The Guardian is a left-leaning broadsheet which has presented Theresa May's defeat in a negative way. The main image shows multiple MPs heading towards the 'no' door to vote against her, including Boris Johnson. This combined with the anchorage 'Tories turn against her' show that the party aren't confident in their leader, which can make the public feel uneasy as well. There is a graphic showing the voting results, which highlights the majority 'no' votes in red, which not only draws attention but can also connote ideas about defeat or anger. It uses an image of screaming with 'primal scream' which creates idea of a nightmare, with ideas about loss of control, anger or anguish.
The 3 subheadings include terms such as 'unprecedented loss' and 'times up' which contribute to the idea that we are in a disaster and therefore dramatises the event.
In the text, Jeremy Corbyn is quoted to have criticised May's 'denial and delay', which implies she has not done her job correctly and therefore deserves this defeat. There are slight ideas about revolution when all of these elements are combined, showing that the Guardian has a bias against the current PM and her Brexit deal. The use of 'historic defeat' highlights that it is massive and likely will be talked about in history books in the future due to the dramatic impact it will have.
The Daily Mail are a right-wing tabloid, therefore they have presented more support for Theresa May. In the main image there is an indirect mode of address which can relate to her being unable to face the results or her government, which implies they have betrayed her and as a result could be called a victim of the situation, as opposed to the perpetrator. There are semantics of war, with use of 'bombshell', 'fighting' and 'battling', which emphasise the difficulty of what May is dealing with and therefore can generate some sympathy. The main image links to the headline 'fighting for her life' as she seems defeated and upset, almost as if she has been battered by the rest of the government. It seems to refer to her career as she needs to propose a good deal in order to remain in her position.
Daily Mail describe how 'more than a third of conservative MPs rebelled', which displays those who voted against her as traitors. The use of rebellion makes it appear like the MP is trying her best but being let down, which can direct the anger and frustration of the public away from May.
Online News - The Guardian
The Guardian provides opportunities to contribute or subscribe in order to fund their business, as well as ads on the online site. They need to generate more money due to being a broadsheet, therefore they have many options available.
The 'most viewed' tab on the side of the article is good as it allows the most popular articles to be recommended to other readers, which will most likely intrigue them and therefore generate more money if they interact with the ads or subscribe to read.
The results are emphasised as a large image which makes Theresa May appear like a failure as she has been defeated. Britain remaining in a 'deadlock' has negative connotations and can make readers lose faith in their leader.
These popular stories all show an element of distaste for May. 'thrown under a boris bus' has a mocking tone. It also creates the idea that May is the one who will be throwing Britain under a bus. The red font draws attention to this and can hold connotations of anger. 'Brexiter hosts champagne party after May defeat' shows how others have lost faith in the PM.
Options to support the guardian are relevant as it shows that they are earning money through subscriptions.
'obsession, vanity or grit' are all negative traits. Associating this with a PM can make public feel uneasy about her. The image is large and unflattering which can create further negative associations.
In the following screenshots of the text, there are emboldened orange terms which draws attention to certain aspects such as 'the most crushing defeat on record'. There are a few advertisements throughout which demonstrates how the online news still attempt to make money from providing some artices for free.
This image shows May heading to House of Commons where the vote will take place. The image seems dark and gloomy which can imply they believe she will lose the vote.
THE DAILY MAIL online
There is a high density of images on the online version of Daily Mail, and a video, which when scrolled past will go to the corner so that the reader can still watch while scrolling through the article.
Examples -
Title implies that MPs against Theresa May are selfish 'self-interest' and also uses 'wrecker Corbyn' which presents him negatively. They also use 'surviving' the no confidence vote which again matches the print article which used semantic field of War to present her in a way that will generate sympathy or even strength.
The photo of Theresa May has direct address while the one of Corbyn does not, which implies that she has a better connection to the public or power than he does, making her appear like a good figure.
The use of the word 'challenge' makes it appear that she is trying and fighting for a cause.
The blue text linking to other articles reads 'he has sat down with terrorists... but not the PM' and includes 'fury', highlighting the fact that the writer is on May's side.
Comparing images of Corbyn and Theresa May, he is negative while she seems confident
'Fury' is used again about Corbyn which shows there is consistent support for May in both online and print news.
There is an ad which shows that online news make their money from displaying these, and may also have subscriptions too.
There is the option to watch a video which is much more interactive and is suitable for young people who may prefer video news than reading. Arguably, it also makes the content suitable for disabled audiences including those who are blind and not able to read the print.
Corbyn is not displayed in a complimentary way which further demonstrates the right-wing stance of the online news.
