The Impact of Technological Change

the guardian asks for the reader to support them 

the times' paywall

the telegraph's paywall

daily record - instead of a paywall they have asked a survey

Not all online newspapers put up a paywall. For example, the Daily Mail allow people to read as many articles as they want to without paying anything. This could be the reason why they are such a popular newspaper. The Guardian do not put a paywall up but they do reinforce the fact that they need donations for them to continue to provide interesting articles for free. they say they want to 'keep their journalism as open as we can'. The Times and The Telegraph both have strict paywalls on all articles that only allow you to read a small amount before you have to register or pay a subscription fee. instead pf putting a paywall up, the daily record ask the reader to complete a survey. they would generate money from completing this survey so in effect it does the same job as a paywall.



it is noticeable that most newspapers encourage the readers to share the article on social media. they include the social media icons down the side of the article or half way through reading the article. as seen on the daily mail and guardian site, they have put all the icons together so that they stand out more rather than just putting the Facebook icon there on it's own. people would be more encouraged to share the article on more than one social media. the guardian has included the number of shares the article has ha to prove to readers that lots of people have also shared it, therefore it will seem more acceptable to them. the guardian's icons are less bright and stand out less. it is noticeable that the icons reflect the colour theme of the guardian newspaper which is different coloured blues and greys. this suggests that social media is less important to them. the daily mail's readership would consist of more people that spend more time on social media. The times has no social media icons but may have some once the person has registered with them.

Daily Mail

Guardian

Advertising Question

Explain how representations in adverts are constructed to promote the product. Choose two of the adverts that you have studied.

In the shelter advert there are certain representations that are effective in promoting the product. The adverts represent a variety of races, genders and ages therefore a wider variety of people would be interested in the advert and are more likely to support the charity. The adverts are appealing to the target audience as they have used bright, contrasting colours to catch as many people as possible's attention. Considering the large red writing is all over their faces, it creates the impression that they are trapped behind these words. This is complimented by their faces being very close up to the camera and merged into the black border as it creates the impression that they cannot escape from the situation that they are in. this in effect makes the audience feel sorry for the people suffering and therefore promotes the product. the red writing may also have connotations of blood, suggesting that being homeless is dangerous and can result in violence from members of the public. this further encourages the audience to support the charity. The contact information is easy to read as it has been put in the colour white over a dark background, representing light among darkness. from this, the audience would believe that their donations will promise an improvement in the amount of homelessness there is.


Gareth bale has been represented as a serious, determined athlete which encourages other young people to be like him. his face is easily recognisable by the target audience because the image of his face is large and clear. It is noticeable that there is sweat on his forehead, making the audience assume that he is a hardworking individual and the Lucozade drink is aiding him to progress further by providing him the energy that he needs. this encourages the target audience to work hard like Gareth does, giving them inspiration to be as famous as he is. The use of sporting clothing on Gareth also suggests that he is passionate about sports and that it is a big part of his life. The blue background could connote water to quench thirst, giving the idea that Lucozade can be used for this purpose.

Old Spice advert annotation

Paradise Papers/Social Participatory Media

Write up a description of the main differences between the two front pages from The Guardian and the Daily Mail, looking at both conventions and how the stories have been presented to the reader.

Daily Mail makes out that the Queen is innocent by using the verb 'dragged' because it makes us think that it is not the queen's fault. In contrast, The Guardian are holding the queen more accountable to the matter as they state that it is her cash that is being invested therefore it is her fault. The Guardian have made this story the whole front cover therefore the issue would clearly interest their readership more than it would for the daily mail. this may be due to it being about money and investments therefore the less educated readership of the daily mail may be less interested in this topic area. the daily mail have included other plugs on the front page so that those who arent interested in the money issue can read about the 'schoolgirl' or the 'diet'. this is because their readers are typically more interested in social issues and celebs.

the font and size of the main headline on the daily mail's front page is much more in your face than the guardian's main headline. they used short, punchy words to dramatise the issue and have described it as a 'row'. it is clear from this that the daily mail are trying to describe the issue to the reader as simply as possible so that they understand what is going on. on the other hand, the guardian have used very highbrow language in their headline because the majority of it's readership would understand what they are addressing. the reason for the smaller, lower case headline on the front of the guardian would be because it doesn't need to be made exceedingly eye-catching as the story covers the whole page and have used the bright yellow theme which would instead catch the audience's eye.

