Newspapers: The i case study
The i analysis: Friday 21 September
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 i?
The main story on this edition of the newspaper is on the Salzburg meeting for the Chequers plan. It features a picture of Theresa May and the headline 'The Salzburg Disaster'. Although many other newspapers also covered this story, the i presents it in a more neutral and sympathetic way compared to them. They describe May as being "Vulnerable" and state that she was "Ambushed". This is a similar way to the DailyMail's interpretation, however, the i have done it due to their ideologies of offering unbias news, whereas the DailyMail presented her in this way because of their pro-Conservative views.
Other front page stories include- 'The future of Iraq', 'An Octopus taking ecstasy', 'Britain Climate change' and many more. The Iraq story assumes that the readers are knowledgeable, intelligent and interested in the future of the whole world, such as the Middle East. It's interesting to note that the hard news stories appear to be in the center and left-hand side of the front page but the soft news is situated on the right-hand side. Furthermore, the front page features no actual article, just headline so readers are expected to read the newspaper to find out more. This is extremely different to the Daily Mail.
2) From your analysis in class, what other stories and topics are covered in this edition of the i? You should address the following pages:
3) Media language: Write an analysis of the construction of the i front page: Page design, font, text, images, conventions, hard news/soft news, news values etc.
Answered above.
4) Narrative: How is narrative used in this edition of the i? Look at the selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper to engage an audience?
The Brexit story is an ongoing narrative.
5) Representations: Are any stereotypes reinforced? Is the audience positioned to respond to the stories in a certain way? What contrasts can you find with the Daily Mail here?
Not really any stereotypes. The i takes a neutral approach.
The i: introductory reading
Look at the following articles to give you the background on the i newspaper:
BBC News website: Independent launches new 20p newspaper called i
Campaign magazine: Independent to launch first quality daily newspaper for 25 years
BBC News website: Johnston Press to buy i newspaper for £24m
Notes-
When the paper first launched in 2010-
The i launch campaign and success
Read this Marketing Society case study on the launch of the i newspaper and answer the following questions:
1) What was the research that led to the launch of the i newspaper?
Research had shown that there was a strong desire for quality information in the print newspaper format but that consumers were increasingly time poor. Therefore, it was clear that there was a gap in the newspaper market for a quality, straight-to-the-point product and that's where the i comes in.
2) How did i target readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers?
i targeted readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers, combining strong design with high-quality content and opinion in a manageable size at the right price. It was designed to grow the market rather than cannibalise it.
3) What was the target audience and why was this attractive to advertisers?
The i has a target audience of a professional ABC1 demographic. This was attractive to advertisers as this audience demographic are likely to be large consumers and spenders of money. Indeed, the Independent teams visited 12,000 retail outlets to back up the newspaper.
4) What were the statistics that proved the i newspaper was a success - and that it hadn't 'cannibalised' (taken readers from) other newspapers?
By the end of 2011 i was the fastest growing daily with a circulation of 170,436 and little cannibalisation of The Independent. No other national newspaper reported a significant decline, proving that i has genuinely grown the newspaper market.
5) What was the background to the i newspaper's launch?
The newspaper market has been experiencing a decline both on a national and global scale for over twenty years. In the UK alone, the market slumped 21% between 2007 and 2009. The fact that free online news and some free-sheets existed didn't help the matter. In March 2010, The Lebedevs acquired The Independent and The Independent on Sunday. A year earlier Alexander Lebedev had decided to turn the Evening Standard into a free-sheet after 180 years of it being a paid for product. To many, this seemed like a bad idea along with launching the i because you would assume that readers would opt for the free newspaper. However, The Independent held an unshakeable belief in a consumer desire for quality print news and demonstrated a unique understanding of what readers want by creating a completely new category in newspapers. On Tuesday 26 October 2010 i became the UK's first national quality daily newspaper to hit newsstands in almost 25 years. Its subsequent success lay in the application of an incredibly focused marketing strategy that found an untapped audience with a desire for an affordable daily quality newspaper and developed a product that fitted it perfectly.
6) What were the objectives for the i newspaper launch?
The i's launch objectives were as follows:
7) The Independent saw an opportunity in the print newspaper market. How did potential i readers view other newspapers and what product did they want?
