Newspapers: Daily Mail case study
Daily Mail analysis
Use your notes from the lesson to answer the following questions.
1) What are the front page stories on the 21 September edition of the Daily Mail?
2) From your analysis in class, what other stories and topics are covered in this edition of the Daily Mail?
The following pages below are our CSP pages from the Daily Mail. Some other stories and topics that are covered include: Keely Hawes (star of the BBC hit series Bodyguard), BMW cars, RAF and Putin, the NHS and junior doctors, the birth of twins, retirement, LittleJhohn and many more.
3) Media language: Write an analysis of the construction of the Daily Mail homepage: Page design, font, text, images, conventions, hard news/soft news, news values etc.
The 21st of September Daily Mail newspaper edition features two main stories on the front cover: 'Meghan's adoring look for Doria' and 'Furious May we're ready to walk away'. This mixture of hard and soft news immediately reinforces what Daily Mail is notorious for- a blend of both soft and hard news. The news value of 'continuity' is clearly established here as these are both ongoing events in Britain- the Royal family and Brexit.
The Daily Mail's well-known font and the royal crest is placed in the centre at the top of the page. This highlights the newspapers pro-Conservative and traditional British ideologies. Interestingly, the story concerning the Royal family is placed right underneath the logo with a purple border surrounding it and an extremely positive picture of Meghan and her mother. This is a clever trick of the news value Visual Impact The use of the purple colour was intentional to highlight the families royalty and nobility. However, it is quite unusual for the Daily Mail to place two black women on their front cover. Nonetheless, this could be due to the new editor of the Daily Mail- Greig - and perhaps the Daily Mail is becoming less strict under his leadership.
Theresa May and Brexit are the second story on the cover. This story concerns elite nations and people, which makes it extremely appropriate to be on the front cover. It is important to note that the headline is in large bold letters which suggests how passionate the Daily Mail is about this story and how important they believe it is. Although May's Chequers Plan was essentially disregarded by EU leaders, the article is suggesting that we should support May as she is trying to do what is best for our country. This is expected because the Daily Mail and its readers are predominately Conservative in terms of Political agenda.
Interestingly, both stories remain unfinished and have links to pages within the newspaper. The reader is left on a cliffhanger and has to read the newspaper in order to know the full story.
4) Narrative: How is narrative used in this edition of the Daily Mail? Look at the selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper to engage an audience?
Both the front cover stories have been ongoing in Britain for months now. Meghan recently got married to Harry and Brexit has been a debate since the election. The use of cliffhangers engages the audience.
5) Representations: Are any stereotypes reinforced? Is the audience positioned to respond to the stories in a certain way? You should focus on the Brexit and NHS stories (front page, p6-7, p10) as a minimum here.
Theresa May is usually represented very negatively by other newspapers, particularly left-wing papers. Here, however, they represent her in a way that leads the reader to sympathise with her.
The NHS and doctors are regularly criticised for not doing well enough and stereotypically represented as being terrible. There are 3 stories covering the NHS in this edition and they all are negative. Therefore, the Daily Mail is reinforcing this stereotype and encouraging its readers to vote Conservative.
Factsheet 175 - Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1)
Read Media Factsheet 175: Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1) and complete the following questions/tasks.
1) What is the history of the Daily Mail?
The Daily Mail was established in 1896 by Alfred Harmsworth. He was responsible for the rise of the popular press and introduced a new style of journalism that was specifically aimed at the working class. It was based on the American style of reporting and was more concise. The paper reflected the societal changes of the time: free education was introduced to all children aged between 5-13 under the Elemental Education Act (1870). This created a newly literate lower middle class for the first time and established the fundamentals of newspapers like this that are still used today- low prices, a range of content, marketing, and independence from party political control.
2) What news content features in the Daily Mail?
3) What is the Daily Mail’s mode of address?
The mode of address used is usually composed of simple language with minimal complex sentences. The Daily Mail is also notorious for its excessive use of images and videos. This is especially true on MailOnline. It is also often outspoken, hyperbolic with a strong sense of the newspaper attempting to express the frustrations of their readers.
4) What techniques of persuasion does the Daily Mail use to attract and retain readers?
It is vital that institutions maintain readership figures to maintain revenue streams so persuasion is key to that success. The techniques Daily Mail use are subtle but still effective. These techniques are split into 3 areas: Practical, Emotional, Associations.
