The newspaper industry revision Flashcards
what are newspapers?
Newspapers are commerical businesses that reflect the ideology of the ownership, as well as their readership.
what do newspapers act as?
both echo chambers and opinion leaders; they have the ability to influence public opinion and behaviour ( Gerbner’s cultivation theory)
what is Gerbner’s cultivation theory?
The idea that newspapers and their producers implant an ideology and with repeated exposure (overexposure) this will cultivate it and make the audience/readership believe in it.
what are the three main types of newspapers which are immediately recognisable by their format, appearance and stories?
-Tabloid
-Middle market
-broadsheet
what is a tabloid newspaper?
A newspaper such as ‘The Daily mirror’ which features light, sensationalising stories and celebrity news, typically favouring this over ‘hard news’. Tabloid newspapers typically have less copy and feature more images and are in a smaller format.
what are some examples of tabloid newspapers?
-The Sun
-The Daily Mirror
-Metro
-The Daily Star
what are middle market tabloids?
Tabloid newspapers which feature more sophisticated language and topics such as coverage of important news events. However, middle market tabloids cater to their audiences preferences by also featuring entertainment stories such as celebrity news. You could consider middle market tabloids as the centre between tabloid and broadsheet newspapers.
what are broadsheet newspapers?
Newspapers which have a much larger format in comparison to tabloids. They include more copy and sophisticated language and don’t necessarily feature sensationalising stories, but more coverage on ‘hard news’ for their upper class, sophisticated audience.
what are some examples of broadsheet newspapers?
-The Times
-The Telegraph
-The Guardian
what is a conglomerate?
Large companies which operate and own other companies across a range of industries and platforms- e.g conglomerates may have subsidiaries that operate in distribution, publishing, writing etc. conglomerates have an increased domination of the newspaper market
what is a statistic that shows how conglomerates have increased domination of the newspaper market?
according to the 2021 report by ‘The media reform coalition’, Reach PLC, News Corp and DMG media own 90% of the media.
what is vertical integration?
A business strategy in which a company controls multiple stages of its production process and supply chain- they are all involved in different processes and activities.
what is horizontal integration?
the merging of companies that are in the same industry- they operate on the same activities and can sell similar or the same products.
Who is the Daily Mirror owned by?
Reach PLC- formerly known as ‘Trinity mirror’.
what is Reach PLC?
a large organisation that produces and publishes around 240 newspapers, most of which are national such as The Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the Daily Express.
despite the fact Reach PLC is a national newspaper publishing company, what have they diversified to do?
They have diversified as a company to produce and publish a range of local newspapers which has allowed them to maintain their popularity and success. This fulfils Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory- Reach PLC have used their tried and tested method of publishing newspapers but making them local to remain successful- risk averse formatting
how many newspapers does Reach PLC publish?
around 240- national, regional and local
what does Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory suggest?
Companies used tried and tested methods (risk averse formatting in order to remain successful and profitable.
Is Reach PLC vertically or horizontally integrated?
Reach PLC is a horizontally integrated company; it buys out other competing companies, absorbing their titles in with their own (for example, they brought out the Daily Express, one of their competitors)
what are the benefits of companies, specifically the Daily Mirror, being horizontally integrated?
- it allows a company to maintain their position as a leader within the newspaper industry and have a reasonable amount of power
-a company can share resources, journalists and facilities between their different titles/brands which can be much more efficient and cheaper as Reach PLC do not need to rely on external supplies and only need to pay for one set of resources. for a wide range of newspapers.
what company is The Times newpaper owned by?
‘News UK’ formerly known as ‘news international’ which is a subsidiary/wholly owned by a conglomerate known as ‘news corp’ which is owned by the Murdoch family (was Rupert Murdoch for a while, until he passed the conglomerate onto his children)
what is unique about News corp?
It is not a conglomerate that only focuses on newspapers- it has diversified into magazines, TV programmes and is even involved in film and TV news. The most popular companies that they have diversified into are Sky and Fox.
is News Corp vertically or horizontally integrated and how has this benefited them?
