Newspaper Audiences Homework

Newspaper Audiences 

The i:

The i newspaper is a concise compact quality tabloid and their news stories are without as much bias as possible. Therefore, suggests the target audience are most likely fillers that want quality hard news, people who want to make an informed decision themselves on want they think. Also based on their target audience statistics the i is mostly read by millennials.  This relates back to the physcographic of fillers. Millennials tend to be fillers as opposed to any other news physcographic. It is the 10^th most popular newspaper amongst the age group.

Based on the advertisements published in The i, for example the Hertz luxury car hire advert on their website, we can infer that the i is targeted towards the A/B/ C1 demographics. However, the advertisement by McDonald’s contradicts this thought. Perhaps the i is aimed at university students as they tend to be avid lovers of fast food within the millennial age range. They fit the A / B / C1 demographic as well as the age range associated with the i’s content.  Luxury holidays are also advertised in their print newspaper, perhaps for gap years? Or for group holidays that are common amongst university students.

On a political stand point, the average reader of the i could be either right or left wing. The i’s political views remain as unbiased as possible. On the other hand, you could say they advocate for centralism, and therefore their readers would most likely be central themselves on the political scale. Parties such as the Liberal Democrats have a predominately central ideology.  

#MeToo

Analysis of a Front Cover

Newspaper Technical Codes

News Values

News Values

• Continuity - Stories that run eg. Brexit, Elections, NHS
• Unambiguous - Easy to understand 
• Personalisation - Human interest / real people eg. Baby Layton Daily Mirror
• Proximity - Close to home eg. Manchester bombing 
• Threshold - Bigger impact and reach of story
• Unexpectedness - Shocking /  Out of ordinary stories
• Negativity - "If it bleeds, it leads" bad news is more interesting
• Elite people / places - Important people / nations eg. US, Russia, China

Extra term:

Gate-keeping

- decision on what to publish ; editing and filtering process -

CandyMan Advert

 

Advert reflection

What was the task you were assigned?

To create an advert for a sweet for businessmen.

What programme did you use to complete your task?

I used Adobe Premiere Pro 2019

What tools did you use from your programme to create your task ie font websites, crop, colour changes etc?

In my advert I used many effects; Black and white/ slow motion / lightning / broadcast malfunction.

As well as changing the colour to a yellow/ orange/ bright tone. I also used text on the end.

What were the biggest obstacles to completing your task?

Filming the scenes with the desired shots.

Describe your production and why you chose the various text headings and images?

We wanted a big and bold font to capture the audiences eye, as well as a fun happy colour such as pink.

Identify what went well and with hindsight what would you do differently?

I would use less shots that correlate to a specific story line therefore it is easier to edit and change my ideas if I need to.

Newspaper Representation

Assessment 1A

Newspapers

Newspapers

Question 1-2: unseen

Question 3-4: set texts, industry

Newspaper Types: 

Broadsheet (The Times, The Guardian)

Mid market tabloid (The Daily Express, The Daily Mail)

Tabloid (The Mirror, The Sun)

Influence

Estate 1: Religion

Estate 2: Monarchy

Estate 3: The Wealthy

Estate 4: Newspapers

Hard News - Politics, Science, Violence, Health, Economy

Soft News - Sport, Celebrities, Entertainment

The Daily Mail

The daily mail has many articles about the monarchy, it leans towards a patriarchal point of view . It is quite informal, the language is very casual, it appeals to C and D audiences. They address both hard and soft news, most likely to expand their audience. The Logo/ Name has a bold, elegant font with a coat of arms in the centre, maybe to appear patriotic and established. This seems to coordinate with their conversations about the royal family.  They use Moral Panic, and are overall very opinionated.

Research/ Decline in National Newspapers

January 2019 - Average circulations

The Sun - 1,410,896
Daily Mail - 1,246,568
Daily Mirror - 508,705
The Times - 417,298
The Daily Telegraph - 360,345
Daily Star - 329,971
Daily Express - 321,146
Financial Times - 180,053
The Guardian - 141,160

January 2000 - Average Circulations

The Sun - 3.6 million
Daily Mail - 2.4 million
Daily Mirror - 2.3 million
The Daily Telegraph - 1 million
Daily Star - 500,000
Daily Express - 1.1 million
Financial Times - 400,000
The Guardian - 400,000
The Independence - 200,000

Questions:
Which newspaper no longer has printed editions?
- The Independence

What is the list of national newspapers in the UK? (National newspapers aren't released on Sundays or December 25th)
- Daily Express
- Daily Mail
- Daily Mirror
- The Daily Telegraph
- The Guardian
- The Independent
- The London Evening Standard
- Metro
- The Observer
- The Sun
- The Times

What is the general trend in newspaper circulations?
The ABC figures regarding national newsprint sales are on a ongoing long term downward spiral in the mid market sectors. Overall the newspaper industry continues to decline with 126 fewer papers in 2014 than 2004.

What genre of newspaper has had the steepest decline - the red top tabloids, the middle market newspapers or the broadsheets?
Evidence would suggest that broadsheet newspapers have had the biggest decline among the titles eg, The Guardian's sales have fallen a massive 9.5% with The Telegraph not far behind with 8.4% year on year fall.