Write a paragraph outlining why you think the Guardian created a series of news articles looking at the same issue and how that may reflect the newspapers political ideology and news values.

the reason behind the guardian producing more than one article on the matter is because it would interest their readership. they are providing interesting articles for more educated people therefore money and investments would be more relatable to them than the people who read the daily mail, typically speaking. it is common for the guardian to go into more detail about articles because the readers would be interested in the issue of money. their readership would want to continue to read about further news regarding the issue therefore the guardian do this by creating a series of news articles.

Look at the Mirror, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and the Independent online newspaper and consider what you learn about these two publications from their versions of the story and the front page conventions.

the daily express and daily mirror have adopted a similar approach to the daily mail on this matter as they have both used large, capital lettered main headlines to attract as much attention as possible. they have also included other plugs , like the daily mail, to interest the people that arent bothered by money investments into reading the paper. everything on the front cover of the daily express/daily mirror/daily mail is very in your face, unlike the independent. it is noticeable that the daily express have described the issue as a 'row', which is the same word as what the daily mail used. the independent have used a similar approach to the guardian with the lower case main headline and high level of vocabulary. this suggests that their readership is similar to the guardian's.

it is interesting to see that the daily telegraph has only included a small headline regarding the story. this suggests that there are more important issues that would interest their readership more than this would. it is as though they have only included it on the front because the issue has been on the news lately so they feel as though they have to include it.

Look at the online versions of these stories via Mail Online and The Guardian website. Compare and contrast their coverage. Use the sites to find out as much as you can about the story, so you fully understand it. What other media elements do the two websites provide readers (e.g.: audio or video clips, hyperlinks to other sites or connected stories)?

from looking online, i have noticed that the guardian have a page on their website dedicated to all the paradise papers stories. whereas, with the mail online i could only find paradise papers articles dotted about. as you scroll down the article on the daily mail, a video pops up of the article so that their readership can, instead of reading the information, watch a clip of it with someone explaining it. this adds to the sense that the daily mail is more in your face, as it doesn't give you a choice to watch the video or not. the guardian goes into a lot of detail about the story whereas the mail online include less copy and more visual images to please their less educated readership. as you scroll down the article on the mail online, they have included a 'related articles' box with four other articles featured. as you reach the bottom of the article, they tell the reader to 'share' the article and include many social media tabs for the reader to easily click on. this is less prominent on the guardian as they only include small social media icons and no text telling them to share the article. down the left side of the article the guardian have included a few related articles for the reader to click on. the guardian include many hyperlinks on words throughout their articles to encourage the reader to click on them which leads them to another article relating to that word.


The mail online have included subheadings on some of their paradise papers articles to simply educate the reader on what the issue is about. this clearly shows that their readership is less educated because the subtitles are questions that the readers may have about the issue.

Look at social media sites and explain how you think they encourage readers to interact with the story.

from looking at the guardian's twitter feed on the paradise papers, i have noticed that people can easily get involved with the stories by retweeting them and writing their own comments about them. by retweeting their posts, their friends may be more encouraged to get involved. a link that kept coming up was called 'the guardian opinions' which encourages people to get involved in the articles by giving their opinions. The Mail Online also have a twitter feed with posts related to the paradise papers. other pages have tagged them in their posts, increasing their publicity. Shirky's theory can be applied to this as it suggests that user-generated content creates emotional connection between people who care about something.

both newspapers include an easy-to click on link of their article and then caption it in simpler words to make it very easy for readers to understand what the post relates to. considering they both post so frequently, there are more and more things for people to get involved with. the link to the article always included a picture so attract the audience's attention, just like they do in their paper copies,.

