News and Online Flashcards
1
Q
what is the order of the socio-economic classes and what type of paper they read
A
- ABC1: reads quality papers
- C1/C2: reads mid market papers
- Mass Market: tabloids
2
Q
where do the Guardian and Daily mail fall on the LW-RW, Quality-Tabloid axis
A
- The Guardian: a left wing, quality paper
- The Daily Mail: a right wing, mid market paper
3
Q
who owns the Guardian
A
- The Scott Trust - they’re not for profit
4
Q
what are the conventions of the newspaper market segment of Quality
A
- Quality: detailed level of info, high level lexis (complex vocab), body text heavy, hard + international news focus, limited colour palette, iconic photography, ordered layout
5
Q
what are the conventions of the newspaper market segment of mid market
A
- Mid Market: offers information on worries, dramatic lexis (vocab), large, dramatized serifed headlines, meaningful use of colour, ordered layout
6
Q
what are the conventions of the newspaper market segment of Tabloid
A
- Tabloid: raises dramatic enigmas, low level lexis/ use of colloquial language, soft + celebrity news focus, domestic news focus, cluttered layout, composited images, use of paparazzi/phone pictures, image heavy
7
Q
what factors add value to news
A
- negativity: e.g. tragedies, deaths, murders
- closeness to home
- recency
- simplicity (how simple it is to understand)
- unexpectedness
- elite nations: based in USA, UK, France, China
- exclusivity from newspaper
8
Q
what is the motto of the Scott Trust
A
- ‘to preserve quality liberal journalism’
9
Q
who owns the Daily Mail
A
- Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) - for profit and is owned by Lord Rothemere
- it also owns The Metro, The i
10
Q
outline the 6 stages of cultural (and so economic) changes of print
A
1) competition from online news
2) decrease in readership + circulation of printed news
3) with less readers, the value of display advertising declines
4) with less advertisements, theres less revenue (money in), and so less profit
5) with less profit, theres cost reductions - shown in less staff, smaller page format + count
6) with less news room staff, more opinion pieces, ‘churnalism’ (copying other work), less foreign news, less quality / exclusive pieces, source journalism (sourced form a centralised news agency), client journalism (clients calling up journalists to report on their story)
11
Q
name 5 cultural changes for online news
A
- paywalls (restriction of content access due to needing a subscription) for Quality papers
- competition from other online news outlets
- social media acts as a news source - which is more likely to be used (headline scrolling)
- Facebook + Google dominate 65% of the digital advertising market
- (younger) audiences have an ‘expectation of free’ - they don’t want to pay for news subscriptions. e.g. to make money, traffic, page impressions, the Mail Online appeals to a global audience
12
Q
state 3 statistics about falling readership/ circulation of print news
A
- since 2009, the number of newspapers sold each day in the UK has dropped form 9 million to 3 million
- in the last decade, the UK national paper advertising market has halved, from £1.2B in 2013 to £600 million in 2023
- newspaper readership is falling about 10% each year
13
Q
suggest (at least) 3 reasons for the decline in newspaper readership
A
- ageing audience (avg age of print readers is 61yrs)
- younger generation’s expectation of free
- online news is more accessible
14
Q
define stereotype
A
- stereotype = a commonly repeated generalisation about a group/ event/ institution which is either positive or negative
15
Q
define archetype
A
- archetype = positive repeated representations
16
Q
define countertype
A
- countertype = a representation that deliberately subverts expectations of a stereotype
17
Q
outline the political context of the UK press
A
- the British Press is free: as there is freedom of ownership (anyone can own a British newspaper)
- freedom to print: any story that is of public interest can be published
- the free press is essential for democracy and to hold institutions accountable
- the private ownership of newspapers allows for the distortion of democracy as the editorial bias of the paper can be influenced
18
Q
outline IPSO
A
- IPSO: was a voluntarily funded self-regulation which was used by RW papers, like the Daily Mail. the Sun and Daily Mail made up most complaints which were about accuracy
19
Q
outline the Leveson public inquiry of 2012
A
- the Leveson Inquiry into the culture, practice and ethics of the press was published;
- a new self-regulation body - independent of editors, government and businesses should be established
- it should promote high standards (e.g. having the power to investigate serious breaches + sanction newspapers)
- would be backed by legislation to assess it
