News
Monday 8th January 2024
What is the purpose of news?
To educate, inform, profit, persuade, entertain - Share news with the public
How was news shared historically?
Reading newspapers - In conversation
What developments?
Television - Social Media / Internet
Tabloid - Red Box (Red Top Tabloid) , Minimal writing, bold fonts, big headlines, more images , less formal writing, news material is more entertaining for readers - The sun , The mirror, The Star
Broadsheet - More formal writing with complicated topics, mass amounts of writing, less images, targets news as information and not entertainment - The Telegraph, The times, The guardian
Hybrid - A mix of tabloid and broadsheet, no red boxes, but more writing than a tabloid but less than a broadsheet - Daily Mail, Daily Express
Ownership
Learning Objective:
To explore the nature and ownership of the media industry
Media Baron - Owned by a wealthy individual - Rupert Murdoch - owned The sun, The Times
Trusts - A legal arrangement that the owner transfers to a trustee to control the paper - Scott Trust - owned The Guardian , The Observer
Cross Media converged conglomerates - Global institutions that own numerous media outlets - DMG and Lord Rothermere - owned the Daily Mail
The Main Aim of Newspapers is Money.
News that is popular is produced more frequently to produce more money.
Audiences may believe the material in the magazine and may be brought in conversation or online which spreads an biased opinion which in a way is molding the viewers minds into the owner of the magazines opinions. By doing this it can create a nation wide love or hate toward a certain person and can easily make people with power 'fall off'.
There are ethical and moral codes of press conduct but the printed press is a self regulating industry.
- Mail - Lord Rothermere
- Sun, Time - Rupert Murdoch
- Star, Express, Mirror, People, Daily Record - Reach Plc
- Telegraph - Telegraph Group
- Guardian , Observer - Guardian Media Group
- Financial Times - Nikkei
Monday 29th January 2024
Freedom and Regulation
Press Regulation
For - Protect Privacy, Holds newspapers responsible
Against - Press Freedom to avoid bias
Audience
OBSERVER
Accessing newspapers:
- Social Media Platforms
- Websites
- Shops
Who owns the Guardian/ Observer?
Scott Trust Limited
What political stance do they have?
The Labour Party/ Left wing
How are they regulated?
Self regulated
How do they make money?
Advertising, Licensing, Reader revenues
Why do they have a voluntary donation service?
To have all content available to viewers while also making money.
Age Range? Gender? Where they Live?
15 - 35+ , Equal Gender, London and South
Social Class? Political View?
Middle Class (abc1 - ab) , Left Wing
Values? Interests?
Arts and Culture, Food and Drinks
Convergence -
Two forms of media joining together
Cultural Convergence -
Changing from traditional forms of media to advance into the new generations technology and normalities.
The Observer changed from paper magazines sold in shops to forms of news online and all throughout social medias by doing this it allowed a more younger audience to interact with their media as they are more familiar and cooperative with newer forms of technology and apps, bringing in a wider audience for the observer.
Monday 5th February 2024
2 ways that newspapers are funded are advertising and sales . In the form of advertisement, newspapers make money due to brands paying the newspaper companies to be featured in their newspaper to gain a wider audience dedicated to their brand/products therefore paying the newspaper a lot of money for a wider buyer audience for their brand. In the form of sales, newspapers gain their money from their actual product. Newspapers, to gain more money from sales, use cultural convergence to spread their product across all popular platforms ( social media) used more thoroughly by the younger audiences as-well as selling their in real life products in shops.
Media Language
Learning Objective:
To investigate how print newspapers used media language to create meaning.
Online Newspapers
Adv.
- Easier Access
- Published faster
- Cheaper to produce
- Less damaging for the planet
- Cheaper for the buyer
- Multiple choices online
Disadv.
- Less profit
- Website may crash
- Not everyone has access to the internet
- patriarchy - a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it.
- racism - discrimination, or antagonism by an individual, community, or institution against a person or people on the basis of their membership of a particular racial or ethnic group
- internationalism - the state or process of being international
- liberalism -respect or accept behaviour or opinions different from one's own; openness to new ideas.
