Newspapers: Daily Mail case study
1) What are the front page stories on the 21 September edition of the Daily Mail?
- Meghan Markle and her mother Doria have a good time at an event
- Theresa May is infuriated as the EU Chiefs rejected her Chequers plan
2) From your analysis in class, what other stories and topics are covered in this edition of
the Daily Mail?
The following pages below are our CSP pages from the Daily Mail. Some other stories and topics that are covered include: Keely Hawes (star of the BBC hit series Bodyguard), BMW cars, RAF and Putin, the NHS and junior doctors, the birth of twins, retirement, LittleJhohn and many more.
Pg 3
- A sense of nostalgia
- Trying to appeal to a female audience and make them feel better about themselves- "2 mins of exercise is just as good as 30."
- Soft news
Pg 5
- Soft news
- BMW story will encourage people to communicate on social media
Pg 6-7
- hard news
- not appealing picture of May- attempting to make the reader feel sympathy for her
- Used the same picture of the EU leaders walking away but presented it in a positive light compared to other newspapers
Pg 10
- Continuity- RAF
- Pictures
- Appeals to 65 year olds- patriotic
- 3 negative stories on the NHS- "Long wat", "8-week target might never be met again"
- Essentially convincing readers to vote conservative
- Blame doctors over government
Pg 12-13
- Positive pictures- kind Royal family
- Continuity- recently got married
- Female target audience- "The power of women, we make things happen"
- Soft news, humour included- "Harry being downgraded"
- Quotes in bold- "Doria is so nice. She's a lovely, warm person"
- Daily mail usually have a negative representation of black people- here they are humanised
- New editor represents Royal Family differently compared to the old editor
3) Media language: Write an analysis of the construction of the Daily Mail homepage: Page design, font, text, images, conventions, hard news/soft news, news values etc.
- Serif font: traditonal, established newspaper
- the logo/crest: between the Daily Mail name: established, history
- images: the image that takes up half the page of Meghan Markle, it is the focus of story, the only image of the front
- layout: conventional format, masthead is at the top
- headline: large font, quickly summarises article, grabs attention and focus, suggests it is important
- blend of hard and soft news
- news value: continuity established as Royal family and Brexit and current continuing events.
- the royal crest: reflects traditional British ideologies
- purple border around the image of Meghan Markle and her mother conveys royalty and wealth: news value of visual impact
- article is in support of Theresa May's Chequers plan
- font is large and bold suggesting it is important to the Daily Mail.
- Daily Mail is conservative - in support of Theresa May. she is seen as a strong, independent powerful leader.
- Daily mail show a positive image of Meghan Markle, a young black women: they support the royal family
- Both are not the full stories and there for people would need to purchase the paper in order to read the story in full depth
4) Narrative: How is narrative used in this edition of the Daily Mail? Look at the selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper to engage an audience?
- There is an ongoing narrative about the Royal Family and how Meghan Markle has been accepted as a black female into the monarchy. The Daily Mail are in support of Meghan Markle and the Royal Family because of the way they have been represented in the news. This reflects the idea that the Daily Mail are progressive and much more accepting than the other newspapers who believe that it was wrong for a black women to enter into the monarchy.
- The Theresa May article has been written in a way to encourage the readers to support the Prime Minister and her work instead of believing that she doesn't know what she is doing. The article shows the ongoing narrative of Theresa May trying to work hard in to figuring out the Brexit deal .
5) Representations: Are any stereotypes reinforced? Is the audience positioned to respond to the stories in a certain way? You should focus on the Brexit and NHS stories (front page, p6-7, p10) as a minimum here.
- NHS: the stereotype of NHS being unorganised is reinforced. The NHS seem to lack sympathy and that is seen through the articles. The article is quit brief and appeals to an older demographic of the Daily Mail's audience.
- Brexit: The Daily Mail is conservative and that is reflected through the stories about Brexit. The Daily Mail seems to be right wing and bias and they represent Theresa May in a positive way even when other newspapers may criticise her.
- NHS: the stereotype of NHS being unorganised is reinforced. The NHS seem to lack sympathy and that is seen through the articles. The article is quit brief and appeals to an older demographic of the Daily Mail's audience.