Social and Participatory Media

How active are the social media feeds of The Daily Mail and The Guardian and what might this tell us about their readers and how involved they are with news products? Which articles are included and which generate the most social media activity and audience participation?

the guardian's twitter feed is very active, with just 5-10 minutes between each of their posts. the daily mail's twitter feed is just as active as the guardian's. both of their readerships are clearly very involved with social media, as otherwise the newspapers wouldn't be posting so much content online. 

the guardian's most popular posts are ones relating to DNA sampling, women's rights and supporting same-sex marriage. it is clear from this that the guardian's readership are interested in more educated matters. another popular post is about archaeology and birds suggesting that they care more for the environment than the daily mail's readership. 

i have noticed that the most popular posts on the daily mail's twitter feed are ones of dogs doing silly things. this shows that their readership are more interested in lighthearted issues. another one is meghan markle pictured outside Buckingham palace aged 15.

Annotation of Shelter Advert

Annotation of Lucozade Advert

Advert Research (Lucozade, Old Spice, Shelter)

Lucozade 

What is being sold? Research company background, type of product and price.

A sports energy drink is being sold in the advertisement. Lucozade is a soft drink manufactured by the Japanese company Suntory and marketed as a range of sports and energy drinks. In 1927 it was created as "Glucozade" by a Newcastle pharmacist William Walker Hunter. It was acquired by the British pharmaceutical company Beecham's in 1938 and sold as an energy drink for the sick as Lucozade. The company's advertising slogan was "Lucozade aids recovery". A glucose–water solution, the product was sold until 1983 as a carbonated, slightly orange-flavoured drink in a glass bottle wrapped in yellow cellophane. Pharmacists sold it, children were given it when ill, and hospital visitors would regularly arrive with a bottle. It was rebranded it as a "pick me up" in 1978 and as a sports drink in 1983 to associate it with health rather than sickness. The company switched to a plastic bottle and introduced a range of flavours in more recent times and it is sold at around £1.50 in most shops.

Who is the target audience? Explain.

Lucozade Energy has always seemed a brand obsessed with physicality, therefore the target audience for this product would typically be sports people and young people. By featuring the sportsman Gareth Bale on the front, people would be more encouraged to buy the product because they know that Gareth has something to do with it. The glucose drink focuses new ad energies on manual workers. an age range of 18-30 year olds would be the most accurate as a target audience because during these ages people are more likely to be engaged in sporting activities and would therefore want to drink lucozade to improve their performance.

What representations are evident in the advert? why have they been used? how does this appeal to the target audience?

Gareth bale has been represented as a serious, determined athlete which encourages other young people to be like him. his face is easily recognisable by the target audience because the image of his face is large and clear. It is noticeable that there is sweat on his forehead, making the audience assume that he is a hardworking individual and the lucozade drink is aiding him to progress further by providing him the energy that he needs. this encourages the target audience to work hard like gareth does, giving them inspiration to be as famous as he is. The use of sporting clothing on Gareth also suggests that he is passionate about sports and that it is a big part of his life.

Is the advert successful? Explain your answer

I think that the advert is successful as many sportsman aspire for their performance to be as good as Bales, so therefore by him advertising the drink it therefore suggests that he has the drink to gain energy before the fame, so this will encourage others to buy the drink. the white square that outlines the advert is clearly recognisable as a football pitch, associating the advert immediately with popular sports and therefore attracting a large amount of people. this is complimented by the blue and yellow colour theme that is typical of sports clothing and equipment.

Shelter 

What is being sold? Research company background, type of product and price.

 Shelter is a registered charity that campaigns to end homelessness and bad housing in England and Scotland. It gives advice, information and advocacy to people in need, and tackles the root causes of bad housing by lobbying government and local authorities for new laws and policies to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people. It works in partnership with Shelter Cymru in Wales and the Housing Rights Service in Northern Ireland. Shelter helps people in housing need by providing advice and practical assistance, and fights for better investment in housing and for laws and policies to improve the lives of homeless and badly housed people. Shelter was launched on 1 December 1966, evolving out of the work on behalf of homeless people then being carried on in Notting Hill in London.