Practical:
5) What is the Daily Mail’s editorial stance?
The Daily Mail is traditionally right-wing, supporting the Conservative party. They are known to show criticism for the Labour party and its current leader, Jeremy Corbyn. So much so, that during the 2015 general election, The Daily Mail advocated readers in some constituencies to vote UKIP (as the main challenger to the Labour Party).
6) Read this YouGov article on British newspapers and their political stance. Where does the Daily Mail fit in the overall picture of UK newspapers?
The Daily Mail is viewed as the most right-wing newspaper in the whole of the Uk.
However, it is also interesting to note that the Britons who voted the Daily Mail as being 'very right wing' were those who had left-wing ideologies themselves.
7) What is the Daily Mail’s view of the BBC? What are the possible reasons for this?
The Daily Mail is also critical of the BBC as they believe they are biased towards the left.
8) What controversies have followed Mail columnist Richard Littlejohn? You will need to research this beyond the factsheet.
In March 2013, Littlejohn published a column on MailOnline concerning a primary school teacher. Nathan Upton would be known in future as Miss Lucy Meadows after a gender identity transition. Littlejohn expressed his thoughts on the matter stating-
"The school shouldn't be allowed to elevate its 'commitment to diversity and equality' above its duty of care to its pupils and their parents.
Factsheet 177 - Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 2)
Now read Media Factsheet 177: Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 2) and complete the following questions/tasks.
1) How did the launch of the Daily Mail change the UK newspaper industry?
The Daily Mail was the first newspaper to employ shorter bite-size boxes of information into their page. This changed the way newspapers were presented- they featured shorter articles with clear headlines. This allowed the Daily Mail to increase their volume of sales, and then offer an affordable cover price for the lower middle-class readership. The new layout appealed to this newly literate readership, but also to advertisers who provided a large chunk of the revenue.
2) What is the inverted pyramid of journalism and why was it important in the way the Daily Mail presented news?
A term used to describe the process of 'putting your most important information first when constructing your news story.' This technique has many benefits- it allows the reader to identify quickly whether the article interests them, it allows them to understand the whole story, even if they don't finish the whole article and many more. This way, the Daily Mail is targeting specific social classes of readers, and this could be exploited by advertisers. And so, the relationship between advertisers and newspapers began. Advertisers would expect their financial investment to be well directed, and so newspapers had to shape the layout and content of the paper to meet the perceived lifestyles and desires of the readers.
Pöttker (2003) said “the communicative quality of the texts improved considerably, making them more understandable”
3) What company owns the Daily Mail? What other newspapers, websites and brands do they own?
The Daily Mail is owned by the British Media company DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust plc) and “manages a balanced multinational portfolio of entrepreneurial companies, with total revenues of almost £1.5bn.”
Other newspapers, websites and brands they own include:
4) Between 1992 and 2018 the Daily Mail editor was Paul Dacre. What does the extract from Dacre’s speech on the freedom of the press tell us about his ideological position?
Dacre believes in the freedom of the press and appears to be against newspaper regulation. "The freedom of the press, I would argue, is far too important to be left to the somewhat desiccated values of a single judge [Justice David Eady]"
He believes that a free press is beneficial to society and it has helped people in the past countless times and that people agree with this, which is why they buy the paper in the first place.
"For hundreds of years, the press has played a role in that process. It has the freedom to identify those who have offended public standards of decency – the very standards its readers believe in – and hold the transgressors up to public condemnation. If their readers don’t agree with the defence of such values, they would not buy those papers in such huge numbers."
5) What is Dacre’s view on BBC news?
While Dace believes that the BBC is essential for Britain and he likes the content he offers, he argues that the company is simply too big and too powerful, consequently causing damage to all the other newspapers and press businesses.
"the Corporation is simply too big and too powerful. It is destroying media plurality in Britain and in its place imposing a liberal, leftish, mono culture that is destroying free and open debate in Britain"
6) Look at the right-hand side of page 4. Why is the editor of a newspaper so important?
The editor of a newspaper is so important because the way in which information is presented will impact on the circulation and revenue that it generates. Therefore, they are essential for the success of the newspaper.
7) Why did Guardian journalist Tim Adams describe Dacre as the most dangerous man in Britain? What example stories does Adams refer to?
