performance shots will aid to establish her identity as a live artist, an important aspect in pop-rock artists as the performance ability is key. Besides, it will appeal to the audience due to the authenticity in instrumental ability found in genres like punk and alternative rock emerging in the 1980s/90s. Additionally, binary oppositions through lighting, camera movement and facial expressions will be utilised, to develop the artist's persona. Furthermore, the opening's graphics will inform the audience of the artist and song due to the necessity of standing out as she’s signed to an established record label.

The magazine I will be making is called 'Tempo', an Italian music term for sophistication and to determine the fact it is a music magazine; given the 30-49 audience, it'll match their expectations of maturity. The strapline will be connected to the title and help explain it further: "Establishing the tempo of today's music since 1980". The masthead will be in pastel tones, not too bright or dark in order to set up a minimal theme, with a colour palette of browns and corals for neutralness. The cover lines on the magazine will continue the minimal theme with a main focus on the artist, and sections like "music around the world" to appeal to the adventurous nature of the demographic. The magazine will cost £6.99, a fair price given the target audience are adults and the product will be an established quality magazine. The main image will be a close-up shot of the artist; however, she will have her eyes closed to appear mysterious, increasing the audience's interest.

I will also be producing a double page article for my artist: "Side effects of the industry", the same title featured in the main cover line. It will consist of an introduction focused on her social and artistically aware side, as well as the fact that she likes travelling. In general, the initial questions will be about her new single and meaning behind it, and throughout the next column focus will shift to her as a person, with one of the answers, along the lines of “I’m here for the music” as a pull quote.

CASE STUDY: Tide Print Ad. (1950)

Analyse how the technical codes are used to persuade the specific audience at this specific time to buy the product.

The advert is aimed at women, therefore it uses them various times across it. The main image is of a woman hugging the Tide washing powder. It is an unusual image, suggesting exaggeration to an audience of the 21st century, however to a 1950s audience it would be appealing. This is mainly due to the glamorous aspect of the woman, with a costume that'd be trendy for the time, shaped after Hollywood movie stars, as fashion and celebrities like Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe were on the rise. This suggests to women that you can be glamorous and do the domestic chores in the house, making Tide's main image an aspirational figure for its audience. The advert is very insisting, expressed by the constant utilisation of exclamation marks and capital letters. It enhances it with the red colour to highlight certain lexis and the tagline "tide's got what women want". It is informal and catchy due to the alliteration employed, making it marketable. In general, the advert indicates all women want is to clean and be a housewife, which follows Hall's theory of representation, as women are associated with domestic roles even in the media of today, due to their historical background. More specifically, they are associated with them as part of gender roles. Women are being used by Tide to sell the product by the glamorised image, which Van Zoonen's feminist theory condemns, as women are being somewhat objectified.
On the other hand, one could look at the advert as a less condescending but rather helpful one. Postwar American wealth meant money was actually available to buy products and Tide washing powder could have helped many women, hence the positive facial expression and the hugging. Furthermore the consumer and technological boom of the 1950s brought about plenty of brands, so a company like Tide would have had to set itself apart from the competition. It is effectively done here, with the target audience being aimed at through the the listing of "world's cleanest wash!", "world's whitest wash!" and "actually brightens colours!", developing a unique selling point to associate with the brand. This is stressed throughout, not only utilising language features like repetition (e.g. "no soap- no other 'suds'- no other...") but also imagery with positive facial expressions and speech bubbles with an illustration of two women hanging clothes, demonstrating they find the product helpful. Therefore the Tide box represents the positiveness of the 1950s consumer and technological boom through Barthes' theory of semiotics, as the women would have more time for recreational activities.
The advert is specifically targeted at white women, due to the rise of the suburbs. At the time black people and other minorities were not allowed to buy residences from the newly- created suburbs as they were racially segregated. This is why there's no wide representation in the advert. It is not really specific according to class though, as it employs the American dream of success and upward mobility to sell it. This is evoked by the choice of colour, with red, white and blue, (the colours of the American flag) being employed.