Curran and Seaton present the view that a free press relies on a free market where individual newspapers can compete through their political stances and points of view where individual newspapers can compete through their political stances and points of view.

Analyze the ways that The i and the Daily Mail attempt to establish a distinctive identity within this free market. To what extent has this been successful? Refer to the specific edition of your case study – for both papers – as well as, on-line versions of these publications.

Curran and Seaton elaborate, and further explain the theory byJurgen Habermas on the topic of, the “Free Press”. The theory of the “Free Press” was the idea that the press should be uninfluenced, or be persuaded by large corporations enforcing their ideologies, and views in the daily news. The Liberal theory is the freedom to publish in the free market, to “ensure that the press reflects a wide range of options and interests in society.” quoted by Curran from the liberal theory of press freedom. Where giant conglomerates are not driven by logic of profit and power, but instead to benefit and inform the public sphere. Curran quoted “The UK regards press freedom as an absolute freedom, the government leaves it to the market forces to decide which press products survive”.Or in other words Curran describes the market as survival of the fittest. The news has become a product to be bought, and sold instead of what should be, the expression of all information without a hidden agenda of profit. Therefore, we can link this information from Curran and Seaton to our case studies, theiand the Daily Mail. In addition, we can see theorists work about audience theory such as Habermas, Chomsky, together with Gramsci, through theiand Daily Mail’s similarities, and or traditions of both newspapers.

First beginning with thei, theiis a newspaper brand that began in 2010 on the 26th October. The i was launched as a sister paper to The Independent. Then later was acquired by Johnston Press in 2016, after The Independent shifted to a digital-only model. Then in November 2019, the paper and the digital model, were both bought out by Daily Mail and General Trust plc. Theidoes not particularly have the clearest audience profile according to the website “statista”, with their data showing the age range being 15+ for its readers and having a slightly more following of women than men. The way theiis presented, can also be a reflection on its readers. As theihas more pictures in comparison to other newspapers, which could reflect the certain class of the population, theiis trying to target. which with the previous data it would seem more middle/lower class. Theinewspaper focuses on politics and social inequalities which appeals more to Habermas’ free press theory as their focusing on hard news that has beneficial properties to the public sphere. The political stance of theiis radical and inline with the idea of the unbiased press compared to most conglomerate owned newspapers, being swayed to one or the other. Theiparticularly shows mixes or right, and left points off view which gives a more equal point of view on news stories. Unfortunately, theinewspaper approach and style of presenting news stories, with unbiased or equal opinions on both sides, as curran phrases ‘anyone is free to start a daily national newspaper, but few can afford even to contemplate the prospect’. Which for the i’s prospects correlates with the data from “statista” that theihas been decreasing in sales and was declining by 38% from June 2019. A newspaper’s life depends on its viewpoints, and presentation of news being desired, and the constant showfront of hard news that theipresents compared to a lot of current newspapers, who fill feed excessive amounts of soft news for profit, it becomes more the dominant ideologies for our newspapers to be not only, be a source of information about the public sphere. But tied in with the use of Elihu Katz theory of Uses and gratifications or even Maslow hierarchy of needs, the news has in addition become more of a platform for sources of enjoyment and or escapism than the basic feed of information to the public sphere.

The daily mail on the contrary could be also seen as just of a liberal press as thei,however the daily mail has always shown more extreme views referring to right wing views, with substantially less left-wing views being favoured in their news stories. Examples of these extreme right-wing views, one headline comes to mind from the 16th of July 1993, reading “Abortion hope after ‘gay genes’ finding“. This headline was commenting on the Xq28 gene, the Mail’s was criticisedas “perhaps the most infamous and disturbing headline of them all”. According to a December 2004 survey, 53% ofDaily Mailreaders voted for the Conservative Party, compared to 21% for Labour and 17% for the Liberal Democrats. Curran also states that “the national press was overwhelmingly right wing”. We can link this with Noam Chomsky argument that the mass media “are effective and powerful ideological institutions, that carry out a system-supportive propaganda function, by reliance on market forces, internalised assumptions, and self-censorship, and without overt coercion”, by means of the propaganda model of communication. So, in other words, Chomsky is explaining why their audience’s media’s political stance is the way it is. These conglomerates coerce their audience’s over time with propaganda and opinions to shape their audience to a line with their opinions.