- Brexit: The Daily Mail is conservative and that is reflected through the stories about Brexit. The Daily Mail seems to be right wing and bias and they represent Theresa May in a positive way even when other newspapers may criticise her.
Factsheet 175 - Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1)
Read Media Factsheet 175: Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1) and complete the following questions/tasks. Our Media Factsheet archive is on the Media Shared drive: M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets
1) What is the history of the Daily Mail?
The Daily Mail is a ‘black top’ or mid-market tabloid newspaper. It is the second most popular daily national newspaper after the Sun. The Daily Mail was most successful in the early 2000s with more than 2m copies sold daily. It is now down to 1.2m but still influential. The paper offers a mix of hard and soft news. It is socially, economically and politically conservative and backs the Conservative Party in politics. The Daily Mail was established by Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, in 1896. Harmsworth was responsible for the rise of popular press. The paper reflected the societal changes of the time: The Elemental Education Act (1870) introduced compulsory universal education for children aged between 5-13 and a newly literate lower middle class was created. The paper appealed to this group through the use of a low cover price and lots of competitions/ prizes/ promotions. The Daily Mail always wanted to appeal to a female audience and offered certain features specifically for them, this paper's reader ship is predominantly female.
2) What news content features in the Daily Mail?
News content across the print and online versions often includes stories concerning women (health, family, fashion, celebrity focus); Royal family coverage; outspoken columnists such as Richard Littlejohn; attacking Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party in general; politics including pro-Brexit comment; criticism of the EU (regulation, laws) and coverage of European leaders; campaigning against the current NHS supporting a ‘patients betrayed’ ideology; wide ranging health section; British interests (food and agriculture, terrorism risks/ plots/ acts of…).
3) What is the Daily Mail’s mode of address?
The mode of address is a method of creating a relationship between the adresser (producer) and the addressee (audience). The Daily Mail's mode of address is aimed at women so the language and discursive strategies are ones more likely to appeal to a female audience.
4) What techniques of persuasion does the Daily Mail use to attract and retain readers?
Daily Mail uses three techniques of persuasion:
- Practical techniques- bribery, newness, inexpensive, longevity, ease of use, luxury
- Emotional- exaggeration, hyperbole, repetition, comforting, fear, humour
- Associations- celebrity endorsement, experts
Daily Mail uses three techniques of persuasion:
- Practical techniques- bribery, newness, inexpensive, longevity, ease of use, luxury
- Emotional- exaggeration, hyperbole, repetition, comforting, fear, humour
- Associations- celebrity endorsement, experts
5) What is the Daily Mail’s editorial stance?
The Mail’s political stance is traditionally Conservative, having supported the party in all recent general elections. The paper is also known for criticism of the Labour party, and in particular the current leader Jeremy Corbyn (correct as of January 2018). So much so, that during the 2015 general election.
6) Read this YouGov article on British newspapers and their political stance. Where does the Daily Mail fit in the overall picture of UK newspapers?
Daily Mail is seen as Britain’s most right-wing newspaper. Britain’s most read newspaper is described by 44% of Brits as “very right-wing”, far ahead of any other paper. In total, 81% considered the paper to be right-wing to one degree or another.
Daily Mail is seen as Britain’s most right-wing newspaper. Britain’s most read newspaper is described by 44% of Brits as “very right-wing”, far ahead of any other paper. In total, 81% considered the paper to be right-wing to one degree or another.
7) What is the Daily Mail’s view of the BBC? What are the possible reasons for this?
The paper is often critical of the BBC, seeing it as an institution biased to the left. Other published pieces reveal a pro-Brexit, consumerist stance that supports traditional Britishness.
8) What controversies have followed Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn? You will need to research this beyond the factsheet.
Richard Littlejohn wrote a column about a male teacher who would be transitioning and would then be called Miss Lucy Meadows. Richard Littlejohn said things like Mr Upton was being selfish and that he should just disappear. This article was taken down after the news of Miss Lucy Meadows death broke out. People believe she committed suicide and people are demanding for Richard Littlejohn to be fired and he should apologise.
Factsheet 177 - Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 2)
Now read Media Factsheet 177: Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 2) and complete the following questions/tasks.
1) How did the launch of the Daily Mail change the UK newspaper industry?
2) What is the inverted pyramid of journalism and why was it important in the way the Daily Mail presented news?