Nothing is being sold in the advertisement; it's purpose is to encourage people to support the charity by giving donations. All donations are accepted and there aren't any price limits.

Who is the target audience? Explain.

There is not a specific target audience, however, if there was one it would be middle aged adults. they would be the most well-off people in society because they are working so can afford to donate to charities typically speaking. These specific adverts display young adults to middle aged adults which encourage these sort of ages to donate as they would be able to relate to the people shown in the adverts that are homeless as they are of a similar age. In this sense, the adverts are not very effective as it excludes the fact that there are younger and older people who are in need of help and support. they have clearly just included young/midde aged adults on the advert so that the target audience is more encouraged to donate money.

What representations are evident in the advert? Why have such representations been employed? In what ways do the adverts appeal to the target audience?

the advert represents a variety of races, genders and ages. the adverts are appealing to the target audience as they have used bright, contrasting colours to catch the audiences eye. the three people featured on the advert have been represented as sufferers due to the red and black colour theme. considering the large red writing is all over their faces, it creates the impression that they are trapped behind these words. this is complimented by their faces being very close up to the camera and merged into the black border as it creates the impression that they cannot escape from the situation that they are in. the red writing may also have connotations of blood, suggesting that being homeless is dangerous and can result in violence from members of the public. the line 'loosing a job' is effective because we live in a capitalist society so most people need a job to survive, meaning this issue will effect most people and be relatable to the target audience.

The advert presents people of different races which is positive as it shows that it isn't a racial issue, different ages and genders to emphasise that homelessness can effect anyone. however, none of the people featured are white british which could be suggesting that those people are not usually affected by homelessness which of course is untrue. The contact information is easy to read as it has been put in the colour white over a dark background, representing light amongst darkness.

Is the advert successful? Explain your answer

i believe that this advert is successful because it clearly represents the pain and suffering that homeless people have to face on an everyday basis. the transparent font covering the faces is effective because not only does it draw attention to the people's facial expressions, it also shows powerful, rhetorical questions that forces the audience to consider difficult issues that these people have to face everyday which persuades them to want to make a change, that can potentially change their lives for the better. the colours in the advert have been used well, for example, the dark facial expressions of each person on the advert have been blended with the black border, creating the impression that these people just blend in with everyone else. however, because their faces and facial expression are so clearly presented on the advert, it gives us the idea that they shouldnt just blend in with everyone else; these people are desperate individuals that need to be helped. People can easily read the contact information due to it being put on a dark background.

One the contrary, I think these adverts would be a lot more effective if they presented a wider spectrum of people so it could appeal to a broader audience and represent the true variety of people that are homeless in the UK.

Old Spice

What is being sold? Research company background, type of product and price.

Old Spice products were manufactured by the Shulton Company that was founded in 1934 by William Lightfoot Schultz. Schultz was inspired by his mother’s potpourri and as a result, the first Old Spice product in 1937 was a woman’s scent called Early American Old Spice. The product was received well, and therefore followed with Old Spice for men in 1938. Old Spice's buoy-shaped bottle cologne has been its staple product, available in its original scent as well as newer Pure Sport. In 2006, Old Spice introduced a fragrance, OS Signature, which won the magazine FHM 's 2006 Grooming Award for Best Sporty Fragrance. Old Spice Red Zone products include a "Scratch-and-sniff" version of the Signature fragrance. Old Spice launched the Hardest Working Collection in 2016 with antiperspirants and body washes, offering the best protection and performance yet from the company. In 2014, Old Spice expanded its product line-up to men’s hair care with the introduction of shampoos, conditioners and styling products. These products included: gel, putty, pomade, paste and wax. As of 2016, Old Spice has six main lines of grooming products and each line features a variety of products and scents. nowadays, old spice is sold for around £3 and gift sets are available for around £10.

Who is the target audience? Explain.

the target audience for this product would be typical be men of all ages, but it would also attract females to buy the product as it features a young, muscly and attractive man. Because young men would be amused by the young man on the horse.

What representations are evident in the advert? Why have such representations been employed? In what ways do the adverts appeal to the target audience?

Is the advert successful? Explain your answer