Thus, with changing their audience, it makes sense to cater their news for the most profit to the larger demographic of the manipulated, political opinions of their audience. which from that survey was Conservative(right winged). Throughout the years the pattern of click bait and right-wing headlines, is a clear tactic of physical click bait, woven in an excessive amount of soft news contributing, to entice readers.

The daily mail is considered as one of the top newspapers in England winning “The National Newspaper of the year award” 7 times from 1995 across to 2019. And with the internet becoming more popular as the 2000’s progressed, this conglomerate adapted to the change, and not only kept producing papers, but spreaded their product across various online platforms with its own website and appearing on apps such as snapchat. This ensures that the daily mail reaches many more audiences or using the media term globalized across the world. Crossing platforming opens their product to more audiences therefore giving a higher chance for more profit overall.

In conclusion the daily mail and theinewspaper both had very separate identities in the public sphere from their presentations, their business tactics, and media theorist tactics by using uses and gratifications to appeal to readers on a more physiological level appealing to the hierarchy of needs that Maslow describes as the fundamentals that every person needs. The references to Gramsci, and Chomsky’s work, of how these conglomerates control and manipulate the readers views and opinions over time. It showed that from these theories that have been learned and adapted over the years the one newspaper who has lived through it all and has used it to their advantage is the daily mail. Theiwas the slightly more radical of a newspaper out of the two, with its shorter life span, before being bought out. Shows us how important these theories, and past media knowledge is to stay in the public interest. Am I saying that the daily mails presentation is the only conglomerate of news that works in today’s society? No, but I will say that from the theory of cultivation, you must adapt your audience over time and appeal to their fundamentals, to keep yourself afloat in the mass ocean of media sources and products.

Curran and Seaton present the view that a free press relies on a free market where individual newspapers can compete through their political stances and points of view.

Analyse the ways that The i and the Daily Mail attempt to establish a distinctive identity within this free market. To what extent has this been successful? Refer to the specific edition of your case study – for both papers – as well as, on-line versions of these publications

Curran and Seaton are theorists that came up with the idea that media is controlled by a small number of companies and primarily driven by the logic of profit and power. The theory of liberal press is targeted at newspapers. It’s the view that there should be a range of wider views in newspapers to make sure they’re less bias. A quote from Curran about the liberal press ‘the freedom to publish in the free market’ ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests. Curran published a book called ‘Media and Democracy‘, in which he stated how  “The assumption that ‘anyone’ is free to start as new paper has been an illusion ever since the industrialization of the press.” which suggests anyone could create a newspaper. However Curren says in order to make it a successful newspaper “Newspapers and magazines must respond to the concerns of their readers if they are to stay in business”.