The Inverted Pyramid is a method that can be referred to as Front-Loading and means you put the most important information first when constructing the news story. It allows news to be communicated quickly and effectively. This increased the popularity of the paper, as the newly lower middle classes engaged with the new style of journalism. The result of this was the Daily Mail are targeting specific social classes of readers which could then be exploited by advertisers. This is how the newspapers and advertisers relationship began. Advertisers would expect their financial investment to be well directed, and so newspapers had to shape layout and content of the paper to meet the perceived lifestyles and desires of the readers.
The inverted pyramid calls on the reporter or editor to select the and prioritise key facts in descending order of importance meaning that the “the communicative quality of the texts improved considerably, making them more understandable” (Pöttker, 2003).
It has many benefits:
- information can be consumed quickly
- front loading each paragraph allows skim reading (allows a quick overview of entire article)
- consumers can identify quickly whether an article interests them
- key info conveyed early so reader knows writers views
- for online news, key words boost the SEO which ensures it is the first web search
The Inverted Pyramid is a method that can be referred to as Front-Loading and means you put the most important information first when constructing the news story. It allows news to be communicated quickly and effectively. This increased the popularity of the paper, as the newly lower middle classes engaged with the new style of journalism. The result of this was the Daily Mail are targeting specific social classes of readers which could then be exploited by advertisers. This is how the newspapers and advertisers relationship began. Advertisers would expect their financial investment to be well directed, and so newspapers had to shape layout and content of the paper to meet the perceived lifestyles and desires of the readers.
The inverted pyramid calls on the reporter or editor to select the and prioritise key facts in descending order of importance meaning that the “the communicative quality of the texts improved considerably, making them more understandable” (Pöttker, 2003).
It has many benefits:
- information can be consumed quickly
- front loading each paragraph allows skim reading (allows a quick overview of entire article)
- consumers can identify quickly whether an article interests them
- key info conveyed early so reader knows writers views
- for online news, key words boost the SEO which ensures it is the first web search
3) What company owns the Daily Mail? What other newspapers, websites and brands do they own?
The Daily Mail is owned by the British Media company DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust plc) and “manages a balanced multinational portfolio of entrepreneurial companies, with total revenues of almost £1.5bn.”
Other newspapers, websites and brands they own include:
The Daily Mail is owned by the British Media company DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust plc) and “manages a balanced multinational portfolio of entrepreneurial companies, with total revenues of almost £1.5bn.”
Other newspapers, websites and brands they own include:
- Mail on Sunday
- MailOnline
- Mail Plus
- Metro
- Metro.co.uk
- Mail Today
- Mail Travel
- Wowcher
- Jobsite
- This is Money
4) Between 1992 and 2018 the Daily Mail editor was Paul Dacre. What does the extract from Dacre’s speech on the freedom of the press tell us about his ideological position?
The speech on freedom of press reflects Paul Dacre's right-wing ideological position and how he is against newspaper regulation. He states:"The freedom of the press, I would argue, is far too important to be left to the somewhat desiccated values of a single judge [Justice David Eady] who clearly has an animus against the popular press and the right of people to freedom of expression".
Dacre believes that regulation would have an impact on newspapers and he would argue for society. He also is in support of the idea of publicly shaming those who are a threat to society and have behaved wrongly for the greater good of the community. Dacre believes that a free press is better for society as it is the reason why they buy the newspapers in the first place.
Dacre states:"For hundreds of years, the press has played a role in that process. It has the freedom to identify those who have offended public standards of decency – the very standards its readers believe in – and hold the transgressors up to public condemnation. If their readers don’t agree with the defence of such values, they would not buy those papers in such huge numbers. Put another way, if mass-circulation newspapers, which also devote considerable space to reporting and analysis of public affairs, don’t have the freedom to write about scandal, I doubt whether they will retain their mass circulations with the obvious worrying implications for the democratic process".
The speech on freedom of press reflects Paul Dacre's right-wing ideological position and how he is against newspaper regulation. He states:"The freedom of the press, I would argue, is far too important to be left to the somewhat desiccated values of a single judge [Justice David Eady] who clearly has an animus against the popular press and the right of people to freedom of expression".
Dacre believes that regulation would have an impact on newspapers and he would argue for society. He also is in support of the idea of publicly shaming those who are a threat to society and have behaved wrongly for the greater good of the community. Dacre believes that a free press is better for society as it is the reason why they buy the newspapers in the first place.