'survived'
'Labour leader' - not even named
'appealed for consensus' has positive connotations
SOCIAL MEDIA
influence of social media - Obama has 100m followers and Trump has 57m
Theresa May roughly 800,000
Jeremy Corbyn 1.5m followers
Examples
The cover image of the Facebook page (used across other social medias) can be significant as it appears similar to a television news when they edit and show clips of what is coming up. This link between social media and tv news can allow people to feel slightly more trust in the facebook content.
Certain extreme opinions can be expressed on social media as there is no filter besides community guidelines that only ban dangerous or threatening content.
Exposure to people's opinions can sometimes be beneficial for the article as they can see what people feel and perhaps cater content towards them, or accept feedback.
Some news companies write articles based on social media responses to events which has an extra benefit as they have content to write about, allowing more readers and ads.
People are able to interact with the news and share their own opinions with much more than before social media. Lots of people like to have debates or express their view therefore this is beneficial for maintaining people's interest in the news.
People are able to post their opinions and then discuss this with others who disagree in the comments. It helps to make people more aware about the world when news appears on social media, typically used for entertainment or socialisation.
People are able to share links of news on social media which generates more publicity.
The Guardian have a fair amount of followers which shows that online social media presence is important for contemporary news.
Instagram has a lower presence due to high density of young people, therefore it can be dumbed down possibly. Daily Mail does not mention brexit on its instagram unlike the guardian.
Here people are responding on social media to a Daily Mail headline, allowing people to express their views. Arguably this can take some power away from the media as people don't have to passively accept news.
Many articles from online and print are shared on social media which generates a larger audience due to media convergence.
The Guardian 'live' is a great feature as it can intrigue people who want to know exactly what is going on, which can't be easily provided in print news.
Key terms --
Denotation - what can be seen - the literal
Connotation - what can be inferred - associations
Sign - consists of a signifier
Anchorage - how text relates to image
Semiotics - the study of signs
Typeface - types of font
Masthead - title of a printed publication, an editorial
Skyline - a line of text above the masthead promoting the newspaper
Informal language register - used in informal situations to communicate the relationship between the participants, may use simple sentences and slang
Formal language register - used in formal situations to communicate information, may include complex sentences and vocabulary
Using case study papers
The word 'Mail' uses a heavy gothic font in the masthead in the print edition. This connotes tradition, craft, reliability and other virtues from its associations with medieval calligraphy.
Daily Mail includes softer news such as Meghan Markle.
There is some less formal register with use of 'wrecker Corbyn'
There is a close example of white on red, as there is yellow on red about Meghan Markle which can also stand out. The page is dominated by a large headline (bold, capitalised)
Title may be dumbed down for a w/c reader
The Guardian only features the 'Brexit deadlock' which is harder news, due to it being politics. Though Daily Mail also uses politics, it does not solely focus on it. The Guardian does have 2 headlines at the top which do not include hard news however it is directing people to a different section of the paper, helping navigation. However 'the diet that could save us all' actually links to global warming and therefore can arguably be aimed at a middle class or more educated readers. There is use of conventional 'black on white' and only capitalised as it would be in a sentence. The news doesn't seem entertaining and is rather information. The Guardian has become more compact in recent years therefore the pages are less dominated by 'copy'.
The Daily Mail shows a photo of Meghan Markle wearing a sparkly dress and holding her pregnancy bump with caption 'Radiant: Meghan cradles her baby bump last night'. Use of words such as 'sparkles' and 'cradles' and 'radiant' create a positive connotation and therefore show it is positive news. This anchorage relates to the yellow typeface which not only helps it to stand out, but also demonstrates positivity through colour psychology. These words are also gender-specific which could relate to Van Zoonen's theory that patriarchal society demands women to appear a certain way.
The main headline 'wrecker Corbyn slams door on Theresa' creates connotations of Corbyn being rude. There is fairly informal register which may be because it is aimed at working class readers and therefore doesn't use complicated sentences. This represents Corbyn has a bad politician, perhaps even corrupt, as he will not cooperate.
The first paragraph is in bold and portrays Jeremy Corbyn in a negative way: 'last night accused of playing politics after he rejected talks to break the Brexit deadlock'. Daily Mail can arguably support ideas about nationalism and ethnocentrism through its support of Brexit and May.
The Guardian is dominated by hard news brexit unlike the Daily Mail. The Guardian dedicates its front page and the following 8 pages to hard news (specifically Brexit) whereas the Daily Mail has interrupting soft news and less detail about the event. The main image of Theresa May shows her laughing and hunched during the debate which could perhaps represent her in a way that prevents readers from taking her seriously. A red puff is used to show Emmanuel Macron with a stern expression, under headline with 'France and Germany warm to idea of delay'.
The Guardian represent the vote results 'yes: 306' in red due to the greatly high amount that wanted another general election, with majority only being 19. This has connotations of danger as Britain has a PM with very little support.