Ownership of paid newspapers

- Daily Express, Reach PLC
- Daily Mail, T[he General trust
- The Daily Telegraph, telegraph group
- The Guardian, The Guardian media group
- The Independent, Tony O'Reilly
- The London Evening Standard
- The Metro, The General trust
- The Observer, The guardian media group PLC
- The Sun, News International
- The Times, News International

1.      What percentage of daily circulation is owned by the top three owners?

82%

2.      Name the two writers who argue that concentration of ownership decreases quality and choice in newspapers.

Ying Fan, wrote an article titled "Ownership Consolidation and Product Characteristics: A Study of the US Daily Newspaper Market" for the American Economic Association.

Stephen Lacy and Todd F. Simon co - wrote an article titled "Intercounty Group Ownership of Daily Newspapers and the Decline of Competition for Readers" addressing this topic.

Representation

https://drive.google.com/file/d/18-7z2OD6VQi3IOKjoRA_ETeoQtFIol5Y/view?usp=sharing

Neale and Gerbner

STEVE NEALE

Steve Neale states that genre is made of repetition and difference. Genre is defined by how much it conforms to the genres conventions and stereotypes. 

An example of Steve Neale's theory is shaun of the dead as all though it is a zombie horror it also features a lot of comedy.

For example, Joker, is a hybrid It has classic comic moments but also has aspects of a thriller or comedy. 

George Gerbner

 Cultivation theory

The idea that exposure to repeated patterns over a long period of time can shape and influence the way in which people perceive the world. Media messages are directly injected but are built up by a series of repetition and enforcing the message.

key word - hegemony

For example, television messages about violence are likely to be especially resonant to an individual who lives in a city with a high-crime rate. Between the television message and the real-life crime rate, cultivation effects will be amplified, enhancing the belief that the world is a mean and scary place.

Industries

Long Form TV Drama

Feedback:

Ofcom is the regulator for the communications services that we use and rely on each day.


We make sure people get the best from their broadband, home phone and mobile services, as well as keeping an eye on TV and radio.

Video Games

Film

Bandura Theory

Albert Bandura

Moral Panic

Definition-

An instance of public anxiety or alarm in response to a problem regarded as threatening the moral standards of society.

Moral Panic occurs when someone or something is defined by the media as a threat to the values or interests of society. 

For example, the brawl between in the mods and rockers of the sixties. 

Hypodermic needle theory

The Hypodermic needle theory is a linear communication theory that suggests that media messages are injected directly into the brains of passive audiences.

The media is seen as powerful and able to ‘inject’ ideas into an audience who are seen as weak and passive and could be influenced by a message. 

For example, in Nazi Germany in the 1930’s and during World War 2 films were used to ‘inject’ propaganda ideas promoting the Nazi cause to the German audience. Today we still see party political broadcasts on television during elections.

Marilyn Manson

Marilyn Manson is a well known artist who has an extreme tough persona as the frontman of a well known band. 
On April 20, 1999, Columbine High School students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold shot dead 12 students and a teacher and wounded 24 others, before committing suicide. Immediately after the massacre, significant blame was directed at the band and, specifically, at its outspoken front-man.
Early media reports alleged that the shooters were fans, and were wearing the group's T-shirts during the massacre. Although these claims were later proven to be false, news outlets continued to run sensationalist stories with headlines such as "Killers Worshipped Rock Freak Manson" and "Devil-Worshipping Maniac Told Kids To Kill."

Natural Born Killers

The movie starring well known actor Woody Harrelson was released in August of 1994 stirred up controversy as it was released after OJ Simpson's flee from justice. It was said to feed the publics cruel fascination with carnage.

Boyz 'N The Hood H/W

Semiotics have been used in the opening scene. The scene opens with facts about the black males killing each other amongst a black screen, Then shows a stop sign. Of course this a road sign however the connations of this may be that the director/producers are telling African American men to stop fighting and fight the bigger issue at hand.
Before the scene starts we hear a conversation between two men about to shoot someone else followed by gun shots and a child crying that their brother has been shot. We only see darkness whilst this plays, it could be to show the audience the point of view of the children who we learn heard a shooting the night before. The lack of lighting creates a tense atmosphere, we are just as 'in the dark' as the children.
Race plays a big role in this movie. The contrast between the teacher and mother during a phone call clearly demonstrates the divide between the two races. Although the mother is well educated and is studying for her masters degree, the school teacher who is less educated speaks down to her and assumes she isn't employed. We can see Tre's mother is not what the teacher expects from her costume, she is dressed as a middle class woman.  The teacher also assumes Tre is short tempered because of problems at home. Whilst this conversation is taking place we see Tre walking past a group of men fighting over a game. It is clear that in this community it is normal for men and boys to fight regularly, however the teacher is so far removed from them she can not grasp that it is a quality constructed by their current way of life.
The children come across a crime scene where a man or multiple have been shot. To them this a normal occurrence in their neighbourhood, however young children typically are not exposed to such violence. We are empathetic towards the children for having to live in such conditions.
The blood on the street fades out into the red crayon in a drawing of a man in a coffin along with other dark images drawn by the kids. This transition shows that what these kids see affects them subconsciously as the children draw blood and death instead of sunny skies and happy families. It also shows again that this is a regular occurrence for them as they carry on their day as per usual despite what they have seen.
As previously mentioned drawings of a man in a coffin, an African american man surrendering to the police and a police helicopter are displayed on the walls of the classroom. These images show that the children do not have a  regular childhood. They are constantly surrounded by death, violence and crime, therefore the perception of the world is solely based on that, hence the drawings.