There are a few theorists that can link to The I and The Daily Mail such as Habermas. Habermas came up with a theory of the public sphere which is similar to the concept of free press. The public sphere suggests how people can freely be connected to others horizontally rather than vertically, but Habermas challenged that over time. The public sphere has been broken down due to globalisation and then the introduction of mass media. Within the public sphere, there are personal places, such as home to communicate with your family and then social places, such as coffee shops, where you can communicate and socialise with others, therefore connecting beyond our family and personal relationships. Socialising with others in public means you can transform your life and views and socialise with anyone throughout the whole World, which links to the Daily Mail and the I because they are available in shops and airports across the world. Noam Chomsky can also be linked to this, he came up with the theory of manufacturing consent. He argued that there are 5 filters of the mass media. These 5 filters are financial ownership, advertising, the media elite, flak and the common enemy. This links to these two newspapers because in 2019, the Daily Mail bought the I newspaper for £49.6million. Following on with the 5 filters of manufacturing consent, advertising links to the newspapers because each newspaper includes adverts, in which company’s pay to get published, meaning the newspaper will generate advertisement revenue from advertising. Usually, the newspapers would stick to very generic adverts such as supermarket ones in order to attract a wider audience. However, more specific gender-orientated media, such as magazines would include adverts that would appeal to their target audience. The third filter looks at the media elite. This filter explains how the big media corporations will publish media, exclusive interviews and celebrities in order to attract their target audience. Flak is the 4th filter and is where there is a negative viewpoint towards media sources. Newspapers commonly use flak to remove any articles that are being put up for publishing. An example of this is that a right-winged newspaper such as The Daily Mail will not include any left-wing articles journalists to write for them because The Daily Mail want to influence their readers to be more right-winged on the political spectrum. An example of Flak in the Daily Mail was in 2016, with the election of the new Prime Minister. The Daily Mail was heavily supporting Teresa May, a Conservative, but had a negative viewpoint towards Jeremy Corbyn (Labour).  The final filter is having a common enemy. The Daily Mail often uses their common enemy of terrorists, in order to help create a negative public opinion towards them. A final theorist I will include is Gramsci, who came up with the theory of hegemony. Hegemony outlines how certain ideas can be influential to others and this is shown by the lack of power that the working class would have over the higher class. Hegemony is shown in The Daily Mail because they have been criticised for using media sensationalism and overdramatising their news articles, as a technique to attract their audiences and change their viewpoints on the topics. This is opposite to The I because they have not been criticised for media sensationalism and while they are left-winged, they include some right-wing articles too which can show some diversity and suggest both sides of the spectrum, which can also suggest they are more central on the political spectrum.

The Daily Mail is a right wing newspaper as stated previously, who is owned by the Daily Mail General Trust (DMGT). The I, however, is a politically aligned left wing newspaper including some right-winged articles, which was also bought out by the DMGT in 2019. It is significant that by buying out the I, the DMGT has been able to generate more revenue because they are attracting people from both the different sides of the political spectrum rather than one side which could limit sales. This is because The Daily Mail, supposedly primarily targets working-class middle aged women. However, the I primarily targets younger audiences (young adults). While the Daily Mail has around 999,997 newspapers in circulation (as of June 2020), the I newspaper only had circulation of around 140,154. Therefore, it could be argued that the DMGT bought out the I to maximise their sales because Daily Mail readers would have brand loyalty to the newspaper and because they maybe wanted to target more of a wider audience with their different newspapers, so would most likely buy their subsidiaries. Both the I and the Daily Mail are available online as well as in print form, which attracts new audiences because phones are the new age of our generation and may be a more simple way to connect with newspapers instead of going to the shop to buy them. By having mobile editions of their papers, it can attract younger audiences. While these newspapers hold very contradicting viewpoints and are oppositely aligned on the political spectrum, they both include a mixture of hard and soft news and a range of articles, such as games, sports and breaking news in order to attract an all rounded audience, rather than 1 specific audience, which will mean that they will be generating as much revenue as possible.

The I newspaper, are politically left winged and will focus on left-wing articles. Using Laswell’s hypodermic model, Nigel Morris speaks about how Biden and Boris Johnson never met. This article from Morris will be received by Daily Mail readers and following the 2020 US Presidential Election, which creates the message that the I favours their support for the Democratic Party because they are objecting to a claim. Another theorist than can be applied is Katz, who came up with the uses and gratifications theory. The uses and gratifications theory is linked with Malsow’s hierachy of needs and for newspapers, it can be identified by using the uses and gratifications theory, newspapers serve the purpose for knowledge about the world and escapism. This is because both the I and the Daily Mail cover news articles from both locally around the UK, as well as having a few pages for global news. Lazerfeld’s two step flow can also be applied to the two newspapers, because while it can be susceptible to bias, interpretation, support and changes, what newspapers have are the main source of media and the opinion leader would be the reader, who may choose to believe something written in the newspaper and tell their friends, influencing them to change their opinions on this type of news. This is a common strategy the I and the Daily Mail use because they are politically aligned a certain way and would want their readers to adopt the same political spectrum viewpoint they have.

