“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?” 

The purpose of newspaper is to highlight global issues and to reflect the conversation of the ‘public sphere.’ Habermas (1989) says that the newspaper has allowed a libertarian expression of thought and opinion, he comments on how the media is an ‘arena of public debate’. Curran reinforces this ideology by saying that “the freedom to publish in the free market ensures that the press reflects a wide range of opinions and interests.” Different newspapers use their political stance to influence their target audiences, providing information that links to their ideological view of the world. ‘The Daily Mail’ and ‘The i’ provide us with opposing ideological viewpoints. ‘The Daily Mail’ constructs a right-wing political stance with support for the conservative party whilst ‘The i’ is presenting a more libertarian, central viewpoint.  

‘The Daily Mail’ is the “Highest-circulated daily newspaper,” implying the popularity within the UK public. It is known as the “voice of Middle-England” suggesting that it represents traditional, archaic views that have continued from the paper’s conception in 1896 and direct correlation to Lord Rothermere, suggesting links to the British monarchy. The average reader demographic was aged 58 with over 50% of them being female. This could connote to the paper presenting an ideology relatable to an older generation or a less progressive sub-section of society. In the edition on Monday 6th June 2022, the paper’s political compass is presented through their support for the royal family and the conservative party at the time of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and Boris Johnson facing a vote of no confidence. On the front page, their political ideologies are made obvious in the headline “magnificent celebrations,” “joyous jubilee.” Here, the paper is putting key importance on celebrating the status of the monarchy and are also hinting on their views towards nationalism and patriotism. These ideas a further perpetuated on page 6, in the line; “the final parade was so very British”. This highlights the national pride the paper holds and could presume their views on issues such as immigration as well as their representation of global news and other countries. Like many newspapers and media forms in general, the plethora of information is not a ‘transparent window’ into the truth of the world, the ideology of the paper is used to skew the truth and influence the passive reader into perceiving these views as fact. Chomsky says that the media works with the monarchy, the state and alongside with the ruling ideology. He highlights how the media are ‘hand in hand’ with the government to “manipulate” and “persuade” their audiences. In his book “manufacturing consent” he says that “(The media) is a mechanism that is deliberately used by the rich and the powerful (the elite).” Furthermore, on page 18, in the editorial (the voice of the newspaper), the Daily Mail’s support for the conservative party is reinforced through the statement in the title: “Boris is right”. A strong opposition to the labour party is also explored through the line: “If the Tories implode, they could let in the nightmare coalition of the Labour”. Essentially, they are suggesting that the UK is a one-party state, and any opposing political power is not good enough. This is repeated throughout the edition for example on page 3, when they comment on how there is “No alternative candidate” and page 23: “ousting PM now would be nothing less than insanity.” Clearly, they are trying to project to their target audience. 

Habermas looks at the distinction between the private sphere, the issues that concern an individual, and the public sphere which is the societal discussion of issues facing the wider population. He comments on the libertarian nature of the media and says that “once the media is subject to public regulation, it will lose its bite;” the ability to comment freely on current affairs. ‘The i’ presents a less right wing, more left-wing ideology, which is more concerned with humanity over business, leaning towards more libertarian attitudes. Linking to Habermas, this paper represents a more diverse range of voices which pushes the public to the ‘forefront’ of the paper’s view. Contrastingly, the i is owned by the ‘Daily Mail General Trust (DMGT),’ a conglomerate which uses horizontal integration to merge ownership over a range of newspaper products including ‘The Daily Mail’ and ‘The Independent’ for the “Endgame: Profit.” This implies that they share similar ideologies which suggests that ‘The i’ has a more central political compass than what it presents. On page 22, a small column from a member of the LGBTQ+ community says that “pride month is an empty gesture” and expresses how Pride has been stripped of celebration for individuality it is now “one giant rainbow painted empty gesture”. Not only is this the paper’s way of diversifying its content but it is also allowing a criticism of society to be expressed. This opposes the ‘Daily Mail’ who were criticised in 2016 for describing a high court judge as “openly gay.” “Critics accused the Mail of unnecessarily highlighting the judge’s sexual orientation due to anti-gay motives.” As for the political compass of ‘The I’, the paper obviously seems representative of a more centralised viewpoint. This is reinforced by the fact that during the 2016 Brexit vote, the paper chose not to declare ‘leave’ or ‘remain’ and chose not to show support for a particular political party in the 2016 elections. A criticism towards the Royal Family is shown on page 3 in which the headline says, “A grand spectacle packed with pomp, silliness.” Here, ‘The i’ is criticizing the over- dramatic parades seen at the Queen’s jubilee, it also brings light to the lack of the Queens presence when a “grand” amount money and effort has been put into creating the Queen’s jubilee in the quote: “(The Queen) absent from party at the palace.”  

Through Stuart Hall’s theory on encoding, decoding and implied and Barthes’ ideas on semiotics and the meanings of signs, we can evaluate the way in which the newspapers present their own viewpoint through their outlook on the world. Both papers construct different views on the world through their political compass although some of their views overlap.