Newspaper Industries

Read through Newspapers

It is important to be able to apply James Curran and Jean Seaton’s and David Hesmondhalgh ideas on concentration of ownership, conglomerates and free market on newspaper with a specific reference to Daily Mail and Guardian.

Key vocabulary:

vertical integration: vertical integration is the term used to describe a business strategy in which a company takes ownership of two or more key stages of its supply chain. A vertically integrated automaker, for example, might produce automobile components and vehicles and also sell directly to customer

media conglomerate: A company that owns other companies across a range of media platforms. This increases their domination of the market and their ability to distribute and exhibit their product.

Diversification: where a media company moves from producing one type of product to creating different media forms (e.g. a TV company moving into film production).

free market/neo-liberal ideology: refers to a economic model that places importance in private enterprise and expects minimal state intervention. It opposes heavy taxation and criticizes the reliance on of public services — e.g public broadcasting. This ideology tends to espouse consumer-oriented regulation rather than citizen-oriented.

Key ideas of James Curran and Jean Seaton on the modern history of press

Newspapers as Markets

James Curran and Jean Seaton have argued that the industrialization of print press and newspapers have led to the concentration of ownership. Many types newspapers (tabloid, or broadsheet) are integrated in few large companies that are owned by supremely wealthy entrepreneurs (Horizontal, vertical and cross-sector forms of intergradation). These gigantic forms of media ownership are cost-effective and threaten the plurality of media. For example radical press ceased to exist whereas small scale, regional, independent newspapers are either integrated or vanish. Newspapers have come business that derive profit from targeting specific demographic of audiences (for example wealthy, upper, middle and low middle class readers/buyers). This has largely influenced press content, image and style.

For example tabloid newspapers follow ‘hysterical news values’. Sensationalist language and overly dramatic, urgent and contrarian forms expression dominate their coverage of political and social news. Advertisement holds large slice of pages’ space. Politics are replaced by soft news, entertainment, gossip and celebrity stories. Quite often person-centric narratives (personalization/role-models, celebrities, stars and lately ‘influencers’) replace general cultural analysis. Finally, the ‘ideological’ content becomes formulaic favouring stereotypical views on morality, politics, economy, immigration and national values.

Read through your case studies profiles below and refer back to your textual analysis of specific print copies to explain how the above points are useful in understanding Daily Mail and the Guardian

The Guardian Newspaper

Analysis of the close study product with a focus on media audience and industry.

Introduction

Founded in 1821, The Guardian is a British daily newspaper with a liberal tradition. It aims to deliver “fearless, investigative journalism” and “quality, trustworthy reporting” which is free from “political and commercial influence”. In this study guide, we will analyse the relationship between the newspaper’s progressive stance on contemporary issues and its appeal to the target audience. We will also explore its unique ownership structure and their struggle to remain profitable in an incredibly challenging media landscape.Contents

Demographics

According to 2021 data from PAMCo (the audience measurement company for publishers), The Guardian had a 3.2m monthly print and an 18.4m monthly digital readership. These figures compare very positively to the other quality dailies in the United Kingdom. The paper reached 113m unique browsers around the world each month on average.

The data also showed more males read the paper each month: 10.2m males compared to 9.4m females across the different platforms. 13.3m of its readers were over 35 years-of-age compared to 6.5m under 35. Of course, this strong engagement from younger, progressive readers would be very enticing to advertisers and brand partners who are eager to target that demographic.

In terms of income, the paper appeals to all social grades. 6.9m readers are classified as AB – higher and intermediate positions, and professional occupations. 5.9m of The Guardian readers have skilled manual and unskilled occupations or would be considered unemployed by the model. They consider themselves to be the “main shopper” regardless of their income bracket. This spending power will also appeal to advertisers.

Finally, audience analysis by the market research firm GWI suggested 40% of The Guardian’s UK readers had university degrees.

The Guardian Reader

The phrase “Guardian reader” is often used to describe a left-wing and liberal point of view. This political ideology promotes individual rights but also demands government intervention into important social and cultural issues, such as poverty, education, climate change, and welfare. The Guardian targets this modern and progressive audience by drawing attention to social injustice and “championing the voices of those less heard”. The paper is proud of its COVID-19 investigations which exposed governmental and social failings. They are also “passionate about the climate change emergency” and “remain dedicated to truth and to bring about a more hopeful future”.