- this legislation would enshrine a legal duty for the gov to protect the freedom of the press
- a whistle blowing hotline established for journalists who feel pressured to do unethical things
- IPSO was set up for the RW press and the other regulator was ‘Impress’
20
Q
outline The Daily Mails stance on regulators
A
The Daily Mail is signed up to IPSO as;
- IPSO is controlled and funded by ex RW editors
- its a fig leaf of a regulator (it covers up distasteful things)
- it allows the press to get away with things as long as there’s a prominent apology (apology in bigger print)
- it has never fined any of its papers for breaches of code
20
Q
outline The Guardians stance on regulators
A
it refuses to sign up to either as;
- external regulation of press compromises the freedom of the free press
- it doesn’t want to legitimise IPSO and its RW panel + funding model
- the Guardian is self-regulating and has its own internal complaints handling procedure
- the quality of The G journalism is very high, with 2 verifiable sources, with occasional minor inaccuracies
21
Q
in ____, the ____ made £__ million in profit
A
- in 2017, the DMGT made £77 million in profit
22
Q
outline the values of right wing texts
A
- nationalistic
- pro-institutions (Royal family, Army, Church)
- xenophobic
- conservative
- traditionalist
- supports traditional gender roles
- supports consumerism
- free market economy
23
Q
outline the values of left wing texts
A
- internationalist
- socially inclusive
- progressive
- supports non-traditional beliefs
- supports progressive gender roles
- challenges capitalism
24
outline the positioning of audiences
- how products try to put their audiences in particular positions
- 4 types: emotional positioning (fear/ sympathy), cognitive positioning (how they think about representations in the products), social positioning (as male or females) or cultural positioning (being positioned in American or British values)
25
name the media language elements in a print newspaper
- colour
- layout: page size, masthead, headlines, images, size, skyline (promotion of other content above masthead)
- images: photography, paparazzi, cartoons, graphics
- language use: formal/ informal, mode of address
- typography: serif + sans-serif fonts, gothic
26
outline selection and combination in the Mail Online logo
- this is evident in the 2 polarising fonts used for the Mail Online masthead
- Mail: uses heavy gothic font that is used for the print edition of the Daily Mail - it connotes tradition, craft, reliability from its association with medieval calligraphy
- this is also seen in the Daily Telegraph's masthead - another conservative newspaper
- Online: uses a contrasting font of elegance, sans-serifed - it connoted modernity, youth, lightness compared to the heavy gothic font
- this font combination connotes how the MailOnline combines the reliable virtues of print journalism with the fast pace of online
- it also combines 2 ideologies - conservatism and modernism
27
outline the print newspaper genre conventions of tabloid
- softer news agenda; e.g. human-interest stories, celeb
- less formal language register
- bold mastheads in sans-serif, often white on red
- headlines (often banner) in bodd, capitalised sans-serif fonts
- pages dominated by headlines + images
- addresses a more downmarket (primarily WC) audience
- offers news as entertainment
28
outline the print newspaper genre conventions of broadsheet
- harder news agenda - e.g. politics, finance, international news
- more formal language register
- traditional mastheads in serif fonts, often black on white
- headlines in serif fonts not all capitalised
- pages dominated by main body of text (copy)
- addresses a more upmarket (primarily MC) audience
- offers news as information
29
what is the origin of the classification of tabloid + broadsheet
- refers to their paper size
- by 1970s, most downmarket papers had adopted tabloid size paper - half the size of the traditional broadsheet size
29
where do The Guardian and Daily Mail papers fall in the genre classification for print papers
- The Guardian: considered a broadsheet/ quality press
- The Daily Mail: is a middle-market tabloid as it positions itself as mid-market by combining conventions of broadsheet + tabloid
30
what is hybridisation/ broadloidisation
- hybridisation/ broadloidisation = the process of features of tabloid papers being increasingly common in the broadsheet press
31
outline online newspaper genre conventions compared to print
- the trad classification of print papers of tabloid + broadsheet extends in part to online editions, but here hybridisation continues further
32
outline the genre conventions of broadsheet newspapers online
broadsheet newspapers online:
- all follow a similar format which echoes the connotations of objectivity + seriousness of the print papers