News Corp is both horizontally and vertically integrated- this has allowed News corp to have a great amount of power in the newspaper and entertainment industry and an enormous amount of money at their disposal. This also means that just like Reach PLC, NC can share journalists and stories between different newspaper and can even help a newspaper be distributed across the world, using its subsidiary companies to promote it.
What can News Corp do due to the fact they have an enormous amount of money at their disposal?
they could potentially take risks or bend rules to attract a wider audience, for example, they can afford to have a paywall on The Times website and can afford to take this risk
what have many people argued about News Corp having so much power?
many have argued that due to the power that News Corp holds, they have gotten away with several things and ‘bent’ the rules in some aspects e.g the levenson enquiry
Who used to wholly own News Corp?
Rupert murdoch- before he passed the company onto his children. Murdoch has a clear friendship with Donald Trump and has support of the republican party and conservative politics- this might suggest that his papers and subsidiaries under his conglomerate could reflect his own right wing conservative political views (political bias)
what is political bias?
where a newspaper will show support for a political party through its choice of stories, style or coverage
Do News Corp newspapers reflect Murdoch’s political ideologies?
Despite the conservative political ideologies of Murdoch, News Corp and its subsidiaries such as The Times claim that they try to be politically neutral/ centralist and embrace all political views by employing journalists and workers with a wide range of political beliefs- in reality, this is unrealistic, and whilst The Times tries to be neutral through their formal language and broadsheet style, they show to be in support of the conservative party during key moments such as elections.
what does CMA stand for?
Competitions and Markets authority
what is the CMA?
a governmental organisation that prevents companies from creating monopolies and dominating a particular industry
what have the CMA ruled against?
the CMA has ruled against Rupert Murdoch on several occasions when he has tried to purchase majority shares and merge his interests. This relates to Curran and Seaton’s profit and power theory
what is Curran and Seaton’s profit and power theory?
The profit and power theory argues that media conglomerates create media concentration, and cause media to have a lack of quality and variation- these conglomerates are primarily driven by profit and power.
who are newspapers generally owned by?
stockholders and shareholders- this has a big impact on the way that they operate as a company. it is important that they protect their reputation but also protect the costs of their shares to keep their stockholders happy. (Hesmondhalgh cultural industries theory)
what did Murdoch do in 1992 that reflected how Newspapers reflect the ideologies of their ownership?
Murdoch has historically used his newspapers to gain favour and influence over political decisions that may directly affect his business e.g the front cover of a newspaper from The Sun in 1992 had ‘It’s the sun wot won it’ as the headline, claiming credit for the victory of the conservative party in the 1992 general election
what was the levenson inquiry?
a public, judge led inquiry that was set up by prime minister David Cameron to investigate the press after journalists working for ‘news of the world’ (a newspaper owned by News Corp and the Murdoch family) were accused of illegally accessing voicemail messages on other people’s phones without their knowledge or consent
who was ‘news of the world’ owned by?
News Corp and the murdoch family
who was one of the people that was affected by the phone hacking and sparked the levenson inquiry?
A young girl named milly dowler, who was kidnapped and murdered and her voicemail cleared, making her parents believe that she was still alive and listening to the voicemail messages from her family. This also caused the police to treat the investigation as a ‘missing persons case’ rather than a murder case
what was the final outcome from the levenson inquiry?
-newspapers should continue to be self regulated and ensure that the government have no control over what newspapers publish to avoid bias.
-there should be an independent regulatory body for the press established (IPSO) and a new code of conduct. the regulatory body should have an active role in promoting high standards, including investigating breaches of the code of practise and to sanction newspapers.
what would happen to any newspapers that refuse to be regulated by IPSO?
any newspaper who refused to join the new body could face direct regulation from the media watchdog offcom.
how are newspapers regulated now?