- consumerism - buying stuff
- celebrity culture - Celebrity culture is characterised by a pervasive preoccupation with famous persons and an extravagant value attached to the lives of public figures
Masthead - connotes that the paper is consistently bringing in new and exciting news - lexis - observer connoting their unbiased showing they are simply watching and reporting back.
Date Line - showing there sources connoting in a truthful and trusting way.
Headline - A serif font connotes traditionalists as-well as a serious tone without being too bold and shoving it in the readers face the lexis of 'bombproof' justifies the safety of their manifesto - labour party - left. Headlines surrounding politics connotations of more adults conversations.
Byline - All male name which disproves the diversity of the observers beliefs
Subhead - no bias or opinion in the subheading simply saying a fact which connotes trust as the observer is using their lexis of terminology to not twist your opinions an beliefs. - Serious topics again connoting the older audiences to be reading the source.
Caption - Highlights diversity of the woman which is juxtaposing the by line of only men.
Standfirst -
Copy - Neat ordered columns connoting a straight forward analysis of their judgements. Lots of writing showing a formal, well educated target audience.
Main Image -
Minor Image - Shows dislike towards Trump showing their labour party (left) while connoting a silly less serious aspect .
Columns - Fits the codes and conventions of a newspaper.
Skybox - Bright colour palette connoting an energising feel to the magazine, going against normal conventions for newspapers.
Pull quote -
Monday 19th February 2024
Print Newspapers:
Adv -
- More profit - industry
- Older generation friendly - audience
- No technology/ internet to access - audience friendly
Disadv -
- Less easier access - audience
- more money to produce - industry
- Takes longer to produce - industry
- Less options than online - audience
- Political bias (Left/ Middle) - Left Wing are for the people (socialism)
- Owned by Guardian Media Group
- Representations
- Variety of Features
- Layout - Typography - Images - Lexis
Monday 26th February 2024
Typography is the font and size of texts - how the letters look visually.
Layout is referring to where everything is placed.
Lexis is what the text says - word choice.
Masthead is the main title of a magazine or newspaper.
Skybox is the section at the top of the newspaper.
Historical Case Studies
Learning Objective:
To evaluate the impact of social , cultural , political and historical contexts on 1960s newspapers.
Guardian / Observer now hasn't changed - still middle class labour - liberal supporters.
Monday 4th March 2024
Navigation Bar - A link to appropriate section pages in a website that helps readers to traverse the online document
Banner - A heading or advertisement appealing on a web page in the form of a bar, column or box
Pull quote - Made up of text that is pulled from the text that is duplicated and presented on the page as an attention grabbing element.
Standfirst - The first summary paragraph of text in a newspaper article
Masthead - The title of a newspaper
'Lawyers will urge divorce by consent' - gender equality showing change as women were finally able to have a say in their marriage and get a divorce without the husbands consent - making women more independent by giving them more rights - social changes - moving more towards gender equality - straying away from the normal patriarchal society. The law council were controlled by men so women did not have the same rights to divorce.
'Wilson Brown market clash' - Political News - Complex Relationship towards Britain and Europe
'So polite this north Sea Spy game' 'America accused of spy frame up!' - cold war - 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.- fear of invasion - lexis: game/spy connotes a fun element which juxtaposes with the war
Vietnam headlines -
'Hopes rise for cease-fire in Vietnam' -
'Enough of this sorrow'
'Human wave attack' - They wanted to stop the violence and fighting - Movement to appose government and a social power- start of social change and protesting to change.
'Jackie we are very happy' - shows a patriarchal society by showing men are in charge as they are only mentioning her due to her being married to another man. References of women are only in the roles of looking desirable through lingerie or being a mans wife.
'Unions postpone strike' - Social power showing limited attempts to create gender equality before the equal pay act. Strikes being popular in the 1960s shows the patriarchal culture being shown up through social power. Only women being featured as a higher power as a politician with no attachment to a man.