Despite the continued demand for real news, the combination of cost, multiple alternative news source channels and a lack of time were leading consumers to stop buying papers completely or to reduce the frequency with which they were buying them. The Independent felt that a different type of newspaper was needed. One designed with the 21st-century reader in mind. Research led it to summarise that what the market was crying out for was a short, concise quality read at only 20p Monday – Friday.
8) What were the five key principles of the i?
The i was created with 5 key principles in mind:
1) High quality content
2) Aesthetically pleasing design
3) Balanced comment/opinion
4) Manageable pagination
5) Affordable price
9) How was the newspaper launched?
The i's launch consisted of many phases. Phase one consisted of letting everyone become aware of the newspaper. A highly-focused national outdoor campaign to generate initial awareness coupled with a radio campaign on LBC. The Independent’s teams also visited 12,000 retail outlets as part of a London focused distribution drive. The launch was supported by press ads and vouchers/sampling in sister paper The Evening Standard and 60 tube stations and train stations nationwide. Phase one was backed by a strategic PR campaign that targeted all key broadcasters to ensure rolling news and feature coverage for the first 48 hours of launch.
Phase two consisted of clearly spelling out the benefits of the newspaper. Phase two was designed to react to the findings of the research at the end of the initial stage of launch. The response was the creation of a new, bold above-the-line campaign covering TV, print, radio and digital, explaining exactly what the paper was and why the target audience would love it.
10) List three statistics quoted in the final section 'Achievements' to demonstrate the success of the i newspaper's launch.
Read this collection of quotes and messages in the Independent to celebrate the i newspaper's fifth birthday. Answer the following questions:
1) Read Nigel Farage's message ("thoughtful, independent-minded and liberal (with a small 'l')...") What does this tell us about the values and ideologies behind the i newspaper?
This shows that the i are very neutral and unbiased when it comes to politics and their views. They tend to present their news in a factual way rather than in an opinionated way.
2) Why might one of the readers suggest that switching from the Daily Mail to the i has meant their "blood pressure has returned to normal"?
The Daily Mail usually presents their news in a very right-wing and opinionated way. This leads to many readers who are left-wing to become angry so switching to the i means they won't have this issue because the i presents news in a neutral way.
3) Choose three other messages from readers. What do they suggest about the audience pleasures provided by the i newspaper - why do readers love it?
4) Scroll down towards the bottom of the article. What are the campaigns that i have run since their launch in 2010?
5) What do these campaigns tell you about the values and ideologies behind the i newspaper? Do they also tell you something about the readership of the i?
These campaigns show that the i is a philanthropic, especially when it comes to helping children or animals.
6) What did the critics say when the paper was first launched? Why did many think the paper would fail?
“i for ill-conceived and, ultimately, ill-fated” Mark Ritson believed that the i would fail because it was written by the same journalists who wrote The Independent and he believed that they couldn't afford to create and deliver a distinct product for this segment, and even if they could, their target readers wouldn’t buy it anyways.
"i lives up to its name – it’s a digest of its big brother" Roy Greenslade at The Guardian criticised the i newspaper, stating that readers would rather pick up a free metro rather than pay 20p for a new one. He also wished them luck in finding their young target audience that have turned their backs on print due to technology and online advancements.
7) Choose three quotes from the critics' reviews and discuss whether these viewpoints remain valid today.
"The Independent lays an egg – but will i fly?"- Roy Greenslade was very skeptical that the i would be a success.
Also the quotes from the previous question. These viewpoints cannot remain valid today because the i proved all these critics wrong and ended up being a huge success.
8) Look at the bestselling front page stories from 2011-2015. What do these tell us about the i's values and ideologies - and what do we learn about i readers?
These best selling front pages show that the i's values and ideologies are very centered as there is a broad range of news, from Britain to politics, to other countries, to science, etc. It also shows that their readers are very open-minded and interested in news from all over the world as well as in Britain. They also like being informed in new scientific discoveries.
Johnston Press background and research
Read this history of Johnston Press and the news of its impending break-up from veteran Guardian media correspondent Roy Greenslade.
1) How did the company begin?
In the mid-19th century, newspapers were the sole means of mass communication. One newspaper, The Falkirk Herald, was soon acquired by a local printing business run by Archibald Johnston. His sons helped him run the business. The papers status and probability increased. However, after falling circulation, the business expanded with 24 weekly titles.
2) What did Johnston Press do in the 1980s and 1990s?
