Media Industries and Audiences

Newspapers and technological change:

Who owns the Daily Mail: Lord Rothermere
Who owns the Telegraph: The Barclay Brothers

Print media is in decline , the extent of that change is reflected in the growth of on-line versions as indicated below

	Total readership	Print sales	PC readership	Mobile readership
The sun	31,859	10,123 (31%)	2780 (9%)	18,956       (60%)
The Daily Mirror	27,910	5,731 (21%)	4,948 (18%)	17,231 (61%)
The Telegraph	26,348	3,848 (15%)	7,340 (28%)	15,160 (57%)

Print news: Historically news paper production was expensive.

• The production of the News was in the hands of newspaper journalists editors and printers
• Distribution of the news occurred when newspapers sent their newspapers to Newsagents via organisations who had some control over which publications were published, but had no control over content
• Newsagents and retailers sold the newspapers to the public (circulation)
• Producers control news content – this is an important issue as journalists and news editors are expected to adhere to professional standards.

Online:  

• Distribution and circulation are combined via websites or social media
• News shelf life’s with the onset of Online are now short. With news exclusives being used (in Print media) to sell  news.   They are now less valuable as the news cycle has shortened with Online News, where an exclusive can be picked up by the competition and recycled instantly.  
• News Organisations now rely on formats such as gossip, lifestyle journalism and sports journalism to minimise risk.

   Telegraph Online Today:

Daily Mail Today:

   The significance of issues of ownership and economic factors, including the range of each newspaper’s print and online content:

Media theory Curran and Seaton:  Argue that media industries follow a capitalist pattern of increasing concentration of ownership in fewer and fewer hands.  

     This leads to a narrowing of the range of opinions represented in the pursuit of profit at the expense of quality and creativity. 

     Curran and Seaton’s theory relates to Profit and Power: 

•     With the concentration of newspaper’s in fewer hands (oligarchies) enables Newspapers to increase profits through increased readership.
•      With the narrowing of choice to few Newspaper groups the owners of the Press groups the Press Barons (see below) or Elites have the opportunity to represent their political perspectives.
•     This applies to the narrow range of political opinions expressed by British Newspapers with a bias to Pro capitalism
•     The reason why Press barons own Newspapers is to achieve status and to wield political power.

     Who Are The Press Barons?
     Almost 78 per cent of our press is owned by a handful of mostly foreign-based billionaires.

•     Over a quarter (27.3 per cent) of the press is owned by Lord Rothermere (Daily Mail)
•     24.9 per cent by Rupert Murdoch  (News International, The Sun, The Times) – between them these two men have over 50 per cent of the printed press.

    Telegraph is the Telegraph Group of whom the major shareholder is The Barclay Brothers (multi-millionaires/press barons).

    Economic factors:
    
    Print Media:

•      Historically Print media had a strong editorial heritage with professional standards leading to serious journalism.  
•     This was funded through the cost of the newspaper.

    Online media:

•     With the decline in Newspaper sales there has been a decline in the quality of journalism where serious journalism such as international news and investigative reporting have been reduced for cost reasons
•     Advertising revenue from print journalism has moved to Online media such as Google and Facebook. Today Daily Mail advertised a car brand and Cancer Research and Telegraph advertised a cruise holiday. 
•     There has been a rise in cheaper journalism in the form of opinion, celebrity reporting, lifestyle journalism and sport

The use of online monetization features such as paywalls, subscriptions and games. 

Papers like the Guardian use paywalls to get readers to subscribe in order to read full articles and they offer a free 30 day trial to encourage readers to give it a go. 

      News Industries funding:

•     Newspapers relied on circulation and advertising for revenue, Tabloid Newspapers had a larger circulation but their working class audiences were less attractive to advertisers so the Tabloids relied more on cover price.
•     Broadsheet Newspapers had smaller circulations and an attractive upmarket audience and relied more on advertising.

   Newspapers now have a wide range of funding sources:

•     The Daily Mail has a cover price of £ 0.65 which is relatively low in order to boost its circulation.
•     Some Newspapers rely entirely on advertising as they are given away (to boost circulation and attract advertising) for Free such as the Metro
•     The Daily Telegraph retails for £1.40 and applies a Paywall £3.00 per week to generate income
•     The Guardian retails for £2.20 and relies on voluntary donations for online news and now has 800,000 paying supporters
•     Some newspapers gain revenue from advertising space where Print was traditionally more lucrative than online advertising, however with the decline in print sales online is increasingly more important especially as Online has a global audience.