'Briton shoots a Gold' - Black power protests reflecting the anti racist movements of the 1960s however the lexis of 'negro' shows how normalised racism is.
' Stephen Pollock.... with a Rhodesian born African after there marriage yesterday' - Highlights racism through mixed-race marriage making the front page which shows it was a very unusual thing in the 1960s.
Monday 11th March 2024
Historical Case Studies
Learning Objective:
To evaluate the impact of social, cultural, political and historical contents on 1960s newspapers - To structure an exam style response .
Social issues in the 1960s
- Cold War
- Vietnam War
- Racism - Race inequality
- Sexism - Gender inequality
- Protests towards these issues
Explain how Broadsheet newspapers reflect the time and historic contexts in which they were published. Refer to the Observer front page from October 20th 1966 that you have studied to support your answer.
The Observer Broadsheet cover from the 1960s reflects a patriarchal society. An example of this is in the headline 'Layers will urge divorce by consent'. This indicates that in society in the 1960s we saw more prejudice against women. This was due to the Law council having a very strong bias because of the controlment of men - women weren't allowed to have jobs with that much power so consequently laws against women's free choice etc. were put into place connoting a reflection that women were owned by men in the 1960s. However, this law being finally justified promotes a change against a patriarchal society through social changes towards gender equality. As well as , advertisements featured on newspapers of the Observer openly promotes lingerie and objects to add to a women's appearance but not for them for the pleasure of men. This creates an idea that women were greatly objectified and seen as objects in the eyes of men as a thing of pleasure , adding on to the patriarchal society and the uprising of men. Furthermore, it is evident that the Observer embodies those representations and contextual influences in their news stories promoting those opinions.
The Observer cover reflects race in a substantially negative way during the 1960s. This is seen through the headline, ' Briton shoots for Gold'. This headline is connoting towards the Olympics in the 1960s which highlights the protests towards race equality where the people protesting got kicked out which clearly indicates the malicious intent towards racial equality. Furthermore, the lexis of the broadsheet presents the racial slur ' negroes' which shows the normalisation of casual racism therefore highlighting the negative view points towards racism. To continue, a headline presented on the same front page showing 'Stephen Pollock' marrying 'a Rhodesian born African' heavily justifies the abnormalities towards the outlook of people of foreign races. The fact that this headline made the observer front page clearly connotes that mixed race was heavily looked down upon and was a shocking news story in the 1960s. This adds on to the previous paragraph of a patriarchal society as well proving that women only get mentioned with attachments to men, mostly due to weddings which promotes the idea that women are seen as objects and something to claim. Finally, the observer newspaper reflects the time of their production and the contextual issues that are in the time.
- Statement
- Textual Detail
- Analysis
- Link back to question
Monday 25th March 2024
Conventions of tabloid newspapers - pictures, simple lexis, not many words, skybox, massive headline, advertisements/sponsors
Conventions of broadsheet - limited pictures, complex lexis, a lot of words, small headlines
No.1. - broadsheet
No.2. - tabloid
Guided Practice Q9
Learning Objective:
To improve the exam format for Q9 for the news unit and apply analysis skills and exam writing technique.
- Amount of copy
- Masthead
- One main image
Masthead - Bold , Serif, Black and white , Capitals and Lowercase
Image - Mid shot , staged shot , positive image through body language, dressed in suits , formal wear , hard news through politics, expected in the industry , uk and us work together politically and have throughout history since ww1 and ww2
Media language is very present to represent the conventions of broadsheet newspapers. This is seen evident through the uses of copy, the masthead and the images with the contexts provided .
'The Observer' is firstly presented as a broadsheet newspaper therefore the use of the famous masthead which links to the brand of the Observer fully connotes the codes of a Broadsheet newspaper. This can be seen through the formal uses of the Masthead as shown through the serif font which is seen throughout the headline as well which is promoting a classy and higher class feel as well as linking to all other Observer papers. The colour palette of black and white through the masthead has connotations of promoting the older audiences of the newspapers in a way of targeting them while sticking to their conventions of being serious and very formal . Furthermore, the capitals and lowercase stick to a grammatically correct format showing the formalities of the masthead and again promoting their serious aspects.
