Online digital publications

Online Digital Publications 

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There is a noticeable difference in the length of the main headline on the online publication compared to the paper copy. It is much more lengthy and detailed, and doesn't necessarily attract the eyes of the audience. The subheading is bullet pointed instead of in a paragraph, which allows the audience to get an introduction into what the article is about easily. The masthead is around the same size as the masthead on the paper publication. The editor has included tabs such as 'sport, health and science' so that people are encouraged to click on them and read about something that interests them. they have also included images from other articles down the side of this article, which attracts the attention of the audience. Facebook and Twitter tabs are prominent so that people can easily share the story on social media. As a result, the article gets viewed by more people therefore it is an effective way of advertising themselves. Mail Online have included a comment link so that the audience can express their views on the matter, whereas with reading a paper copy there is no way of getting involved with what you are reading. It also enables you to view other people's ideas on the article. The copy of the online article is much more spaced out and in small sections compared to the paragraphs on the front page paper copy. The Mail Online has many plugs down the side of their online publications. This is effective in catching the reader's attention and making them want to read another article.

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There are less differences between the Guardian's paper publication and online publication compared to the Daily Mail. The masthead online is slightly smaller than the one on the paper copy which may be because they don't need to catch the eyes of the audience to read their publication instead of others like they do with the paper copies. The main headline is fairly short and to the point, similar to what it would be like on the paper publication. The visual image is eye-catching because it is a vibrant red and shows Jeremy Corbyn high-fiving Emily Thornberry which the reader may find amusing. It is noticeable that, like the Mail Online, the Guardian has included tabs that the audience can click on such as 'politics, sport and business'. However, the Guardian has included tabs that the Mail Online hasn't such as 'politics' suggesting that the Guardian touches upon political matters more than the Mail Online does. The Guardian have also included plugs down the side of their articles for the same effect as the Mail Online. this suggests that this is an effective way of advertising their other articles.


It is clear from statistics that the online publications of the daily mail and the guardian have different readerships compared to their paper publications. 899,000 adults read the printed guardian newspaper compared to 1,199,000 who read it online instead. On the other hand, the Daily Mail has a much lower online readership (1,361,000) than print readership (3,213,000) which may be because their newspaper is cheaper than the guardian's so people are more encouraged to buy it. Also, considering the daily mail is a tabloid newspaper, people may find it easier to read as it has less detail and writing in it than the Guardian. People may find it easier to read the guardian online because broadsheet newspapers are very large to are difficult to hold.

Based on the statistics, the Mail Online are more likely to invest more money in their online publication because they would want to make their online news as popular as their printed newspaper. The Guardian would generate profits online from their appeal called 'become a supporter' where people can pay £5 each month to fund their journalists and production of news articles. in the image on the left, it is noticeable that they have included more than one link to click on to become a guardian supporter. this increases the chances of people clicking it because after they have read more about the benefits of it they will be encouraged to click the button. On the other hand, the Mail Online would make profits from advertisements that they feature on their online publications, such as this easy jet one in the image below. The Mail Online have purposely made the advert stand out by splashing it over the page, making it easier for people to click on it and read it.


The newspaper companies have both included an email address tab to encourage people to subscribe to their emails. This gets people reminded of the news stories so increases loyalty.

Moodboard

MOOD BOARD

News Values and Audience Appeal

News Values & Audience Appeal

The Daily Mail have used shocking language in their main headline to draw attention to the reader. The noun 'bomb' would alarm the audience and make them want to read the article to see what is happening in the world. 60% is a high statistic, therefore the audience would be drawn into reading it because they'd want to know what so many people in their country are getting involved with. Here, the Daily Mail are posing a warning to readers because they are making the audience aware that over half of Britons want the country to become involved in war. The editor would have purposely chosen this story to be the front headline because it is alarming and could affect many people in our country. The main visual image shows a man holding a huge gun which is shocking for the audience, making the newspaper seem appealing. The Daily Mail have used the pronoun 'we' to involve the audience and provoke an emotive reaction from them. Another main headline on the front page mentions the words 'affair' and 'marriage'. Considering the target audience of the newspaper consists of young/middle aged adults, this would be very relevant to them as the majority of them would be in a relationship themselves and therefore want to read about something that is relatable to their own personal lives. The other visual image shows an attractive man being kissed by a woman which would be appealing to the audience as they may be involved in that sort of activity themselves so would want to read about it.

