the mirror

Question 1

tabloid

Answer 1

newspaper containing sensationalised stories with a heavy reliance on photographs

Question 2

broadsheet

Answer 2

a newspaper which presents itself as more informed and well-educated

Question 3

newspaper industry: regulation

Answer 3

• the industry is self regulated
• not being government regulated prevents government’s bias and censorship
• freedom of the british press is known as the ‘fourth estate’
• challenge parliament and act in the public interest
• they need to be free to promote and protect rights of freedom of expression and information, not provide opportunity for public officials to interfere in/harass the media
• tension between harassment and free press!

Question 4

Press complaints commission

Answer 4

• dealt with complaints from readers about editorial content
• this was replaced by IPSO and Impress due to a scandal
• the media had bugged people’s phones to listen to them which caused an inquiry
• the leverson inquiry- phone hacking and ethics and culture of the UK media
• this was a factor in stricter regulation laws being made for the press

Question 5

super injunction

Answer 5

an injunction in british law which prevents the publication of information that is an issue and also prevents the reporting of the existence of the injunction

Question 6

changes in regulatory law

Answer 6

• the PCC was criticised heavily since its setup in 1991 until its disbandment in 2014
• Princess Diana’s death created new arguments for firmer press regulation
• forced to change the way the press operated, particularly the paparazzi

Question 7

arguments against self regulation

Answer 7

• robertson and nicol said that the PCC is an ineffective regulator which fails to offer accurate redress in a great many cases
• stokes and reading- newspapers argue for freedom of expression but in doing so they suggest that they should stand above international law rather than other public bodies

Question 8

arguments for self regulation

Answer 8

• Tambini et al- self regulation methods codes bodies able to apply the code, provide a framework of limitations which in turn provides a system of accountability

Question 9

George Gerbner

Answer 9

• media representation influences how we see the world
• representation of groups in certain ways over time influences the audience’s views on them
• particularly true if someone has never had an experience of that group

Question 10

the mirror essential info

Answer 10

• owned by reach PLC (Trinity Mirrors)
• circulation figure avg= 285, 989 as of Nov 2022
• circulation figures have dropped due to everything being online, cost of living crisis, less people will read the whole paper
• “soft news” which is celebrity based
• wants audience interaction
• relies on algorithm or code to make people interact with the content

Question 11

the mirror context

Answer 11

• daily national tabloid newspaper established in 1903
• targeted at a working class audience and has a left-wing ideology, they are one of the only newspapers that consistently supports Labour and their policies
• one of their main competitors is The Sun, who target a similar economic demographic but have a right-wing stance.
• their slogan “Heart of Britain” suggests patriotism and standing up for the ordinary individual, as well as being a key part of the social and cultural ife of the UK
• the set edition was published on February 1st, 2022

Question 12

summary of the political context

Answer 12

• scandal regarding allegations of parties and social gatherings held by the Conservative Party at a time where they had enforced restrictions in England that prohibited this.
• This story was first reported by the mirror in 2021, who alleged that BoJo had attended christmas parties in 2020 at Downing Street
• This led to an inquiry by senior civil servant Sue Gray of which the results were published in Jan 2022
• This became known as ‘partygate’ (which suggests a far reaching scandal)
• When this edition was published, it was revealed that Sue Gray had revealed that the Metropolitan Police were investigating the possible breaches and that Johnson had refused calls to resign

Question 13

through what methods does the newspaper appeal to the target audience?

Answer 13

• the lower middle/working class audience is targeted through the values of the newspaper, the selection of stories and how particular social groups are represented.
• as such, they represent the Conservative party as incompetent in order to represent the views of this audience and provide a voice for them

Question 14

what can we see in the front cover that appeals to the target audience?

Answer 14

• the choice of focus on this story emphasises the common “us VS them” theme, the idea that the government does not represent the masses who are being let down because the government issue rules that they feel they do not have to abide by
• “it makes us look cheap and nasty” is featured in the editorial which uses the personal pronoun ‘us’ to ally the british people with the newspaper (reinforces brand identity)
• the plug of the newspaper also reflects the cultural context of the platinum jubilee which reinforces the cultural heritage of the UK and ideas of patriotism and care for great britain
• the mode of address is direct, using colloquialisms like “cops” and ”lockdown bashes” which engage with the target readership and creates a relationship with them

ADD MORE FROM ANNOTATIONS

Question 15

what can we see in the double page spread that appeals to the target audience?