Theory ---
James Curran and Jean Seaton
Newspapers should reflect the interests of an audience otherwise they will go out business. They should be liberal and anyone should be able to make one. However, this does not happen in practice and the press can be used as a propaganda tool to influence the audience.
28.1.19
THE DAILY MAIL
looks fairly glamorous and happy - conforms to gender expectations. feminine: dress and make up. Western cultural norms are followed, showing arms which may not always be accepted in other countries. Patriarchy. Not referred to as her own name.
In terms of title, idologies that can be applied include consumerism, internationalism, collectivism, democracy. Country working together to clean up the country which makes them appear better. Positive representation of PM.
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| element of clickbait. ideologies about feminism and equality as Emily is winning an award for her talent. 'actor' rather than 'actress' connotes equality. However writers of Daily Mail still refer to her as an actress. Her husband shows emotion and support. |
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| multi culturalism - black panther cast, Danai Gurira and Simon Webbs. Articles about ethnic minority celebrities. |
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| (Harry Tattoo) Individualism - emphasises the individual |
combination of politics and celebrity gossip news
people reacting to the article believing it is fake or not proven
'migrants cheat death when cargo ship changes course at the last moment and avoids crushing their tiny boat as they head towards spain' could be argued as anti immigration
related to the online news article
all soft news
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bell hooks could be applied as this woman is talking about how she has been oppressed. Her photos were whitened which is a form of discrimination. (lighter skin women considered to be more desirable)
Venezuela article links to internationalism.
Broadsheet is able to discuss international issues. Democracy, internationalism. |
serious topics and some audience engagement/sharing 
poeple are able to share their input about the news stories
not all soft news like daily mail, features stories about no water and United Arab Emirates
Woman of colour in a position of power and being rewarded - positive representation
LINK TO CURRAN AND SEATON - OWNERSHIP
The Mail
The newspaper has historically had an association with the
right wing, including associations and support of far right organisations (BLACK
SHIRTS) during the 1930’s where Lord Rothermere the then owner was described as
a friend of Hitler and Mussolini and far right organization the “ Black shirts”
lead by Oswald Mosely.
Elites. The Daily Mail, News
International (Sun, Times), Reach plc (Daily Express, Daily Mirror) and the
Daily Telegraph account for the majority of newspaper readership with approx.
4.9 million readers in 2018 most of these newspapers groups offers right wing
views and are owned by elites (Murdoch, (News International), Barlclay Brothers
(Telegraph) Harmsworth, 4th Viscount Rothermere (Mail).
The Guardian
allows for more editorial freedom although it has
strong historical linkes with the labour party its liberal views enable
columnists and journalists more freedom
Newspaper groups - National daily titles owned - daily circulation in millions
News International - Sun, the Times - 1.9
Daily Mail and General Trust - Daily Mail - 1.3
Reach plc - Daily Express, Daily Star, Daily Mirror - 1.3
Telegraph group - Daily Telegraph - 0.37
Johnston Press - i - 0.24
Nikkei - Financial times - 0.18
Guardian Media Group - The Guardian - 0.13
The Influence of newspapers on Brexit (Curran and Seaton)
The larger percentage of right wing news (roughly 70% of newspapers are right wing) could be argued as a contribution to the 'leave' vote winning. Newspapers aren't objective therefore the viewpoint of the owner is clearly demonstrated.
For example -- the Sun newspaper can relate to Gilroy's theory of imperialism.
The Guardian enshrines the independence of the newspaper in its ownsership model. The Scott Trust was set up in the 1930s to protect the editorial independence of the Guardian and to safeguard journalistic freedom and the newspapers liberal values. Staff on the paper are given freedom and the newspapers liberal values.
Categories - General social class - Proportion of UK Population
A, B, C1 - Middle class - 54%
C2, D, E - Working class - 46%
Print audience - Daily Mail - Guardian
Circulation - 1.3 million - 0.15 million
Readership - 2.9 million - 0.9 million
% Men - 48 - 51
% Women - 52 - 49
% 15-34 - 10 - 27
% 35-54 - 15 - 30
% 55+ - 75 - 41
% AB adults - 27 - 62
% C1C2 adults - 56 - 31
% DE - 17 - 7
% London - 26 - 40
% Midlands - 19 - 17
% South and South East - 15 - 12
% North West - 12 - 11
General trends. Daily Mail is overall more popular, and has slightly more women (52) than men readers (48) . The great majority are 55+ and in the c1 or c2 working class category (56). It is fairly spread out but there is a majority in London (26)
The Guardian has slightly more men (51) then women readers (49). The majority are AB adults so middle class (62). There are a greater amount in London (40)
The Daily Mail is suitable for its female audience in some ways, particularly as it has specific pages for females if they don't want to read news that men would be interested in.
