News

 Tuesday 9th January 2024

The purpose of news is to educate and inform an audience

Ownership of news:

LO:To explore the nature and ownership of news.

1)Media Barons- owned by wealthy individuals or proprietors e.g. Rupert Murdoch the sun and the times

2)Trusts-A legal arrangement that transfers funds from the owner to a 'trustee' to manage and control the running of the paper e.g. Scott trust (GMG), the guardian media group- the guardian and the observer.

3)Cross-media converged conglomerate- global institutions that own numerous media outlets. Theses may be owned by media Barons e.g. DMG and Lord Rothermere-the daily mail, the daily mirror

newspapers are commercial so their main aim is to make a profit, this changes the content, 

• They are producing what is popular and what will sell rather than the more important and relevant news because they are trying to make more money
• They are trying to attract a wider audience rather than a niche because they want to make more profit
• it might look more like gossip than legitimate news
• they can lie and twist things to make their paper sell and make money

77.8% of british press is owned by a handfull of billionaires.27.3% is owned by Lord Rothermere 24.9% by Rupert Murdoch between them they own over 50% of the press

This means that these two men have a lot of influence over the beliefs of the public. They can big someone up so that the public  favour them. The newspapers will have the byas of the owners. The newspaper can be used to slander someone and make the public dislike them. They can push moral views and values. 

DMGT          Mail          39%

Rupert Murdoch          The sun and the times          28%

Reach plc          star, express, mirror, people, daily record          16%

Telegraph group         Telegraph          5%

Guardian media group          guardian,observer          2%

Nikkei

Tuesday 16th January 2024

1)Scott trust 

2)Media Baron Rupert Murdoch

3)Cross-media converged conglomerate

4)Lord Rothermere

5)

Newspaper fundraising regulation

LO: To explore the impact of newspaper funding and regulation on the printed press.

How do media owners contribute to news bias:

• commercial advertising ties
• political opinions of owner
• Business interests of owners/friends
• Profit; newspapers are not PSB its not non-fiction, it is stories designed to sell. 

Guardian and observer are owned by a trust  

liberal values have meant support for the guardian for both the labour party and the liberal democrats 

Guardian media group bought the observer in 1993

gaining political and social influence. 

The guardian is a left winged newspaper

The mirror is a centre left newspaper

The independant is a right wing computer

The times is a right winged newspaper

All of the newspapers baring the top 2 are right winged

How do your think newspapers might make their money?

They make money when their newspaper sells

when companies use their newspaper for advertising

sponsored content

circulation sales

memberships

donations

paywalls

events

writing courses 

journalist courses

Freedom vs Regulation

Newspapers need regulation to prevent the invasion of peoples privacy however, if the newspaper is controlled, there will be more bias and influence

Tuesday 6th February 2024

• Paywalls and advertisements- Paywalls are used to fund magazines online because it means that people can read an article up to a certain point and then they have to pay to read the rest, this means that the reader is already hooked on the article they are invested and want to know what else happens etc.  this manes that people are likely to pay the small fee.  Newspapers will also use adverts (online and in print) so that other companies will pay a substantial amount of money to be promoted in the paper. 

Media language

LO: Investigate how print newspapers create meaning through media language.

Advantages of online news:

• don't have to go to the shop to get it
• more accessible for everyone
• free
• access it anytime anywhere

Disadvantages of online news:

• industry makes less profit

ideologies- liberalism, internationalism, patriotism/anti sexism, racism/anti racism, all expressed in the representations. 

Contexts:

Consumerism- The way that people consume the media, the way people access it. Why people buy things, what drives people to want to buy things. 

celebrity culture- Normal people being invested in the lives of famous people or influencers in the media. 

multiculturalism- people from different cultural backgrounds being able to access the same media/ wanting to access the same media. 

gender- Peoples changing views on gender roles. equality

sexuality-Changing ideas about peoples sexuality, pride etc.  equality/ more acceptance

serif font- promotes the idea that the newspaper is serious, it is not a tabloid therefore needs to promote a more focused view for themselves. 