He's described this way because he was a catalyst in leading people to vote leave rather than remain when it came to the Brexit referendum. The DailyMail posted many stories to do with immigration and led people to believe that voting remain would result in more immigrants coming into Britain and that this would impact the country negatively.
8) How does the Daily Mail cover the issue of immigration? What representations are created in this coverage?
The Daily Mail presents a very negative view of immigration and immigrants. If we take a look at the front pages presented in the fact sheet- they all have a major story regarding immigration and they all appear to be against it. They make the immigrants appear as villains with their deliberate use of words such as "Spark", "Crisis", "Blow", "Shambles" and "Warnings".
9) How did the Daily Mail cover the murder of MP Jo Cox?
The Daily Mail deemphasised her assassination by calling her murderer a "loner with a history of mental illness". It's clear that they took this approach because Cox was well known for her pro-immigration views. What's worse is that they reported news of Thomas Mair’s conviction for the only murder of a sitting MP this century on page 29 of the paper, disregarding the importance of the issue completely.
10) What was Dacre’s position on Brexit?
Dacre appears to be pro-Brexit. He states that “I am quite clearly in favour of a common market but I am not in favour of a federal Europe. Nor is the Daily Mail.”
Use your notes from the lesson to answer the following questions.
1) What are the front page stories on the 21 September edition of the Daily Mail?
- Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria, have a good time at cookbook launch
- Theresa May is furious that the EU chiefs rejected her Chequers plan
The following pages below are our CSP pages from the Daily Mail. Some other stories and topics that are covered include: Keely Hawes (star of the BBC hit series Bodyguard), BMW cars, RAF and Putin, the NHS and junior doctors, the birth of twins, retirement, LittleJhohn and many more.
Pg 3
- Trying to appeal to a female audience and make them feel better about themselves- "2 mins of exercise is just as good as 30."
- Soft news
- A sense of nostalgia
Pg 5
- Soft news
- BMW story will encourage people to communicate on social media
Pg 6-7
- Double page of hard news
- Not a flattering picture of May- attempting to make the reader feel sympathy for her
- Used the same picture of the EU leaders walking away but presented it in a positive light compared to other newspapers
Pg 10
- Continuity- RAF
- Pictures
- Appeals to 65 year olds- patriotic
- 3 negative stories on the NHS- "Long wat", "8-week target might never be met again"
- Essentially convincing readers to vote conservative
- Blame doctors over government
Pg 12-13
- Positive pictures- kind Royal family
- Continuity- recently got married
- Female target audience- "The power of women, we make things happen"
- Soft news, humour included- "Harry being downgraded"
- Quotes in bold- "Doria is so nice. She's a lovely, warm person"
- Daily mail usually have a negative representation of black people- here they are humanised
- New editor represents Royal Family differently compared to the old editor
3) Media language: Write an analysis of the construction of the Daily Mail homepage: Page design, font, text, images, conventions, hard news/soft news, news values etc.
The 21st of September Daily Mail newspaper edition features two main stories on the front cover: 'Meghan's adoring look for Doria' and 'Furious May we're ready to walk away'. This mixture of hard and soft news immediately reinforces what Daily Mail is notorious for- a blend of both soft and hard news. The news value of 'continuity' is clearly established here as these are both ongoing events in Britain- the Royal family and Brexit.
The Daily Mail's well-known font and the royal crest is placed in the centre at the top of the page. This highlights the newspapers pro-Conservative and traditional British ideologies. Interestingly, the story concerning the Royal family is placed right underneath the logo with a purple border surrounding it and an extremely positive picture of Meghan and her mother. This is a clever trick of the news value Visual Impact The use of the purple colour was intentional to highlight the families royalty and nobility. However, it is quite unusual for the Daily Mail to place two black women on their front cover. Nonetheless, this could be due to the new editor of the Daily Mail- Greig - and perhaps the Daily Mail is becoming less strict under his leadership.
Theresa May and Brexit are the second story on the cover. This story concerns elite nations and people, which makes it extremely appropriate to be on the front cover. It is important to note that the headline is in large bold letters which suggests how passionate the Daily Mail is about this story and how important they believe it is. Although May's Chequers Plan was essentially disregarded by EU leaders, the article is suggesting that we should support May as she is trying to do what is best for our country. This is expected because the Daily Mail and its readers are predominately Conservative in terms of Political agenda.
Interestingly, both stories remain unfinished and have links to pages within the newspaper. The reader is left on a cliffhanger and has to read the newspaper in order to know the full story.
