Identify the genre of this newspaper.
Identify three generic conventions of this newspaper.
Apply one media language theory to this front cover.
Broadsheet
High text-to-image ratio, formal language register, hard-news agenda, targets a more upmarket audience (ABC1) through the advertising sky banner.
Barthes - semiotics, headline analysis:
Risks crippling represents the potential harm or damage that the lockdown could cause to the North. Verb, 'Crippling' is particularly emotive that suggests severe and long-lasting damage.
The 'MPs warn Johnson' could connote a sense of urgency or importance, as well as a reminder of the political context in which the issue is being discussed.
Since the introduction of WEB 2.0 and technological advancements in the media, the print newspaper industry has undergone significant change in the production, distribution and circulation of newspapers.
The proliferation (rapid increase) of technology has led to reduction in print circulation and rising of how online and social media news is distributed.
Media Technology
Convenience
Cost
Changes in audience demographics
Media Technology: The rise of digital media has greatly impacted print circulation, as people increasingly rely on the internet and social media for news and information.
Convenience: Online news can be accessed from anywhere with an internet connection and can be easily shared and discussed with others.
Cost: Printing and distributing print newspapers can be expensive - online news is much cheaper to produce.
Changes in audience demographics: Print circulation has traditionally relied on an older demographic of readers - as the new audience is more familiar with online technology, newspaper brands are catering for this change.
The website counterparts will stick to the genre and house style that of the print newspaper.
For example, The Guardian is a broadsheet and the website is a broadsheet website. However, Daily Mail is a middle-market newspaper but their website resembles the style of a tabloid. It is also called ‘Mail Online’.
Visit the following online news outlets:
Mail Online
The Guardian
Write down a few notes to compare the look and content of the websites. Think of the similarities and differences between the two.
Offers news as entertainment
Softer news agenda (Human interest, celebrities etc)
Layout it cluttered and busy
Photography dominates the page and uses lots of colour
Informal language register and colloquial language
Lots of banner, sky and pop-up advertisements
Offers news as information
Harder news agenda (politics, money, business etc)
Organised, 4 column layout
More copy than print version
Sophisticated, formal language register
Sky advertisements for luxury items
Read through the extract on the impact of digital technology on online newspapers. Then use the internet to conduct further research.
Task: Explain how each of the following might an impact of digital technology on the media language of online newspapers.
Hybridised genre conventions (e.g. headlines and images)
Audience interactivity
Changes in production cycle
Brand loyalty
Hybridised genre conventions (e.g. headlines and images)
Headlines might be longer and maybe more narrative driven to ‘hook’ the audience in
Headlines might be more clickbait-style
Online news will be image and video driven, allowing for alternative ways to consume content
Audience interactivity
Opportunities for audiences to contribute ideas / thoughts through below-the-line comments
Opportunities for sharing content on social media which could further their popularity
Opportunities for citizen-journalism and user-generated content
Changes in production cycle
Audiences favour ‘now culture’ so live news, for example, allows them to consume news on the day as opposed to the traditional cycle of waiting for news the following day
Producers can push out news instantly and amend / add to the story as needed
However this might lead to more inaccurate news as there is less attention to fact-checking
Brand loyalty
Online features like ‘cookies’ allow producers to push out personalised content
Newspaper brand identity (logo, house style, values & ideologies) can be extended online
Allows for greater competition amongst newspaper brands who might offer other USPs
Audience participation is encouraged and paramount to its success - the use of call to actions will be important to draw audience attention to the newspaper website article.
Social media news is geared towards more interactivity - news producers want audiences to engage in liking, sharing and dropping ‘below the line’ comments as it ensures that the social media posts get more traction and exposure to bigger audiences.
Social media news is more image driven as it targets a younger audience - these audiences prefer more bitesize, visually striking stories, led by images with little text.
Social media increases opportunities for citizen journalism - it is now a crucial part of newspaper publication. Audiences can actively produce amature, user-generated content such as videos and edits. This ensures that there is greater amount of news available, which is particularly valuable for profit driven publications like the Daily Mail.
Social media allows for ‘now culture’ to take place - audiences who consume content through social media prefer news immediately, as it happens, not the day after the event. Stories can be reported upon as they happen.
There is no space limitations online - this means a news producers can post as many different stories on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as they like, without the need for more staff or higher production costs.
Daily Mail targets a much more younger audience than The Guardian online. Daily Mail utilises Facebook, Twitter, Instagram but predominantly focuses on Snapchat. The Guardian predominantly focuses on Facebook and Twitter.