Answer 15

ADD FROM ANNOTATIONS

Question 16

how does the set edition of the mirror apply to conventions of a front cover?

Answer 16

• the page is split between plug promoting the Jubilee and the policital story
• the masthead is bold and recognisable like many tabloids
• the typography is strong
• the name of the newspaper conveys a message about how it might “hold up a mirror” to what is happening in society and the views of the british public
• the slogan reinforces this idea, suggesting that it cares about the people of the UK
• the headline is brief and dramatic, showing how they usually focus on scandals, and uses emotive language such as ‘zero shame’
• the strapline ‘gray report fallout’ is also dramatic and gives negative connotations
• the subheadings use numbers to provide dramatic impact and credibility

Question 17

negative representation of Boris Johnson in the front cover (this also appeals to the target audience who are biased against the conservative party)

Answer 17

• the unconcerned image of Boris Johnson dominates the page and anchors the headline, this represents him as neglectful of the public views.
• this is reinforced through the caption “I’M NOT GOING” which is opposed with Keir Starmer “crushing”, which reinforces the left wing stance of the newspaper by representing Boris as irresponsible.
• by combining his widely criticised smirk and this caption, the newspaper has constructed him as inferior to Starmer and the way he handled events
• he is referred to as ‘shameless’, emotive language is used to convey the values and attitudes of the newspaper in this way
• the ellipsis after ‘300 pictures handed over’ creates a hook and also has a dramatic pause suggests that there is damaging evidence and he does not take responsibility despite this

Question 18

negative representation of Boris Johnson in the front cover (from my own annotations of the set edition)
consider: semiotic codes, , language codes, visual codes, posititoning fo images (anchor), how images represent him negatively

Answer 18

• the queen is positioned next to the Mirror’s slogan ‘the heart of Britain’, suggesting her superiority to parliament (in the ideology of the mirror)
• house colour is labour party’s colour
• the newspaper is 95p, which keeps it reasonably cheap for those who may not be able to afford more, Boris is a cheap story, we the poor don’t vlaue him as he has ashamed us
• using the phrase gray ‘report’ constructs the newspaper as professional and trustworthy, they are giving the facts (which opposes from how they represent Boris as a liar)
• ‘gray report fallout’- suggests irreparable damage, exaggerative of the negative effects of his actions
• sensationalist language has been used to engage the tabloid’s audience & make boris seem worse
• the black background creates dramatic visuals and communicates his shady actions and how he is leaving us in the dark about them
• the cover lines with the numbers is on the same side of the cover as starmer, showing that they agree with the facts+ labour’s opinion- starmer also looks serious and trustworthy whereas boris is smirking
• numbers have been used for drama and credibility, they oppose the ‘zero shame’ at the bottom which constructs Boris as careless
• the parties are described as bashes- this appeals to the informal lang of audience and represents the parties as frivolities, therefore boris is seen as the villain and dangerous because he is impulsive
• I’m not going represents him as childlike because he is stubborn and irresponsible
• smirking- he is smug
• **his tie* is slightly wonky- unprofessional
• his hair is messy, representing him as someone who lacks control of himself and is disorganised

Question 19

Reach PLC industry context

Answer 19

• owns the daily mirror and was prev known as trinity mirror
• produce other newspapers as well as local ones which allow them to stay successful and maintain profit
• this means that they are horizontally integrated because they have bought out other competing companies and staying powerful and influential
• they can also share staff between the newspapers at no extra cost

Question 20

how has the mirror tried to encourage audience engagement (here you could apply shirky and jenkins)

Answer 20

• social media and the focus on use of their website, commenting liking and sharing
• lots of phone numbers, to call and text
• their own dating site
• competitions
• opportunities to earn more money such as gambling and competitions/win holidays are also used to attract their w/c audience

Question 21

uses and gratifications- application to the mirror

Answer 21

• traditionally we would read newspapers for education but now it has become entertainment as well
• the mirror is prominent in this regard meaning that they are required to make soft news which is engaging and sensationalised
• people can also identify with the stories and relate to them, which can be seen in the mirror’s representation of w/c individuals
• social interaction is also offered through the ways that they encourage readers to interact with one another online
• escapism is offered to an extent because there are competitions wherein the audience can win large sums of money or holidays, which allows them to escape from their poor life and enter their m/c aspirations, appealing to this audience

Question 22

stuart hall readings of the newspaper

Answer 22

younger audiences may have an oppositional reading and believe the print version is broing, in contrast to older readers, so the reading of this media text depends on the audience member