An Ipsos Mori poll found The Guardian readers held “progressive views”, were “motivated by new ideas and innovation”, and had a strong desire to drive change. Perhaps these shared values are the reason why OfCom research found the paper was the “most trusted news brand in the UK”.

The typical Guardian reader could be labelled as an activator from SBI’s list of UK consumer groups because they are at the “forefront of innovation” and are “most open to new ideas”. They might also define themselves as achievers who focus on “professional endeavour”. The most obvious personality type from Young and Rubicam’s cross-cultural consumer categorisation would be reformer – someone who is “at the leading edge of society” with a core need of “enlightenment”.

Media companies research the demographic psychometric profile of their consumers to ensure their content matches their needs and values. You can find the latest audience profile from The Guardian’s own media kit.

The Guardian’s Politics

The newspaper is considered to be part of the “quality press” – a group of national papers which focuses on hard news rather than the sensationalism of tabloid journalism. Its “original reporting and incisive analysis” often promotes the ideologies of the mainstream left of British politics. For example, it strongly endorsed Tony Blair’s bid to become leader of the Labour Party in 1994 because he was willing to confront real problems with his progressive and practical agenda.

The paper declared its support for the Liberal Democrats in the 2010 general election and their desire for electoral reform. It then switched back to the Labour Party for the 2015 election. That endorsement continued for the elections in 2017 and 2019 when Jeremy Corbin was leader of the party.

The Guardian also endorsed remaining in the European Union throughout the divisive Brexit referendum. When the free-trade agreement provisionally came into effect in February 2022, the front-page recognised parts of the nation had a “lump in its throat” and there was a “national bereavement” while others celebrated with “a raised middle finger of defiant good riddance”.

However, the glum-looking British bulldog encoded the newspaper’s sense of regret. This preferred reading was anchored by the caption “missing you already” which made the relationship with the EU seem personal and friendly. The newspaper’s stance was echoed by its readers. The following research comes from YouGov’s tracking data.

The Guardian’s liberal perspective appeals to its progressive consumers. That is its primary target audience.

Analyse the Paper

You should buy a copy of the paper or visit the digital versions to explore The Guardian’s representation of key issues and debates. Consider how the codes and conventions of newspapers help frame the stories and position the audience to accept particular values. Look closely at the mode of address, especially the use of positive or negative language in the reports. Does the representation of events demonstrate the paper’s liberal ideology.

To what extent can newspapers set the agenda? Or does its success rely on meeting the values and ideologies of its readers?

Uses and Gratification Theory

What motivates consumers to engage with media texts? The uses and gratification theory is an audience-centred approach to explaining why people actively select products which satisfy their individual needs. Denis McQuail, Jay Blumer and Joseph Brown (1972) argued we used different types of media for four reasons – diversion, personal relationships, personal identity, and surveillance.

The Guardian obviously satisfies our desire to be informed because its mission is to “provide facts that help readers understand the word”. It has sections on politics, sport, and culture. The lifestyle section might also appeal to our personal identity by offering reports on fashion, health and wellbeing, and travel. Importantly, the values encoded in the articles and investigations can reinforce our own attitudes and behaviours.

Of course, the content can become topics of conversation between friends, family and colleagues.

The comment section after each article offers readers a chance to voice their own opinions and contribute to the debate. This user-generated contented and social interaction is another good example of personal relationships. Readers can also develop a sense of companionship with the columnists.

Perhaps the daily crosswords even provide an emotional release from our mundane routines.

Who Owns The Guardian?

The Guardian has quite a unique ownership structure for a global media company. The newspaper is operated by the Guardian Media Group (GMG), a British-based mass media company which also owns The Observer and a portfolio of other investments. Its parent company is Scott Trust Limited.

The trust was originally created in 1936 to “secure the financial and editorial independence of The Guardian” and to “safeguard the journalistic freedom and liberal values” of the paper from “commercial or political interference”. A trust is a legal arrangement to manage and protect the assets belonging to a person or family. John Russell Scott established the trust avoid paying death duties which may have forced the newspaper to close. In fact, the trust was dissolved in 1948 and immediately reformed to avoid more death taxes.

