Newspapers: The Times - Representation and Industries

The second part of our case study for The Times focuses on Representation and Industries.

This is the final part of our case study work for Newspapers and is full of information that could easily come up in our exams.

Notes from the lessons

Here's a reminder of your two CSP pages for The Times:

 

 

The Times: Representation and Industry notes

The Times: Representation

Front page

Some key aspects of the representation on the front page:

• Slogan ‘Britain’s most trusted newspaper’ represents the British press as traditional and authentic / trustworthy. Expected to uphold British values. 
• By using the crest, the newspaper is associating itself with being British and part of an established heritage and tradition.
• Values tradition (the caption talks about the ‘remembrance poppy’ worn by the Duchess. Focus is on patriotic values, respect for armed services and her title as a member of aristocracy.  
• Views education as important and represents fee paying schools (private schools) in a positive light. More elitist.
• Story about potentially criminal government leak is angled to defend the government and contains multiple denials of any wrongdoing. This supports the government and creates a representation of the Conservative Party as being law-abiding and open to scrutiny. This reinforces the fact that the Times usually supports the Conservative Party in British politics.

Inside page

Some key aspects of the representation on the inside page:

• Focus on future King of England and his wife/family and role in international diplomacy (similar to The Mirror but more positive, less gossip)
• Positive focus on Conservative Royal family and the traditions they espouse: church services, prayers and military tributes, formal parades. 
• Focus on the traditions behind the celebration more than the relationships between them: ‘Royal Anzac Day’.
• Story about Henry VIII: history and facts. More traditional view of Royal Family (linking present day to Tudor ancestors.)
• Sri Lanka tourists: warning British tourists about foreign terror attacks. More of a Right-Wing viewpoint and suggests readers have money for exotic holidays. Also a more right-wing negative view of minorities as ‘other’ and potential threat.
• Easter Sunday bombings: threat of Islamist extremism in Sri Lanka and infiltrating Britain: ‘Extremist preacher encouraged students…’ Fear of minority religions and ethnic groups. 

Politics

The Times generally supports the Conservative Party and is against the more leftwing Labour Party. The newspaper will often act as a voice for the establishment (the wealthy and powerful) and will not support anything that threatens major changes to the status quo (how things currently are). This can be found in the two main news stories on the front page of the CSP edition of the Times.

Reminder: News values

Media theorists Galtung and Ruge defined a set of news values to explain how journalists and editors decided that certain stories and photographs were accepted as newsworthy, while others were not. The following list is adapted from their work:

• Immediacy: has it happened recently?
• Familiarity: is it culturally close to us in Britain?
• Amplitude: is it a big event or one which involves large numbers of people?
• Frequency: does the event happen fairly regularly?
• Unambiguity: is it clear and definite? 
• Predictability: did we expect it to happen?
• Surprise: is it a rare or unexpected event?
• Continuity: has this story already been defined as news?
• Elite nations and people: which country has the event happened in? Does the story concern well-known people?
• Negativity: Is it bad news? Bad news tends to get more focus as it’s more sensational/ attention grabbing. 
• Balance: the story may be selected to balance other news, such as a human survival story to balance a number of stories concerning death.

The selection of particular news stories, images and text can create very different representations - as we can see in the same Royal Family story across the Daily Mirror and the Times.

The Times: Industries

The Times is owned by News UK (a subsidiary of News Corporation). News Corporation is a conglomerate mostly owned by Rupert Murdoch, an Australian media mogul with many business interests worldwide such as the Fox network in the USA.  

In July 2009 News Corporation had to pay large sums of compensation for the phone hacking scandal, where their journalists were accused of using illegal methods to obtain information.  

The Times circulation in 2019 was 376,000, down 12% in a year and much lower than the high point of over 800,000 in the 1990s. Since 2020, The Sun and The Times have not published their circulation figures, perhaps to prevent knowledge of how many readers they have lost.

In response to the decline in print newspapers, the Times has:

• Moved towards a multi-platform landscape. This means that it publishes and synchronises across its print, desktop and mobile platforms. Some newspapers (e.g. The Times) have a paywall on their online content. The Times has had a hard paywall since 2010, but it often experiments with making content available for free. Last summer, it began free registrations and has been adding around 30,000 a week.
• Created a social media strategy in collaboration with the digital team to drive growth of their Twitter and Facebook profiles. 
• In 2018, Times and Sunday Times hit 500,000 subscribers as digital outnumbered print for first time at an initial cost of £1 per week for a digital subscription.

Key question: Why have print newspapers declined?

ACCESSIBILITY / DIGITAL AGE: The growth of the Internet as a major source of news (since the 1990s). This has particularly impacted on advertising revenue for newspapers as we use the Internet (often free) for services. Television news is also available 24 hours a day so no need to make ‘appointment to view’ or buy a daily newspaper as updates on-line are more up to date.

