Introduction to Newspapers

1) A tabloid newspaper would typically consist of soft news, e.g. showbiz gossip, celebrities, sports and lifestyle - primary sources of entertainment. They tend to include more photographs and headlines as opposed to a broadsheet newspaper.

2) A broadsheet newspaper usually contains articles about more serious and important national and international issues. They are much more formal and traditional with less use of photos, more advanced language, smaller fonts and tend to focus on more solemn news.

3) A left-wing person would likely support the Labour party, which promotes social democracy, and read newspapers such as the Daily Mirror which focuses more on socialism.

4) A right-wing person would support the Conservative party, which promotes British conservatism and unionism, and would read The Times newspaper - which is biased towards these views and influences their readers to share these same ideologies.

5) There has been an immense decline in newspaper sales within the past 20 years due to news now capable of being accessed through TV programmes and, more recently, due to the growth of digital news on websites and on social media.

6) In a democracy like the UK, free press is essential in providing accurate and non-biased information without being limited and controlled by the government. This is because democracy has been challenged due to the decrease in trustworthy news sources and the rise of fake news and misinformation.

Extension tasks:

1) Many newspapers suffered at the expense of the COVID-19 pandemic, with some of the most notable being City AM, JPI Media, the MK Citizen in Milton Keynes and the News Guardian in North Tyneside. The Metro, Britain's biggest newspaper, was also badly hit - with 2/3 of its audience disappearing.

2) The Daily Mail and The Sun are encouraging their readers from print to digital in more recent times, due to the changing ways in how news and information are received by the public - with social media being a fundamental part in the process.

3) Over the next decade, I believe that newspapers will gradually be printed and used less and less, due to the ever-growing development of social media and digital reading and how it will only continue to increase. This is because more people may move to consuming news online rather than through newspapers.

Blog tasks: Marcus Rashford CSP

Language

1) Website conventions:

• brand identity (logo)
• navigation bar (menu)
• central images 
• multi-media features (e.g. videos, pictures etc)
• links to other social media sites (integration)
• biography
• sponsored partners/ambassadors
• book club

Social media conventions:

• logo (profile picture - brand identity)
• bio (personal information)
• images/videos
• online engagement

2) Rashford's website promotes his brand through the perpetual use of his logo throughout, and also consisting of an "about" page outlining the main aspects of his career and charity work, a timeline of important events of his career, as well as convergence - through links to different social media feeds, his book club and video content which are all available to view on his website.

3) An example of a connotation which can be found on the homepage of Marcus Rashford's website include pictures of his football kit which are consistently used throughout; the red colour may be symbolic of power, strength or dominance and it is also representative of which team he belongs to (Manchester United). Another connotation can be found through the pictures of a football, which exerts the idea of sportsmanship and displays an idea of his athletic ability; whilst simultaneously indicating what his main career is (being a footballer).

4) Rashford posts a vast variety of promotional videos, photos and tweets in order to promote his brand and campaigns, and to uplift his social media presence. Examples can include the TV adverts he features in, his documentary-style videos and his very vocal comments about the charities he supports on social media.

5) Rashford's online presence highlights the narrative of his childhood upbringing in order to create a positive brand identity. He is very vocal of how he grew up in a working class background, and how he was raised by a single mum, which emphasises his passion for hard work. This also builds up a narrative of success against the odds, as well as using his huge platform to campaign on food poverty and aid for the children suffering from it, due to his own experience having had been in that position himself as a child.

Representations

1) The use of mise-en-scene on Rashford's website is shown by his football kit (costume) to represent his football career on social media. Another example of costume being used is through a close-up of Nike trainers - perhaps to signify endorsement and to promote the brand to the public - whilst presenting himself as an ambassador of the brand Nike.

2) Some representations of footballers is evident through Rashford's online presence; which both reinforce and subvert stereotypes. A way in which stereotypes are reinforced is by the fact that footballers are traditionally known to be very athletic and competitive, which is shown through the various snippets of videos of Rashford scoring goals displayed on his website's homepage. A way in which stereotypes are subverted is through the idea that footballers are sometimes thought to be arrogant and violent, however Rashford counters this through his charity work and the way that he endeavours to aid the less fortunate (such as providing free school meals to children during lockdown), therefore conveying the fact that he is very down-to-earth and cares deeply for others.