Dateline in the middle shows that is is very recent, the articles and views featured in the newspaper will be more relevant to now, modern etc.

Main story features the papers political views

Pull quote about Rishi Sunak is a more personal story featuring a political character. 

Caption of 'stepping into history'

two men, two women shows equality between men and women, shows that the newspaper is not sexist. 

4 different stories featured on the front cover mostly about political matters some more personal, some that make the newspaper seem less serious

Donald trump featured as silly/ childish on the front cover shows how the newspaper doesn't agree with trumps right winged views.  

Subheading under the masthead makes the tory party seem bad and dangerous 'attacks'

Observer- observing the world, suggests a lack of bias. 

Tuesday 20th February 2024

Media Language:

To investigate how online newspapers use media language to create meaning.

Audience advantages- copy to keep, you still have it even if its deleted online, physical object

Audience disadvantages- costs money to buy, maybe have to walk to the shop or pay for delivery.

Industry advantages- probably more profits

Industry disadvantages-time and money to actually print, less of an audience, 

Masthead- Black font on white background, capital T and O, serif font type, same as the print, 'observer' suggests that its watching the world, suggests a lack of bias, no sides, news is all knowing, 

Navigation bar- blue background with white text which is the same as the guardian, it wants to link and show they are the same, good for reputation 'newspaper of the year'. 

Videos- more information, passive more accessibility, 

Sections- different sections such as food and sport are featured just like the print, people only have to read what interests them, helps people look for more specific stories.

Comment section- people can actively look at comments posted on the news and make comments themselves, social, creates a more active audience. 

Bylines- Shows who writes each story, shows whether the newspaper only uses stories written by men, women, British etc. etc. same as the print

Advert- Pictures with links to companies websites advertise products on the news website. same as the print.

All social media links will lead to the guardians social media, always showing their links to the guardian. - Instagram, youtube ect. 

Show support for Ukraine- 'pleads', makes him seem weak and vulnerable, creates sympathy, supporting the underdogs, the minorities ect people who have less voice. 

Main image- Big main image, bright colourful, 

Search bar- gives the audience the ability to have control and choose what they would like to read, look for something specific.  

• political bias-left, liberal, equal, Zilenski (supporting the underdogs)
• Owned by the guardian media group- banner, masthead, colours, social media links, 
• representation (People, cultures, places, race, gender, sexuality, class)- worldwide, positively represents other countries and cultures, underdogs are acknowledged and supported non gender stereotypical, equality, positive representations of sexuality, race equality, no racism, 
• Variety of features-
• choice of text, image placement & size-

Thursday 27th February 2024

DO NOW:

1)Type of font ect. Different styles of text, font style and size, font colour, how the text looks

2)Where the writing is in relation to the images, masthead ect. 

3)The writing, the words, The word choices

4)The name, the big writing at the top 

5) A section above the masthead which shows what else is in the magazine, usually in different colours. 

Historical case studies

LO: To evaluate the impacts of social, cultural, political and historic contexts on 1960s newspapers

3 main parties- 

conservatives(Torres)- more traditional values, based on the idea that if you support or help big businesses or people with lots of money, their business will grow and so they can get jobs, helps everyone else, promotes growth, v capitalist, top down

Liberal democrats- in the middle

Labour-socialists, help the working class, bottom up, unions, strikes, trade unions, 

observer today is still the same. 