- website homepage: filled with headlines, hard news stories towards top
- same traditional masthead as used in the print version
- most typography is serifed
- heavier body text than in tabloid papers
- but; site home pages of broadsheets online are my hybridised - e.g. more use of colour, soft news on front cover (opinion, lifestyle), some use of sans serif, informal language
32
outline the hybridised genre conventions of all newspapers online
hybridised:
- little use of banner headlines - more so a large number of headlines - connotes 'newsiness'
- most headlines are not capitalised (except in The Sun)
- home page layout is generally less image + headline heavy than on the print front page
33
name common uses of intertextuality in media
- creating humour
- to parody (criticise) the referred person/ text - e.g. political cartoons
- to honour the referred text (e.g. reference to universally revered people/ texts)
- to create a flattering mode of address for AUD - it assumes they are well informed enough to understand the ref
- to attempt to transfer the value of the referred media product to the referring one
- to create a sense of a shared experience with the AUD
34
what are 2 examples of sources for intertextual examples in text
- headline
- standfirst (a block of text under a headlines introducing the story, normally in a diff style)
35
outline consumerism as influencing politics
- consumerism is a social, cultural, political + economic context
- treating auds as consumers leads to a diff view of politics, for example
- 'retail politics' describes the way politicians now feel the need to sell their policies to voters through the mass media, and newspaper coverage of politics may emphasize the popularity of politics rather than the effectiveness or moral worth
35
outline news values
- news values cause bias in representations - for example, of powerful people, celebs and entertainment, events/ issues, 'big' news, 'bad' news, 'good' news
- diff newspapers will have their own agendas
- online editions will be more likely to have a bias in favour of what plays well on social media + news feeds - e.g. entertaining stories that are 'shareable'/ stories with strong visual/ audio-visual images
- newspapers combine representations to create a world view
- those who have a strong ethos, e.g. Guardian + Daily Mail, present a fairly consistent world view
35
outline realism + constructing reality
- most media products make some claim to realism, hence the concerns over misinformation + disinformation in the news
- news in its purest form adheres to standards of truthfulness
- the boundary between advertising and news is established by journalistic + editorial practice, professional ethics, self-regulation, laws of libel (proof of truth)
- its easier to maintain these standards in quality national press + high quality journalism, however in lower status newspapers, advertisers can more easily succeed in their aim to blur the boundary between news + advertising - e.g. through persuasive content disguised as factual
35
define ethnocentrism
- ethnocentrism = belief in superiority in your own culture, and that other countries/ cultures are inferior and 'strange'
36
define realism
- realism = the set of conventions by which audiences accept a representation as 'realistic'. there are different sets of rules for diff genres and for different media forms, and there are many different forms of realism
36
outline 3 examples of Daily Mail reality/ their realism
- we should respect great British institutions like the Monarchy
- many problems are caused by the ruling liberal elite, the nanny state (overprotective gov), and 'wokeism'
- catching criminals is more important than protecting human rights
36
outline 3 examples of The Guardian reality/ their realism
- some patriotism is associated with xenophobia + racism - we should be both internationalist + proud to be British
- protecting human rights is the cornerstone of society
- as a rich country we have the duty to help others in the world
36
outline an example of The Guardian embracing a controversial position
- The G were the only newspaper to pursue the phone-hacking scandal that led to the closure of the News of the World and the Leveson Inquiry
36
outline consumerism in influencing audiences of newspapers
treating audiences as consumers influences:
- the quantity of lifestyle content in newspapers such as the Guardian/ Daily Mail
- the celebration of celebrity culture as a lure to fickle consumers, esp in online editions of newspapers - e.g. MailOnline
- the representations of audiences themselves, whether by letters to the editor in print editions, or comments in online editions + social media, or articles about readers
- selling articles as 'Most Popular', 'Most Shared' and 'Most Commented' - e.g. by Guardian Online
