The Daily Mirror

Question 1

The layout of the front page

Answer 1

• The top of the page dedicated to a £1 free bet on horse racing and an EastEnders actress getting glassed by a thug, connotes the lower/middle class audience
• Another betting advert at the bottom of the page
• A small space given to the massive political issue, makes the issue seem less serious

Question 2

Representation - Theresa May on the front page

Answer 2

• Theresa May is not sexualised which challenged Van Zoonen’s theory
• Theresa May is very small on the cover, represents her as weak and unimportant, ties into the Daily Mirrors anti-conservative stance
• Negative language used “Pm loses key vote again”, the casual nature suggests she loses alot

Question 3

Language used to describe Theresa May in the article

Answer 3

• “Humiliating defeat” used to embarrass her
• Describes her authority as “in tatters” makes it seem like her power has been ripped apart, makes the issue seem dramatic

Question 4

Representation - Woman on the front cover

Answer 4

• The front cover describes a woman being “glassed” which represents her as weak
• Right below that there is a male jockey looking physically strong and powerful, two gender stereotypes
• In the small Theresa May picture her head is bowed down as though in defeat and submission

Question 5

Representation - Theresa May on the double page spread

Answer 5

• “Mayhem” play on Theresa May’s name and suggests that she is directly responsible for the chaos in the government
• The large image of May in red suit connotes her power and dominance
• However, her raised hands connote surrender and suggest she is losing power and trying to calm people down
• “A faller at second” is a metaphor for how Theresa May has fallen early on in her political career, like a horse falling at the second jump
• Comparing Theresa May to a horse is dehumanising and connotes her failure
• She had a sore throat on the day which led to her having a raspy voice, she is mocked for this with the reporter saying she sounded like “a hamster was trying to claw its way out”

Question 6

Representation - Male politicians on the double page spread

Answer 6

• Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn have both been positioned to almost look down on Theresa May
• Both photos show them in more powerful positions

Question 7

The effect the target audience has on the double page spread

Answer 7

• The lower class, less educated target audience of the Daily Mirror means that the article has been simplified with pictures, clear statistical graphs and chunks of text
• “Honest Jason” explaining what’s going on suggests that MPs are not honest and also suggests that the common people need the issues explained for them
• The issues are represented as funny and silly