Tuesday 5th March 2024

1) The bit at the top with the links to different sections

2) The heading or advertisement at the top

3)Text pulled from the rest of the text

4)The summary paragraph

5)The title

1960s

The Cold War was a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc, that started in 1947 after the end of World War II and lasted to 1991.

patriarchy- power system which is male dominated

Protests for racial equality and gender equality

wars and espionage. 

labour part in power

Vietnam war protests- anti-war 

Tuesday 12th March 2024

1960s- sexist, no gender equality, no racial equality, war and espionage was a threat, in colour tv news, fighting for better gender equality, cold war, Vietnam war

explain how broadsheet newspaper reflect the time and historic contexts in which they were published.  Refer to the observer front page from the 1960s 

Broadsheet newspapers such as the observer reflect the historical contexts of the time they were produced. The observer from the 1960s reflects the racial inequality at the time.  The article features the mixed race marriage, highlighting that this was not common in the 60s because it was a front page feature.  Quotes show that the newspaper is acknowledging that racial inequality was a problem. 

patriarchal means that men are in charge. 

Lawyers urge divorce by consent- 

Broadsheet newspapers such as the observer reflect the historical contexts of the time they were produced as they reflect the patriarchal views of society. There are several stories that pose women as objects, they give this idea that women were inferior and their only job were to be wives. Stories such as 'jackie:we're so happy' which shows that women role and purpose was to be married to a man, she was only featured on the newspaper because she was getting married. There are also, on some newspapers, many stories featuring men but none featuring women, again showing how women were not seen to be as significant as men. The fact that most of the stories were about war, or only featuring men, leads us to believe that the newspapers were only targeted towards men, again reinforcing the fact that wont were seen as wives, they were not supposed to be clever enough to understand such political events such as the ones featured in the newspapers. Also, the advertisement in the newspapers mainly featured women's underwear, meaning that even the adverts in the newspaper were mainly targeted at men, for their enjoyment, again objectifying women. Also, most, or all of the stories were written by men, showing how undervalued women's opinions were. All of this shows the strong patriarchal views of people in the 60s.

Broadsheet newspapers like the observer also show clear reflections of the time they were produced through the number of stories regarding war and espionage. Topics like 'spy' attacks and 'North sea spy game' are featured on the front page, showing how people were feeling very threatened by the intrusions and the thought of war. There are stories that mention protests against war showing how the public felt about the matter, they were keen on peace, they didn't want to go into war. It also shows how newspapers liked to gossip as people would panic and feel more threatened every time they read a new news story. 

1) Gossip, lower class, less text, more pictures, more colour, less formal topics, follows a lot of celebrity culture.

2)Lots of text, less colour, one main image, formal topics such as politics, often a larger paper in size more upper class, well educated, red masthead and white. 

3)broadsheet

4)

Guided practice Q9:

LO:To explore the exam format for Q9 for the news unit and apply analysis skills and exam writing technique. 

Genre=type, in newspaper=tabloid or broadsheet. 

The media language used in the observer cover reflects the genre conventions of a broadsheet newspaper, There is very little colour and a significant amount of text. It has a black masthead. 

Masthead

text-image ratio

image

colour

image- Only one main image featuring one male one female, shows how there is no prejudice against genders, more gender equality and it shows racial equality. Mid-shot of Rishi Sunak and american politician, posed or staged image probably at a press conference. Shaking hands shows the friendship between the two countries, reinforces the historical friendship between the two countries since WW1, makes them look powerful. Liberal viewpoints are an audience expectations. 

The black on white, serif font of the masthead, shows a lack of colour and therefore shows the seriousness of the newspaper. 

The observer cover reflects generic conventions of a broadsheet newspaper. We can see that the observers masthead is a black on white serif font, this is common for a broadsheet newspaper as the lack of colour shows how sophisticated and serious the newspaper is and indicates that the observer is trying to establish itself as a broadsheet newspaper. 

We can also see that it features only one, main, image: a mid shot of Rishi Sunak shaking hands with a female American politician, this shows how the newspaper is promoting both gender equality and racial equality, showing the observers liberal views and how they strive to help the people, they are a newspaper for everyone. The image shows them holding hands, this reinforces the friendship between the two countries since WW1. These political topics are common in broadsheet newspapers as they are commonly aimed at a more upperclass, well educated audience and the audience will expect to see the newspapers liberal views. 