The Daily Mail have used the superlative 'ever' to emphasise the importance of the article, making people want to read about it. Considering the target audience consists of middle-aged people, the article would be relatable to them as the majority of them would have mortgages. This would be the reason why the editor chose to have this story on the front page. The other main headline mentions weight loss issues which would be appealing to the female audience. The main visual image is of Pippa Middleton looking 'tanned' and attractive. This image would appeal to both a female audience and a male audience because she is attractive. The editor has used an informal tone, giving the reader the impression that the newspaper is going to address some light hearted issues. as a result, the language register of this newspaper would be informal as it poses no warnings or issues. Overall, the front page of this newspaper would attract more woman than men because women are generally more concerned with issues such as mortgages, healthy eating and looking attractive.

The Guardian are guilty of bias in their main headline as they are inferring that Jeremy Corbyn is wanting to cause problems in the country, therefore, they are supposedly supporting right wing.  They are creating a bad impression of Jeremy Corbyn, causing the audience to dislike the labour party. This is ironic because the Guardian are meant to be left wing and therefore supporting the labour party. The Guardian are guilty of hyperbole in their main headline because Corbyn isn't actually going to 'stir up Britain'. The editor has used a metaphor to also exaggerate the situation - it is not possible to 'stir-up' Britain. The language register of the main headline is a warning as it is saying that Britain could face problems. The large main visual image of Jeremy Corbyn would catch the eyes of people who are interested in politics as well as those who are wanting to find out about what is going on as regards politics. The black background of the image portrays a sense of something bad, making him seem like a bad person. Furthermore, the editor has chosen a photograph of him in the middle of a conversation to reflect the main headline; it is as though Corbyn is saying the words 'let's stir up Britain' whilst the photograph was taken. One of the plugs mentions science, which is suitable for the target audience as the education of the readership is higher than daily mail readers. the broadsheet newspaper is more of  a traditional style of newspaper so in general, more higher educated people would read the guardian. The other plug mentions fashion which appeals to the younger readership.

American Beauty Film Scene Analysis

American Beauty Film Scene Analysis

The scene begins with the camera gradually zooming towards old family photos, giving us time to study each one of them.It is noticeable that in each photograph, each member of the family is smiling and looking happy. After these few individual shots, the camera gradually zooms towards the family eating dinner at the dining table, as though the audience are eavesdropping on them. Jane is represented as a typical teenager because she complains about the 'elevator music' in the background. Instantly, the audience are aware that the family are not happy like they used to be, so a clear contrast has been created. The diegetic sound of the 1950's song 'Bali Hai' playing in the background connotes the mother's old fashioned values and gives us the impression that she misses the past. There is a clear blue, white and red colour scheme, suggesting that they are a typical american family. The table is neatly set and decorated with detail, and we find out that it was the mum that put the effort in. This suggests that she is trying to make an effort with the family, even though things are not going well. She has been represented as a typical mother who wants to try and make things perfect until later when we see her put her head in her hands when she is alone. 

The Director has cleverly used lighting to represent the characters in this scene. It is noticeable that Barbara and Lester are in the dark, suggesting that they are going through a hard time. They have been told to sit as far away from each other as possible to portray the sense that they do not get on. Ironically, the teenager is the head of the table and in the light, representing her as the most stable and confident character. It is worth noting that the director has placed the prop of the flowers in front of the teenager, giving the audience the impression that the roses are the barrier between the couple. This also suggests that Jane is the only thing that is keeping the parents together and therefore without her, the situation would be worse between the couple.