COST: People are accessing news freely through social media and other online outlets.  Newspapers cannot compete with the speed and cost-free nature of this.  Twitter has no printing costs, printing factories, distribution costs and journalist wages.

CHOICE & VARIETY: Previously we would go to small number of outlets for our news (BBC and other national broadcasters, national and some local newspapers).  Now there are so many places we can access news (numerous TV channels, websites, social media accounts, blogs). 

IMMEDIACY: Critics of the newspaper as a medium also argue that newspapers haven’t moved with the times. The technology revolution has meant that readers accustomed to waiting for a daily newspaper can now receive up-to-the-minute updates from Web portals, bloggers and new services such as Twitter.

Newspaper regulation

How and why are UK newspapers regulated? The Press Complaints Commission (PCC) was a voluntary regulatory body for British printed newspapers and magazines. The PCC closed on Monday 8 September 2014 after criticism following the phone hacking affair. 

It was replaced by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

The role of IPSO is to:

• Regulate 1500 print and 1100 online titles.
• Listen to complaints about press behaviour.
• Help with unwanted press attention.
• Advise publication editors .
• Provide information to the public.
• Provide a journalist whistleblowing hotline.

There is currently a heated debate in the media regarding whether the newspaper industry requires stronger regulation. Some people argue that the newspaper industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself using IPSO and that stronger, statutory regulation should be introduced instead. This would also implement the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry which followed the phone-hacking scandal. There are links in the extension tasks below if you would like to read more about the newspaper regulation debate.

Blog tasks: The Times case study

Create a blogpost called 'The Times - Representation and Industries' and then work through the following questions:

Representation

1) What representation of private schools can be found on the main front page story of the Times?

2) What representation of the Conservative Party can be found in the story at the top of the front page 'Calls for criminal enquiry as top ministers deny security leak'?

3) How are the Royal Family represented in the Times? (See front page 'Fitting tribute' - Duchess of Cambridge picture and the inside page 'Royal Anzac Day on both sides of the world'). 

4) How does the coverage of the Royal Family in the Times contrast with the reporting of the same events in the Daily Mirror?

5) How are British people and Muslims represented in the article and sidebar 'Sri Lanka tourists warned of more terror'?


Industries

1) Who owns the Times? Write the name of the company AND the billionaire who owns the company.

2) What was the The Times's circulation in 2019? How many papers did the Times used to sell back in the 1990s?

3) How has the Times reacted to the decline in print sales and the growth of the internet?

4) What does IPSO stand for and what is IPSO's job?

5) Why do some people want stronger regulation of British newspapers? 


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

How does the coverage of the Royal Family in the Times reinforce British social and cultural values?

Read this Guardian column on IPSO, the press regulator. Why does Polly Toynbee suggest IPSO has been a "total failure"?

Read this short Press Gazette feature on the Times's paywall. Why does the Times head of digital describe the paywall as a success? 

You may also want to watch this video from another Media teacher explaining The Times and the Daily Mirror for A Level students:



Due date: on Google Classroom

Newspapers: The Times - Language and Audience

The first part of our case study for The Times is focusing on Media Language and Audience.

Here are your two CSP pages for The Times:

 

 

The Times: notes

Audience & Language

Language: The Times tends to attract an audience that is older and more traditional (Conservative politics), so the stories are targeted towards these values and beliefs to target their specific audience. 
Mode of address: The Times employs a formal style with advanced language to reflect the needs/education level of the audience.
Construction: The Times uses some layout design techniques to attract its audience (sell lines, kickers, pugs).  There are usually not as many as The Mirror, though.
Technical Codes: Whilst The Times employs colour, it is much more understated than the tabloid Mirror.  More traditional fonts, styles and sizes reinforce this traditional symbolism.
Conventions: The Times observes more traditional codes and conventions than the Daily Mirror, with less direct address and a more formal, authoritative tone as if giving the reader less active participation and more passive access to information.

Target audience

The Times target audience is older with over half the audience aged 55+. In terms of social class, they are overwhelmingly in the ABC1 social classes - and largely the A or B groups within that group. This means Times readers are likely to be professionals, managers or company owners. They are likely to be in the Succeeder psychographic group.

Audience pleasures and representation

Surveillance/Information 

The main reason we read newspapers is to find out what is going on in the world around us.  News, different opinions, information about current affairs. Information about British politics (inquiry) and British Royal family (patriotic). Information about fee-paying schools also suggests education is important to the target audience and they are more likely to be on the side of the Headteachers rather than Labour. The Mirror focuses on the more controversial ‘anti-vax’ movement which is a scare-mongering tone when talking of schools.