It went on the stock market in 1988 and achieved an initial value of £22 million.
3) List some of the regional newspapers owned by Johnston Press in its history (you may need to research this separately beyond Greenslade's article).
4) What happened to Johnston Press in the 2000s to the present day?
Advertising, which accounted for more than 80% of Johnston Press’s revenues, was falling away rapidly. There is no hope of Johnston paying off the £220m bond due next year.
5) How does Greenslade see the future of Johnston Press - and what might happen to the i newspaper?
He believes that, due to this, the company will be broken up. Rival companies who are facing extinction will seek to prolong their lives by acquiring favoured pieces of the Johnston holdings. However, it is very likely that lots of papers will vanish.
Johnston Press buys the i
Read this article from the website Hold The Front Page on the announcement of the Johnston Press purchase of the i newspaper - and the closure of the Independent. Answer the following questions:
1) How much did regional publisher Johnston Press buy the i for?
£24 million
2) Who did Johnston Press buy the i from?
ESI Media, which is controlled by Evgeny Lebedev.
3) What did the sale signal for the Independent newspaper?
4) What reasons were provided by Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield for buying the i?
Ashley highlighted the reasonings for Johnston Press buying the i:
5) The comments below the article are overwhelmingly negative. Choose three comments and explain how they criticise Johnston Press and the purchase of the i newspaper.
"A complete kick in the teeth for myself and other JP workers facing redundancy." - This JP worker criticises them for buying the i newspaper and leaning to becoming more digital as it has led to lots of workers losing their jobs.
"What does another £24m. extra debt matter anyway? So, you’ve run a company into the ground, ruined thousands of lives, thrown away tons of experience and knowledge, and here you are, doing it all again. Send us your old sofa. JP poverty wages puts us on the breadline, and my child needs shoes. To the i journos, sorry to welcome you to JP. No such word as quality here. Yet another waste of talented dedicated people." - Once again, this former worker is angry at losing their job due to cost cuts. They also state that the i workers are not going to like working with JP as they offer 'poverty wages'.
"WHEN are these clowns going to learn that Digital Dosen’t Pay! Joe Public won’t pay for anything off the internet unless he’s buying it from Amazon or EBay and advertisers don’t want it because their ads are minuscule on phone screens and ad blockers are becoming the norm. For all his bluster about the future is digital Ashley Highfield has just bought a well-circulated PRINT product. Unfortunately for him and the newly online Independent. Those figures are about to drop and ad revenue will too. The independent will completely disappear into the ether and the I will go the same way as most JP papers have done under this management. Site hits are one thing but without sufficient ads, they are giving the news away for free. How exciting! The newspaper isn’t dying… It’s being murdered by its owners." - This comment states that going completely digital is bad news as it doesn't bring in any revenue.
1) What are the top five stories? Are they examples of soft news or hard news?
The 5 top stories are shown in the picture above. Stories 3 and 5 are examples of hard news. 1, 2 and 4 are examples of softer news but it's interesting that they are not the soft news you would expect to see on the Daily Mail. They don't feature any celebrity gossip or rubbish.
2) How is the homepage designed? Do you see similarities with the print edition?
The red colour scheme is used on both the print edition and webpage. Furthermore, the 'i' logo remains the same and so does the font typeface. There is also the idea that the print edition is designed more like a webpage- each story is in a light grey box, as if it can be clicked on, and this is how the homepage is designed.
3) Are there examples of ‘clickbait’? What are they?
There aren't really any examples of clickbait. However, the titles of the stories are written in a way that intrigues the reader to click on them. The 5 top stories are an example.
4) To what extent do the stories you have found on inews.co.uk reflect the values and ideologies of the i newspaper?
The stories I have found reflect the values and ideologies of the i to a large extent. They are relevant to today and cover politics as well as Britain. Interestingly, there is a story related to university which reflects the young, educated target audience that the i are going for.
5) What similarities and differences are there between MailOnline and the i newspaper website?
Both digital pages feature a bar at the top with links that readers can click on depending on what they want to read, ie. sport, culture, etc. They also both have the name of the website on the top left as well as social media links.
Even though they both contain advertisements, MailOnline features much more than the i. Furthermore, the i website appears to be less chaotic and clustered than MailOnline. MailOnline features many stories on the homepage with really long headlines and some of them even contain the whole article. However, the i website seems much more put together.
