Question 3

Explain the impact of technological developments and changing economic contexts on the cost for audiences of consuming news. Refer to The Guardian and the Daily Mail to support your answer. [10 marks]

Both The Guardian and The Daily Mail rely on the price of the newspaper and adverts for their print paper. Online again they both use advertising. However, the Guardian also offers an opportunity for its readers to pay for a membership. This membership includes ad-free content for the members. Neither of these newspapers uses a paywall, unlike some other newspapers.

A decline in sales of print newspapers could be a result of them also being available online. People most likely find it easier to access the news on the internet via their mobile phones rather than going out and buying a newspaper. This is because the online version of these newspapers are constantly on hand to people and can be easily accessed anywhere at any time. The result of this for The Guardian and the Daily Mail is that they lose a lot of money as readers are not forced to pay for the online version of either newspaper. The Guardian may lose less money as readers are given the option for pay for a membership. However, the result of losing money from online readers may be that the newspapers implement a paywall where readers are made to pay before reading online.

As I said before, one of the main appeals of online newspapers is how easily accessible they are. However, another appeal may be that new stories online can be constantly updated. This is different from print as people who read print have to wait for the next day to read an update whereas online the story can be updated in hours or minutes. 

Online news from both The Guardian and The Daily Mail is available from more than just their websites, it is also available on social media. For example Snapchat and Instagram. The news here is often more targeted to a younger audience who are more likely to use social media. For example, on Snapchat the news The Daily Mail posts are often based around celebrity gossip. 

Prosumer activity is often made possible by these technological developments. An example of this would be a story on The Guardian website about an estate where poorer children were made to play separately from the richer children. This story started with audiences complaining about the problem online. The guardian then picked up the story and it quickly became one of their most read stories. This then caused change to be made to the playing area a matter of days later.

Question 1 + 2

Q1. Analyse the different representations of gender, social class and / or ethnicity in Sources A and B. Apply one appropriate theory of representation in your answer. [10 marks]

Source A, The Sun, is a popular newspaper. Source B, The Times, is a quality newspaper. Both sources A and B provide stories on Prince Harry marrying Meghan Markle as well as their families (Harry's dad and Meghan's mum).

Gauntlett's Theory of identity not being fixed is clear with these stories. This is obvious and Megan Markle is clearly represented as very different in each other the newspaper covers. In Source A they use a picture of her in very revealing clothes with a quote from her sister calling her a 'pushy princess' this suggests that The Sun does not belive that Megan is good enough to be in the Royal family as she is 'shallow'. However, in source B Megan is shown in classy clothes along side her mother. This picture presents a very different view of Megan. She is shown as being perfect for the royal family as she is modest and family orientated. This shows that Megan's identity is not fixed as there are clearly two very different representations of her in the front covers. 

Butler/Van Zoon's theories that gender is not natural and is performative are also clear in there stories. This is shown as the newspapers both present very different ideas of femininity. In source A Megan is presented as hyper feminine and is clearly sexualised. She is also clearly subject to the male gaze as she is looking directing into the camera while wearing quite revealing clothes. This is clearly aimed at the enjoyment of males. While this is a stereotypically feminine idea, source A also presents feminine ideas but in a very different way. Megan is seen in more modest clothing but still has feminine features such as her long hair, makeup, and smiling. This suggests that gender is performative and Megan is performing her gender to fit different situation (being an actress, then being part of the royal family). 

Hooks theory of intersectonality may also be clear. This is because Megan's class and ethnicity may come into play. Source B comes from before Megan married into the Royal family so was still seen as a 'commoner'. This may make it more acceptable for source A to publish more objectifying images of her. However, source B is after the wedding meaning Megan is a member of the Royal family. This means the newspaper may want to present her in a better light. Her ethnicity may come into play as she is mixed race (her mum is African-American). A white woman, such as Kate Middleton, may not have been treated the same and called 'shallow' and 'pushy' while being objectified. 

To conclude it is clear that the two different newspapers present different representations of Megan based on her class, ethnicity, and gender. This is more obvious through gender as in source A she is objectified whereas in source B she is presented as a perfect model in the Royal family. 

Q2. Sources A and B cover the same news event but are from two different newspapers. How far has the combination of elements of media language influenced meaning in the sources? In your answer you must:

• explain how the combination of elements of media language influences meaning in newspapers

• analyse how media language has been used to construct meaning in the sources

• make judgements and reach conclusions about how far the combination of elements of media language has influenced meaning in the sources. [15 marks]

Source A, The Sun, is a popular newspaper with right wing beliefs owned by newscorp. Source B, The Times, is a quality newspaper with more left wing views. Both sources A and B provide stories on Prince Harry marrying Meghan Markle as well as their families (Harry's dad and Meghan's mum).  

The sun clearly uses informal language in the heading. They use a quote from Megan Markle sister calling her a "pushy princess" and "shallow". This suggests they do not like Megan and do not belive she deserves to be part of the Royal family by marrying Prince Harry. On the other hand, source B uses more formal language and clearly had very different views of Megan. They use the headline "welcome to the family" which suggests they like Megan and feel she is now part of British culture as she is part of our Royal family. 

The use of images is also very different in both newspapers. Source A uses an objectifying image of Megan in a revealing red outfit. On the other hand the source B uses a more modest picture of her. Both images are the centre of attention which helps portray how the newspapers feel about Megan. The sun clearly thinks little of megan as they are not respectful in the way the present her. However, the times clearly respects her and the royal family.

Source B dedicates most of the page to the story suggesting the Royal family is important to them. However, source A dedicates a lot less space to the Megan markle story for other stories. This suggests that Megan and the Royal family are not as important to them

Overall it is clear that source A does not respect Megan in the same way that source B does. This may be because they care less for the royal family and want to make this clear with their use of headline, image, and space dedicated to the story.