Media Language can be seen through the use of the main image in the observer. Through the use of the mid shot, it highlights the two main focuses of the photo as well as zooming in on their handshake. Through the camera shot, this promotes the idea of this being a positive image which strays away from the conventions of a broadsheets as broadsheets usually deliver hard news however through the focus of politics it sticks to the serious topics that broadsheets surround which is expected in the industry. . The body language of the two prime ministers add upon the idea of the positive image and connotes contexts of the UK and US being allies and joining together which links back to the withholding teamwork the US and UK have been together since WW1 and continue to work side by side against opposing countries. This is promoted towards the audience through the readers being from the UK as the observer is based in the UK and this is targeting their audience . Their mise-en-scene through their outfits adds to the idea of the formal feel of the newspaper and continuous to promote the seriousness to add to the broadsheets conventions.
To continue, the use of the copy of the newspaper through the lexis and amount of words presents sticks to the broadsheets conventions and targets the observers audience as they are seen as smart and sophisticated.
In conclusion, media language is very present to represent the conventions of broadsheet newspapers.
Monday 15th April 2024
PPE Exam Dirt
Learning Objective:
To reflect on the exam and identify areas to improve
Question 6 - Age, Gender, Class etc.
Question 7 - No-one regulates the Internet.
Laws takes a lot longer to pass and the Internet changes very fast.
Question 8 - Minimal amount of images as well as layout of the image being small when compared to the remaining space in the newspaper which supports and follows conventions of a broadsheet newspaper as multiple images follow the conventions of a tabloid to promote the audience of lower class or less intelligent individuals. Through the use of a single image in the front cover it represents itself as a broadsheet newspaper to connote to the readers that they are the target audience for this magazine due to intelligence and higher class attributes.
Question 9 - The representations on the front cover of the Observer are very typical due to the main image. The Observer support the political party of the left wing and this is heavily represented with the uses of equality through sex and race. The open collaborate of white and black people openly support the idea of representations of equality, the use of mise-en-scene represents both people as united due to their matching outfits. Representations of gender especially women's sports represent the observers view promoting it as a typical cover and this point is heavily influenced due to the fact that a women is being represented and shown in a non sexual and non provocative way therefore heavily represents the use of equality in the observer. Through the singular use of the main image shown, it promotes the Observer in a typical way and also shines a positive light on them as a company as well as openly promoting the news industry and heavily appealing to the audience through stereotypes of the Observer audience.
Question 10 - Contexts - Racism and Gender/ Sexism
' Consent to Divorce' - changes in society
' Jackie we're very happy' - mentions of women
Only advertisements featured lingerie and promotion towards women representing themselves as objects to appeal to men
Monday 22nd April 2024
Do Now:
The values and beliefs of the Observer-
- Left Wing
- Supporting change
Conventions of a Broadsheet -
- Limited Images
- Columns
- Complex Lexis
- Large amount of copy
- Masthead - Black and Serif font
Exam Format Q9
Learning Objective:
To explore the exam format and content for the News Unit.
LIAR
Contexts
Media Language -
- Mise en scene of Images
- Font choice
- Colour Palette
- Masthead
- Shot types
- Layout
Media contexts -
- Consumerism
- Gender roles
- Lifestyles
- Democracy
- Multiculturalism
- Celebrity Culture
The Observer magazine fully reflects the genre conventions of a broadsheet newspaper. An example of these conventions is presented through the lexis and serious topics covered such as words like, ' economists' and topics like, 'drug side effects'. This thoroughly establishes that the Observer is presented as a broadsheet newspaper and promotes media contexts such as lifestyles and democracy through the political viewpoints of the Observer being left wing and an article featured on tax cuts and economists. This is evidently shown as a Broadsheet as it follows the conventions by including a complex lexis as the targeted audience of the observer is stereotypically middle class to higher class therefore has advanced intelligence as well as more serious topics to target a older audience therefore following the conventions of a Broadsheet newspaper.