4) Narrative: How is narrative used in this edition of the Daily Mail? Look at the selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper to engage an audience?
Both the front cover stories have been ongoing in Britain for months now. Meghan recently got married to Harry and Brexit has been a debate since the election. The use of cliffhangers engages the audience.
5) Representations: Are any stereotypes reinforced? Is the audience positioned to respond to the stories in a certain way? You should focus on the Brexit and NHS stories (front page, p6-7, p10) as a minimum here.
Theresa May is usually represented very negatively by other newspapers, particularly left-wing papers. Here, however, they represent her in a way that leads the reader to sympathise with her.
The NHS and doctors are regularly criticised for not doing well enough and stereotypically represented as being terrible. There are 3 stories covering the NHS in this edition and they all are negative. Therefore, the Daily Mail is reinforcing this stereotype and encouraging its readers to vote Conservative.
Factsheet 175 - Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1)
Read Media Factsheet 175: Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1) and complete the following questions/tasks.
1) What is the history of the Daily Mail?
The Daily Mail was established in 1896 by Alfred Harmsworth. He was responsible for the rise of the popular press and introduced a new style of journalism that was specifically aimed at the working class. It was based on the American style of reporting and was more concise. The paper reflected the societal changes of the time: free education was introduced to all children aged between 5-13 under the Elemental Education Act (1870). This created a newly literate lower middle class for the first time and established the fundamentals of newspapers like this that are still used today- low prices, a range of content, marketing, and independence from party political control.
2) What news content features in the Daily Mail?
- Stories concerning women (health, family, fashion, celebrity focus)
- The Royal Family
- Outspoken columnists such as Richard Littlejohn; attacking Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party in general
- Politics including pro-Brexit comments- communism
- Criticism of the EU (regulation, laws) and coverage of European leaders
- Campaigning against the current NHS supporting a ‘patients betrayed’ ideology; wide ranging health section
- British interests (food and agriculture, terrorism risks/ plots/ acts of…)
The mode of address used is usually composed of simple language with minimal complex sentences. The Daily Mail is also notorious for its excessive use of images and videos. This is especially true on MailOnline. It is also often outspoken, hyperbolic with a strong sense of the newspaper attempting to express the frustrations of their readers.
4) What techniques of persuasion does the Daily Mail use to attract and retain readers?
It is vital that institutions maintain readership figures to maintain revenue streams so persuasion is key to that success. The techniques Daily Mail use are subtle but still effective. These techniques are split into 3 areas: Practical, Emotional, Associations.
Practical:
- Bribery
- Newness
- Longevity
- Ease of use
- Inexpensive
- Luxury
Emotional:
- Exaggeration or hyperbole
- Repetition
- Comforting
- Fear
- Humour
Associations:
- Celebrity endorsement
- Experts
The Daily Mail is traditionally right-wing, supporting the Conservative party. They are known to show criticism for the Labour party and its current leader, Jeremy Corbyn. So much so, that during the 2015 general election, The Daily Mail advocated readers in some constituencies to vote UKIP (as the main challenger to the Labour Party).
6) Read this YouGov article on British newspapers and their political stance. Where does the Daily Mail fit in the overall picture of UK newspapers?
The Daily Mail is viewed as the most right-wing newspaper in the whole of the Uk.
However, it is also interesting to note that the Britons who voted the Daily Mail as being 'very right wing' were those who had left-wing ideologies themselves.
7) What is the Daily Mail’s view of the BBC? What are the possible reasons for this?
The Daily Mail is also critical of the BBC as they believe they are biased towards the left.
In March 2013, Littlejohn published a column on MailOnline concerning a primary school teacher. Nathan Upton would be known in future as Miss Lucy Meadows after a gender identity transition. Littlejohn expressed his thoughts on the matter stating-
"The school shouldn't be allowed to elevate its 'commitment to diversity and equality' above its duty of care to its pupils and their parents.
It should be protecting pupils from some of the more, er, challenging realities of adult life, not forcing them down their throats.
These are primary school children, for heaven's sake. Most them still believe in Father Christmas. Let them enjoy their childhood. They will lose their innocence soon enough."
Later on, Meadows was found dead and DailyMail were forced to take the column down. Many people expressed anger towards Littlejohn and a petition started to get him fired.