In conclusion, both the I and the Daily Mail have been mostly successful at creating their own distinctive identity. This is shown by the theory of the free press as they have both been able to publish what they want without any restrictions or interference from the government. However, it is significant that while the Daily Mail is one of highest circulating newspapers in the UK with almost 1 million sales, They have received criticisms for publishing inaccurate stories. In Contrast, it can be argued that the I is a more reliable newspaper source than the Daily Mail because it has included accounts from key political figures in the UK, such as Boris Johnson and 10 Downing Street and does sometimes include information from both the right and left wing.

The idea is that Score hair cream, will make the man wearing it, amazing. They do this by:

Language

Mise-en-scene: The Gun – symbolizes masculinity , Sitting above the fur – a man’s dominance when wearing this hair cream. The women are wearing very little clothes to suggest that the hair cream will get a man whatever he desires.

It is set in jungle (links of Postcononialism) – white man clinging on to Empire

The women are looking up to him and appreciating him to represent the attention that someone will get if they wear this product. One woman is reaching up as she really wants the man. They are also carrying the man, showing how powerful he is. The man in the ad is shown as strongly smiling as he receives attention when he wears the hair cream.

‘Get what you always wanted’ – reinforces the idea that if a man buys this hair cream, he will get whatever he wants (whether that be woman, furs or power).

This appeals to men of the 1967 as it makes them feel attractive and powerful if they use this product. This would have changed over time due to the women being objectified. It creates desire for the product as it promises and shows that it makes men get what they want because they will be more attractive.

Representation

This product would have been accepted at the time because this was before many of the Feminist movements took place (before 2nd Wave Feminism). This reflects the attitudes of the time as nowadays, an advert like this wouldn’t have taken place due to the sexist stereotypes that woman will obey every command from a man. It also shows damaging stereotypes of men as well. This is as it says that men should be masculine (the gun and fur) in order to get a woman’s attention (before the 2nd Wave Feminism)

These both were reactionary stereotypes as they followed the dominant ideology that men should be masculine while woman should be second to their husband.

Laura Mulvey – this is a clear example of the male gaze as the woman are seen in crop tops and short shorts which are for male attention so that men can buy the product.

Bel Hook – Intersectionality – It represented woman as oppressed

Jean Kilbourne – She talks about how adverts portray woman and represent woman negatively by objectifying them. She says that these images in adverts have actually got worse.

She says ‘Children growing up today are bombarded from a very early age with graphic messages about sex and sexiness in the media and popular culture’ in her book So Sexy So Soon.

Advertising and marketing

In this advertising Hypermasculinity is shown, this is defined as: a psychological term for the exaggeration of male stereotypical behaviour, such as an emphasis on physical strength, aggression, and sexuality.

1950-1970’s most adverts mostly use hyper-masculinity in advertising. Advert was made in 1967 3 years before equal pay act was introduced.

Links to sexuality and gender roles- women are placed below the man and he is central in the advert, this creates the idea that me are above women and are the superior gender (dominance).

The man is being carried by the woman have also been made to wear short skirts and cropped top to make them more sexualised. Both genders are wearing safari clothing however the the women costumes are significantly smaller therefore revelig how women were bisexual at this time.

This is to create the idea that after using this product woman will be swooning over you, the idea that all the women will want you as the advert shows woman reaching for him and staring at him. Historical- the swining 60’s where drugs and sex was at its peak, this expalins the slogan ‘ get what you always wanted’- refering to women.

The slogan get what youv’e always wanted is referring to woman this is objectifying women.

This advert shows the how men are portrayed over the years and how it is changing. In this advert the man is seen to be surrounded by women and this idea that women are objectified and is for t=en to ‘glance’ at is still used today. For example Tomb Raider. Men’s health can also be looked at as men are portrayed as strong physically. Stereotyping will always be round and adverts will always use it to sell products weather its dramatically or subtly.

Historical- homosexuality was decriminalized however wasn’t socially accepted, the setting of the advert is in a jungle, suggesting a tough male is needed in this setting reinforcing the heterosexuality of the advert.

Props the male is seen to be holding a gun loud and proud ans this reinforces the idea that a male should be brave,tough and protective.

Models- all of the models are white, this is probably due to the time period when racism was big in the 60’s-70’s.

The words ‘made by men’ makes it more reliable for the audience.