The content and appeal of each of the set products and how this is used to target,

reach and address different audiences:

Broadsheet newspapers	The Guardian, Telegraph and Times newspapers have markedly upmarket audiences and more London based readers
Redtop tabloids	The Sun and the Mirror have markedly down-market audiences and the fewest London Based readers
Daily Mail	Daily Mail has the most female and oldest audience of all newspapers and the most evenly spread readership in terms of social class.
Daily Telegraph	Has the oldest audience of the broadsheets.

  

    Daily Mail Demographic: 45% readers are 65+ and the majority (52.5%) of readers are female. Telegraph is 56% men.

    The content of the newspapers will reflect the social make-up of their audiences.  The Daily Mail for example has sections which reflect the lifestyle of its audience. The Femail section on Thursdays has a tab in the Mail – Online and addressees its female audience with topics similar to lifestyle magazines such as health food,, fashion and beauty. The newspaper reflects its social class by including sensationalist celebrity coverage and a fairly detailed business section.

     The Mail online addresses audiences quite differently to its print sister as the style is targeted towards a younger audience and the contentment covers more celebrity gossip and international stories as its audience is much more global.

     The Telegraph addresses their audience in a way that focuses more on international news and serious politics as is reflected by its Broadsheet heritage
      
     There's a lot of celebrity gossip on the Daily Mail, such as break ups and celeb outfits which could be seen as targeted towards women. Papers like the telegraph and guardian focus more on politics and as the elderly focus on it.

     how audience may interpret the same media in different ways

                                                                                                                                                        S. Hall’s Reception theory

The theory suggests that: When a producer constructs a text it is encoded with a meaning or message that the producer wishes to convey to the audience

•  In some instances audiences will correctly decode the message or meaning and understand what the producer was trying to say
•  In some instances the audience will either reject or fail to correctly understand the message

media producers encode ‘preferred meanings’ into texts, but these texts may be ‘read’ by their audiences in a number of different ways:

• The dominant position: a ‘preferred reading’ that accepts the text’s messages and the ideological assumptions behind the messages

•  The negotiated position: the reader accepts the text’s ideological assumptions, but disagrees with aspects of the messages, so negotiates the meaning to fit with their ‘lived experience’

•  The oppositional reading: the reader rejects both the overt message and its underlying ideological assumptions.

  the impact of the regulatory framework on the newspaper industry and the impact of online news and social and participatory media on regulation. 

The Print Press is regulated by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)
The Press in principle is self-regulated by this body however some organisations are not affiliated (Guardian)

Newspapers can in principle be sued through Britain’s libel laws where journalists have to prove that what they have written is true to win cases.

Online news is not regulated at all  (unless online newspapers choose to sign up to a regulator such as IPSO.

This has provided many online news providers a loop=hole that they can publish untruths with impunity (can’t be sued)

The issue of an unregulated Press is a key issue following the proven Russian interference in the 2016 Presidential elections.

Following an enquiry Facebook has acknowledged the need to employ content reviewers in order to prevent the release of fake news. 

News and Online Media

Brexit:

Why people voted leave: 

• immigration
• more money for public services
• EU law trumps UK law

Tabloid: 

Broadsheet:

•Print media is in decline , the extent of that change is reflected in the growth of on-line

versions as indicated below:

Left wing: Labour

Equality

Socialism

More tax

Right wing: Conservatives

Less tax

Less benefits

Capitalism

Strong law&order

Capitalism: (Right Wing Politics)

Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of 

production and their operation for profit. Characteristics central to capitalism include private

property, capital accumulation, wage labor, Capitalism is an economic system based on the

private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Characteristics 

central to capitalism include private property, capital accumulation, wage labour.   THE

CONSERVATIVES ARE CAPITALISTS, the Telegraph and Mail Newspapers believe in

Capitalism. 

•Socialism: (Left Wing Politics)

Socialism is a range of economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of

the means of production and workers' self-management, as well as the political theories and

movements associated with them. Social ownership can be public, collective or cooperative

ownership, or citizen ownership of equity.  - THE LABOUR PARTY ARE SOCIALIST and

are considering bringing back into state ownership the Rail service.

•Liberalism:

Liberalism is a political and economic doctrine that emphasises individual autonomy,

equality of opportunity, and the protection of individual rights (primarily to life, liberty, and

property)

- Guardian newspaper supports many labour policies and has a liberal view on e.g individual

autonomy i.e. they support multi-culturalism, they advocate freedom of expression e.g.

gender and sexuality.  .

