AS Media Studies

Historical Context  From the 1970s onwards, the UK newspaper market has been divided into three distinct sectors.  At the ‘top’ – the broadsheets (large pages and long stories, balance between text and images)  In the middle – the mid market tabloids (small pages, short stories, more images)  At the ‘bottom’, the red top tabloids

Tabloid v Broadsheet  Assumption that ‘tabloid’ implies frivolous and dumbed down stories.  Broadsheets imply serious, intelligent, upmarket stories, aimed at a higher class of reader.  Tabloid newspapers are sometimes pejoratively called the gutter press.  Recently, broadsheet papers (The Guardian, The Times, The Independent) have started to launch tabloid editions – sales have improved.

Broadsheet Tabloid Or Compact? Berliner The Sunday Times The Sun The Independent The Guardian

Free Newspapers  Another significant aspect of newspaper distribution is the growing impact of free newspapers.  ‘Freesheets’ carry very little editorial content and lots of display/classified advertising.  The first national free UK newspaper was ‘The Metro’ from Associated Newspapers, launched in  Freesheets are often used to wrap direct sales leaflets or ‘inserts’ – so called ‘junk mail’.

Key Terms – Newspaper layout MASTHEAD STRAPLINE HEADLINE LEAD CAPTION BYLINE

Tabloid v Broadsheet Front page  Ratio of images to words, size of headlines, number of stories  Style/tone – sensationalist and exaggerated with alliteration/puns or serious and measured.  Language – easy to understand/short paragraphs or complex language/long paragraphs? Whole paper  How much content is about sport and which sports are featured?  How much content is about celebrities?  How much of the paper consists of advertising material?  How much of the paper is about international news?

The Mirror  Founded in 1903  Institution is Trinity Mirror.  A red top paper with black top pretensions.  Circulation in 2010 is at 1,213,323 copies daily.  Constant battle for supremacy with The Sun.  Political allegiance is the Labour party.  Was heavily opposed to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Previous editor is Piers Morgan.  He was sacked after printing hoax photos of British soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners.

The Daily Mirror  Complete the key concepts diagram for your Mirror front page.  Comment on genre, narrative, representation, ideology, institution, audience and anything significant about the layout.

The SUN  Launched in 1964  Primary content is entertainment – mostly show- biz gossip, sport and sensational scandals.  Eschews political correctness – page 3.  Institution is News International – owned by Rupert Murdoch.  The UK’s biggest selling national daily  Circulation approximately 3 million copies a day.

The Sun  Complete a content analysis of The Sun – what is included in the paper?  Analyse the front page according to the key concepts.

The Guardian  A left wing broadsheet  Aimed at a liberal, middleclass readership.  Institution is the Guardian Media Group.  Founded in  It is unique among major British daily newspapers in being owned by a foundation (the Scott Trust.  At the 2010 election it supported the Liberal Democrats.  The Guardian had a certified average daily circulation of 283,063 copies in March 2010  Its website is one of the most popular news websites.

The Times  Launched in  Institution is Times Newspapers Limited – a subsidiary of News International.  Switched from broadsheet to tabloid in 2004 in an attempt to appeal to younger readers and commuters.  Seen as a serious publication with high standards of journalism.  Sister paper is The Sunday TImes