• fictional
•  1970’S – it shows the personality and the sexism typical of American society and culture at the time
• Sexy Women Carrying Big Game Hunter – Source is 1967 Playboy Magazine
• Because they use the females to create the idea that if they use the hair cream they will get girls
• The product is a liquid hair groom, with score’s scent, and greaseless look, you will be irresistible if you use it
• male gaze- 2nd wave feminism, hyper masculinity
• semantic field
• jungle = dangerous so there needs to be strong male character
• alliteration of ‘gr’ sound makes an animistic tone, relates to leopard print on the throne
• Score creates a narrative that females will ‘worship’ the man who wears this hair cream and that they will irresistible. 
•  Mise en Scene (setting the scene) – by the way the people have been positioned, where the male is being lifted by the women to show that he is above them as they ‘worship’ how good he is, the man is the one who appears to be smiling the most. We see that his masculine features are put in the frame clearly e.g his arms
• underlining message of empowering women? they are carrying a man implying that they are strong enough to do so, a task that would typically would be mans job
• The narrative in this advert audiences’ may respond has changed over time because there has been an increase in equality towards women. This would have been seen as sexist in earlier years as women are underneath men and their power, however, now there are more rights

Media Language:

1. Mise-en-scene analysis
   Arrangement of scenery and stage properties in a play, in film analysis, this term refers to everything in front of the camera, including set design, lighting and actors.
   The advertisement portrays how this cream will ‘attract women’ and putting it in your hair will put you higher up in the hierarchy and women will want to be around you. It’s a powerful masculine ‘scent’. The clothing the women are using is minimalist which suggests women could be seen as objects, but the fact there is a gun portrays how men are superior to women and the jungle setting could suggest the product is natural; men will feel powerful in wearing this product.
   The jungle is a dangerous place, a dominant white male is represented, maybe the advert was attempting to cling onto the idea of an empire.
   Laura Mulvey – Trying to appeal to the male gaze, wanting people to buy the hair cream product so that women will come to them, men will get pleasure in looking at the ad which will make them more likely to buy the product.
2. Production values and Aesthetics
   Production Values: The lighting, sound, scenery and props used to improve a film or play. An example of production values are the ways in which students set up the stage in a school play.
   Aesthetics: How pleasing something is to look at, and a set of principles concerned with the nature and appreciation of beauty
   The minimalist clothing used in the advert connotes how women were objectified in the 60’s and were seen as objects rather than people, there is a positive aesthetic and the props such as the gun the man is holding shows dominance and suggests this superiority. Humans are also portrayed as being ‘animal like’ through the use of scenery showing people will be like ‘animals’ when men use this cream as it is dominant.
3. Semiotics: how images signify cultural meanings
   The nature and culture of an advert and sometimes hidden messages in adverts are shown through semiotics; any form of activity, conduct, or any process that involves signs, including the production of meaning.
   The outfits show cultural meaning as the advert was produced in the year that homosexuality was decriminalised and three years before the Equal Pay Act was initiated; this is radical to the dominant ideologies of the 1960’s. Women were shown to be sexualised and men were shown to be dominant to women; this is also seen in animals and in packs, there is always one dominant male in a pack.
4. How advertising conventions are socially and historically relative
   There is still a dominant ideology that women are inferior to men and there is always this stigma around males having the power and being in a higher position to females. This gives an insight into why the advert represents different genders in the way that it does. Women are represented as being weaker than males and are seen as objects in society.
5. The way in which media language incorporates viewpoints and ideologies

Advertising and marketing

• It was created in 1967
• It has a reactionary representation of men and women.
• About hair cream
• It is a sexist advert

Media language

Mise-en-scene analysis: This is a French term which translates to “setting the stage”. It talks about focusing on set design, lighting and actors. The female actors in this advert are surrounding the one Man who is holding a gun, with bushes around them wearing safari clothes.

Production values and aesthetics: It has and exotic aesthetic as it has a jungle setting. The outfits used reinforce this as they are safari type clothes.

Semiotics: how images signify cultural meanings: The short clothes could suggests that the women are to be seen in a sexual way. This helps gain the male gaze. The jungle theme would be unfamiliar to the audience so it may intrigue them.

