The Sun - Context Flashcards
What type of newspaper is The Sun? Has it always been this type?
A daily tabloid.
The Sun started life as a broadsheet in 1964, becoming a tabloid in 1969 after being purchased by its current owners.
Who owns The Sun?
Owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp.
What is the daily circulation of The Sun?
1.6 million copies of their print edition in the UK and a daily readership of around 4.1 million
The Sun has the largest circulation of any daily print newspaper in the United Kingdom. In addition, The Sun on Sunday is the UK’s biggest selling Sunday newspaper
How often is The Sun published?
It was originally published six days a week until News Corp. also started producing The Sun on Sunday in February 2012 to replace the News of the World.
What do The Sun readers think about immigration?
YouGov Poll revealed that 42% of their responders said
immigration was the key area where Britain needed to win back power from Brussels.
18th December is International Migrants Day. A day where the UN encourages the world to acknowledge the importance of immigrants. This was the date the sample text was published.
How did The Sun make sex a feature of it’s marketing strategy?
The first topless page 3 model appeared in November 1970. This soon became a regular feature of the paper and has been an area of contention for some people.
Why is The Sun considered controversial?
The Sun has always been considered controversial in terms of its output, partly due to its over-reliance on sensational news and partly due to complete fabrication for the sake of a story (“Freddie Star Ate My Hamster”, 1986).
The most notable controversy was The Sun’s coverage of the Hillsborough Football Stadium disaster in Sheffield on 15th April 1989, in which 96 people died. The paper ran a front page headline of “The Truth” and printed allegations that fans pickpocketed victims, urinated on members of the emergency services and assaulted a policeman who was administering the kiss of life to a victim. The story was seemingly based on allegations
from anonymous sources that were later proved to
be false and The Sun apologised.
What was The Sun nicknamed after the Hillsborough disaster?
The front page caused outrage in Liverpool where it was soon titled “The Scum” and a significant proportion of
the city’s population still boycott the paper today
with many shops even refusing to stock it.
Which political party is The Sun aligned with?
In its early years, The Sun nominally supported the Labour party but has moved back and forth between Labour and the Conservatives, depending on party leadership. The paper has always been very vocal in telling its readers
how they should vote (“Why it must be labour” 1970; “Vote Tory this time” 1979; “Do you really want this old fool to run Britain?” 1983).
Today, The Sun is described as having political allegiance to the Conservative party and does not support the EU, so it is not surprising that the language of this main articles seeks to apportion blame to the EU, suggesting they are the reason for such high levels of immigration.
How is The Sun funded?
Increasingly newspapers earn revenue from their advertisements and so, in this sense, journalism is being seen more and more as a commodity whose purpose is
predominantly for profit. £1 in every £7 spent on groceries is spent by a Sun reader making it a very attractive advertising vehicle.
The sample text has a supermarket voucher for Aldi on the front cover.
How is the ‘phone hacking scandal’ linked to The Sun?
The News International phone-hacking scandal was a controversy involving the now defunct Sunday version of The Sun, the News of the World. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in phone hacking, police bribery, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of stories. The paper’s phone hacking activities were limited to celebrities, politicians, and members of the British Royal Family, in July 2011 it was revealed that the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, relatives of deceased British soldiers, and victims of the 7 July 2005 London bombings had also been hacked.
How did the ‘phone hacking scandal’ affect The Sun?
In the first quarter of 2016 The Sun recorded more than £250 million in losses predominantly through loss of publishing rights but also due to having to set aside another £50 million to cover legal costs and pay-offs for the ongoingphone-hacking scandal. This scandal has
previously cost News Corp. £366 million.
What was the Leveson Inquiry?
A public inquiry, known as the Leveson Inquiry, would look into phone hacking and police bribery by the News of the World. Rupert Murdoch admitted that a cover-up had taken place within the News of the World to hide the scope of the phone hacking.
How has The Sun used digital convergence?
In August 2013, The Sun launched Sun+, a subscription service digital entertainment package. Subscribers paid £2 per week but were able to access all of The Sun’s regular content as well as have exclusive access to Premier League clips, a variety of digital rewards and a
lottery. Despite the cost of this, Sun+ had 117,000 subscribers who they could engage with on a more personal level due to the brand loyalty created from the subscription
How much does it cost to read The Sun’s online content?
In November 2015, the paper had to remove the paywall and offer most of its web content for free in order to compete with major rivals such as The Mail Online. Since removal of the paywall, it now has around 1 million browsers per day.