Newspapers must follow the editors code of practise. There is now the regulatory body that goes alongside the code of practise known as IPSO (independent press standards organisation). their responsibility is investigating complaints about the breaches of the editors code of practise
what is the responsibility of IPSO?
to investigate complaints about breaches of the editors code of practise
what happened to News Corp because of the levenson inquiry?
Their involvement caused a huge amount of bad publicity for the company- it even started to affect and damage the stock market and shares of the company.
what happened to ‘News of the world’ because of the levenson inquiry?
News Corp made a decision based entirely on their reputation and shut down ‘news of the world’ and completely stop its publication despite the fact that it was News Corp’s biggest selling newspaper. This ties in with Curran and Seaton’s profit and power theory
How does Curran and Seaton relate to the News Corp levenson inquiry scandal?
Curran and Seaton argue that conglomerates such as News Corp focus solely on the logic of profit and power. This can be applied to the Levenson inquiry as NewsCorp decided to value their reputation and the reputation of their other newspapers to ensure that they would still generate profit from them by stopping the publication of ‘news of the world’. Many argued that NC escaped convictions for the phone hacking scandal because they had a huge amount of power and global connections.
what does the editors code of practise control?
What editors can feature in newspapers in terms of offensive language, libel (libalist material is printed material that could damage someone’s reputation if its false), and ethics in both print and online (website) newspapers
Who is the editors code of practise and IPSO controlled by?
they are both controlled and owned by the newspaper industry- this shows that newspapers recognise that some of the things that they print and feature need to be regulated in order to remain within the law and remain successful.
why do many argue that IPSO is biased?
it is newspaper run rather than government/law run. Due to this, it is essentially newspaper employees governing themselves and their journalism. This could mean that perhaps employees are not being as strict on their rule breaking as they should be. IPSO also does not follow the recommendations of the levenson inquiry.
what does the whole premiss of IPSO suggest?
Newspaper are only going to do the bare minimum necessary to regulate themselves just to stay on the right side of the law- they want freedom of speech and the ability to write any stories they like such as controversial or shocking ‘splash’ stories that will attract audiences through shock value.
what do livingstone and lunt argue?
that there is an underlying struggle between the need to further the interests of the citizens (protection from harmful materials) and the interests of the consumers (choice, value and competition)
how can we apply livingstone and lunt to the regulation of newspapers?
Through IPSO being a regulatory board being run by newspaper employees, newspapers are regulating themselves. This means employees will have to choose either between protecting citizens from harmful content or furthering the interest of the consumer by offering sensational stories that will sell.
why has the rise of technology made regulating newspapers harder?
-whilst newspapers can control/regulate what they publish online and on their websites, they cannot control what contributions the audience make to the discussion in terms of commenting on articles.
this presents a problem in terms of regulating audiences, as they may not understand what the regulatory rules are, or may simply not care.
what do newspapers such as The Daily Mirror and The Times often used for regulating online and what are the positives and negatives of this?
bots and algorithms to try and moderate their website comments. Whilst algorithm bots are good at being able to look at a lot of content in a short period of time, certain comments can be more difficult to regulate. Bots cannot always understand cultural references, meaning they may accidentally moderate things that don’t need to be, or leave comments unnoticed that are highly offensive or innappropriate.
Rather than using bots for regulation, what can newspapers do and what are the positives and negatives of this?
Employ human moderators to check online comments. whilst humans are good at detecting context, they are not good at looking through a lot of content within a short period of time.
The rise of social media and technology has not just affected regulation, but also mediacy. What are some examples of this?
- Social media is usually the first place to report a news event and many younger audiences no longer tend to drift towards traditional forms of news e.g print newspapers. This has led to a severe decline in print circulation and many newspapers have had to converge digitally
-journalism is much quicker and more efficient
-products are much more interactive (clay shirky)
-citizens journalism- democratisation of the media. This means audiences have access to all the tools to publish their own versions of reality and news channels. This is very controversial as it is unregulated and can spread misinformation about news events or individuals in the public eye.