Factsheet 177 - Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 2)
Now read Media Factsheet 177: Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 2) and complete the following questions/tasks.
1) How did the launch of the Daily Mail change the UK newspaper industry?
The Daily Mail was the first newspaper to employ shorter bite-size boxes of information into their page. This changed the way newspapers were presented- they featured shorter articles with clear headlines. This allowed the Daily Mail to increase their volume of sales, and then offer an affordable cover price for the lower middle-class readership. The new layout appealed to this newly literate readership, but also to advertisers who provided a large chunk of the revenue.
2) What is the inverted pyramid of journalism and why was it important in the way the Daily Mail presented news?
A term used to describe the process of 'putting your most important information first when constructing your news story.' This technique has many benefits- it allows the reader to identify quickly whether the article interests them, it allows them to understand the whole story, even if they don't finish the whole article and many more. This way, the Daily Mail is targeting specific social classes of readers, and this could be exploited by advertisers. And so, the relationship between advertisers and newspapers began. Advertisers would expect their financial investment to be well directed, and so newspapers had to shape the layout and content of the paper to meet the perceived lifestyles and desires of the readers.
Pöttker (2003) said “the communicative quality of the texts improved considerably, making them more understandable”
3) What company owns the Daily Mail? What other newspapers, websites and brands do they own?
The Daily Mail is owned by the British Media company DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust plc) and “manages a balanced multinational portfolio of entrepreneurial companies, with total revenues of almost £1.5bn.”
Other newspapers, websites and brands they own include:
- Mail on Sunday
- MailOnline
- Mail Plus
- Metro
- Metro.co.uk
- Mail Today
- Mail Travel
- Wowcher
- Jobsite
- This is Money
4) Between 1992 and 2018 the Daily Mail editor was Paul Dacre. What does the extract from Dacre’s speech on the freedom of the press tell us about his ideological position?
Dacre believes in the freedom of the press and appears to be against newspaper regulation. "The freedom of the press, I would argue, is far too important to be left to the somewhat desiccated values of a single judge [Justice David Eady]"
He believes that a free press is beneficial to society and it has helped people in the past countless times and that people agree with this, which is why they buy the paper in the first place.
"For hundreds of years, the press has played a role in that process. It has the freedom to identify those who have offended public standards of decency – the very standards its readers believe in – and hold the transgressors up to public condemnation. If their readers don’t agree with the defence of such values, they would not buy those papers in such huge numbers."
5) What is Dacre’s view on BBC news?
While Dace believes that the BBC is essential for Britain and he likes the content he offers, he argues that the company is simply too big and too powerful, consequently causing damage to all the other newspapers and press businesses.
"the Corporation is simply too big and too powerful. It is destroying media plurality in Britain and in its place imposing a liberal, leftish, mono culture that is destroying free and open debate in Britain"
6) Look at the right-hand side of page 4. Why is the editor of a newspaper so important?
The editor of a newspaper is so important because the way in which information is presented will impact on the circulation and revenue that it generates. Therefore, they are essential for the success of the newspaper.
7) Why did Guardian journalist Tim Adams describe Dacre as the most dangerous man in Britain? What example stories does Adams refer to?
He's described this way because he was a catalyst in leading people to vote leave rather than remain when it came to the Brexit referendum. The DailyMail posted many stories to do with immigration and led people to believe that voting remain would result in more immigrants coming into Britain and that this would impact the country negatively.
8) How does the Daily Mail cover the issue of immigration? What representations are created in this coverage?
The Daily Mail presents a very negative view of immigration and immigrants. If we take a look at the front pages presented in the fact sheet- they all have a major story regarding immigration and they all appear to be against it. They make the immigrants appear as villains with their deliberate use of words such as "Spark", "Crisis", "Blow", "Shambles" and "Warnings".
9) How did the Daily Mail cover the murder of MP Jo Cox?
The Daily Mail deemphasised her assassination by calling her murderer a "loner with a history of mental illness". It's clear that they took this approach because Cox was well known for her pro-immigration views. What's worse is that they reported news of Thomas Mair’s conviction for the only murder of a sitting MP this century on page 29 of the paper, disregarding the importance of the issue completely.
10) What was Dacre’s position on Brexit?
Dacre appears to be pro-Brexit. He states that “I am quite clearly in favour of a common market but I am not in favour of a federal Europe. Nor is the Daily Mail.”
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