How advertising conventions are socially and historically relative:

The way in which media language incorporates viewpoints and ideologies: – Laura Mulvey – Male Gaze Theory

Narrative

Jean Kilbourne

• Talks about how woman have been overly sexualised in advertising over the years.
• Says that it gives both men and women an unrealistic depiction of women.
• Companies sexualise children as well in a less serious way however it still happens.
• Advertising makes it seem like aggression towards females is okay when its not
• “Our need for social and personal change and power is often co-opted and trivialized into an adolescent and self-centered kind of rebellion.”

Jungle/exotic background

‘Get what you’ve always wanted’ – implies men want women

The photo implies that if men have good hair they’ll get attention from a lot of attractive females

Holding a gun – masculinity? Hunting? Tiger Skin

Man – Fully dressed/T-shirt + trousers

Women – short/crop tops + short skirts (Male gaze (Male oriented advert)) – Link to Tomb Raider (minimalistic clothing)

Semantic field of masculinity

• Masculine scent
• Made by men
• Grooming

‘Made by the men’ – Implies because it is solely made by men, it is better

Jean Kilbourne

She is a public speaker, writer, filmmaker and activist who is internationally recognised for her work on the image of women in advertisement.

She talks about how both men and women are sexualised in adverts but are sexualised differently. Women are shown to be sexual objects and men are taught to see women as sexual objects

Score – pre-1970

Denotations:

• male surrounded by group of females
• phrase ‘get what you’ve always wanted’ in the top corner
• females wearing small amounts of clothing
• male is fully clothes and holding a weapon
• the models are in a jungle setting
• five females are carrying one male on a seat through a jungle

Connotations:

• the phrase suggests that the product being advertised has allowed the male in the image to ‘get’ the females that are surrounding him
• the male model holding a weapon suggests an enhanced image of masculinity and that the product being advertised may help male consumers obtain the same image
• the female models i the image are wearing clothing that shows their midriffs and their legs this suggests that the advert is alluding to the male gaze
• the male is surrounded by a group of ‘attractive’ females which suggests that if using the hair product being advertised you will become more desirable to the opposite gender

Key quotes:

• get what you’ve always wanted
• Score’s famous masculine scent
• if you haven’t been getting all you want from a liquid hair groom, get new Score Liquid
• made by the men

Evaluation:

this advert is attempting to appeal to the male gaze and the gender stereotypes of masculinity in order to sell a hair cream product. the product is described as ‘Score’s famous masculine scent’ this suggests to the consumer that the product helps to enhance a males masculinity. from the image the advert also suggest to the consumer that the product will make you more desirable to females as the male model in the image has used the product and ended up with a group of females in ‘the middle of a jungle’ fawning over him, attempting to reach out to him and touch him and carrying him. it also suggests and enhancement of masculinity through the image of the male model carrying a dangerous weapon. the theory of the male gaze is used in the advert as the producer has specifically chosen stereo-typically attractive females in shot skirts and cropped tops to be at the front of the image, this is what they are using to draw the consumer into the advert in the first place. they have created a narrative in the advert though different components of the advert, the phrase in the top right corner suggests the narrative that it is the hair cream that could land you in different situations and getting what you want and for the male model in the advert it suggests that he wants a group of females to be in admiration of him and attracted to him. the advert attempts to persuade the consumer that by using Scores product not only will you get the desired hair style that you have been wanting but also will be open to new opportunities in getting other things you want in life. the advert states “if you haven’t been getting all you want from a liquid hair groom, get new Score Liquid”

Theories to link:

• Edward said – Orientalism
• Laura Mulvey – male gaze – 2nd wave feminism (60’s/70’s)

• ”get what you’ve always wanted” – implies men priorities female attention
• man surrounded with women, objectification
• jungle/exotic look and setting – Orientalism
• made at the time of the Vietnam war – representing soldiers, making men want to look like male in advert, trying to get men to join army
• imperatives used to persuade buyers ‘get new score liquid’
• holding gun – hunting for prey?women are prey?
• scent – almost animal like