Technology means that AI can be used for newspapers- in what way and what are the benefits and negatives of this?
AI can be used to research, write, copy and fact check. However, this is not always as accurate compared to a human journalist or worker.
The rise of digital news, websites and social media by newspapers reflects what?
The rise of digital news, websites and social media reflects the increasing desire by audiences for interactivity. (Clay shirky end of audience theory)
What is Clay Shirky’s end of audience theory?
a theory which argues that the internet and digital technologies have a profound effect on the relationship between media and individuals. In the age of the internet, audience members are no longer passive consumers of mass media content.
what is the average print circulation of the Daily Mirror?
451,000 per issue
what is the average print circulation for The Times?
495,000 per issue
What newspaper has one of the largest online readership levels in the country?
The Daily Mirror- whilst their print circulation has been slowly declining for a number of years, their online readership has been increasing. By newspapers such as The Daily Mirror diversifying online, they can target their digital audience and tackle their falling print circulation and therefore falling profit.
In comparison to the Daily Mirror, is the print circulation of The Times declining?
In comparison to the Daily Mirror, the print circulation of The Times has not declined significantly, it has either stayed the same or increased slightly.
why might the print circulation of The Times not be declining like The Daily Mirror?
This might be as The Times have a slightly older, more educated readership who are less likely to have drifted online. Their readership is also more upper class and educated and therefore perhaps are still likely to have an interest in print newspapers as they are seen as a ‘cultural product’.
How may the paywall on The Times website attract and draw away audiences?
The Times audiences may be more drawn to the print version due to the paywall- the paywall on their website restricts people from being able to access all the content unless they pay for a subscription. However, this might also attract audiences and encourage readers to continue to subscribe online as it could give the illusion that the content behind the paywall is ‘quality’ and ‘worth paying for’.
Why are alternative revenues incredibly important for newspapers and what is an example of this?
They are extremely important for newspapers to keep their profits high- e.g the Daily Mirror has lots of advertising spaces online, premium rate phone lines in their print newspapers and online, betting and gaming sections and even a dating section on their website as well
What types of advertising are you likely to see in The Daily Mirror?
Adverts for stereotypically lower class super markets and shops such as Tesco, Lidl, Aldi etc.
what types of advertising are you likely to see in The Times?
you are much more likely to see adverts for stereotypically higher class shops such as Waitrose, Marks and Spencer, Harrods etc. There is a difference in the advertising in the Daily Mirror in comparison to The Times because they are targeting different demographics in terms of class and financial situations.
What is the target audience of The Daily Mirror and how does Reach PLC attract them?
predominately working class males, from a C2DE socio-economic background with left wing political views. A way that the Daily Mirror targets this audience is through their website where they include sections dedicated to gambling and opportunities to apply to a free holiday or win competitions.- typically demographics with lower income would be interested in the opportunity to earn more money.
what are the seven different news value criteria?
- Negative news
-Simple news
-unexpected news
-personalisation news
-proximity news
-elite nations/ people news
-current/continuity news
what is negative news?
News which features negativity- bad news is often more interesting and creates a larger profit than good news
what is simple news?
Events that are easier to report and simple in nature are higher on the news agenda for some newspapers- typically tabloid newspapers such as the Daily Mirror. ‘hard news’ surrounding wars, conflicts, and politics are usually more difficult to explain and do not attract a tabloid newspaper audience.
what is unexpected news?
A sudden or shocking news event that is out of the ordinary and will likely be placed on the front cover of a newspaper
what is personalisation news and what is an example of this?
human interest stories- stories which are relatable for certain groups of people. e.g The Daily Mirror features an incredible amount of personalisation news by including articles on individuals living in socially deprived areas in Britain and people affected by poverty in society, an aspect which many of their anti-establishment and anti-conservative audience who stereotypically live in poverty would relate with.
what is proximity news?