At the dinner table, Barbara's posture is noticeably very good compared to Lester's as he is seen bent over throughout this scene. This represents him as an insecure character who is possibly depressed and unhappy. His emotions are also represented by his clothing - he is wearing very bland and dull clothing which contrasts with Barbara's bright blue silky top (as seen in the image to the right). Also, Jane's outfit is a bright red,white and blue jumper which gives the audience the impression that her emotions are more positive than Lester's. Barbara is represented as a typical mother when her husband makes a sarcastic comment as she overreacts and becomes angry with him. We then see Lester leave the room without commenting back to her, representing him as a weak character. 

The scene then moves to Lester and Jane standing in the kitchen having a conversation. The director uses an over the shoulder shot reverse shot to clearly show the character's emotions. This is effective because it makes the audience feel like they're in the middle of their conversation. There is noticeably a difference in each of the character's makeup as Jane is wearing a bright red lipstick in comparison to Lester who looks very plain and boring. The lighting in the kitchen has been made to look lighter than in the dining room to give the illusion that when Lester and his daughter are alone they get on quite well compared to when the Mother is around. This gives us the impression that family time is not how it used to be according to the happy family photos that we saw at the beginning of the scene. 

We are introduced to an eavesdropper shortly after the two characters enter the kitchen. The director makes the camera look like a typical video camera by making the picture quality lower and more grainy. The slow zoom towards the two characters creates a creepy effect for the audience. Whilst the camera is zooming in, the director has used the sound of high pitched piano notes in order to put the audience on edge and build-up tension. The director has used cross cutting between the man in the garden and the characters in the kitchen to remind the audience that there is someone watching them, making the audience fear for them. The camera cuts to an extreme close up of the intruder's face to represent him as scary and intimidating. As a result, the audience are able to clearly see the determined look on his face. Lighting has effectively been used to enhance the intruder's creepy actions when the screen of his video camera lights up his face in the dark background (as seen in the image below).

A comparison of two national newspapers (The Guardian and The Daily Mail).

There is a clear comparison between a tabloid and a broadsheet newspaper. It is noticeable that the tabloid newspaper has a much bigger, bolder main headline, suggesting that it's purpose is to grab the readers attention. Whereas, the Guardian newspaper has a smaller, more subtle main headline which suggests that it is aimed at older people who may read the newspaper regardless of how eye-catching the front cover is. The overall splash of the Daily Mail is more in your face, which is effective in attracting their younger target audience because they would be shocked when they see what the main headline is about. It is noticeable that the broadsheet front page has more copy than the tabloid which suggests that it is a more detailed newspaper. The editor has clearly aimed the guardian newspaper at people who like to read articles in a lot of detail. There is more of a sense of colloquialism around the Daily Mail newspaper, which ties into their younger target audience.

Considering one of the Daily mail's plugs is about Kate's "gorgeous growing family", the audience would get the impression that the newspaper contains more lighthearted and down to earth stories in comparison to the Guardian. As a result, people who prefer to read about soft news would be attracted into reading the Daily Mail whereas people who are interested in hard news would read the Guardian instead. It is worth noting that the Guardian is a left-wing newspaper therefore it is bias towards Labour views whereas the Daily Mail is bias towards the Conservatives because they are right-wing. This would have a large influence on their target audience because those who support the Conservatives may not want to read the Guardian as they would be in disagreement over their views on political matters.

The Daily Mail encourage people to buy their newspaper by including advertisements such as 'FREE INSIDE' whereas the Guardian includes less of this, suggesting that tabloid newspapers are more effective in selling their product. It is noticeable that the Guardian has a caption under their main visual image whereas the Daily Mail does not.