Now read this Business Insider feature on the launch of the i newspaper website (which coincided with the purchase of the newspaper by Johnston Press). Answer the following questions:
1) The interview with Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield features the claim there will be "no clickbait". Does your analysis of inews.co.uk support this claim?
Yes, my analysis of the i website does support this claim.The i just features interesting stories that are factual.
2) He states the website will "stick very closely to the brand values of the i". What are these?
3) How does he claim inews.co.uk will differ from online rival Buzzfeed?
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 i?
The main story on this edition of the newspaper is on the Salzburg meeting for the Chequers plan. It features a picture of Theresa May and the headline 'The Salzburg Disaster'. Although many other newspapers also covered this story, the i presents it in a more neutral and sympathetic way compared to them. They describe May as being "Vulnerable" and state that she was "Ambushed". This is a similar way to the DailyMail's interpretation, however, the i have done it due to their ideologies of offering unbias news, whereas the DailyMail presented her in this way because of their pro-Conservative views.
Other front page stories include- 'The future of Iraq', 'An Octopus taking ecstasy', 'Britain Climate change' and many more. The Iraq story assumes that the readers are knowledgeable, intelligent and interested in the future of the whole world, such as the Middle East. It's interesting to note that the hard news stories appear to be in the center and left-hand side of the front page but the soft news is situated on the right-hand side. Furthermore, the front page features no actual article, just headline so readers are expected to read the newspaper to find out more. This is extremely different to the Daily Mail.
2) From your analysis in class, what other stories and topics are covered in this edition of the i? You should address the following pages:
- Page 2
- Audience maintenance costs for owning a car- young audience, likely to be a first car
- Articles very short- "Day at a glance"
- Page 3
- Evan Davis- news night to PM on radio 4
- Homosexual, LGBT ambassodor - i readers more open minded and liberal
- Letter from the editor- communicate and link with readers
- Page 5
- Similar to Metro
- Excuse to use a picture of an animal
- Pages 6-7
- Neutral, non-bias, balance
- European perspective as well as UK
- Column on side "Widow of Westminister attacker says sorry" - Represented as a single man action rather than blaming the whole Muslim community, sympathetic. Daily Mail would make this story a big deal and put it on the front page.
- Page 11
- Very small section on the royal family- compared to Daily Mail's double page spread
- Story about student fees- reflects young, educated audience
- Page 15
- Mercury prize
- Amazon Alexa- technology, readers are well aware of how to use technology
- Page 16
- 'Viewspaper'
- Lots of different viewpoints- links with i values and ideologies
- Page 18
- Letters from readers
- Page 45*
- One minute with Nadiya Hussein- baker and writer
- Review by Ian Burrell, former Guardian editor on Alan Rusbridger's book on the change of news and journalism
Answered above.
4) Narrative: How is narrative used in this edition of the i? Look at the selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper to engage an audience?
The Brexit story is an ongoing narrative.
5) Representations: Are any stereotypes reinforced? Is the audience positioned to respond to the stories in a certain way? What contrasts can you find with the Daily Mail here?
Not really any stereotypes. The i takes a neutral approach.
The i: introductory reading
Look at the following articles to give you the background on the i newspaper:
BBC News website: Independent launches new 20p newspaper called i
Campaign magazine: Independent to launch first quality daily newspaper for 25 years
BBC News website: Johnston Press to buy i newspaper for £24m
Notes-
When the paper first launched in 2010-
- Cost 20p when it was first released
- Shares the same editorial staff as The Independent
- Aimed at people who are short of time
- Independent executive Andrew Mullins said "They have a very busy lifestyle and they need something more concise and distilled."
- Targeted at "readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers, and those of all ages who want a comprehensive digest of the news in printed form"
- A statement from The Independent said: "[The paper] will combine intelligence with brevity and depth with speed of reading, providing an essential daily briefing."
- Andrew Mullins, managing director of The Independent, said:"Time-poor newspaper readers, and especially commuters, have been telling us for years that they are inundated with information and just don't have the time to read a quality newspaper on a regular basis"
Johnston Press to buy i newspaper in 2016-
- Johnston said the i acquisition would create the UK's fourth-largest print publisher with more than 600,000 paid copies a day.
- According to the Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC), the newspaper sold nearly 270,000 copies daily in December. (when it was first released)
- Johnston said its directors believed the i provided a "strong strategic fit" and would help build the group's national print and digital display advertising revenues.
