How Does Media Language Incorporate Viewpoints and ideologies in these front pages of The Sun and the Daily Mail

Guardian and Daily Mail Front Cover Comparison

Assessment 1B-News

Assessment 1B-News

Identify a strength or strengths in your assessment?
I feel I have given a lot of detail in Q1 and 2 by analysing the front covers (font, writing, pictures) and I have given varied analysis by making lots of different points.

What are the areas you need to improve?
I need to improve Q1 and 2 by including theorists to help display my points. I can improve Q3 by referring to the screencasting task and mention morning/afternoon news and how it changes- gives you updated news). For Q4 I needed to understand either theorists in order to answer the question in detail. I also needed to use my time efficiently in my other questions because I ran out of time in Q4.

What do you need to focus on for your next assessment?
For the next assessment I need to know my theorists better so I can confidently refer to them.

A-level Marksheet

AO1: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media and contexts of media and their influence

AO2 Apply knowledge and understanding of the theoretical framework of media to:

Analyse media products/Evaluate academic theories/ Make judgements and draw conclusions

Level 3	·         A comprehensive response to the set question ·         Comprehensive and accurate knowledge and understanding ·         Convincing, perceptive and accurate analysis ·         Convincing, perceptive and accurate evaluation ·         Highly developed and accomplished judgements and conclusions The response demonstrates a highly developed and detailed line of reasoning which is coherent and logically structured. The information presented is entirely relevant and substantiated.
Level 2	·         An adequate response to the set question ·         Adequate and generally accurate knowledge and understanding ·         Adequate and generally successful analysis ·         Adequate and generally successful evaluation ·         Adequate and generally well-reasoned judgements and conclusions The response demonstrates a line of reasoning with some structure. The information presented is in the most part relevant and supported by some evidence.
Level 1	·         A minimal response to the set question ·         Minimal application of knowledge and understanding ·         Analysis is minimal and/or largely descriptive and may not be relevant ·         Evaluation is minimal or brief, and is likely to be largely descriptive ·         Judgements and conclusions, if present, are minimal with limited support ·           Information presented is basic and may be ambiguous or unstructured. The information is supported by limited evidence.

Assessment 1B News from Great Baddow High School Media

Evaluation for Daily Mail News Cover



Evaluation for Daily Mail Front Cover Task

1) What was the task you were given and who was the target audience?
The task was for us to write and formulate a newspaper article for the breaking story we were introduced to in a press conference. The news article was that the engagement between Megan Markle and Prince Harry was off because Harry found out that Megan was having an affair with a man called Brett Carpenter. The target audience was anyone who would read the Daily Mail and their social demographic is B,C1,C2 and people who support the Conservatives.

2) What research did you undertake and what did you find were some of the typical conventions of a Daily Mail front cover- layout, types of stories, fonts etc.
To research for this task, I looked at other Daily Mail newspaper covers for the December month, this helped me determine what type of advert I should create or use as a guide. I decided to use an advert from a December newspaper which was an offer on wine which I thought was festive and appropriate. To decide what layout I should use, I looked at a range of Daily Mail front covers to see the way in which they present their news. Daily Mail news seem to present their news by using around 2-3 articles per cover. One of the articles seems to have a picture alongside it on the right side of the page; this article is usually celebrity gossip news (soft news), the main headline doesn't normally have a picture with it and is normally news on health, politics or any other hard news.

3) Which Daily Mail cover did you use as your main source? What are your observations from this source?            
I used this newspaper cover as my main source for the advert because the offer is Christmas related and as the newspaper is issued in December I thought it would be appropriate to have a Christmas theme. I also thought this layout of advert would be reasonably easy to fit on the page and assemble myself.
                                           I used this as my second main source because I like the layout it displays. I like the way the article on the right side of the page focusses on celebrity/soft news and on the left side it highlights big/hard news issues (politics, health etc.) as it breaks up the newspaper for the readers. It is also an easy layout to understand because you can easily tell the mini article on the bottom of the page is linked to the main headline and the picture correlates with the mini headline positioned underneath.