The Male Gaze - Music Video Task

Yxng Bane - Shape of you (Remix)

Throughout this video it is clear that the girl dancer is trying to please the rapper by moving her body in a sexual way in front of him so that he watches her. The female in this video is clearly submissive compared to the rapper as she doesn't look at him - he always has eyes on her.

At the beginning of the video the dancer walks towards the rapper, allowing the audience to see her legs and backside. As she gets closer to the singer he looks up at her with a serious look in his eyes, as though he has got sexual thoughts of what he wants to do with her (this is also evident in the lyrics of the song at this point). The singer breaks the fourth wall when he sings 'hold up, hold up' as though he is trying to tell us to do something, making him seem like dominant person.


39 seconds into the video the singer grabs his groin as the dancer dances seductively in front of him, giving us the impression that he is turned on by it and enjoys watching it. Not long after there is a scene where the girl is sitting on top of the car with the singer standing in between her legs whilst hes singing to the audience with a serious, nasty-looking facial expression. This gives the audience the impression that he owns the woman in the video. The rapper is positioned in front of the woman, suggesting he has more power than her. It is also worth noting that the rapper winks and smiles at the audience which suggests that he is a flirt and likes to attract female attention.

At around 57 seconds into the video, the woman is seen laying down in the back seat of the Maserati, slowly moving her legs around while her hand glides over her upper body. From a male gaze's perspective, the woman is teasing the man by lying down in a position that has her ready for sexual activity. She is then seen with her legs up against the seat, making it look like she is ready for sex.

The dancer in the video is wearing all black clothing which connotes sultry looks. She is wearing high heels whilst dancing giving the impression that she can dance like a stripper would in a club. She is also wearing tight, black shorts that show off her backside. Her makeup has been done to make her look sexy and throughout she has a serious, sexy facial expression on her face, especially when she looks towards the audience. The meaning behind the provocative look of the woman tells the audience that she is good at what she does (sexy dancing) which would encourage men to think about how good she would be in bed.

At 2.15 minutes into the video, the rapper is seen with his hands around the dancers neck and holding her arm up in the air. This scene clearly reflects sexual activity. From the audience's point of view, they would believe that the rapper looks very dominant and in charge. His actions also make him look possessive and in control. As a result, the woman looks vulnerable as it is as though she is being assaulted by the man. From a male gaze's perspective, they may find it empowering to see that the male has control over the female and therefore want to act in a similar way to the rapper in the video.


At 2.19 minutes into the video, the rapper is seen with his tongue out whilst licking a rolling paper. It is noticeable that the dancer's vagina is very near his face therefore it gives the audience the idea that he is wanting to go down on her. This would appeal to a male gaze because they would gain pleasure from thinking about the ideas that the video portrays.

Representation of Teenagers

NEWS STORY 1: ‘UK teenagers complain about impossible GCSE questions
Mail Online have used screenshots of sarcastic twitter posts related to GCSE's as images on this article. Teenagers in this image are represented to the audience as modern because the post on twitter which a teenager would have wrote is sarcastic about the Victorian times. The monkey image used portrays a funny side to the teenagers.

Positive words/phrases: none
Negative words/phrases: stressed out, annoyed youngsters, confounded, bemused, dumbfounded

From these words used in the article it is clear that people have a sympathetic attitude towards teenagers who are studying their GCSE’s. Words such as ‘stressed out’ and ‘confounded’ suggest that the article is trying to make the audience feel sorry for the students and are therefore treating them with respect. The stereotype used here would be that all teenagers are stressed and under pressure and as a result become annoyed and distressed. However, some teenagers cope very well with situations like these. 

NEWS STORY 2: ‘Teenagers are going to school high on DRUGS or on a comedown’

The image used on this particular news story portrays teenagers as vulnerable and drug addicts. It shows a young teenage boy being given pills, which is shocking for the audience because they would be aware of how dangerous drug taking is. This image gives us the impression that many teenagers are involved supplying or taking drugs, making teenagers seem like they are involved in risk-taking behaviours.