- Johnston chief executive Ashley Highfield said: "By joining with Johnston Press the combined circulation will be equal to 9% of national daily circulation, making us the fourth-largest player in the market."
Read this Marketing Society case study on the launch of the i newspaper and answer the following questions:
1) What was the research that led to the launch of the i newspaper?
Research had shown that there was a strong desire for quality information in the print newspaper format but that consumers were increasingly time poor. Therefore, it was clear that there was a gap in the newspaper market for a quality, straight-to-the-point product and that's where the i comes in.
2) How did i target readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers?
i targeted readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers, combining strong design with high-quality content and opinion in a manageable size at the right price. It was designed to grow the market rather than cannibalise it.
3) What was the target audience and why was this attractive to advertisers?
The i has a target audience of a professional ABC1 demographic. This was attractive to advertisers as this audience demographic are likely to be large consumers and spenders of money. Indeed, the Independent teams visited 12,000 retail outlets to back up the newspaper.
4) What were the statistics that proved the i newspaper was a success - and that it hadn't 'cannibalised' (taken readers from) other newspapers?
By the end of 2011 i was the fastest growing daily with a circulation of 170,436 and little cannibalisation of The Independent. No other national newspaper reported a significant decline, proving that i has genuinely grown the newspaper market.
5) What was the background to the i newspaper's launch?
The newspaper market has been experiencing a decline both on a national and global scale for over twenty years. In the UK alone, the market slumped 21% between 2007 and 2009. The fact that free online news and some free-sheets existed didn't help the matter. In March 2010, The Lebedevs acquired The Independent and The Independent on Sunday. A year earlier Alexander Lebedev had decided to turn the Evening Standard into a free-sheet after 180 years of it being a paid for product. To many, this seemed like a bad idea along with launching the i because you would assume that readers would opt for the free newspaper. However, The Independent held an unshakeable belief in a consumer desire for quality print news and demonstrated a unique understanding of what readers want by creating a completely new category in newspapers. On Tuesday 26 October 2010 i became the UK's first national quality daily newspaper to hit newsstands in almost 25 years. Its subsequent success lay in the application of an incredibly focused marketing strategy that found an untapped audience with a desire for an affordable daily quality newspaper and developed a product that fitted it perfectly.
6) What were the objectives for the i newspaper launch?
The i's launch objectives were as follows:
- Reach a circulation figure of 150,000
- Avoid cannibalisation of The Independent (182,412 at i launch)
- Reach a combined Independent and i average circulation figure of 340,000
- Increase ad revenue growth for the business and achieve majority ad volume in the quality marketplace
Despite the continued demand for real news, the combination of cost, multiple alternative news source channels and a lack of time were leading consumers to stop buying papers completely or to reduce the frequency with which they were buying them. The Independent felt that a different type of newspaper was needed. One designed with the 21st-century reader in mind. Research led it to summarise that what the market was crying out for was a short, concise quality read at only 20p Monday – Friday.
8) What were the five key principles of the i?
The i was created with 5 key principles in mind:
1) High quality content
2) Aesthetically pleasing design
3) Balanced comment/opinion
4) Manageable pagination
5) Affordable price
9) How was the newspaper launched?
The i's launch consisted of many phases. Phase one consisted of letting everyone become aware of the newspaper. A highly-focused national outdoor campaign to generate initial awareness coupled with a radio campaign on LBC. The Independent’s teams also visited 12,000 retail outlets as part of a London focused distribution drive. The launch was supported by press ads and vouchers/sampling in sister paper The Evening Standard and 60 tube stations and train stations nationwide. Phase one was backed by a strategic PR campaign that targeted all key broadcasters to ensure rolling news and feature coverage for the first 48 hours of launch.
Phase two consisted of clearly spelling out the benefits of the newspaper. Phase two was designed to react to the findings of the research at the end of the initial stage of launch. The response was the creation of a new, bold above-the-line campaign covering TV, print, radio and digital, explaining exactly what the paper was and why the target audience would love it.
10) List three statistics quoted in the final section 'Achievements' to demonstrate the success of the i newspaper's launch.
- At the end of phase one, the title had a circulation of 60,000 and following the boost in activity during the second phase of the marketing campaign, the circulation rose to 167,944 by the end of February.