36
outline celeb culture
- celeb culture is a social, cultural and political context that affects representations in newspapers by covering celebrities, celeb events and celeb politicians - e.g. Donal Trump
- celebs feature heavily in the MailOnline - e.g. in their 'Dont Miss' section
- celeb events are clearest within sports (e.g. World Cup football) + the world of entertainment (e.g. Oscars)
37
outline multiculturalism as a context
- is a social + cultural context that affects representations in newspapers
- from comparing the routinely all white representations in newspapers from the 60s to those today, progress is evident
- when EMs were represented then, it would often be in the context of a story about race - today representations are more varied
- e.g. the representation of an ethnic minority group (such as PM Rishi Sunak) in which their ethnicity is not part of the story
37
what are 3 factors that influence the under + mis - representation of the media
- use of stereotyping
- diversity of representations
- opportunities for self-representation
37
what does audience interpretation of representations depend on
- gender, sexuality, age, race, class etc
37
outline the production, distribution and circulation of print news
- production of news: in the hands of the newspaper journalists, editors, producers and printers
- distribution: is by the organisations that send newspapers to newsagents, who have some control over which publications get distributed, but no control over content
- circulation: newsagents + other retailers sell the newspapers
38
outline the production, distribution and circulation of online news
- with online news, the line of production, distribution and circulation is less clear
- distribution and circulation are combined in websites, social media or news feeds
- there may be many more news producers, including amateurs (send ins), whose news may be distributed by social media companies, who have great control over which audiences see which news stories
39
what is the key economic context of print + online news
- print and online journalism is driven by the profit motive - apart from news produced by the BBC
40
outline the ownership + control of news
- 3 owners control the majority of print titles (DMGT, News UK, Reach plc), so ownership is concentrated (oligopoly)
- the newspaper industry is unique in that it isn't usually profitable, but are seen as a means of gaining political + social influence - this means they're more likely to be owned by rich individuals rather than conglomerates
- concentration of ownership is limited by regulators such as the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) which exists to prevent anti-competitive business monopolies
- govt has set up this organisation as free market capitalism requires competition for markets to work efficiently
40
outline the political context of press freedom
- the role of press freedom in the running of democracy gives opportunities but also places limits on the control exercised by owners of newspapers
- newspapers are permitted to be opinionated + politically biased - but newspaper editors insist publicly that owners never interfere with the content of newspapers
- e.g. The Harmsworths, who own he Daily Mail, are known to be 'Europhiles' (supporter of European Union), yet the DM was strongly anti-EU under the editorial of Paul Dacre
- direct interference can destroy the credibility of the newspaper and will be restricted by editors + journalists - the free press cannot be seen as organs of elitist propaganda
41
outline a finding from the Leveson Inquiry in relation to freedom of press
- the Leveson Inquiry into the press found that politicians of all political parties had 'developed too close a relationship with the press in a away that hasn't been in the public interest'
- also, politicians' relationships with newspaper owners, managers, and editors, were not clear and open - suggesting that newspaper ownership does give a degree of political leverage
- British politicians have previously met with Rupert Murdoch before elections to seek his support in the expectation of a more favourable press coverage
- e.g. the Labour PM Tony Blair visited Murdoch before he was elected in 1997 + received favourable coverage (e.g. endorsement from The Times and The Sun)
41
in _-_, Guardian Online had more than _ digital subscribers, with over _ as one off donators
- in 2021-22, Guardian Online had more than 1 million digital subscribers, with over half a million as one off donators
42
name + describe 6 of newspapers' diversified funding streams
- circulation: subscription sales, cover price impacts this
- paywalls: paying to access online content
- membership: e.g. 3 way membership model of the Guardian Online