The text to image ratio shows how there are very little images compared to the vast amount of text,this is because the audience wants to read a newspaper that is sophisticated and filled with information. 

In conclusion, the observer newspaper is established as a Broadsheet newspaper due to the design of masthead and its use of images to create a sophisticated view.

LIAR

Language-image, masthead, image to text ratio

Industry-

Audience- The audience expects to see.... a more educated audience....

Representations-

Context- gender equality and racial equality, liberal views of the newspaper. 

PPE:Exam Dirt

LO:To reflect on the exam and identify areas to improve 

Language

Industry

Audience

Representation

contexts of 1960s- espionage, lack of gender equality, lack of racial equality, civil rights movements

contexts now- internet/technology leads to globalisation and a focus on celebrity culture

Q7-its really fast, things online are constantly updated, regulators cannot keep up with the speed of online media. 

location of head offices, countries ect. 

Q8- lower case headlines, serif font, formal language, no slang, several news stories in multiple columns, high proportion of news copy on. the front page., serious topics. 

The large amount of text on the front cover is a convention of a broadsheet rather than a tabloid as it is aimed at a more upmarket, educated audience. This paired with the several news stories in multiple columns conveys the fact that it is a broadsheet newspaper, it is filled with information for the audience. 

Q9-judgement=intro+conclusion 

contexts

liar

left wing- liberal 

means progressive

equality

serious news- broadsheet

fights for those without power or voice

audience like food and culture- music, books, film, theatre, art, 

story regarding homelessness typical of the observer

food in the sky box is typical of the observer

male and female seen as equal, supporting gender equality. 

breaking stereotypes and featuring unique stories. 

The representations are highly typical of an observer newspaper. For example, there is a story on the front cover regarding 'rough sleepers' and homelessness shows their liberal views and aims to speak out for those who don't have their own power/voice, this is very typical of the observer. The first story in the skybox regards a child terrorist, this has a political focus, however challenges stereotypes via the image of a young child as the boy appear innocent, young and happy which contrasts the stereotype of a terrorist, challenging stereotypes is very typical of the observer as they are aiming for progression. the main image of Serena Williams and Andy Murray shows the observers support of gender and racial equality (shows their liberal views)

Tuesday 23rd April 2024

For the people, everyone deserves a voice, equality, progressive, support equality, left wing, liberal 

Lots of text, less images, less colour, more political topics, black and white masthead, 

Q9:

make a clear judgement

Language

Industry

Audience

Representations

contexts

images, layout, font, text/copy. 

it looks like a broadsheet:

masthead

text/copy

x1 image 

not like a broadsheet: 

skybox: context: fashion/lifestyle, bright colours. 

contexts-multiculturalism

gender equality

consumerism

celebrity culture

racial equality

liberal/left wing views 

The media language in the Observer newspaper, reflects a broadsheet newspaper in generic conventions. We can see this through the masthead, the masthead is a serif font, in black on a white background, it is in lowercase, this reflects the seriousness of The Observer as it reflects how a broadsheet is well educated. Another example is the main image, this reflects broadsheet conventions in the way that it is one singular image that has limited colour and take up very little space, leaving more room for the three columns of text. This photo follows conventions of the observer as it supports gender equality and multiculturalism as well as following celebrity culture which will appeal to the audience. 

The text to image ratio is very imbalanced, there is a significant amount more text compared to one image, this is a strong convention of a broadsheet newspaper. The use of the three columns shows how the audience is well educated and likes to read in depth information. 

The use of the skybox advertises the content of the newspaper this is a convention of broadsheet newspaper.

The main heading of the newspaper refers to 'tax cuts' which is a very political matter, broadsheet newspapers commonly feature more formal, political matters as they tend to be more serious and well-educated which appeals to the audience. In conclusion, the media language on the cover of the observer reflects the generic conventions of a broadsheet newspaper.