In 2008, the non-charitable trust was replaced by the limited company to respond effectively in the rapidly changing media landscape. The new company’s constitution was “carefully drafted to ensure that no individual can ever personally benefit” from dividends so the paper could remain faithful to its liberal roots.

Newspaper Funding

To maintain its editorial independence and remain free from commercial bias and the interference of shareholders, The Guardian relies on revenue from its global readership, including the 1.5 million readers who supported the paper financially in 2020. For example, you can take out a digital subscription for an annual or monthly fee which gives you ad-free access to their content online and through their dedicated apps.

You can also become a patron by contributing between £1,200 to £5,000 per year. These donations entitle you to complimentary tickets to live events and special occasions. You might even have the opportunity to experience the world of journalism by attending a morning editorial conference with the Editor-in-chief.

Advertising revenue remains an important part of the business model. For instance, a double page spread in The Guardian costs £32,400. The company claims it is “more effective at building brands online” compared to its competitors because it can place ads “at the heart of culture in front of people that are paying attention”. A billboard at the top of the screen or a mid-page unit (MPU) would cost an advertising agency £46,000 per day. These two types of display ads have high engagement rates.

Some advertising is handled by Google which places banners at the top of the page, skyscraper formats in the sidebar and some displays in the articles. The products on offer will depend on your own preferences, cookie history and geography. Both the click through rate and the amount of money the paper receives from each campaign will vary enormously.

Finally, The Guardian partners with companies to create commercial content for their brands. Most publications include advertorials, but The Guardian Labs offers more detailed campaigns. Have a look at some of their impressive projects.

Importantly, any profit from these sources of revenue is reinvested in journalism rather than distributed to shareholders. That is one of the paper’s unique selling points.

The Decline in the Newspaper Industry

The dramatic fall in sales in the newspaper industry has been well documented. If you have read our guide to the i newspaper, you might already know the Independent stopped selling physical copies in 2016.

The Guardian was losing £100,000 per day in 2012. To underwrite the newspaper’s substantial losses, Scott Trust sold 49.9% of its stake in Auto Trader to a venture capital firm in 2007 and then the remaining 50.1% to the same company in 2014. The company also sold its regional media output, including the Manchester Evening News, to a competitor in 2010 and its GMG Radio subsidiary in 2012.

Publishers continue to face an uncertain future. However, in the 2020/21 financial year, GMG increased their revenue by 0.9% to £225.5m with a record growth in digital reader revenues. The total values of the Scott Trust endowment fund and other cash holdings also increased to £1,148.5m from £954m the previous year.

The interim chief executive of GMC believed they had delivered a strong set of results, saying, “This performance is testament to the dedication and expertise of our staff, and our strong and trusted relationship with readers”.

Despite the challenges, The Guardian’s business model still seems to be working. It can turn a profit while ensuring its journalism remains global, free and accessible for all its readers.

Essay Questions

1. It has been argued print journalism has been intertwined with their economic contexts. How far do you agree with this statement?
2. Explain how The Guardian’s distribution and circulation has been impacted by its economic contexts.
3. Explain how regulators shape the output of newspapers.
4. “Newspaper ownership was little more than an investment in corporate public relations.” To what extent do agree with this statement?
5. Explain how newspapers address and position their audiences to accept certain values and ideologies.
6. To what extent are newspapers simply successful in matching their messages to audience interests?
7. To what extent are technological changes significant to the future of the newspaper industry?

The Daily Mail

https://media-studies.com/daily-mail-study-guide/

Analysis of the popular newspaper with a focus on media audience and industry.

Introduction

Launched in 1896 by Lord Northcliffe, the Daily Mail is an award-winning newspaper which aims to deliver the latest headlines and compelling content to its millions of readers every day – the highest circulation in the United Kingdom. It has also been heavily criticised for its sensationalist reporting and there have been many successful lawsuits brought against the publisher, especially for libel damages.

