Applying the Political Compass to the CSP’s

ACTIVITY 3: Extract questions, themes and key language from the Political Compass test that could help you to identify the political compass of a newspaper.

NOTE: Your Newspapers CSP’s are The Daily Mail and The i. One complete print edition of the newspaper (chosen by your teacher – which is Monday 6th June, 2022. I have bought 10 copies of each) and selected key pages from the newspaper’s website, including the homepage and at least one other page (note this is problematic! I tried to screen shot but not effective, so we will look at web editions before our essay question, date TBC)

Key word / theme / question etc	Daily Mail (textual evidence)	Daily Mail (institutional evidence)	The i (textual evidence)	The i (institutional evidence)
Views on Conservative party	p18 is the ‘Comment’ ie the editorial or voice of the paper ‘Only Starmer gains from this clueless plot’ – ie Labour will gain from Conservative divisions over Boris Johnson	Lord Rothermere was a friend of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, and directed the Mail’s editorial stance towards them in the early 1930s  a right-wing tabloid,[1][2][3] the Mail is traditionally a supporter of the Conservative Party. It has endorsed the party in every UK general election since 1945,	Front cover ‘Johnson future turning toxic for Tories’ seems to be against Conservative / Boris Johnson	In the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections, the i chose not to endorse a political party  The paper is classified as a ‘quality‘ in the UK market but is published in the standard compact tabloid-size format. the i has developed a strong national reputation over time. The paper is understood to be highly regarded by many journalists The i was named British National Newspaper of the Year in 2015.
Business over humans		Daily Mail is part of the General Trust plc (DMGT) is a British multinational media company, which owns several other titles.
concentration of ownership				The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million
globalisation		Its website has more than 218 million unique visitors per month
Patriotism	Front page ‘Joyous Jubilee’ – supporting Royal Family		Front page ‘The new Firm’ slightly critical of Royal Family
Racial superiority
Nationalism	page 10 ‘how the nation came together’ suggest national harmony – we are all together.
Militarism (use of military)
Feminism / Female		women making up 52–55% of its readers The term “suffragette” was first used in 1906, as a term of derision by the journalist Charles E. Hands in the Mail to describe activists in the movement for women’s suffrage,
traditional values		Founded in 1896		originally launched in 2010 as a sister paper to The Independent
Links to the establishment / elite		The Proprietor is the The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the company The head office is located in Northcliffe House in Kensington, London.
Authoritarian / Libertarian	Still uses an Editorial ie the voice of one over many?		Does not have voice of editor, but an ‘Opinion Matrix’ instead ie a range of different voices and opinion – so much more freedom and plurality (=many) in voice and thought?
the fusion of entertainment and news / information		A survey in 2014 found the average age of its readers was 58, and it had the lowest demographic for 15- to 44-year-olds		The paper is classified as a ‘quality‘ in the UK market but is published in the standard compact tabloid-size format. the i has developed a strong national reputation over time. The paper is understood to be highly regarded by many journalists The i was named British National Newspaper of the Year in 2015.

ACTIVITY 4: Institutional Research – Find out 10 facts about the ownership, organisation, history etc of each newspaper.

The Daily Mail

1. Lord Rothermere was a friend of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, and directed the Mail’s editorial stance towards them in the early 1930s
2.  a right-wing tabloid,^[1][2][3] the Mail is traditionally a supporter of the Conservative Party.
3. It has endorsed the party in every UK general election since 1945,
4. Lord Rothermere was a friend of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler, and directed the Mail’s editorial stance towards them in the early 1930s
5. published in London by Daily Mail and General Trust and distributed across the United Kingdom
6. Daily Mail and General Trust plc (DMGT) is a British multinational media company, the owner of the Daily Mail and several other titles. The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the company.^[1] 
7. The head office is located in Northcliffe House in Kensington, London. DMGT’s annual revenue is around £1bn.
8.  women making up 52–55% of its readers
9. The term “suffragette” was first used in 1906, as a term of derision by the journalist Charles E. Hands in the Mail to describe activists in the movement for women’s suffrage,
10. A survey in 2014 found the average age of its readers was 58, and it had the lowest demographic for 15- to 44-year-olds

The i

1. The paper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) on 29 November 2019, for £49.6 million
2. originally launched in 2010 as a sister paper to The Independent
3. In the 2017 and 2019 UK general elections, the i chose not to endorse a political party
4.  The paper is classified as a ‘quality‘ in the UK market but is published in the standard compact tabloid-size format.
5. the i has developed a strong national reputation over time. The paper is understood to be highly regarded by many journalists
6. The i was named British National Newspaper of the Year in 2015.
7. .
8. .
9. .