ESSAY PLAN

Q7 Media Paper 1: Ideology can be defined as a collection of values and beliefs. To what extent do media products target audiences by constructing an ideological view of the world? You should refer to your newspaper Close Study Products, The i and The Daily Mail.

Notes to use

INTRODUCTION:

Newspapers inform the public about issues around the world, which is the main goal, however, they also open up the Public Sphere theory Habermas suggested where individuals can come together to ‘freely discuss and identify’ societal problems. All newspapers do this by adding in an ‘editorial’ page, and allowing the public to have an input. Many newspapers target audiences by constructing ideological and political views of the world, for example, The Daily Mail’s views target a different audience to The I.

The online versions of both newspaper have advertisements, which relates to two of Chomsky’s 5 Filters of Media theory from his idea of Manufacturing consent’, where Advertising and Structure of Ownership where the endgame is profit and the paper is advertising a product unrelated to the paper.

The Daily Mail is evidently a Right wing newspaper, which can be seen by the second page of the Monday 6th June 2022 newspaper. “No alterative candidate” and “We are strongest when united” both show that the paper has a very authoritarian perspective and as there is no mention of another party, suggests that the UK is a one party state. “Conservatives calling him [referring to Boris] untrustworthy” highlights the idea that the public/paper like the Conservative party but not Boris Johnson. The ownership of The Daily Mail supports the Conservative party, making the paper support it. However, The I newspaper is less Conservative, which is seen on the front page of the Monday 6th June 2022 newspaper “Vote on Johnson turns toxic for Tories” suggesting that the ideas the Conservative’s thought Johnson would put forward are deteriorating. The I was bought off The Daily Mail and General Trust, therefore, are still required to put forward ideas of right wing views, but less dominant as The Daily Mail.

Along with this also comes the views on The Royal Family, where The Daily Mail is a major advocate of Royal Family Values. This is seen on Page 5 on the title “So close yet so far” with a picture of Prince Harry and Prince William are sitting as they are not next to each other. This highlights ideas that Prince Harry ‘left’ the inner circle of the Royal Family and that makes him subordinate to Prince William and the rest of the Royal family, and that The Daily Mail does not support his decision. Furthermore, The I says on the Front Page “Slimmed down Royal family is revealed in Jubilee finale”, presenting ideas that not all the member of the Royal family are good enough to represent/are representative of the family.

Following on from this, both papers have opposing views on Patriotism. For example, The Daily Mail says “Joyous jubilee” and “Magnificent celebrations… party for millions” with a photograph of the Queen on the Front page. Page 4 reads “Our platinum Queen”. This clearly shows that this paper believes that the monarch and the Royal Family are representative of the United Kingdom, and support all the decisions they make. Whereas, The I reads on Page 7 “A grand spectacle packed with pomp, silliness and smiles” promoting ideas that the parade was seen as more important that it really was, and that it was overdramatised. Another quote from the paper that shows views of this is “The Queen was absent so far, absent from party at the palace, absent from the service at the cathedral… soon might appear on the balcony to greet the crowds” which highlights the idea that too much effort has gone into her Jubilee celebrations, but she has not even bothered to turn up for them, that she is ‘ungrateful’.

Both papers were made in two very different eras, The Daily Mail in 1896, and The I in 2010 as a sister paper to The Independent. As a result of this, their views on LGBTQ+ rights are slightly different. The Daily Mail says on Page 20, “Backlash as transgender paedophile is spared jail” and “After judge is told pervert is anxious about coping in jail.” While this doesn’t seem alarming, it could bring ideas that transgender people are ‘disgusting’ and ‘paedophiles’ etc, setting a bad example for innocent people who identify as Transgender. On the other hand, The I is representative of the community and allows someone part of the community to share their thoughts on Pride, Page 22 says “Pride month is empty now” which suggests that people in the community believe that pride moth and symbols such as the rainbow that is identified with the community, has been taken out of their hands and is overdone. “Pride is basically for straight people” highlighting that people in the community believe that straight people make more of a deal out of it than members of the community. This representation allows viewpoints from the community.

Theorists, Curran and Seaton, said that the media concentration adversely affects media content and that diverse ownership creates diverse products, which is clearly seen throughout both papers. One paper with a certain view and ownership will create a different product to the other paper as they are targeting different audiences. The Daily Mail is more authoritarian, and supports the country, whereas The I is more relaxed, still right wing but has more libertarian views, allowing them to seek a different audience to The Daily Mail. However, when their views are regulated by the government, “it will lose its bite as a watchdog.”