Key Assessment 2: Newspapers

Compare how these pages from The Sun and The Times constructs versions of reality. [30 marks]

In your answer you must:

• consider the choices media producers make when constructing versions of reality
• consider similarities and differences in the representations
• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the representations relate to relevant media contexts

The Times is a predominantly right wing broadsheet newspaper which targets middle class business men (ABC1 demographic). The Times newspaper edition released on the 1^st February 2022 focuses on an edition of PM Boris Johnson with the headline “Police investigate PM’s four lockdown parties”. The editors of the Times newspaper construct our reality by influencing our views of the conservative party and the government, making us heavily dislike the government through their use of language. An example of this is the emphasis of the number ‘four’ which shows to the audience that this was as a fully intentional action, and not only did the prime minister throw one party, but he threw four. Further, the use of the ‘police’ in the headline emphasise the severity of these actions and make the government seem criminal and the readers are instantly influenced to gain a strong dislike of the conservative party. Many members of the public and the conservative party were disgusted by the actions of the Prime Minister and having the newspaper reflect their ideologies makes them feel seen and recognised and be able to personally relate (Personal Relationships) with the editors and what they believe to be the rest of the public, as stated by Blumerz and Katz Uses and Gratifications Theory.

The Sun is also a right-wing newspaper however it is a tabloid and targets a working-class male audience in the C2DE demographic. The Sun uses the headline “Bojo: I’ll be back!” besides a picture of Boris Johnson looking surprised. The Sun creates an almost jokey ideology for the reader through the informality of the text (such as use of nicknames) which leaves them in disbelief. For example, the use of nicknames such as “Bojo and Ron” and using the first name of MP Rishi Sunak highlights the jokey ideology of the newspapers and is a prime example of how The Sun targets a lower-class audience with a lower reading age. The Sun has a reading age of 7 years old and this heavily reflected through the use of language seen on the front cover.

A clear binary opposition contrasts the 2 newspapers together through many factors, but one is the choice of newspaper layout and mise-en-scene of the newspaper. The Times uses a broadsheet layout which features lots of text (which uses advanced vocabulary and technical terms) as well as little image, which reflects the higher education level of their audience as opposed to the Sun. Further, the Times uses a serif font which is more formal and classy, reflecting the social class of the audience. The Sun is a tabloid newspaper which is very informally written and displayed and is reflective of the education level of the audience. While both newspapers are conservative, there is a clear difference in the writing styles of each newspaper.

The Sun uses a very different choice of images to represent the 2 MPs which were believed to be running for PM. Boris Johnson is shown to be messy and frightened and this is represented through his facial features and general appearance; Rishi Sunak has been given a more professional photo and looks very happy, which starks clear binary oppositions between the 2 men and it is clear to see The Sun’s biased political ideologies and who they are influencing their audience to favour.

One similarity of both newspapers is that they both show images of the MPs wearing suits which reflects their high status and importance. Another binary opposition is created here through the contrast between high status and rule breaking emphasises the negative natures of their actions.

Another way reality is constructed is through the topics spoken about within the newspapers. As The Times is targeted at a middle class ABC1 demographic, the newspaper predominantly talks about politics, which a subheading bar on the topic of fitness and how to get fit while doing the bare minimum. The likes of the target audience for the Times are clearly seen on the front cover.
Also, in The Sun, the main article revolves around politics and how “Bojo: I’ll be back” which shows the audience does have a large interest in politics, however there also is a section of “Ron”(aldo) and his latest football career status. The Sun target audience is shown to have an interest in football whereas the audience for the Times is shown to have an interest in exercise as a category, rather than a particular interest.

Another way reality is constructed is through the newspapers is that they both use images of Boris Johnson looking unprofessional. In The Times, the editors have chosen an image of the PM looking smug and as if his partygate actions were something to be proud of and it looks as if he his quite happy about it. This angers the audience as the COVID lockdowns were a difficult time for many and people were not able to see their relatives before they died and couldn’t attend the funerals, so seeing the PM having a party angered many of the readers and the biased ideology of the Times is reflected in their newspaper. Likewise in The Sun, Boris Johnson seems surprised and looks quite a mess and it influences the readers ideologies and makes Mr. Johnson appear as a joke and a laughing stock, not someone who should be re-elected as PM.

Finally, another way reality is constructed through the newspaper is again through the biased political ideology of both newspapers. The Times is a predominantly right-wing pro-conservative newspaper and the fact they disagree with their own party and are influencing their audience not to vote for this party shows the severity of the editors dislikes towards Boris Johnson in particular, but mainly the conservative party.

Overall, constructions of reality are shown through the editors political ideologies and biased views represented through the mise-en-scene in the newspaper – such as the choice of images and vocabulary.

 

Explain how the newspaper industry targets audiences. Make reference to a print edition of The Daily Mirror to support your points. [15 marks]

One way the newspaper industry targets audiences is through the use of topics discussed within the newspaper. The Daily Mirror is a tabloid newspaper which targets a left-wing C2DE male audience and discusses topics such as politics and business. Discussing topics of interest to the audience will engage them and will make them more likely to want to buy the newspaper. For example, The Daily Mirror discussing politics in a time of political crisis is engaging to the audience as they are interested to know what is happening and what their view of the situation is, which then reflects on the ideologies of the reader. The 1^st February 2022 edition of The Daily Mirror uses lexis in a sans-serif font and uses the colour yellow to emphasise the number of the mistakes Boris Johnson has made. Yellow is a very eye-catching colour which connotations of alerts and warnings, so attracts their audience.

Further, the newspaper reflects the ideologies of the audience and allows them to relate in many instances, for example, the anger felt towards the PM during the party gate scandal. As audiences can relate to this, they are more inclined to buy from the newspaper brand, such as The Daily Mirror, again and is an example of how the newspaper industry targets their audience.

Finally, The Daily Mirror uses lots of image with bold text to appeal to a lower educated audience and attracts them as many words on a front cover with sophisticated language may put them off if they are more of a passive reader.