Question 3

Question 3

• Question 3 will be an industry/audience/context or set text question. 

• It could ask about why audiences don’t read newspapers or how contexts are influencing our perception of news stories.

• It will be worth 10 marks. 

• You need to have detailed knowledge and understanding of the Daily Mail and The Guardian.

• You must reference textual examples from the case studies in your points to gurantee marks in band 3. 

• Always try to think outside the box - don't just take the face value of the question but try to bring in wider concepts from the case studies into your response. 

Exemplar question and response

Explain how economic contexts, including ownership affects the choice of content in newspapers. Refer to The Guardian and The Daily Mail to support your answer. [10]

The Guardian, a newspaper with a pro-liberal stance, is held under trust ownership, which guarantees both financial and editorial independence. This enables them to uphold their ethos of investigative journalism, catering to an audience of affluent ABC1 champagne socialists. They strive to remain unbiased, reporting stories factually without any political affiliation. A prime example of this was their front cover headline, "Putin Invades," after the invasion of Ukraine, accompanied by a large feature in the newspaper. The Guardian's diverse team of journalists from varying backgrounds, appointed for their expertise and experience, further reflects their objective viewpoint. The Guardian as a newspaper prides it self on reflecting the views of typically margnalised voices on matters such as Black Lives Matter, the MeToo movement or trans rights.

On the other hand, the Daily Mail, a right-wing conservative newspaper owned by Jonathan Hamsworth, has been associated with fascist views in the past and has shown strong support for the Conservative party. Their primary target audience is a majority of BC1C2 women, which is reflected in their content, such as their 'femail' insert and website micropage. In contrast to The Guardian, the Daily Mail's objective is to maximise profit which is reflected through the wide range of advertising opportunities on their website, using clickbait-style headlines to increase clickthrough rates, and generate substantial income from advertising. Their coverage of the Ukrainian war was more sensationalist, using images of the aftermath of the invasion accompanied by a headline that, "Putin to seize the capital in days".

The Guardian's editorial and financial independence have caused it to struggle with profitability in recent years, limiting its innovative potential compared to The Daily Mail. On the other hand, the Daily Mail's oligarchic ownership structure limits diversity in political opinions and creativity (as right-wing papers form the majority in terms of national newspapers), making it easier to spread fake news or political propaganda.