- Within three months of the paper’s launch a significant result had been achieved with retailers – on launch day the i was stocked in 37,000 retail outlets nationally. Three months later the number was 44,000 (equal to The Daily Mail) with 7,000 coming from independent retailers.
- The Independent guaranteed advertisers a combined (i and The Independent) circulation of 340,000. It delivered 346,410
Read this collection of quotes and messages in the Independent to celebrate the i newspaper's fifth birthday. Answer the following questions:
1) Read Nigel Farage's message ("thoughtful, independent-minded and liberal (with a small 'l')...") What does this tell us about the values and ideologies behind the i newspaper?
This shows that the i are very neutral and unbiased when it comes to politics and their views. They tend to present their news in a factual way rather than in an opinionated way.
2) Why might one of the readers suggest that switching from the Daily Mail to the i has meant their "blood pressure has returned to normal"?
The Daily Mail usually presents their news in a very right-wing and opinionated way. This leads to many readers who are left-wing to become angry so switching to the i means they won't have this issue because the i presents news in a neutral way.
3) Choose three other messages from readers. What do they suggest about the audience pleasures provided by the i newspaper - why do readers love it?
- "I only became an i reader this year and would not change, as I find your reporting accurate and well-balanced." - JOSHUA POVEY, ESSEX
- "I have been with you from the start. i’s appeal – apart from fine journalism – is you allow us to make up our minds. No angles or rhetoric, treating readers as grown-ups. It’s been a great journey." - MORAG ATKINSON
- "The news is concise; I can read the whole paper, which I was never able to do with The Guardian, which was my paper for years. The variety of political views of your letter writers also makes for a lively read. It is the best of all the newspapers by a long way." - GARY COLE, SURBITON, SURREY
- "It is a “real” newspaper, in that it reports the latest news and discusses important current affairs, without rambling on.It is exceptionally well-designed and the quality of the writing is outstanding. Contributors write incisively and perceptively, without the self-indulgent verbosity found in most other newspapers."- MARGARET SCHOFIELD
4) Scroll down towards the bottom of the article. What are the campaigns that i have run since their launch in 2010?
1)Back to School (ongoing)
Encourages people to return to their old state schools to give pupils inspiration and advice on careers. Partner charity Future First now has 140,000 alumni signed up.
2)Elephant Appeal (2013)
Working with charity Space for Giants, the campaign raised £575,000 to combat the poaching crisis that costs the lives of 100 elephants a day, killed for their ivory.
3)Child Soldiers (2012)
Helping former child soldiers rebuild their lives, supporting Unicef UK’s projects. The campaign raised £270,000.
5) What do these campaigns tell you about the values and ideologies behind the i newspaper? Do they also tell you something about the readership of the i?
These campaigns show that the i is a philanthropic, especially when it comes to helping children or animals.
6) What did the critics say when the paper was first launched? Why did many think the paper would fail?
“i for ill-conceived and, ultimately, ill-fated” Mark Ritson believed that the i would fail because it was written by the same journalists who wrote The Independent and he believed that they couldn't afford to create and deliver a distinct product for this segment, and even if they could, their target readers wouldn’t buy it anyways.
"i lives up to its name – it’s a digest of its big brother" Roy Greenslade at The Guardian criticised the i newspaper, stating that readers would rather pick up a free metro rather than pay 20p for a new one. He also wished them luck in finding their young target audience that have turned their backs on print due to technology and online advancements.
7) Choose three quotes from the critics' reviews and discuss whether these viewpoints remain valid today.
"The Independent lays an egg – but will i fly?"- Roy Greenslade was very skeptical that the i would be a success.
Also the quotes from the previous question. These viewpoints cannot remain valid today because the i proved all these critics wrong and ended up being a huge success.
8) Look at the bestselling front page stories from 2011-2015. What do these tell us about the i's values and ideologies - and what do we learn about i readers?
These best selling front pages show that the i's values and ideologies are very centered as there is a broad range of news, from Britain to politics, to other countries, to science, etc. It also shows that their readers are very open-minded and interested in news from all over the world as well as in Britain. They also like being informed in new scientific discoveries.
Johnston Press background and research
Read this history of Johnston Press and the news of its impending break-up from veteran Guardian media correspondent Roy Greenslade.
1) How did the company begin?