4) What areas did you find most challenging?
I feel the most difficult part of this task was making sure the front cover was as accurate as the real thing. It was challenging getting the writing font/size to fit the page and fill out the cover because newspapers don't often have much blank space on the cover. One of the trickiest factors of this task was matching the font with the real Daily Mail fonts, it was a long case of trial and error. Another difficult part to this was writing an article which linked to the main headline and had relevance to todays news.

5) What was your initial feedback?  What did others say about the production? How successful do you think it is?
People have said the positioning of all the components to the newspaper are accurate and realistic. I feel the most successful part to my newspaper cover is the advert/offer section, I feel I managed to match the writing font and size to the original newspaper. I feel I have also stuck to the layout that Daily Mail actually use which makes it quite accurate. I think I have managed to associate this December newspaper with Christmas by using the advert I have because alcohol is a big part of some peoples Christmas holiday.


6) Identify what went well and with hindsight what you do to improve/do it differently?
I feel the advert/offer went well because the writing font and colour matched to the source I was using making it look accurate and real. I also feel I chose a good picture because it shows that Megan is the one being presented badly and making Prince Harry shine and make everyone feel sorry for him (as the Daily Mail adore the royals). I also feel the headline for the Megan Markle story was appropriate for the Daily Mail because it captures Megan appear like the villain in this situation, which she is because she had an affair with a man named Brett Carpenter. To improve I feel like need to change the colour of the gradient on the advert banner because it doesn't quite match the source I used. I also feel like I could have improved my newspaper by filling up the blank space a bit more by making the writing font bigger or use more words. Overall I feel I need to change a lot of the fonts to make the paper look like a real Daily Mail front cover. Another part I could improve is the article itself, I feel the article has too many points about immigration, I think it should focus on 2 or 3 points linking to the main headline instead.

7) In the exam you will be analysing newspaper front covers. In producing this cover, are there any areas that you hadn't  noticed before? What have you learnt from completing this task?
I have never really focussed so much on an advert so much before, and I hadn't really noticed that the adverts link with the month or a particular time of year. I hadn't noticed that there are so many different variations of layouts for the Daily Mail. From this task, I have learnt that it is very difficult to position everything on a newspaper correctly to make it look realistic.

Planning for Daily Mail newspaper cover

Plan for 'Engagement off because harry found out about the affair between Brett and Megan'

Article: engagement break off

Who- Megan Markel, Brett Carpenter, Indianna Savhannah, Prince Harry

What- Megan was instigating an affair with Brett whilst harry found out about it from text messages. Friend of Megan, Indianna, provides information and background of Brett Carpenter. 

Where- Affair happened somewhere in LA.

When- Indiana told us the news on 4th December after midnight.

How- Megan was having an affair with Brett Carpenter.

Why- Indianna says that Megan was only engaged with Prince Harry for publicity, now she's got that she has broken it off.

Brett Carpenter:

- 32

- "Nice guy"

- "outgoing"

- Didn't know about the engagement

- Met Megan on a set in New York in 2005

Indianna Savhannah:

- Known Megan since 2005
- Feels "Megan has behaved appallingly"


This is a Daily Mail news cover for a December edition. 

This newspaper cover shows me the type of layout need to follow to produce a cover which will look very similar to a real one. 

Representations on Front Pages

1.Who is being represented in this image?

 British, male, black, poor, teenagers are being represented in this cover.

2.Are you being given the stereotypical or countertypical image of the person/group? Describe the representation.

In this cover, it stereotypically shows a thug/chav, the baggy tracksuit with a mask covering his face and black gloves on. As his face is covered, it is quite threatening and scary because we cannot see what he looks like, the unknown scares people.

3.HOW is this representation being constructed by the media language? – consider camera angles, choice of images, colours, size, mise en scene, etc.

With the fire and explosion in the background, the image carries the connotation of a villainous character in a blockbuster film, appearing in front of the damage he has just caused. The long shot used gives the reader a view of the whole length of his body, the distance emphasises the public's fear for these youths; even the camera person won't get too close. The camera angle also does not show his face, suggesting that it is too frightening to see.  the liquid on the tarmac has a reflection of the roaring fire behind and it takes on the colour red from it, this makes the liquid appear red, making it look like blood. This shows a prediction of what these youths are capable of.