Positive words/phrases: ‘must do more to help these teenagers’

Negative words/phrases: ‘two thirds said they didn't care that the substances are illegal’, ‘involved in violence and self-harm’

In this article they have created a bad impression towards teenagers because they have used statistics to show how many teenagers are careless when taking illegal drugs. This creates a stereotype that all teens take drugs. This is unfair for those teenagers that do not involve themselves in illegal behaviours as the audience would believe that it is very common amongst teenagers for them to take drugs. However, towards the end of the article, the writer makes the audience feel sympathy towards these teenagers, as they state that teenagers do not get enough help regarding these issues. The writer may be aiming this statement towards Social Workers because they are the most likely people amongst the audience to help out in these situations. 

NEWS STORY 3: “Russian teenagers committing suicide ‘as part of bizarre social media game called Blue Whale’, Police say.

The image used for this article about teenagers committing suicide gives the impression that teenagers are posers and care about their appearances. It also suggests that teenage girls like to wear a lot of makeup and take selfies.

Positive words/phrases: ‘teenagers were rescued’

Negative words/phrases: ‘may have been manipulated’, ‘influenced into doing it’, ‘two teenage boys were detained’

The attitude towards teenagers here is evidently negative. In the article they have used stereotypes such as teenagers are easily influenced and get themselves into trouble. It creates the impression that a lot of teenagers have ideas of committing suicide or causing harm to their bodies. The article also suggests that teenagers do silly things like play suicide games. the audience that the article is aimed at would be parents of teenagers so that they can be aware that these games do exist and that it is possible that their child is playing them too. It could also be aimed at the Police as they should be looking out for harmful social media games like these and removing them from the public to keep them safe. 

NEWS STORY 4: ‘Why teenagers should NEVER get drunk’

Mail online have used an image of a drunk young girl which connotes irresponsibility amongst teenagers. In the image they have used the prop of the vodka bottle to suggest that teenagers tend to drink high volume alcohol rather than ciders which have a low alcohol content. The girl in the image portrays teenagers as vulnerable in situations like this as she is she is on the floor so her body is clearly not functioning how it should be. The mail online is attempting to create the impression that teenagers like to party and drink with their friends, however it is clear that they can’t handle their drink and are not sensible with how much they drink.

Positive phrases/words: none

Negative phrases/words: 'Adolescents that binge drink have reduced brain tissue'

The stereotype that is evident would be that all teenagers damage their bodies from drinking alcohol or doing drugs. The article would be aimed at parents as they would be very shocked to read about the damage that drinking alcohol has on their children. I believe it is unfair that teenagers are targeted for drinking alcohol when many adults are probably worse than teenagers when it comes to drinking. Also, a lot of teenagers are sensible and do not drink so would not cause harm to their bodies at such a young age. This article creates the view that ALL teenagers get drunk and are not sensible. 

NEWS STORY 5: ‘teenagers blame parents for ‘poisoned legacy’ of Brexit and unaffordable housing, study says’

The image used in this news article clearly portrays teenagers as miserable and argumentative. It is obvious to the audience that it is common for teenagers to have disagreements with their parents, suggesting that they are difficult to get on with and have different opinions. a common conception is that teenagers cause problems with their parents and around the house and it is clearly evident here.

Positive words/phrases: none
Negative words/phrases: 'teenagers blame parents', 'teenagers to be labelled “Generation Angst”', 'they will not be able to afford their own home', 'tomorrow’s adults are alarmed', 'first victims of the “social media explosion”'

By saying that teenagers will not be able to afford their own home it makes teenagers seem not wealthy whereas some of them are. Considering in the title of the article it says 'teenagers blame parents' it creates the impression that all teenagers are rude. This would agree with the stereotype of teenagers being unpolluted people. I believe this is unfair towards teenagers that are polite because the audience would be influenced into thinking that all teenagers are like this.