In the mid-19th century, newspapers were the sole means of mass communication. One newspaper, The Falkirk Herald, was soon acquired by a local printing business run by Archibald Johnston. His sons helped him run the business. The papers status and probability increased. However, after falling circulation, the business expanded with 24 weekly titles.
2) What did Johnston Press do in the 1980s and 1990s?
It went on the stock market in 1988 and achieved an initial value of £22 million.
3) List some of the regional newspapers owned by Johnston Press in its history (you may need to research this separately beyond Greenslade's article).
- Carrick Gazette
- Ellon Times
- Luton News
- Yorkshire Evening Post
4) What happened to Johnston Press in the 2000s to the present day?
Advertising, which accounted for more than 80% of Johnston Press’s revenues, was falling away rapidly. There is no hope of Johnston paying off the £220m bond due next year.
5) How does Greenslade see the future of Johnston Press - and what might happen to the i newspaper?
He believes that, due to this, the company will be broken up. Rival companies who are facing extinction will seek to prolong their lives by acquiring favoured pieces of the Johnston holdings. However, it is very likely that lots of papers will vanish.
Johnston Press buys the i
Read this article from the website Hold The Front Page on the announcement of the Johnston Press purchase of the i newspaper - and the closure of the Independent. Answer the following questions:
1) How much did regional publisher Johnston Press buy the i for?
£24 million
2) Who did Johnston Press buy the i from?
ESI Media, which is controlled by Evgeny Lebedev.
3) What did the sale signal for the Independent newspaper?
4) What reasons were provided by Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield for buying the i?
Ashley highlighted the reasonings for Johnston Press buying the i:
- It is a highly regarded newspaper
- It has a clear market and loyal leadership
- By joining with Johnston Press the combined circulation will be equal to 9pc of national daily circulation, making us the fourth largest player in the market.
- Johnston Press will grow in terms of national print and digital advertising revenue.
- Grow digital audiences through the creation of inews.co.uk
"A complete kick in the teeth for myself and other JP workers facing redundancy." - This JP worker criticises them for buying the i newspaper and leaning to becoming more digital as it has led to lots of workers losing their jobs.
"What does another £24m. extra debt matter anyway? So, you’ve run a company into the ground, ruined thousands of lives, thrown away tons of experience and knowledge, and here you are, doing it all again. Send us your old sofa. JP poverty wages puts us on the breadline, and my child needs shoes. To the i journos, sorry to welcome you to JP. No such word as quality here. Yet another waste of talented dedicated people." - Once again, this former worker is angry at losing their job due to cost cuts. They also state that the i workers are not going to like working with JP as they offer 'poverty wages'.
"WHEN are these clowns going to learn that Digital Dosen’t Pay! Joe Public won’t pay for anything off the internet unless he’s buying it from Amazon or EBay and advertisers don’t want it because their ads are minuscule on phone screens and ad blockers are becoming the norm. For all his bluster about the future is digital Ashley Highfield has just bought a well-circulated PRINT product. Unfortunately for him and the newly online Independent. Those figures are about to drop and ad revenue will too. The independent will completely disappear into the ether and the I will go the same way as most JP papers have done under this management. Site hits are one thing but without sufficient ads, they are giving the news away for free. How exciting! The newspaper isn’t dying… It’s being murdered by its owners." - This comment states that going completely digital is bad news as it doesn't bring in any revenue.
inews.co.uk - the i newspaper website
Go to inews.co.uk and analyse the stories currently featured:1) What are the top five stories? Are they examples of soft news or hard news?
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| inews.co.uk on 03/11/18 |
2) How is the homepage designed? Do you see similarities with the print edition?
The red colour scheme is used on both the print edition and webpage. Furthermore, the 'i' logo remains the same and so does the font typeface. There is also the idea that the print edition is designed more like a webpage- each story is in a light grey box, as if it can be clicked on, and this is how the homepage is designed.
3) Are there examples of ‘clickbait’? What are they?
There aren't really any examples of clickbait. However, the titles of the stories are written in a way that intrigues the reader to click on them. The 5 top stories are an example.
4) To what extent do the stories you have found on inews.co.uk reflect the values and ideologies of the i newspaper?
The stories I have found reflect the values and ideologies of the i to a large extent. They are relevant to today and cover politics as well as Britain. Interestingly, there is a story related to university which reflects the young, educated target audience that the i are going for.
5) What similarities and differences are there between MailOnline and the i newspaper website?