- print + online advertising: print advertising is traditionally more profitable than online - but this had changed in recent years
- sponsored content: paid content on the G website offers organisations to share the prestige of a quality newspaper such as the G
- events: the Guardian often runs courses, e.g. on journalism or literature, meetings and conferences
43
in 2021-22, in what funding stream did the Guardian Media Group earn the most revenue in + for how much
- earned the highest revenue in digital reader revenue (subscriptions and contributions)
- brought in £76 million
44
outline 6 impacts of technological developments on news
- increased opportunities for audience interactivity + expressions of audience preference (e.g. listing of 'Most Viewed' articles)
- growth of citizen journalism + extensive use of mobile phone footage by mainstream media news outlets
- rapid speeding up of the news cycle, from a 24 hour rhythm to constant updating of news (e.g. 'live' updates)
- the lack of online regulation + editorial ownership leads to problems of misinformation, disinformation and clickbait
- the funding of news production may have to be revolutionised in order for news to survive
44
outline the libel law
- the libel law provides additional legal constraint
- it allows people to take legal action against any defamatory statement made or conveyed in some permanent form
45
outline the regulation of online news
- online news isnt regulated at all - unless online papers choose to sign up to a regulator such as IPSO
46
define + outline why the Guardian is described as 'collegiate'
- collegiate = a sharing of something
- The G is collegiate in their allowing of a range of views to be reflected within their work - regardless of w=if the editor agrees with them
- The G features all political stances, but does focus on a progressive liberal stance
47
outline Femail
- Femail is a section of both the Daily Mail newspaper + MailOnline which is targeted for female readers
- addresses female lifestyle topics - e.g. fashion, beauty and babies - e.g. Kate Middleton
- caters to the majority female readership of the Mail Online (54% female, 46% male)
- the Mail Online has the highest female readership than any other news outlet
48
name an example of the Guardians gender progressive views
- the Guardian scrapped their 'Women's Page' in favour of a more integrated coverage
48
what is the gender ratio of readers of the Mail Online
- female readers make up 54%, whilst male readers make up 46%
49
outline the online audiences for the Mail Online and the Guardian Online
- the websites for the Guardian and Mail Online are so different in style and content, but have similar audience makeup
- this is due to the fact that these differences in style + content are not so significant online as they are in print
- also, online audiences are less loyal to one newspaper, possibly arriving to the site via a link from elsewhere
49
what did the Independent do in 2016
- in 2016, the Independent went online only
- this lost the legitimacy + authority that print newspapers carry, even though it was economically, a more efficient choice
49
what 2 factors can influence audiences to interact with the news more
- rise of consumerism: created the view that the public has a right to be heard + to argue with 'experts'
- feminism, multiculturalism, inc tolerance of LGBTQIA: gave more women/ ethnic minorities/LGBTQIA community a public voice
50
what are the different ways audiences use the news
- ethnic groups use the ethnic press to help maintain their identity and be informed about their community
- business leaders use the specialist financial press (e.g. Financial Times), which provide detailed surveillance of businesses + markets, and target a global specialist audience
- audiences with significant cultural capital use the broadsheet press to maintain their identity as 'well educated + well read', and to gain information over what is happening in society and culture
- audiences lacking cultural capital use the tabloid press to maintain their identity as 'ordinary people' + to gain information, diversion from everyday life + entertainment
50
what is The Guardian's three way membership model
has 3 components:
1) supporters: readers can make donations (call to action)
2) subscribers: regular payments (monthly/ annually)
3) patrons: high level contributors, receive additional benefits
- doesn't use paywalls - content is accessible to all
- this subscription model directly targets global website readers
51
the Mail Online website has more than _ unique visitors per month
- the Mail Online website has more than 218 million unique visitors per month
52
outline the Guardian Online's voluntary contribution model
the Guardian Online operates on a voluntary contribution model instead of implementing paywalls;
- this allows people to;
- read articles for free.