This guide focuses on the relationship between the audience and the newspaper with the application of media theories to develop our understanding of why the institution is engaging. We will also discuss to what extent the Daily Mail reflects its owners rather than the interests of their readers.Contents

Daily Mail Demographics

According to the brand report from the Audit Bureau of Circulations (ABC), the Daily Mail shifts an average of around 960,000 copies per issue. This is a combination of the print and digital editions.

DMG Media suggest their newspaper can boast an impressive 2 million readers every day and its Saturday edition is the number one selling newspaper in the UK. In terms of demographics, unusually for a national paper, the majority of readers are women.

This data is reinforced by YouGov research which found the newspaper was more popular among women compared to men.

It should be no surprise the Daily Mail publishes content that appeals to the ambitions and frustrations of its target audience.

Psychographics

The Daily Mail claims to be “in touch with the hearts and minds of Middle England” because it engages with the “concerns, hopes and lifestyles of this powerful audience”. Their typical reader has strong spending power and would consider themselves to be “adventurous”.

The original owner, Lord Northcliffe, described the paper’s target audience as “people who liked to think they earned £1,000 a year”. Perhaps he was picturing an employee with an inflated sense of self-importance and position in the world.

In terms of the cross-cultural consumer categorisation, better known as the 4Cs, we might label this audience as succeeders because they “possess self-confidence” with a “core need” for “control”. The Daily Mail also publishes lots of stories on the monarchy, so we can safely assume their audience are traditionalists as defined by the VALS’ UK consumer groups. This group likes “established standards” and wants to “regulate social change” and “ethical codes”. Constraineds would also be appropriate.

The Daily Mail considers itself to be a moral entrepreneur against the evil folk devils, so you should have no trouble finding stories and opinion pieces which express outrage towards some sort of social transgression.

Why do Readers Engage with Newspapers?

Uses and gratifications theories explore the reasons why we deliberately choose to consume particular media texts. The most common motivations are surveillance, personal identity, relationships, and diversion. The Daily Mail satisfies each of these demands.

Surveillance

Surveillance is obvious because readers want to know what is happening in the world and newspapers try to provide the latest information about the most important stories of the day. The Daily Mail also has plenty of celebrity gossip, entertainment news, business reports, and comprehensive sports coverage to gratify our curiosity.

Personal Identity

The weekly sections epitomise the newspaper’s appeal to their readers’ personal identity. For instance, the Inspire supplement aims to make the audience “feel good about themselves” and the Good Health section promises to “help readers of all ages improve their well-being”.

In his summary of identity, David Gauntlett explained how we often use media representations to construct versions of ourselves. By following the inspirational stories and expert advice in these sections, we can improve our mental and physical health, enhance our finances, and keep our style up to date with their “fabulous fashion and beauty ideas”.

It is also worth noting the Daily Mail has a very loyal following who like to identify themselves as “Daily Mail readers”.

Personal Relationships

Many Daily Mail readers enjoy the paper because of the familiarity they feel towards the columnists. There are some big personalities at the paper, such as Peter Hitchens, Amanda Platell and Richard Littlejohn, who are not afraid to voice their (controversial) opinions. Of course, readers can then post their own ideas in the comments section online. The level of engagement is very impressive and demonstrates how the newspaper satisfies our need for relationships.

This category is very similar to the social belonging concept in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs which also explored people’s behaviour and motivation.

Diversion

Consumers like to engage with media texts because they provide a diversion from the stresses and strains of the real world, so it might seem paradoxical for readers to purchase a copy of the Daily Mail to escape everyday life. However, the humble crossword continues to entertain audiences. Think about the incredible success of the web-based game Wordle, which is now owned by the New York Times. Many papers still challenge the reader to complete popular number game, Suduko.

The Daily Mail also includes cartoon strips in the Coffee Break page, such as the infamous Garfield.

Many critics would argue newspapers and their weekly supplements are simply a form of entertainment because they focus on soft news rather than current affairs.

From Soft News to Sensationalism

News stories are often divided into two groups:

1. Hard news refers to stories which have regional, national, or international significance, such politics, economics, current affairs, and international events.
2. Soft news blurs the lines between information and entertainment. They tend to focus on human interest stories, celebrity gossip, lifestyle, sport, and entertainment.