Local stories and news- the more local the stories is to the reader, the greater interest you will get.
what is elite nations/ people news?
News featuring important people such as celebrities, royals and elite nations will end up being higher on the news agenda as more people know about them
what is current/continuity news?
Current, ongoing news which people are aware of
what are the dominant news values of a tabloid newspaper such as ‘The Daily Mirror’.
proximity, elite nations/people, and personalisation
what would the dominant news values be for a broadsheet newspaper such as ‘The Times’?
proximity, elite nations/people and continuity/current news.
what Demographic are The Daily Mirror audiences?
C2DE
what demographic are The Times newspapers?
ABC1
what are the psychographics for ‘The Daily Mirror’?
strugglers and mainstreamers
what are the pyschographics for The Times?
aspirers, suceeders and resigned in some aspects (as they seek to bring back traditional values, which as right wing, pro-establishment newspapers such as The Times heavily reflects.
what do political parties on the left believe?
-strive for an equal society
-believe the government should play a large role on people’s lives- this approach can sometimes be reffered to as ‘big government’.
-higher taxes on the rich, welfare for the poor
-government regulation of business
-progressive views- social change and reform such as supporting same-sex marriage
what are the two left wing parties in the UK?
- Labour party
-Green party
what are the two explicit left wing newspaper publications in the UK?
The Daily Mirror
The Guardian
what are the ideologies of political parties on the right?
-individual freedom should be protected (individualism)
-The government should play a limited role in people’s lives
-Tend to support lower taxes, less business regulation, and believe that the private sector competition leads to better services (such as private healthcare firm competing with each other for patients, rather than health care provided by the government- NHS)
-tend to uphold more traditional views- e.g are in favour of the monarchy.
what are the two right wing parties in the UK?
- conservative party
-Reform UK
what are three examples of right wing publications?
The times
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily mail
when is the printing deadline for most newspaper publications?
around 11pm- there are however exceptions to this such as elections and international sporting
How has technology affected the printing deadline?
By newspapers converging digitally, they can report a news event at any given time and upload updates, whilst the printing deadline means that newspapers cannot publish world events that happen overnight in the morning paper.
how has technology affected the way in which newspapers are published?
-stories can be published faster with updates through journalists sourcing stories online through social media, websites, local authorities, the government and public emails
- citizens journalism- Audiences can now be journalists (democratisation of the media- everyone has access to publish their own version of reality- Clay Shirky end of audience theory). However, Citizens journalism is unregulated and can lead to the spread of misinformation.
-a wider range of unverified sources online has led to more inaccuracies and false news
-Use of AI to write copy and fact check
How has newspapers converging online affected pluarity and variety?
newspaper companies rely on global news agencies such as Reuters- These centralised news sources reduces the plurality of opinions and viewpoints- all news outlets will be sourcing their sources from the same global news agencies. This goes against Shirky’s end of audience theory, which argues that the media is being de-centralised
what is Curran and Seaton’s profit and power theory?
Curran and Seaton argue that conglomerates dominate the media industry and are primarily driven by the logic of profit and power- the fact conglomerates control the majority of media is known as ‘media concentration’. This media concentration typically inhibits or limits variety, creativity or quality
what is hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory?
Companies use tried and tested methods (risk averse formatting) in order to minimise risk and maximise audiences and subsequently maximise profit
what is clay shirky’s end of audience theory?
the internet and digital technologies have had a profound effect on the relationship between the media and individuals. In the age of the internet, audience members are no longer passive consumers of mass media content, now they have the ability to participate in culture that offers a vital social dimension.
Audience behaviour has progressed from passive consumption of media texts to a much more interactive experience.
what do livingstone and lunt suggest in their regulation theory?
There is an underlying struggle between the need to further the interests of the citizens (protection from harmful materials) and the interests of the consumer (choice, value and competition).
what do livingstone and lunt suggest is the effect of globalised media ownership on regulation?
if there is globalised media ownership:
-there is an increased focus on profit and commercial successes which could then lead to a potential decline in investigative journalism and public interest reporting
-increased lobbying power from large media conglomerates can influence regulatory decisions.
what is Stuart Hall’s reception theory?