Both digital pages feature a bar at the top with links that readers can click on depending on what they want to read, ie. sport, culture, etc. They also both have the name of the website on the top left as well as social media links.
Even though they both contain advertisements, MailOnline features much more than the i. Furthermore, the i website appears to be less chaotic and clustered than MailOnline. MailOnline features many stories on the homepage with really long headlines and some of them even contain the whole article. However, the i website seems much more put together.
Now read this Business Insider feature on the launch of the i newspaper website (which coincided with the purchase of the newspaper by Johnston Press). Answer the following questions:
1) The interview with Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield features the claim there will be "no clickbait". Does your analysis of inews.co.uk support this claim?
Yes, my analysis of the i website does support this claim.The i just features interesting stories that are factual.
2) He states the website will "stick very closely to the brand values of the i". What are these?
- Quality
- Concise daily digest
- Updated continually
- Everything you need to know
They will differ from Buzzfeed because they plan on having their audience visit their website specifically, rather than having them receive their news from social networks instead.
4) What audience does Highfield want the website to target?
The i news aims to focus on an older and more affluent audience.
5) Why is the millennial audience less attractive?
They are less attractive because they don't have money to spend on products so they tend to ad block.
"It appears they are more loyal in print, but also because they tend not to ad block and they're the people with the money," Highfield says. "I think the obsession with millennials is starting to pale as they haven't got any money because they've all got student loans and because they all ad block."
Additional reading
In order to develop a comprehensive understanding of all things i, you may want to read the following articles.
Read this editorial from the Independent (original parent paper for the i) regarding their royal coverage. How does this approach differ to the Daily Mail?
The approach of the Independent regarding the royal wedding is very different compared to the Daily Mail's approach. Mail Online simply announced that the two had gotten married and wrote a whole article just on that basis. View here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5747477/En-route-Prince-Harry-leaves-Coworth-Park-hotel-royal-Wedding.html Mail Online assumed that everyone would enjoy hearing about the wedding, but The Independent acknowledged the fact that not everyone would care- "leave it to our readers to make up their own minds on whether to enter into the royalist spirit or sit on the Republican sidelines"
However, the Independent went much deeper. They talked about the death of Diana, Harry's mother and they talk about how Meghan Markle is the first black woman to enter the British Royal Family and the problems this may cause. This shows how the i and the independent have a well-educated audience that are open-minded and tend to think rather than passively accepting facts.
Read this BBC News article on the end of the Independent's print edition. Look at the analysis and graphs - what do these suggest about newspapers' future online?
As we can see from the graphs, broadsheet newspaper circulation is declining significantly for all newspapers and newspaper online editions is increasing for all websites. This shows how, eventually, all news will move to the digital world and newspapers will cease to exist. The ones that remain will be very expensive and targeted at niche audiences.
4) What audience does Highfield want the website to target?
The i news aims to focus on an older and more affluent audience.
5) Why is the millennial audience less attractive?
They are less attractive because they don't have money to spend on products so they tend to ad block.
"It appears they are more loyal in print, but also because they tend not to ad block and they're the people with the money," Highfield says. "I think the obsession with millennials is starting to pale as they haven't got any money because they've all got student loans and because they all ad block."
Additional reading
In order to develop a comprehensive understanding of all things i, you may want to read the following articles.
Read this editorial from the Independent (original parent paper for the i) regarding their royal coverage. How does this approach differ to the Daily Mail?
The approach of the Independent regarding the royal wedding is very different compared to the Daily Mail's approach. Mail Online simply announced that the two had gotten married and wrote a whole article just on that basis. View here: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5747477/En-route-Prince-Harry-leaves-Coworth-Park-hotel-royal-Wedding.html Mail Online assumed that everyone would enjoy hearing about the wedding, but The Independent acknowledged the fact that not everyone would care- "leave it to our readers to make up their own minds on whether to enter into the royalist spirit or sit on the Republican sidelines"
However, the Independent went much deeper. They talked about the death of Diana, Harry's mother and they talk about how Meghan Markle is the first black woman to enter the British Royal Family and the problems this may cause. This shows how the i and the independent have a well-educated audience that are open-minded and tend to think rather than passively accepting facts.
Read this BBC News article on the end of the Independent's print edition. Look at the analysis and graphs - what do these suggest about newspapers' future online?
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