4.How is the representation being constructed by the text? – consider word choices, size of text, tone, etc.

A large font is used to write 'ANARCHY' representing a massive lack of authority suggesting that the young teenagers are roaming wild and unpredictable. They say 'Riots spread' the verb 'spread' carries the connotation of a disease wiping out a place, making the reader think of the capabilities of these youngsters. The newspaper has written 'jets back' but this also sounds like jet black, it gives the reader a subtle hint that these youths are of black ethnicities. The sub-heading used says 'mindless violence', this portrays the young people committing these crimes as idiots and they don't even give a reason as to why they are rioting therefore the readers have no chance to sympathise or understand them.

5.Does this representation fit with the institutional codes and conventions? Explain your answer. – think about institution, audience, tabloid/broadsheet, etc.

This newspaper cover completely fits in with the tabloid newspaper because they use a very large picture covering the page and lacking in writing from intros to articles etc. The Sun also use a large typeface which is a typical convention for tabloids. This newspaper cover also use lots of offers at the top which is typical for tabloids.


Immigrants 

1.Who is being represented in this image?

Immigrants are being represented in this image. Along with immigrants is the prime minister, David Cameron, he is being represented as the hero, flying in from another country.

2.Are you being given the stereotypical or countertypical image of the person/group? Describe the representation.

This image does not really show immigrants specifically but they are represented as a problem and a nuisance. Immigrants are stereotypically represented as a problem because they are allegedly taking all our jobs, housing etc.


3.HOW is this representation being constructed by the media language? – consider camera angles, choice of images, colours, size, mise en scene, etc.

The use of the red line represents slashing and violence, the colour red also carries the connotation of blood which suggests threatening consequences if the immigration problem increases.

4.How is the representation being constructed by the text? – consider word choices, size of text, tone, etc.

The use of the phrase 'or else!' is very threatening, making readers feel worried for the effect on migrants. It almost sounds like a teacher telling off a student for acting childishly. The word immigration has been put in a different font (black) to make it stand out from the crowd.

5.Does this representation fit with the institutional codes and conventions? Explain your answer. – think about institution, audience, tabloid/broadsheet, etc.

The Sun along with many other tabloid newspapers is very biased, they do not have a neutral headline talking about immigrants, they clearly do not want any immigrants.This very opinionated attitude either brings in a readership who feel the same way or put of many people who disagree greatly.

Disability


1.Who is being represented in this image?

Disabled people are being represented in this image, primarily people with mental health illness.

2. Are you being given the stereotypical or counter typical image of the person/group? Describe the representation.

The Sun are representing 'mental patients' as lethal killers. They are being stereotypical because mental people are usually associated with being murderous characters in horror films, this article strengthens this stereotypical view; feeding false information into readers.

3. HOW is this representation being constructed by the media language? - consider camera angles, choice of images, colour, size, wise en scene, etc.

This headline emphasises this representation of killer mental patients because they have written the statistic '1200' in large typeface, bold and red writing. The colour red suggests blood and gore, allowing the reader to have an imagination and think of the graphic details of the killing.

4. Does this representation fit with the institutional codes and conventions? Explain your answer.- think about institution, audience, tabloid/broadsheet, etc.

The Sun's readers are usually people who want to read shocking and dramatic stories, this headline correlates with this because they have used a staggering statistics to make the article very dramatic and therefore making people buy the newspaper to read the article.





1. Who is being represented in this image?

Theresa May seems to be represented in this image and her political party: Conservative.

2. Are you being given the stereotypical or counter typical image of the person/group? Describe the representation.

3.   HOW is this representation being constructed by the media language? - consider camera angles, choice of images, colour, size, wise en scene, etc.

The choice of image of Theresa May is very unflattering due to the camera angle which is very low, it shows the undesirable part of herself, not usually a picture used to show off someone. This clearly shows the Daily Mirror's views because they are very left wing, unlike May who is conservative which is right-wing. 