The Telegraph, The Sun, The Daily Express and Daily Mail are all right winged news

papers. Probably because they're owned by people who have very right winged ideologies.

Whereas, The Guardian and The Mirror are left wing newspapers.

 This is Tabloid. It is a tabloid as it has a big

picture which, which can be seen as humorous. It also has a bold capitalised headline which

stands out and is eye catching a pun is also used as 'cracked it' refers to his surname

'Cracknell'. It contains human interest stories and gossip, such as 'by his ex' and contains

less formal language such as 'cracked it'. However, it could be seen as a hybrid between a

tabloid and broadsheet as it still contains a serious story. 

 Broadsheet:

Tabloid:

Barthes: enigma code, connotation and denotation associated with a sign, open and closed narrative

Todorov: theory of narrative disruption.

The Telegraph Headline and Splash (UK Internet Laws will be the toughest in the world)  the contents of the article discusses the harmful affects of the internet on children :  discuss using Todorov’s theory how the story links to disequilibrium and an attempt to restore equilibrium.

Levi Strauss: Binary oppositions

 Task look at the Daily Mail Main Headline:   Discuss the Binary Opposition of the headline “Betrayal of the Brave” how is the Newspaper trying to influence the reader?

Neale: Genre theory: (page 16 revision notes)  covered previously and relates to a shared code linked to a genre (e.g. genre conventions of Broadsheet and Tabloid Newspapers)  However Neale insisted that the genre conventions are constantly changing therefore the Guardian’s transformation to Tabloid format with more human interest stories (page 9 revision notes) (is a clear example of hybridisation)  

Society has changed over time therefore some knowledge of the context in which media exists is important with reference to Britain/Western Culture.

Consumerism: The ideology that we should judge ourselves and others based on our material possessions. The colourful nature of newspapers, the presence of advertisements (DFS in the Telegraph) points towards a consumerist society

Celebrity Culture: high-volume perpetuation of celebrities' personal lives on a global scale.

Multi-culturalism: Assumes the equality of different cultures and pays equal respect to diverse cultures. The absence of content linked to multi culturalism in both the Telegraph and the Mirror tends to suggest an ethno-centrist ideology

Feminism: Assumes the equality of women. As a movement there is an ongoing struggle to fight against patriarchal views. The Telegraph headline “Hey Presto women magician’s teaching men a trick or two” could be interpreted as patronising as there is no reason why women should not be as skilled in magic as men

p.s. in your exam you are expected to decode the Media Contexts /ideologies linked to articles where possible. 

The online version differs to the paper one. The online version uses simpler language and swear words (which was bleeped out), this may attract the younger audience more, as they're more likely to use social media. The paper shows individualism, as it shows how hard working he is and how determined he is to achieve his goals, although he's studying in Cambridge. However, online the article shows how his attitude at home was very patriarchal and his ex wife speaks about how he acted towards her and the kids, showing how the wife carried out the expressive mother role while he neglects his father role. 

House of Cards - Representations & Media Language

How Long form dramas came into being:

Terrestial TV

Schedule content was fixed (reliant on analogue (radio wave technology as pre the internet)

Viewing experience was communal (families watched the same/similar content) as content was transmitted via Radio waves.

Dramas developed to encourage regular viewing

Program content with high audience numbers secured revenue via advertising.

Advertising revenue or PSB income (TV license) pays for drama for e.g. a typical Eastenders episode costs £141,000

•There is a clear shift towards SOD (subscription on demand viewing of television)

•This has been enabled through the Technological change i.e. the provision of streaming

services

•(2017) Netflix receives an income of 2.5 $bn from UK subscribers.

•Their income is used to fund “high end” television content such as the HOC

Historical cultural and economic contexts.

•HOC belongs to a genre called Long form television drama. (LFTVD)

•LFTVD (Game of Thrones, HOC, etc.)  are characterised by high production values.

•Series one and 2 of the HOC costs an estimated  $100 Million for the first two series (26

episodes) to produce.

•By comparison Eastender’s costs  £29.9 million a year for 212 episodes. (source:

https://www.ok.co.uk/celebrity-feature/1207916/eastenders-bbc-one-time-cost-per-episode

year)

•Referring to the revision notes page 146, the cost of production of this High end Drama

(HOC) is linked to

-Sourcing highly skilled actors - Kevin Spacey

-Cinematic styling camera work - wide shots, 

-Lighting and editing - low-key lighting

-Complex narratives (multi-stranded) (Barthes) - 

-Composed music - Commission music

Digital (streaming)

•Netflix  - In just a decade, Netflix has grown from a video service with seven million U.S.

subscribers to one that reaches 93 million people worldwide.

