This is a series of exemplar answers for actual past newspaper industry questions. This should give you an indication of the kind of stuff you could talk about in the exam. However, please note the following:
- These answers were typed, not handwritten
- These answers were written to the recommended exam timings (1 minute per mark for C1 section b!), but were written by an adult with a film and sociology degree who's been teaching media studies for eleven years
- The person who answered the questions (Michael) looked at the indicative content and the mark scheme just before hand. Basically, he cheated.
- Spelling was corrected afterwards, but grammar was mainly left the same
- There are loads of other things he could have talked about, but chose not to. So the stuff in this essay is not the stuff you HAVE to talk about...
3. (a) Briefly explain what is meant by distribution. [2]
Distribution refers to how a media product is given out or made available to their target audiences. Distribution is typically either physical or digital
(b) How have recent technological changes had an impact on the production and distribution of newspapers? [10]
The ways in which newspapers are produced and distributed has changed rapidly, especially since the onset of digitally convergent technologies. In this essay, I shall argue that digital technology in particular has completely changed the ways in which newspapers are produced, consumed and distributed.
One key change that has happened with newspapers is a move to digital distribution. Websites such as The Mirror Online and the extremely successful Mail Online allow producers such as Reach PLC and The Mail group to target far larger audiences than previously possible. One significant advantage of shifting to online distribution and websites is an ability to avoid regulation issues. For example, The Daily Mirror must be very careful with it’s reportage, using quotation marks around the word “daughter” when reporting on Vladimir Putin’s alleged wider family. However, using online media, audiences are able to mass comment on articles with opinions and ‘advice’ that would otherwise break regulation issues. This makes it significantly harder for IPSO and OFCOM to regulate digital news sources, and is arguably a significant advantage for the digital newspaper industry.
Another significant impact that digital technology has made is the significant decline in physical newspaper sales. The Times physical readership dropped almost 100,000 copies from 2019 to 2020, which is a significant change. However, a move to digital technology, for newspapers chiefly websites, means many more opportunities for making money. The Times website is paywalled, which means a subscription fee must be paid before full access is granted. The Mirror Online however is fee to access, but makes heavy use of often obtrusive and even inappropriate clickbait adverts, which may deter some readers. Arguably, these two methods of financing the websites reflect the working class and middle class demographics of The Mirror and The Times respectively.
Yet while audiences have moved away from print, they have embraced recent technological changes such as social media. A significant proportion of younger audiences access news through social media apps such as Snapchat and Facebook and Instagram. Websites such as The Times and The Mirror make use of digitally convergent technology, by each using Twitter/Facebook/Snapchat etc in order to appeal to younger audiences, and in order to attract younger demographics.
However, I would argue that this is all a losing battle, In order to diversify and to survive, it is necessary for newspapers to move online completely. Audience habits have changed, and now younger audiences in particular get their news through google searches, use of social media and also through 24 hour a day TV news coverage. In order to survive, The Times and The Mirror must ensure they are takin g advantage of these digitally convergent technologies.
(c) What is a media conglomerate? [1]
A media conglomerate is a large media company that owns many other smaller media companies.
In Question 3(d), 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.
(d) Explain how ownership shapes media products. Refer to The Daily Mirror to support your points. [12]
Ownership refers to the corporations and people who own and control and make money from media products. Depending on if a corporation is large, or independent can completely shift how the media product is shaped. To explore this idea, I shall be using The Times, a broadsheet newspaper owned by News UK (itself a subsidiary of a vast corporation), and The Mirror, a UK tabloid newspaper owned by Reach PLC, a horizontally integrated conglomerate that specialises in local news s well as a few national newspapers.
NOTE: I didn’t read the question! In the introduction I wasted valuable seconds talking about the Times! I realised my mistake but left this in to draw attention to the importance of underlining key terms!)
The Daily Mirror is owned by Reach PLC, who are a vast conglomerate who specialise in newspaper production. The Daily Mirror however does not target a vague audience, but instead targets a specific, working class, left leaning audience. Because of this The Mirror is often lightly critical of the conservative party, though often it will place less of an emphasis on hard politics. In the edition we studied, a front page splash of Kate Middleton is an excellent example of soft news that will appeal to a working class audience. There is no real story here, though Middleton is a hegemonically attractive women who will appeal to the target audience /middle aged demographic of the newspaper. This story leads in to a full page splash on page three, that focusses on Middleton looking attractive in the jungle, though only addresses the potential political issues of her visit to commonwealth countries in a small box out. By focusing on a popular royal family member, the daily mirror is shaped by it’s ideological need to appeal to a vast audience in order to make money.
There is some selection of hard news stories, however. A front page lead in of the release of Nazanin Ratcliffe sees the selection of an image of the Iranian detainee. She is smiling, middle aged, and hegemonically attractive, which again reinforces the need to target a mainstream heterosexual middle aged male audience. She is also referred toby her first name, which reinforces the informal mode of address of the newspaper. How, the lexis of the headline (gov should have got me home six years ago!) represents a subtle attack on the tory party, and demonstrates the ideological political bias of the Mirror.
By appealing to a working class audience, the Mirror deliberately using restrictive lexis in order to appeal to a perceived less educated audience less interested in hard news. This reinforces the stereotype that the working class cannot engage in public discussions, and should only read which is suitable for them. An excellent example of this in the edition we studied is in a double page spread story that focusses on Vladimir Putin’s ‘secret family’ . The main image is of a hegemonically attractive 18 year old girl who may or may not be Putin’s daughter. However the newspaper Uses quotation marks to avoid issues of libel. By running a scandalous piece, the newspaper cheapens the vey real situation that is happening in Russia, and ‘dumbs down’ and makes simple a complicated international event for the target audience. This highly scandalous piece is typical of tabloid newspapers, and ensures that they appeal to the widest demographic as possible.
Perhaps the biggest issue with The daily mirror and how it is shaped b being owned by a major corporation is it’s –