Hall argues that communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by the audience. There are three hypothetical positions from which meanings can be decoded including dominant/intended, negotiated and oppositional. The way an individual responds to a media text such as newspapers depends on things such as their class, income, political standpoint and educational levels etc
what does dominant/intended meaning mean?
The encoded/intended message is fully accepted by the audience.
what does a negotiated meaning mean?
The encoded message is acknowledged by the audience but the message is slightly adapted to better suit the individual
what does oppositional message mean?
The encoded message is entirely rejected
what are the different subheadings on The Times website?
politics, justice, media, business, world news, luxury, travel and comment.
what interactive features are there on The Times website and how does this reflect their demographic?
there are interactive features such as ‘puzzles’ which features crosswords, sudoku, number and logical puzzles, quizzes and card games. (interactivity reflects Clay Shirky’s end of audience theory). These games feature the use of logistics and numericals which would appeal to a higher class, broadsheet newspaper audience as they are typically more educated and even privately educated.
What can you find on The Times website which is not very surprising?
The top of their website shows a pay wall, where readers have to pay for a subscription to have access to more stories. This is not surprising due to the political stance of the newspaper and their higher class readership - they stereotypically have higher paying ‘office jobs’ which means they can afford to pay for a subscription.
Why is The Times paywall a successful scheme?
-more money is being put into the company
-makes their audience predominantely upper class
-suggests their content is ‘exclusive’ and ‘worth paying for’- you’ll find something that no other newspaper can offer you.
-News Corp, who own the Times are also a conglomerate with an enormous amount of money and power at their disposal, meaning they can afford to take risks such as featuring a paywall on their website- goes against Hesmondhalgh’s cultural industries theory
How is the brand identity of The Times print newspaper reflected on their website?
The paper and website both feature more copy rather than visuals, and their language is much more sophisticated and formal. Their choice of stories are also the same- political affairs, sophisticated ‘hard news’ etc- this creates an echo chamber between the print and website version (audiences will likely want to hear the same ideologies and stories over again if they align with their own personal belief system)
where is cross media convergence shown on The Times website?
They have promotion of The Times radio show and also several podcasts. The content/focus of these podcasts undeniably reflects the same news story content that The Times audience is interested in- Continuity/current news affairs (politics), elite nations / people , and a lack of sensationalising news stories.
what subheadings does The Daily Mirror website have?
news, politics, football, celebs, TV , shopping and royals
how does The Daily Mirror website reflect digital convergence?
There are social media icons included on their website for platforms such as instagram, facebook, Twitter, TikTok and even Snapchat. All of these social media platforms allow for a more interactive experience for audiences- Clay Shirky’s end of audience theory
What is the most notable feature on The Daily Mirror website?
the section titled ‘Got a story?’- here, any individual can submit a personal story that the Mirror could write about, emphasising the relationship between the newspaper and the readership. The Daily Mirror is undeniably presenting themselves as entirely connecting to the everyday people and how it is almost run by society
What is the brand identity of The Daily Mirror and how is this reflected on their website?
Brand identity: Left wing, labour, anti-establishment with an alternative political standpoint
The DM reflects their brand identity through the immense amount of celebrity and personalised news that they feature (sensationalising news stories).
why could there be criticism for the Daily Mirror for the amount of sensationalising news stories that they feature?
It could be argued that the DM is treading a fine line between what is right and what is wrong in terms of their content and regulation- their aim is to feature sensationalising stories, particulalry on significant members of society such as Royals and Celebrities (as shown on their website with these two groups as sections) to attract a wide audience. However, the informal mode of address and the way that events as portrayed could be going against many rules in the editors code of conduct for IPSO just to appeal to their audience. This reflects Livingstone and Lunt’s regulation theory.
