Newspapers: Essay Question

 

‘Different newspapers address their audiences differently.’

How far is this true of The Times and the Daily Mirror (Close Study Products)?

[20 marks]

 

I strongly agree with the statement given above because both The Times (TT) and the Daily Mirror (DM) have constructed their newspapers to reach and catch their audiences. The Times are right wing so they concentrate on the Conservative people and views whilst the Daily Mirror are left wing so they base their content around the Labour party ideologies and views.

One way both The Times and the Daily Mirror addresses their audience is through the construction and layout of their front/inside pages. The Times uses serif typography. This is because it is more formal, traditional and reflects well educated and intellectual people. This reflects how TT target their audiences who are 55+ and in the ABC1 social class through their orthodox fonts. However, the Daily Mirror use a sans-serif typography. This is because it is much more modern and reflects the working class majority. This reflects how the DM is much more mainstream and targets a wider group of individuals (mainstreamers, strugglers and resigned). Additionally, in TT there are a less amount of images and the only ones are of the royal family. This could imply that upper class/professional people would like to read more than look at pictures because of their knowledge. Also suggests how upper class people are patriotic and idealise the royal family and aspire to be like them (‘opinion leaders’). However, in the DM there are a huge amount of pictures and less writing which includes a mix of the royal family and celebrities. This could imply that the working class and middle class are mainstream and like to be well-rounded in their news. An aspect of the ‘strugglers’ can be seen here because they may understand more through pictures.

Another way both TT and DM address their audience is through their content/type of news.  The Times focuses on hard news e.g. Economy, politics, international affairs and business. This can be seen through the headlines “Fee-paying schools ‘save the taxpayer £20 billion’ ”, through the images of the Duchess of Cambridge and the high standard vocabulary they use. This reflects the upper class intellectual people. The ABC1 aspire to be the best and go to the best places, they want to be seen as ‘Succeeders’. On the other hand, the Daily Mirror focuses more on soft news, e.g. entertainment, sports, movies, celebrity gossip and fashion. This can also be seen through the images (they use actor Daniel Craig, Kate and Prince Harry) and language (refer to Prince William as ‘Wills’). This reflects the kind of activities the working class people may be involved in and the type of language they may use.

Moreover, newspapers address their audiences through the representations they portray. The main headline on The Times is about “fee paying schools” (private schools) which only the upper class can afford to send their kids to. Only 7% of students go to fee paying schools which shows that The Times only aim to an intellectual/succeeder. However, the Daily Mirror’s main headline is about ‘MMR jabs’ which aims to state school students (which 93%of students attend). This is aimed at working to middle class people/the mainstreamers. Also, the slogan for Daily Mirror ‘fighting for you’ also links to the political party they support which is the Labour Party (left – wing).

Therefore, I strongly agree with the statement as the definitely do address their audiences in different ways through construction, language and representations. The Times are aimed more towards conservative ideologies and Daily Mirror are supportive of Labour ideologies.