As a middle-market tabloid newspaper, the black-top Daily Mail occupies the space between the broadsheets, which cover hard news, and the sensationalist tabloid press.

According to Curran and Seaton (2009), between 1927 and 1937, the Daily Mail “almost halved” its coverage of “political, social and economic news” in its total output because the publisher knew their readers were more interested in soft news. For example, a report commissioned by the News Chronicle in 1933 revealed “the most-read news in popular daily papers were stories about accidents, crime, divorce and human interest” compared to “categories of public affairs news” which had “only an average or below-average readership rating”.

Soft news sells. Sensationalism sells more.

Lord Northcliffe once pestered his journalists to find “one murder a day” because he understood his readers’ need to be shocked and outraged.

In the chapter entitled Power without Responsibility, Curran suggested newspapers deliberately set out to anger their readers in the early 2000s. The Daily Mail’s moral panic about immigration is a good example of the way the paper positions the audience to opposite a particular policy.

Another strategy was to frighten the reader. In 1998, an unsubstantiated link was made between the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine and the onset of autism. The Daily Mail gave the story prominent coverage because it was “compelling reading”. It also helped cause a rise in measles cases in England and Wales, including a significant jump in 2009, because public confidence in the vaccine had dropped in response to the news reports. Those discredited stories continue to have an impact.

Curran argued newspapers were commercial organisations which were mostly driven by the “imperatives of profit and power”. The increasingly competitive market led to sensationalist reporting and unethical journalism. Clickbait headlines are the inevitable progression of this trend.

Incentives and Promotions

Newspapers have used a variety of promotions, coupons and competitions to increase their circulation. The Daily Mail provided free insurance schemes to attract more readers. For example, in 1927, registered readers were able to claim £20,000 in compensation if their husband or wife was killed in a train accident while travelling.

A legal judgment banned the use of competitions and lotteries in 1928, so newspapers began to use free gifts to shift copies. Consumers were offered cameras, wristwatches, and teakettles for taking out a newspaper subscription.

The Daily Mail continues to use incentives to encourage readers to pick up a copy of the newspaper. The best examples come from the TravelMail section which gives readers the chance to win incredible holidays to exotic locations, but there are always coupons and discounts available for well-known brands.

Decoding the Daily Mail

Stuart Hall imagined three decoding positions. The preferred reading understands and accepts the message being communicated by the producer. This is probably the position taken by a significant number of Daily Mail readers who appreciate its right-wing views on current affairs and weekly sections.

Some readers might take a negotiated stance. When you select a specific edition to analyse, carefully assess the stories and look for moments when you accept the perspectives of the journalists but believe there is a more significant interpretation of the event.

The third decoding position is the oppositional reading where the reader understands the meanings but completely rejects the message. Again, look for examples when you believe the reporters are inappropriately biased and are skewing the story.

The Impact on the Audience

To what extent are the dedicated readers of the Daily Mail influenced by the right-wing politics of the paper? Do they simply accept the hard-line positions taken on Brexit and the UK’s relationship with the European Union?

The cultivation theory suggests our view of the world is shaped by the amount of television we watch, so “heavy users” are more likely to think their neighbourhoods are violent because they are seeing lots of violence on the small screen. George Gerbner called this impact mean world syndrome. Is the Daily Mail’s obsession with immigration distorting the reality of the situation?

It is also worth considering the publisher’s ability to set the agenda through its framing of news stories. The campaign for justice over the murder of Stephen Lawrence was commendable. First raising the issue in 2008, the paper was one of the biggest voices to call for a ban on plastic microbeads and other plastic pollution. Some of its other perspectives are more divisive.

The MailOnline

The MailOnline is a trailblazing global phenomenon, receiving an incredible 24.9m monthly unique visitors and becoming one of the world’s largest English-speaking newspaper websites. Instead of putting their content behind paywalls or implementing a subscription model, such as the i newspaper, the Daily Mail uploaded their content for free and relied on advertising and affiliations for revenue.

For instance, the travel section reports on holiday destinations around the world. However, it is also an effective marketplace because travel companies are able to promote their opportunities to an eager audience. There is also a Discount page where users can save money using the Daily Mail’s voucher codes and a Best Buy section the paper makes a commission each time someone makes a purchase.