The Observer newspaper fully reflects the genre conventions of a broadsheet newspaper through the uses of layout and font choice including colour palette. This is shown through the Masthead of the newspaper, the conventional use of the serif font indicates to the audience the Observer brand as well as linking back to the conventions of a Broadsheet newspaper. This staple into the Observer brand will openly promote the recognition of the industry and broadsheet newspapers as well as the conventional black and white colour palette links in with the layout as it heavily juxtaposes itself against the colours featured in the main image making it pop out more and stand out to the audience likewise also being a convention of a broadsheet newspaper. The uses of a plain black and white colour palette indicates to the audience a sense of order and sensibleness which can link back tot he target audience being more sophisticated as well as following the codes and conventions of a broadsheet newspaper with the limited uses of colour. The columns featured in the layout are shown as a convention of a broadsheet newspaper therefore the Observer magazine fully reflects the genre conventions of a broadsheet newspaper.
The Observer newspaper fully reflects the genre conventions of a broadsheet newspaper though he convention presented through limited images. There is only one main image featured in the observer magazine and through doing this it openly projects the observers message by adding a singular clear image to the audience and through their viewpoints of being left wing it promotes democracy as well as the industry as the audience targeted have the same or similar viewpoints which gives the observer exposure. The use of the main image in this particular extract portrays the media context of multiculturalism through the representations of a coloured woman being a main focus as well as gender roles through the link back to a women being the main focus of the newspaper and promoting the uses of celebrity culture. The celebrity being featured can be connoted to a use of consumerism through the mise-en-scene of the celebrity, more specifically her outfit. Audiences seeing this image can promote this outfit, make other people want to buy it or something similar because their favourite artist is wearing it etc. The use of one singular image not only reflects the genre conventions of the observer being a broadsheet newspaper but as well promoting their view points and targeting their audiences through media contexts.
Monday 29th April 2024
Q10 Modern Analysis
Learning Objective:
To explore the contextual issues of news in a modern newspaper.
The conventions of a tabloid newspaper:
- Multiple images
- Simple Lexis
- Limited Copy
The conventions of a broadsheet newspaper:
- Limited images
- Complex Lexis
- Large Copy
- Columns
The conventions of the Observer:
- Skybox
- Large Copy
- Masthead - Black serif font
Context -
Exposition behind a topic
What do we have more of now compared to the 60s?
- 1. Fame / Celebrity Culture
- Featured in Skyboxes
- 2. Consumerism
- Article on outdoor furniture- promotion of consumerism.
- Food promotions.
- 3. Internet/Technology
- .
- 4. Equality
- Less racism and multiculturalism via BLM protests.
- Multicultural articles about racism from writers of ethnic backgrounds.
- 5. Lifestyle
- .
- 6. Less Patriarchal
- Main cover photo of a female
- Skyboxes promoting pride
- 7. War
- Ukraine and Russia
The current contextual issues of now can be evidently seen on many covers of the Observer which demonstrates how current contextual issues can influence newspaper contexts. The main image featured in the Observer cover features a women in the Belarus Women's March. This openly shows the less patriarchal nature of today's society but brings in the issue of equality by showing that people in our society are still fighting for equality but our society has changed drastically from what it once was. For example, in the 1960s women were rarely shown in newspapers, especially not the front cover unless associated with a man, e.g. a wife or a marriage. From these changes in print newspaper, it shows the contextual issues in our pasts and the changes our society is making to improve and reach equality. This continues to reflect the observers viewpoints towards their political party of left-wing and further promotes itself to their audience, presenting themselves and their audience as a socialist group looking towards further improvements in our society. Therefore, it is clear to that the contextual issues of today such as feminism and equality, the Observer strives to positively represent and reflect in their Newspapers.
8/1/24- 2.Great notes today, well done. Keep engaged in class discussions and answering questions.
ReplyDelete5/2- Excellent 4/4
ReplyDelete22/4- Remember the observer is a newspaper not magazine! T: Just try to add more analysis to the question ML topic. Great use of context and representation.
ReplyDelete