4. How is the representation being constructed by the text? – consider word choices, size of text, tone, etc.

The use of the text is very sarcastic because obviously you cannot have a new prime minister for a Christmas present, therefore they say something impossible to highlight Theresa May's unlikeable ways. The newspaper has even said 'Oust May' which suggests that is what the Daily Mirror's opinions are. Thee biased views will be read by their audience and this will act like the hypodermic needle theory; it will feed opinions to the readers.

5. Does this representation fit with the institutional codes and conventions? Explain your answer. – think about institution, audience, tabloid/broadsheet, etc.

The Daily Mirror is a tabloid newspaper, we can tell this from the front cover because they have lots of pictures and biased views. They also have celebrity gossip which is classed as a soft news and is a typical convention of tabloid newspapers.

Newspaper Historical Context

Licensing Act of 1662	The long title is “An Act for preventing the frequent Abuses in printing seditious treasonable and unlicensed Books and Pamphlets and for regulating of Printing and Printing Presses”
Tax on newspaper 1711	This occurred due to the increasing popularity and influence of newspapers because it was problematic for the government. This was a halfpenny on papers of half a sheet or less and a penny on newspapers that ranged from a half a sheet to a single sheet in size.
The Observer	This is a British newspaper only published on Sundays. It was first published in 1791 and it is the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper.
Reduction of the stamp tax in 1836	This was first imposed in 1712 for British newspapers The tax gradually increased until 1836 when the 4d tax on newspapers was reduced to 1d.
‘Golden age’ of newspaper publication	79 years ago, the newspaper industry was a very competitive business, the leading newspaper would do very well, numbers 2 and 3 would do okay and every other newspaper suffered. By the time we got to the sixties, newspapers no longer had 2 or 3 sections, they had gardening sections, food sections, life-style sections etc. and ad sales really came through; the industry was plummeting. Now the dilemma for newspapers is being able to sell the most paper copies and having a large readership, newspapers are turning to online news now as that is the way the society is progressing.
Profits from advertising	Adverts are the only thing that pay for newspapers to be distributed. The Times profits near £11 million etc.
The press Council	This was a voluntary press organisation which was founded by General Council in 1953 with a non-binding regulatory framework. This was funded by newspaper proprietors. The aim was maintaining high standards of ethics in journalism.
The Independent	This is a British online newspaper. The last printed newspaper was published on Saturday 20 March 2016. Currently, the newspaper is online due to lack of circulation.
Phone Hacking Scandal	The phone hacking scandal was that there were allegations that News of the World editor and other world news journalists were involved in hacking people’s phones leading to the closure of the 168 year old News of the World tabloid in 2011.
Decline in the newspaper circulation

News- Language Perspectives

Different Perspectives

What do you notice about the difference in content and how the articles convey this information? Why do you think that is?

The Daily Mirror's journalisms seems to be much more invasive as it names the twin siblings which is unnecessary information. The Daily Mirror also state that the father might not be the real father and that he has 'mental problems'→this provides us with more information relating to the article.  The fact that this newspaper mentions 'mental problems' suggests they feel comfortable to blame this tragic incident on mental health. 

You can see from the choice of pictures that the Daily Mirror are interfering at a higher level than the Times because they use a close up picture of both the twin children which is very personal. They have also decided to choose a picture of the parents which again adds more detail.

In the Times, they never state that the father used a hammer and they don't really provide a background of the family suggesting that they don't want to intrude on the family who have just lost their child, this shows that the Times seem to be more considerate and compassionate. Instead of questioning the immediate family, the journalists seem to ask the neighbours of the family to find out what happened as witnesses.    

The choice of pictures in this newspaper are a lot more understated and less intrusive, they choose to use the picture of the street where it happened rather than the actual house and don't show a picture of the sister who didn't get killed to keep her life more private. 