•The company's now worth about $60 billion

•2016, Netflix spent $5 billion on original programming.

•The income from subscribers has allowed them to commission highly rated long form TV

dramas such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black.

•2017 sales rose to $2.48 billion. With a global presence in 190 countries.

Influence of technological change and Economic contexts

•Long form TV is an American concept which effectively is a hybrid of a serialised drama
with the high production standards of film. 

Long form TV Drama (genre) conventions:
Drama that runs in a series they start with an intense beginning to grip their audience.
They contain cliffhangers to maintain interest they conclude the episode until the end where
they conclude the episode, very much dialogue led.
Production values are higher than TV drama (funded by subscribers)
High budgets permit high end actors and high end production

Analysing the Ideological contexts:

Ideology:
“A set of beliefs values and assumptions shared by a social group and embedded in social,
cultural, political and economic institutions.”
Usually thought to reflect the interests of powerful groups.
Consumerism, freedom, equality and individualism are often considered dominant
ideologies in free market capitalists societies as they reflect the economic basis of these
societies 

The prime contexts influencing medium language in television dram may be ideologies such as:

•Individualism: e.g. focusing a drama on an individual protagonist- Follows Frank's

narrative and the story of his and Clare's revenge.

•Consumerism: e.g. judging characters on their possessions or desirability of their lifestyles

- for example when there was the 2 ball scenes and everyone judged each other.

•Patriarchal: power and the challenge to this by feminism e.g. using or refusing to use

women’s bodies as objects, or narratives that present a male, female or gender neutral

perspective - shown when Zoe is denied access to Franks house and then uses her body to

try seduce him, yet he denies it. Also Clare goes against the patriarchy as she has power

over Frank.

•Racism and ethnocentrism and the challenge to those from multiculturalism and

internationalism, e.g. narratives that present a monocultural, multicultural or minority

perspective - Lack of black representatives and most of it is dominated by white middle

class and the only black man owns a chicken shop which is a stereotype. 

(page 156 OCR revision notes)

Character Representations:

Francis:


Claire:


Zoe:


Peter:

Todorov:

Stereotypes: masculinity, femininity (p172)

Feminist theory: van Zoonen ( p 180)

Feminist Theory: bel hooks (p180)

Levi Strauss: (p 162)

Representation of Men:
Frank uses his intellectual strength as well as physical, he has and uses his power to get revenge and he's independent as he makes his own money, yet he also works with his wife.  

Female Representation:
Claire goes against stereotype of being emotional as she shows little emotion and acts very strong and independent, although she does find her relationship with Frank very important. Zoe uses her beauty to blackmail Frank into speaking to her as she shows him a picture of him looking at her bum, shows how shes recognised due to her looks and physique.   

•Levi Strauss's: idea of the binary opposition – that the system of myths and fables

•(narrative) was ruled by s structure of opposing terms  such as male/female, good/evil.  

This narrative structure can be applied to LFTVD’s such as the House of cards as follow.

House of Cards
Power/money- frank&Claire	Service
Cynical ambition-frank	Authenticity
Washington (elite)	The street (Freddies bar)

Todorov’s theory: (Equilibrium and Dis-equilibrium)

Todorov in 1969 produced a theory which he believed to be able to be applied to any film. He believed that all films followed the same narrative pattern. They all went through stages:

•the equilibrium,

•disequilibrium,

•acknowledgement,

•solving

•and again equilibrium.

The theory has its limitations when applied to LFTVD as the restoration of equilibrium may not be realised due to the serialised nature of the drama

Intertextuality:

Discuss how elements of the drama are linked to other famous political texts.

Create an essay Analysing the main characters:

•Frank Underwood

•Clare Underwood

•Peter Russo

•Zoe Barnes

Apply theory/academic arguments showing how the characters are represented.

Discuss the underlying ideologies which apply to the House of cards and the characters

Identify specific examples (of media language) which support your arguments

Use appropriate terminologies in discussing the media language

The House of Cards consists of four main characters, Frank who is part of congress, Claire who is in charge of the Clearwater charity, Peter who is also part of congress and Zoe who is an aspiring journalist.