Tuesday, 8 July 2025

Newspaper unseen analysis examples

 


Compare how representations in the front page of the Daily Mail and the front page of the Daily Mirror you have studied convey values and beliefs. [30]

In your answer, you must:

• consider the similarities and differences in how representations convey values and beliefs

• consider how stereotypes are challenged or reinforced

• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far representations construct reality


Step one - underline key terms


Compare how representations in the front page of the Daily Mail and the front page of the Daily Mirror you have studied convey values and beliefs. [30]

In your answer, you must:

• consider the similarities and differences in how representations convey values and beliefs

• consider how stereotypes are challenged or reinforced

• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far representations construct reality


2 - Knee jerk reaction - argument 


Both these newspapers convey values and beliefs to a very high extent, to minimise risk and to maximise profit 


3 - Plan


Numerical 

Headline

Main image

Captions

Anchorage

Lexis

Serif font

Masthead

Stories

Mains story

Copy

Soft news

Stuart Hall

Encodes

Ideal

Subheadings

Construction of reality

Hard news

Stereotypes

Hegemony

Reinforces Ideology 

Dominant ideology 

Cultivation

Mode of address 

Proairetic codes 

Tabloid




X - (Daily Mail front page analysis)


Headline in serif font, connoting seriousness and danger. This sense of danger and insecurity is anchored through the sheer size of the font, with the imposing headline taking up a significant portion. The lexis of ‘new Russia threat” emphasises not only the immediacy of the story, but also the continuity of the ideology that Russia is dangerous and should be feared . It also constructs a terrifying narrative. The colour red emphasises this sense of fear, threat and terror, functioning as a symbol. By instilling fear in the target audience, The Mail cultivates an ideology that we British people should fear Russia, and that audiences will keep buying the newspaper. In comparison to the Johnson front page, we see a similar reportage of a dangerous threat, with similar lexis being utilised


4 - Introduction - DAC - definition argument context 


Representation refers to the ways in which something is shown again by the producer in order to construct a certain reality. Newspapers stand to benefit from constructing new realities, by demonstrating their ideology to the target audience, the producer can cultivate ideological perspectives to minimise risk and to maximise profit. In this essay, I shall argue that newspapers convey values and beliefs to to construct leading representations, ultimately for the purpose of profit and power. In order to explore this idea, I shall refer to The Daily Mail, a right wing tabloid, and compare it’s ideologies to The Daily Mirror, a left wing tabloid, published by Reach PLC, a horizontally integrated news publisher. 


5 - Paragraphs - PEA - point, evidence, argument 


War (Russian war and UK cabinet) 

Politicians (Johnson and Putin)

Death 

Children 

Middle Aged women

Middle aged men

Working class vs middle class







Compare how the representations of issues and events in this Daily Express front page and the Times front page you have studied convey values and attitudes. [30]


In your answer you must:


• consider the similarities in how representations of issues and events convey values and attitudes

• consider the differences in how representations of issues and events convey values and attitudes

• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the representations of issues and events relate to social contexts.




Step 1 - Underline the key terms


Compare how the representations of issues and events in this Daily Express front page and the Times front page you have studied convey values and attitudes. [30]


In your answer you must:


• consider the similarities in how representations of issues and events convey values and attitudes

• consider the differences in how representations of issues and events convey values and attitudes

• make judgements and draw conclusions about how far the representations of issues and events relate to social contexts.


Step 2 - knee-jerk reaction


Both newspapers present a scandalous mode of address and stereotypical representations to provoke emotional responses about issues and events for the purpose of power and profit (but the Express is more scandalous than the times…)


Step 3 - quick plan


MES

Stereotypes

Mode of address

Lexis

Headline

Codes

Hermeneutic

Proairetic

Symbolic

Anchorage

Copy

Masthead

Ideology

Composition 

Caption 

Narrative

Stuart Hall

Representation

Constructed

Font

Images

Genre

Tabloid

Broadsheet

Audience

Target

Demographic


Step 3.5 - Unseen analysis

A representation of a terror attack with a clear and leading ideological perspective. The use of exaggerated lexis is typical of a tabloid newspaper, and aims to evoke a human response to a tragedy. The innocence of the little girls is encoded in the selection of school photographs of all three girls, all aligned next to each other in a straightforward composition that suggests they experienced the same horror. The selection of images clearly constructs sympathy with the older, middle aged parent audience who will identify with the experience. The killer is not pictured on this front page, which represents him as something other and different and not worthy of consideration. This also constructs a binary opposition between him and the murdered children, who are represented as vulnerable and innocent . The selection and treatment of such a horrific story allows the producers of the newspaper to position their target audience, and to ensure maximum engagement through a blunt and brutal representation of reality. The lexis positions the audience into accepting a straightforward hero and villain narrative, with clear aspects of good and evil. 


Step 4 - Introduction - DAC - definition, argument, context


Representation refers to a reconstruction of reality, and the ways in which issues and events are reconstructed by the producer using media language to demonstrate their ideology. In doing so, producers manipulate the ideology of their target audience, in order to ensure financial success. In this essay, I shall argue that the producers of newspapers construct representations of issues and events to present a dramatic, emotional reconstruction of reality. In order to explore this, I shall refer to the front page of the Daily Express, a tabloid, and the front page of the Times, a broadsheet, right wing, owned by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp


Step 5 - paragraphs (PEA point, evidence, argument/analysis)


In this case, each POINT would be related to an ISSUE or EVENT. So what issues and events are represented here?


Political events and scandals  - both stories use scandalous language and mode of address!

Mass murder/Terrorism - constructed through alarmist and leading lexis, which cultivates an ideological perspective that the world is a cruel and awful place 

Grief - intrusion into grief and private issues - regulation

Soft news and hard news - newspapers balance their selection of stories to maximise audience engagement