      ←Daily Mirror

        The Times→

	THE TIMES	DAILY MIRROR
Who was involved?	A one-year old boy and his twin sister along with both parents and witnesses of the accident	Twin brother and sister- Gabriel and Maria and parents Cristinela and Bidhya Das
What happened?	Twin boy dies and his twin sister is critically injured by Bidhya Sagar Das (father)	The young boy was killed in a hammer attack, committed by his father.
Where did it happen?	Finsbury Park, North London	In the twins home, in the back of the property in Hackney, North London. The building is supposed to be owned by the ‘Pembury Hotel’
When did it happen?	11:10pm, Saturday night on 18th march 2017	At 11:10pm on Saturday, 18th March, 2017
How did it happen?	The dad attacked his twin toddlers	Father attacked his two children with a hammer
Why did it happen?		Father allegedly has ‘mental problems’ and the twins might not actually have been his children

News- How can you spot bias in a newspaper?

1. Bias through choice of photos (size), captions and camera angles- does the person look empowered? Weak? Foolish?


The picture of Jeremy Corbyn is comedic and humiliating, which presents him as someone who is irresponsible and silly. This is biased because it is clearly showing that The Sun are anti-labour, this could make readers feel the same.

2. Bias through placement- is it on the front page or hidden on page 15? How long/ thorough is the article?


This article was found 14 articles down the Daily Mail online website, as this is positioned so0 low down, it shows us that the Daily Mail don't believe this is major news, it is basically brushed aside.

                       

3. Bias through word choice and tone (is it sympathetic or critical?)


This is biased because immigrants are being linked with the word 'invasion'. This headline makes immigrants sound like enemies who are invading somewhere they shouldn't be. This injects a view onto the audience of the Daily Express (Hypodermic needle theory).

4. Bias through headlines- what is the headline/ article, and how is the article pitched through the headline?

This is biased because The Sun is quite clearly pro-brexit as they have been quite humiliating to the people who are anti-brexit by being comedic and sarcastic in the way they present their views.

5. Bias through source control- who have they interviewed/ asked for information?

Instead of the newspaper interviewing the woman whom the 'time for botox' article was about, they could have chosen to interview the BBC instead to portray a different perspective.

6. Bias through use of names and titles- nicknames, respectful terms, etc.

This is very biased because they have called Theresa May many alternative names in a negative fashion, which shows they are against her and her party. The newspaper are letting their opinion and views get in the way of the news story.









7. Bias through selection or omission- which articles are included and left out?

Newspapers will not include an article if it is a bit to close to home with their company, for example, the Paradise Papers was a big story which should have been a rolling story for most newspapers, however, some chose not to include it because the owners of their newspaper companies were doing the same thing as the celebrities.














8. Bias through statistics and crowd counts- how statistics are manipulated to make a point. eg. 20% of students failed exams OR 80% of students passed their exams.


This newspaper is biased because they are making out that mental patients are terrifying people that should be steered clear of. They could have been portrayed more positively if they hadn't have said the figure.

Newspaper Terminology

Masthead	Title of the newspaper displayed on the front page.
Barcode	Used to scan the newspaper when purchasing. It is an optical, machine-readable, representation of data and contains information such as price.
Caption	Brief text underneath an image describing the photograph or graphic.
Headline	A phrase that summarises the main point of the article. Usually in large print and a different style to catch the attention of the reader.
Main Image	Dominant picture, often filling much of the front cover.
Page Numbers	A system of organisation within the magazine. Helps you find what you want to read.
Centre Spread	A photograph, often in full colour, that runs across the middle two pages.
Lead Story	Main story, usually a splash.
Gutter	The blank space between margins of facing pages of a publication or the blank space between columns of text.
Folio	Top label for the whole page. Can relate to the area covered in the newspaper for example, National or a big news topic such as social media, Syria.
Page Furniture	Everything on a page except pictures or text of stories.
Target Audience	People who the newspaper aims to sell to.
Pull Quote	Something taken from within an article, usually said by the person in the main image.
Classified Ad	An advertisement that uses only text, as opposed to a display ad, which also incorporates graphics.
Skyline	An information panel on the front page that tells the reader about other stories to tempt them inside.
Edition	Some newspapers print several of these every night, these are versions with some changes and maybe additional late stories.
Stand First	Block of text that introduces the story, normally in a different style to the body text and the headline.
Byline	The line above the story, which gives the author’s name and sometimes their job and location.
Body Text	Also known as copy. Written material that makes up the main part of an article.
Standalone	Picture story that can exist on its own or on a front page leading to a story inside.