3. (a) Briefly explain what is meant by diversification in media industries. [2]
Diversification refers to the variety of different ways in which media industries make money. Previously newspapers used to come in one format: physical, paper copies. However now, the newspaper industry has moved online, for example through apps, subscriptions to websites, email notifications, TV news, free websites, social media. This is for the purposes of profit and power.
(b) Explain the impact of recent technological changes on the newspaper industry. Refer to The Times to support your answer. [8]
- Shift to online media by audiences has completely changed the newspaper industry
- Younger people now access news media through social media, apps and websites
- The Times 2020 - 365,000
- 2009 - 600,000
- This is a substantial decline in circulation!!!!!
- The Times website is hidden behind a paywall. £26/month
- Targeting a middle class audience
- Diversification
- Curran and Seaton, power and profit
- Daily Mail sidebar of shame, sexualised soft news presents female celebrities in a scandalous way. Appeals to a massive new audience
- Comments on websites such as the daily mirror allow audiences to gossip about scandalous topics, and avoid some regulatory issues
In Question 3(c), you will be rewarded for drawing together knowledge and understanding from across your full course of study, including different areas of the theoretical framework and media contexts.
(c) Explain how the producers of newspapers ensure their financial success. Refer to The Daily Mirror to support your points. [15]
- The sole purpose of every media product is to make money, and The Daily Mirror is no exception.
- Lexis of headline functions as an hermeneutic code
- Mixture of hard and soft news, even in the same article
- Lexis of 'MP killer' is highly informal scandalous mode of address for the working class target audience
- Celebrity gossip and a focus on soft news
- 'William and Kate' creates a relatable mode of address to the target audience
- Focus on stories about royal family will appeal to the working class target audience
- Scandalous online stories, for example a Ukrainian refugee who 'ran off with dad" invites comments from audience, increasing audience engagement
- Mirror Online uses extensive clickbait advertising to make money. Audience engagement
- Diversification, for example links to online Bingo and other forms of gambling make money for the publishers
- Reach PLC specialise in publishing newspapers, especially local newspapers, and are a horizontally integrated company. They do one thing, and they do it well
- Use of stereotypically hegemonically attractive women such as Kate Middleton and Nazanin Ratcliffe on the front cover is an excellent example of the male gaze theory
- By presenting such a restricted lexis, and taking such an informal mode of address, the producers of the daily mirror maximise their revenue by cultivating the stereotype that working class audiences can only access basic, straightforward news. This mode of address is not only condescending and degrading, but also cultivates a self-fulfilling prophesy, where the working class audience are essentially told they are stupid, over and over again. By telling the working class audience that they can only understand a simple and straightforward lexis, Reach PLC ensure that the same working class audience will access their newspaper and website every day, thus ensuring maximum financial success.