Monday 11 February 2019

The Times Blog Task

Language

1) What are the main stories on the front cover of the Times CSP edition (15 March 2017)?


The main stories are about: A Scottish poll regarding the fact that they would like to remain in the UK, Google being accused of antisemitism and a story about Angelina Jolie being a guest professor at a University.


2) What are the main stories on the inside page of the Times CSP edition (15 March 2017)?

The main stories inside the newspapers are about an athlete murdering someone, the resignation of the CEO at Channel 4 and Muirfield golf club no longer being a gentleman's only club.


3) What is the balance on the Times front page between images, headlines and text?


There is only one central image and no stories are completed on the front page as the articles are longer compared to a tabloid like The Daily Mirror.


4) How do we know that the Times is aimed at a wealthy, educated, middle-class audience?


The Times uses more sophisticated language that people would need a certain level of education to understand. It is clearly a wealthy audience as there is so much detail on a story about a golf club with a large emphasis on the golf club's tradition which is associated with the upper classes.


5) What does a close analysis of the news stories in the Times CSP edition suggest about the Times political beliefs?

The Times is a right winged Conservative supporting newspaper. The emphasis on the word 'transgender' in the heading of one of the main articles emphasises The Times' old fashioned beliefs as they are linking Lauryn's gender identity with her horrific crime. Their allegiance to the conservatives is shown through the Google story because the Labour party had also been accused of antisemitism so it may have been a front-page article to make the labour party look bad.


Audience


1) What is the target audience for the Times?

The taget audience
2) Why do the Times front page stories/features appeal to the Times audience?

3) Why might the Muirfield golf story be of interest to Times readers?


4) Why might a reader enjoy the Times? Use Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory to add detail to your answer.
Surveillance or information is the main audience pleasure that a reader would get from The Times because it informs the reader on current social and political events. Entertainment is also an audience pleasure of the Times as it has a story about Angelina Jolie - an extremely famous actress that audiences would want to learn more about.

5) Times readers are mostly over 55 years old. Why is this?  

Reading newspapers is a tradition in the older generations as they were not raised with the internet - which is how the younger generations receive their news.
Representation


1) What representation of Great Britain can be found on the front page of the Times?


2) How does the Times represent the gender in the Muirfield golf feature?


The Times is a conservative newspaper that prefers when things remain the same and they are very traditional. They constantly used the word "allows" to show that it was a reluctant decision. They also say "273 year-old" referring to the tradition of not allowing women into the club and they seemed upset that such a long tradition had ended. there is also a smaller box highlighting clubs in London that are still gentlemen only to show that some clubs still stick to tradition.


3) How does the Times represent big companies like Google or Channel 4? 


The Times is a capitalist newspaper and therefore would view major corporations as significant and that's why they are both front-page stories. Since The Times is also pro-privatisation, they are against public service broadcasters like Channel 4, so this is addressed in the stand-first of the Article. They present the head of Channel 4 leaving not being attached to any imminent privatisation as a bad thing because The Times is owned by Rupert Murdoch, owner of a massive competitor (Sky TV).
4) How does the Times present the story of the transgender runner jailed for stabbing an official? What does this suggest about the Times's attitude towards LGBT issues?


The fact that Lauren is trans has nothing to do with the story which had to do with her killing an official. The fact that The Times highlighted this shows that they are not the most progressive concerning LGBTQ+ issues. In the sidebar, information is given about her oestrogen hormones. This could show that they think that her hormones were connected to her aggressive behaviour when they are completely unrelated. This shows the Times' traditionalism.


5) What clues can you find in the CSP pages that suggest that Times readers are more likely to support the Conservative Party?



Industries


1) Who owns the Times?

 The Times is owned by News UK - a subsidiary of NewsCorporationn. It is mostly owned by Rupert Murdoch.

2) What is The Times's circulation in 2018? How many papers did the Times used to sell back in the 1990s?

The Times circulation in 2018 was 430,000, down from over 800,000 in the 1990s
3) How has the Times reacted to the decline in print sales and the growth of the internet?

They created a social media strategy in a collaboration with the digital team in order to grow their Twitter and Facebook profiles. In 2018 they hit 500,000 subscribers on their online platform.

4) Using Galtung and Ruge's News Values theory, choose three factors that make a news story more likely to be placed on the front page of the newspaper.

Immediacy to a degree because all the stories were recent at the time of circulation. Negativity because people are more likely to read negative stories since they are more shocking.
5) Why have newspapers seen such a steep decline in sales over the last 20 years?

People can find news for free on the internet as soon as it happens so they see newspapers as redundant.Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Guardian column on IPSO, the press regulator. Why does Polly Toynbee suggest IPSO has been a "total failure"?


Read this short Press Gazette feature on the Times's paywall. Why does the Times head of digital describe the paywall as a success? 


Read this Guardian column on the pleasures of print newspapers and the dangers of the digital age. Do you think newspapers will continue to exist in the future? Why? 

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