Editing

Editing

Screen time

Transitions

Order of narrative

Pace

SFX

Screen time is often an indicator of who is important to the story line. 

Transitions can be linked to pace, a fast pace might indicate an action sequence. Straight transitions are the most common transition it's the most like reality.

The order in which the story is told is important, it can be chronological, it may contain flashbacks, or it could start from the end of the story and work backwards.

Pace can indicate the mood of a scene, if it's slow the scene is probably sad. 

Special effects are highly used in sci-fi, fantasy, and horror movies. 

Representation

Representation

Disability

Regionalism

Class

Age

Gender

Ethnicity

Sexuality

Stereotype = Media uses stereotypes as visual shortcuts, it is easy for the audience to understand. They are repeated so often that people often believe they are normal and a true representation of that specific group of people.

Archetypes = The 'Ultimate' stereotype.

Counter-type = Goes against traditional stereotypes.

For example:

All women are airheads that think about artificial subjects like shopping, their hair and their body. Their only purpose is to fawn over the male species. There are many forms of media that represent women this way.

Another stereotype in media is that transgender woman is a deceitful character and changes genders to deceive the straight male. Like in Ace Ventura Pet Detective the antagonist is pretending to be a woman in order to commit criminal acts.

A counter-type of this is the new series Pose, in which we see the hardships of gay men and transgender women during the aids epidemic in New York.

Practice Editing

Editing Practice

Camera shots

Sound

Sound

Music
Contrapuntal/ parallel
Diegetic/ non diegetic
Off screen/ on screen
Voice over - thoughts, narration, establishing
Emotion

In the beginning of this scene the sound of Nieman's footsteps is the only thing that can be heard this then contrasts with the explosive drumming when he immediately starts to play. The music throughout this scene reflects the emotions of the characters.When the drums become quiet Nieman is calm and sees Fletcher is accepting him. When the drums are fast paced and loud Nieman is angry, the trombone represents Fletcher's emotions. The two instruments have a back and forth conflict as the two characters fight for power.

Mise En Scene

Mise En Scene

- a french term meaning what is put into scene or frame. It communicates essential information to the audience such as time and place. Mise en scene includes everything you see on screen, in front of the camera. 

Costume - Tells us the time period/society/culture.

Lighting - Highlights characters/objects, can portray the mood of the scene.

Actors - Shows emotion,/ relationship towards other characters.

Makeup - Acts as an indicator to the characters personality/status/job

Props - They can highlight the genre or reveal a key part of the story line.

Setting - Can manipulate an audience by building expectations and taking a different turn.

Lighting :

Low key/ uses only back lights, produces sharp contrast of light and dark as well as shadows and silhouettes.
High key/ more filler lights are used, lighting is natural and realistic to our eyes, produces bright sets and a sunny day.
Natural/ uses natural lighting from the surroundings.

Positioning within a Frame:

- Directors will position actors at a key focal point for example, placing an actor in the centre of a frame with other actors either side of them, could signify that this man holds a great deal of power over the others. It also adds symmetry to the frame in order to make the middle actor the centre of attention.

Also, in a frame the director can use positioning to indicate a specific relationships between the characters for example, in one image we have two actors, they have a close proximity. This reflects their close relationship most likely a romantic one as suggested by their body language. In the other image the actors are far apart suggesting they do not get along with one another.

Semiotics

Semiotics

The study of signs by Ferdinand de Saussure

Denotation is what we see when we look at a sign / image whereas, connation is what we understand from the sign / image we see. eg. 

Here we see a blue letter 'E', this is the denotation. However we know this means the internet, this is the connation.

Stuart Hall came up with the terms; preferred reading, oppositional reading and negotiated reading.

Preferred reading is how the creator wants the audience to view the media text.

Oppositional reading is when the intended meaning of the text is totally opposed by the audience.

Negotiated reading is the middle ground between preferred and oppositional, the audience knows what the creator is intending to say however they might not agree with all of it. 

Here is an example of how semiotics are used in media:

In this TV drama poster there a many uses of semiotics. The most obvious one being the puppet strings holding up the girl in the center. Although they are just strings, the audience understands that it represents this girl being controlled by someone else, the girl is perceived as weak and powerless. Blood can be seen on the hands of the woman at the top of the poster. This relates to Shakespeare's Macbeth, in which bloody hands represents guilt and evil. To this day bloody hands is still a popular metaphor for guilt and evil. Red is heavily featured in this poster (in the girls dress, the blood and title), red indicates, anger; passion;love;power; determination and strength, From this the audience can assume all of which will be featured in the TV drama.