Digital technologies now not only allow media to be more convergent and flexible than ever before…
…but also allow audiences opportunities to ‘speak back’ to media products and even create their own!
In this session, you are going to be looking for examples of both on the Daily Mirror website. The Times website is PAYWALLED. This means that users must subscribe to access it. This essentially suggests that The Times is attempting to LIMIT audience interaction to a select group of paying customers It's a conservative business model. The Daily Mirror remains open to everyone... but expect to see lots of adverts...
1 - Digital technologies now not only allow media to be more convergent and flexible than ever before…
Go on the Mirror website by clicking here. Now, find as many examples of the following. Make screenshots!
- A range of serious and political stories
- A range of 'soft' news stories such as those featuring celebrities and the royal family
- Other offerings, such as puzzles, sports and giveaways
- Examples of hypermodality (this refers to the ability to click on something to move from one mode, or website, to another)
- Examples of advertising. What kinds of companies advertise on the Daily Mirror?
- Examples of exclusive or very recent stories. What does The Daily Mirror online have that other websites do not?
- Examples of lexis. How does The Daily Mirror use informal lexis to target a working class target audience?
- Examples of political bias: how does The Daily Mirror appeal to it's left-wing, Labour supporting audience?
2 - …but also allow audiences opportunities to ‘speak back’ to media products and even create their own!
Find an article that has preferably lots of comments. Screenshot the comments. What are the commentators saying? What does this add to the debate and discussion? Does this count as 'speaking back' to the product?