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?
Forms of media products create different views of the world to attempt to attract consumers and make profits. In this essay I am going to make arguments and statements towards the idea of media products constructing different views by referring to the Daily Mail and The i. As James Curran stated that, “Media enables viewers to plug into different views and perspectives” meaning he believes media products can construct different ideological views through the way newspapers are presented and designed to makes us believe everything it contains.
To begin, on page 6 of The Daily Mail it states, “Final parade was so British” which gives off the main idea about this newspaper being about the queens jubilee and being mostly aimed towards Britain. This displays the idea of the Daily Mail being more of a right wing newspaper because of its conservative views about economy. On the editorial page (page 18) the editor states, “Boris is right and Macron is wrong” this links to Habermas and the theory of the public sphere which is described as a place where citizens come together to exchange opinions, discuss and eventually form public opinion. Meaning, the editor has shown his opinion towards the war situation, which further links to the idea of newspapers constructing different views about the world and creating new beliefs. Habermas also states, “newspapers, letter and notes forged a consensus which shaped the direction of the state/country.” which further proves the theory of newspapers constructing different views. This is evident on the first page when it writes, “Slimmed-down Royal Family is revealed in Jubilee finale” This displays a slight Authoritarian view on Britain because the editor has used the word ‘revealed’ to try and make the family seem as they have been hidden away and have lesson freedom than other citizens. Noam Chomsky quotes that, “he who controls the media controls the mind of the public” meaning whoever controls the Daily Mail have an aim to try and ‘brainwash’ the public into following their beliefs and views.
However, in the newspaper The i they try to target audiences in a more liberal way by conveying there views in a more centrist political orientation meaning they are neither left or right wing. The i is owned by the Daily Mail and General Trust and runs with one independent editor. Where as the Daily Mail clearly supports the conservative party. It quotes, “How long before Priti Patel makes it illegal to boo at someone we find offensive?” as you can see The i is openly criticising the conservative party – showing the liberal stance. The i is described as more of an Libertarian newspaper which means it includes different views towards political parties and freedom. On page 20 it states, “Thank you for saying what was needed to say” which proves my point of the newspaper aiming towards a more liberal view and being a left wing viewed newspaper. Also, on page 32 the newspaper shows more support towards the left wing view and freedom. This is evident, “Flying the flag with pride” meaning the newspaper can be described as a counter-opposite towards the Daily Mail because it doesn’t support the freedom of citizens as much as The i.
In conclusion, both The i and The Daily Mail target audiences by constructing an ideological view of the world through many different ways such as, politics, freedom or opinions.