Dacre states:"For hundreds of years, the press has played a role in that process. It has the freedom to identify those who have offended public standards of decency – the very standards its readers believe in – and hold the transgressors up to public condemnation. If their readers don’t agree with the defence of such values, they would not buy those papers in such huge numbers. Put another way, if mass-circulation newspapers, which also devote considerable space to reporting and analysis of public affairs, don’t have the freedom to write about scandal, I doubt whether they will retain their mass circulations with the obvious worrying implications for the democratic process".
5) What is Dacre’s view on BBC news?
Dacres seems to be supportive of the BBC and still enjoys the the content it provides, however, he believes that the company is too big and powerful causing damage to others news corporations. He states: "For make no mistake, we are witnessing the seemingly inexorable growth of what is effectively a dominant state-sponsored news service...... the Corporation is simply too big and too powerful. It is destroying media plurality in Britain and in its place imposing a liberal, leftish, mono culture that is destroying free and open debate in Britain.." Dacre also states that the "lines must be drawn in the sand" which suggests that their power has reduced media plurality.
Dacres seems to be supportive of the BBC and still enjoys the the content it provides, however, he believes that the company is too big and powerful causing damage to others news corporations. He states: "For make no mistake, we are witnessing the seemingly inexorable growth of what is effectively a dominant state-sponsored news service...... the Corporation is simply too big and too powerful. It is destroying media plurality in Britain and in its place imposing a liberal, leftish, mono culture that is destroying free and open debate in Britain.." Dacre also states that the "lines must be drawn in the sand" which suggests that their power has reduced media plurality.
6) Look at the right-hand side of page 4. Why is the editor of a newspaper so important?
Dacre learnt early on that the way in which information is presented will impact on the circulation and revenue that it generates and has stated as much on various occasions. The opinions of the editor will effect the way people view the newspaper and it's values, that's why it is important to make sure that the editors values and opinions of those of the newspapers as well.
Dacre learnt early on that the way in which information is presented will impact on the circulation and revenue that it generates and has stated as much on various occasions. The opinions of the editor will effect the way people view the newspaper and it's values, that's why it is important to make sure that the editors values and opinions of those of the newspapers as well.
7) Why did Guardian journalist Tim Adams describe Dacre as the most dangerous man in Britain? What example stories does Adams refer to?
He is referred to the most dangerous man in Britain becuase of the impac that the Daily Mail had during the Brexit campaigns. Tim Adams suggests that the Daily Mail and Dacre would encourage people to vote leave rather than remain as it seemed beneficial. It led to more people voting in the referendum for leave than remain. They used the fear of mass immigration within their stories in order to encourage people to vote leave as if the majority voted remain then it would allow more immigrants to enter the UK impacting us negatively.
He is referred to the most dangerous man in Britain becuase of the impac that the Daily Mail had during the Brexit campaigns. Tim Adams suggests that the Daily Mail and Dacre would encourage people to vote leave rather than remain as it seemed beneficial. It led to more people voting in the referendum for leave than remain. They used the fear of mass immigration within their stories in order to encourage people to vote leave as if the majority voted remain then it would allow more immigrants to enter the UK impacting us negatively.
8) How does the Daily Mail cover the issue of immigration? What representations are created in this coverage?
The Daily Mail covers immigration and immigrants in a very negative way. All four of these headlines are against immigration and immigrants and suggests that they are not wanted. These headlines have used words like: "sparked" and "shambles" and "blow" and "crisis" when referring to the immigrants. The Daily Mail enforce their negative view of immigrants on to their readers encouraging them to believe that immigration is the cause of problems in the UK.
9) How did the Daily Mail cover the murder of MP Jo Cox?
The Daily Mail showed no value in her story as she was pro-immigration and therefore left the story for page 29 even though it was a shocking story.
The Daily Mail showed no value in her story as she was pro-immigration and therefore left the story for page 29 even though it was a shocking story.
10) What was Dacre’s position on Brexit?
Dacre seems to be supporting the idea of leaving the EU as he was not in favour of "federal Europe". He states: “I am quite clearly in favour of a common market but I am not in favour of a federal Europe. Nor is the Daily Mail.”
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