3) An example of a website page which creates a positive representation of Marcus Rashford includes his section the FareShare website. This emphasises his campaign on the crisis of food poverty and depicts him as a philanthropical and compassionate person, which is further shown by the way in which he raised enough money to ensure that over 21 million meals could be distributed amongst children and adults who would have otherwise not been able to eat over lockdown; this displays Rashford as a positive role model through the way he was capable of influencing government policy with his #MakeTheUTurn campaign.

4) Representations of masculinity are simultaneously reinforced and subverted in Rashford's online presence. A way in which they are reinforced is through his immense involvement in football, which is commonly thought to be a more male-dominated sport. Another way is by his language, which includes more masculine slang. However, these representations are also reinforced; he doesn't censor his love for his teammates and football, which is evident by the way he posts photos of his team hugging as well as openly expressing his compassion towards them, subverting stereotypes as men are traditionally thought to not be as sensitive and caring since they are usually seen to be putting up a bold front.

5) Representations of race and ethnicity are challenged in Rashford's social media by the way he vocally expresses his support for the Black Lives Matter movement, especially being a part of the BAME community himself. This subverts stereotypes due to the way he is very outspoken about this movement and has the platform to do so, when traditionally it had been barely spoken about at all and many did not have the resources to do it.

Audience

1) The potential target audiences for Marcus Rashford's online presence include those of a working/lower class background, as they may be able to resonate with Rashford's campaigns. The target age group could be from 8-40, through his book club and work with children's books and also his involvement within charities, as well as his footballer persona. The target gender group can be both but more likely mostly male, due to him mainly posting football and "manly" brands. The target ethnicity may be the BAME community, specifically Black British, as they can relate to what he posts which offers a sense of personal identity. The target psychographics groups may be "the mainstream" and "the aspirer".

2) Rashford uses social media to engage with his fans by posting consistently and always posting things which can appeal to both young people and older people alike.

3) Marcus Rashford's Instagram engagement rate is 6%, which is considered to be extremely high. This emphasises his power as an influencer and how people enjoy and engage with his brand identity.

4) Relatable person, campaigner, celebrity footballer.

5) In terms of Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory, Rashford provides a sense of information/surveillance through his campaign work and raising awareness upon problems that many may not have known beforehand. He also offers personal identity by being vocal about the hardships of those with a working class background, or those within the BAME community, by talking about their problems on his platforms. His work on football may provide diversion/entertainment and his online presence can also offer personal relationships by making audiences begin to care for him and his teammates.

6) The preferred reading for Rashford's online presence may be people who are in support of his campaigns and charity work, as well as his work in football. The oppositional reading may be people who believe that he abuses his fame and only posts about the working class struggles in order to be in the limelight or stay relevant, which subsequently leads him to receive a lot of hate online.

Industry

1) Rashford's net worth of £16 million proves to be a vital component in regards to his online presence. He earns money through £200,000 per week from Manchester United (£10.4m a year).

2) Rashford has a £2M endorsement deal with Nike and additional deals with Burberry, BT Sport (now TNT Sport), Coca-Cola and others. These link to the Rashford brand as many revolve around sport, which is what his main job is all about.

3) Twitter, now X, is owned by Elon Musk as of October 2022. Twitter generated a $4.4 billion revenue in 2022, which was an 11% decrease on 2021 figures. Twitter makes most of its money through advertising – promoted tweets or ‘trend takeovers’. In 2012, Instagram was bought by Facebook for $1 billion. Facebook and Instagram’s parent company is now called Meta – a global conglomerate. It is estimated that the platform generated a revenue of $51.4 billion in 2022.

4) The primary concerns surrounding Instagram's negative effects include the fact that recent research deduced that Instagram is detrimental to young people's mental health - in particular, teenage girls. The research suggested that one in three girls felt bad about their bodies and Instagram made this worse. It is also linked to increased anxiety and depression.