- donate or subscribe to support them through call to actions
- access premium features (like the ad-free app)
- but requires a subscription
52
outline data on readers
- advanced technology allows newspapers to gather data on their readers
- e.g. The Guardian uses analytics such as cookies to understand reader preferences, optimise content and advertise content accordingly
52
what is a free market economy
free market economy:
- a system of privatisation - the government has little interference
- businesses and consumers, not the government, control most of the money and decisions
- right wing texts such as the Daily Mail supports this
52
when were the UK elections from 2015-2025 + who won
- May 2015: won by The Conservative Party under David Cameron
- June 2017: won by The Conservatives under Theresa May
- December 2019: won by The Conservative Party under Boris Johnson
- July 2024: won by The Labour Party under Keir Starmer - ended 14 years of Conservative rule
52
outline 'now culture'
- modern audiences prefer 'now culture'
- instant news access on the day of the event taking place is more favoured than the traditional production cycle of newspapers reflecting the previous day's events
- newspapers regularly update their content + run 'live' feeds for events of socio-economic importance (e.g. death of a monarch)
52
outline historical context of the print news industry
- newspapers are on of the oldest media forms - dates back to the 17th century in the UK
- mass readership of newspapers arose in Britain in the late 19thC with the extension of education and the vote, the inc in mass consumption and the growth of urban popular culture - e.g. music halls
- since the 1980s, the digital has impacted the printed press to the extent that the industry has had to change in response
53
outline economic context of the print news industry
- the British news industry has significantly contributed to the UK economy
- newspapers sold in free market capitalist societies are commodities which are produced + distributed to be sold for profit
- tech advances have impacted the circulation of print news due to the rise in online news
- the econ structure + funding of the production + distribution of newspapers relies on circulation sales and advertising + the consumerist economy
- the current funding model must be adapted to allow for the survival of UK print industry
54
outline political context of the print news industry
- the free press + self-regulation are important in democratic societies
- protective coverage gives editors power over information that reaches mass audiences
- newspapers reflect political bias + have a LW, centrist or RW political agenda in the production of news
- in times of political conflict (e.g. Brexit), political differences in newspaper will be emphasised
- owners + editors support key political figures + reflect their political values in their news reporting - often owning newspapers to gain political influence
- politicians will test reactions of the press to policies before deciding to continue with them - e.g. 'dementia tax' was dropped once this named was coined by press
55
outline social context of the print news industry
- gatekeeping the production, distribution + circulation of news means it is a socially constructed product by owners + journalists
- the news industry is a social institution, highly visible in our day-to-day lives + run by owners who are in dominant positions
- news reflects our current society - shows what is happening domestically + globally, reflects current social anxieties + concerns, including those caused by social change
- news reinforces + comments on other social institutions - e.g. law, govt, religion
- news production selects + deselects diff individuals + social groups in their news coverage + targeting of audiences
- news ownership + production shapes our social awareness
56
outline cultural context of the print news industry
- concentrated news ownership in the UK supports a one-dimensional, conservative view of British culture + reinforces cultural norms
- news stories feature cultural events, traditions and behaviours that are valued by AUD in their lived experiences
- reading news daily is a cultural trend embedded in UK behaviours
- inc consumerism results in heightened AUD expectations of entertainment + accepting more marketing
- recent trends demonstrate a cultural preference for online media - led to changes in consumption of print media
57
outline the background behind the 2012 Leveson Inquiry
- in the early 2000s to 2012, there was widespread phone hacking across the mid market + tabloid news industry
- the Milly Dowler case: where a young murder victim's phone had been hacked by the press - led to the 2012 Leveson Inquiry into the practice, standards and ethics of the press