5) The government put forward the Online Safety bill in 2022 to change the law and add regulation of the internet to Ofcom’s role as media regulator. This assured that sending threatening posts was made punishable by jail sentences, platforms like Twitter and Instagram had to actively prevent users from seeing harmful material – or risk being fined by Ofcom and platforms paid Ofcom to regulate their content. This may change in the future as critics of the law say that it is impossible to regulate the internet in its substantial entirety.

December mock exam: Learner Response

1) Feedback:

Score: 65/84

Grade: 8

WWW: Wajiha, excellent paper from you - really impressed with your 20 mark responses, lots to credit.

EBI: Naturally, very difficult to pick up on these but for Q5 you need to draw more of a comparison between the CSP and MR.

2) 1.1 - all sounds generated within the world of the drama, 1.2 - any example of dialogue from the extract such as ‘When Lyra says, “So you’re a kitchen boy then?”

3) The opening shot in the extract focuses on the omelette in Will’s hand – almost a close-up – with handheld camera movement following the plate to the table. This focus on the food Will has cooked seems to establish him as the less dominant person in the relationship. The medium shot of Lyra suspiciously looking at the food reinforces this power imbalance in their relationship.

The wide shot and slow dolly/tracking through the open doors shows both characters together sitting at the table. This deliberately places both characters in the same frame as the conversation becomes more friendly and less guarded. The camerawork is communicating the growing friendship between Lyra and Will and helps to foreshadow the suggestion (in the very next shot) from Will that they team up and work together. The slow dolly/track at this point signals to the audience that something important is happening; their relationship is changing. It works in a similar way to a zoom.

As Lyra walks into the house, the camera moves backwards with her – a faster-paced dolly shot to signal to the audience that things are changing, the relationship is moving on. Will is left out of focus and trying to keep up – once again communicating to the audience the power imbalance in Lyra’s favour.

4) Lyra’s costume subverts feminine stereotypes. It is blue, practical and does not emphasise her figure or draw attention. It helps to establish Lyra as a practical, confident character who is used to surviving on her own.

Will’s expression and body language is very timid which subverts masculine stereotypes. In contrast, Lyra’s movements and expressions exude confidence. This can be seen in the extract both outside at the table and later when discussing which beds they will take.

5) There are also positive representations of teens in which attributes such as freedom, independence, creativity and social awareness are likely to be emphasised. Some frequently represented characteristics of teenagers may be seen as positive by younger audiences but as negative by older audiences. These include rebelliousness, openness to change, liberal values on matters such as sexuality and a much stronger commitment to friendship groups than to family or country.

A notable difference between the two CSPs can be found in the approaches to diversity. There is no evidence of diversity at all in DW (unless you count the presence of aliens). The teens and younger characters in HDM are drawn from a more diverse background with Will being mixed race.

Susan is clearly in touch with popular culture. As a stereotypical teenager, she is engrossed in pop music on her radio and her modern clothes differentiate her from the teachers. In spite of her intellectual superiority, she is polite and deferential to her teachers. She is not afraid, though, to challenge her ‘grandfather’, the Doctor, in order to defend Barbara and Ian.

6) User-generated content is content created by regular people, rather than brands. An example of this includes a video I post on TikTok.

7) By the end of 2019, the influencer marketing industry was worth some $8bn a year. One recent report by Insider Intelligence predicted that it would grow to $15bn globally by the end of 2022.

There is an army of influencers: social media users and celebrities with large, devoted followings, who give their followers access to a carefully curated version of their lives. In this “authentic” context, sponsored content, known as “sponcon”, has proved a potent tool for selling products.

Some media theorists have suggested that in the digital age it is audiences that have the power rather than companies, industries or traditional celebrities. Social media and YouTube levels the playing field and gives ordinary people the chance to create and share content. This would suggest that celebrities and influencers do not have more power than ever before and in fact the internet is a democratising force giving power to normal people.

8) The nature of media production, including by large organisations, who own the products they produce, and by individuals and groups.

How the media operate as commercial industries on a global scale.

The ways in which the media re-present the world and construct versions of reality.

9) 8/10.

10) Magazines (specifically Heat), social and cultural contexts and Stuart Hall's Reception theory.