Diversion/Entertainment

One of the main reasons we read newspapers is for entertainment. We want to be entertained.

Information about royals who are seen as an important part of British culture and also access to cultural ‘hotspots’ for leisure and house tips. This targets people with disposable income and an interest in culture/status and how they are perceived. 

Personal Identity 

A Daily Mirror reader will probably think very differently from a Times reader. Even if a reader does not always agree with a viewpoint the newspaper puts forward, they may still be agreeing with the values being shared. The Times newspaper seems to endorse the Conservative party and show their strong affiliation with the political party by phrasing the story with ‘top ministers deny security leak’. The placing of value on an education would be a belief shared by readers who attended, or have sent their kids to, independent schools. 

Becoming an active participant 

Increasingly newspapers, especially online editions, encourage audience input through comments and email. The audience are not targeted with informal language or direct address as often, leading to a distance between journalist and reader. This encourages less dissent and comment and therefore more passive audience members who will accept the dominant view point of the paper. 

Politics

The Times is right-wing and supports the Conservative Party. It is generally against the left-wing Labour Party. The Times newspaper will act as a voice for the establishment (the wealthy and powerful) and will not support anything that threatens major changes to the status quo. Here, the main story on the front page praises private schools and defends the Conservative government.

Language

Examine the use of language and the narrative in the right-leaning Times newspaper:

• “Fee paying schools 'save taxpayer £20 billion”
• “Calls for criminal enquiry as top ministers deny security leak”

Look at the tone and angle of the main article. The headline and article is positive about the role private schools play in British society, suggesting that they save the government money. This appeals to readers who may well send their own children to private school.  

The picture story of the Duchess of Cambridge reflects the newspaper being pro-Royal family and supporting longstanding British institutions. 

The secondary stories on the front page are also constructed to appeal to Times readers. The story at the top of the page - "Calls for criminal enquiry as top ministers deny security leak” - is a top political story about a security leak at the heart of government. This is an important British political story and something Times readers would expect to be covered on the front page.

The sidebar about sleep is a slightly lighter story about mental health and wellbeing but still contains quotes from neuroscience and medical fact which reflects the more educated nature of Times readers.

Look at the kicker stories advertised at the top of the page:

• "Bedroom secrets: How to create a restful haven"
  
• "Know your Thor from your Iron Man - Marvel beginners guide"

These features demonstrate that The Times is aimed at a high-flying workers in stressful jobs who have money to spend on their home and bedroom. Similarly, the fact that Times readers would need a Marvel "beginners' guide" suggests that usually Times readers like more highbrow entertainment such as theatre or opera.

Look at the stories on the inside page of the Times:

• "Royal Anzac Day on both sides of the world"
• "How death of grandmother put fear into Henry VIII"
• "Sri Lanka tourists warned of more terror"

The selection of news articles here reflects the type of audience that reads the Times. The Royal family story is presented in a more formal way than in the Daily Mirror although some of the same images are used. The story on the fear of Henry VIII suggests Times readers have a strong interest in British history and in particular the Royal family. Finally, the story on terror attacks in Sri Lanka suggests that Times readers can afford exotic holidays on the other side of the world and therefore will need to know about potential dangers from terrorists in countries like Sri Lanka.

Blog tasks: The Times - Language and Audience

Work through the following questions to make sure you are fully prepared for questions on the Times and the newspaper industry.

Language

1) What is the main story on the front cover of the Times CSP edition (26 April 2019) and why does it appeal to Times readers?

2) List the other news stories and kickers on the front page of the Times CSP edition. Why do you think the Times selected these for the front page?

3) What are the main stories on the inside pages of the Times CSP edition and how are they constructed to appeal to Times readers? 

4) Which of Galtung and Ruge's News Values apply to the Times's front page stories? Write about both the main story on private schools and the government leak enquiry. 

5) What does a close analysis of the news stories in the Times CSP edition suggest about the Times's political beliefs?

Audience

1) What is the main readership demographic for The Times newspaper? Add as much detail as you can.

2) What aspects of the front page of the Times CSP edition suggest that their readers are likely to be more educated and interested in hard news rather than entertainment?

3) Times readers are mostly over 55 years old. Why is this and how is this reflected by the new stories and kickers in the CSP pages we have studied?  

4) What is the main audience pleasure offered by the Times? Use Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory.

5) Why might a reader enjoy this CSP edition of the Times? Use Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory categories and write as detailed an analysis as you can.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Guardian column on the pleasures of print newspapers and the dangers of the digital age. Do you think newspapers will continue to exist in the future? Why? 

You may also want to watch this video from another Media teacher explaining The Times and the Daily Mirror for A Level students:



Due date: on Google Classroom

Newspapers: The Times - Introduction

Our second newspaper case study is The Times.

This provides an excellent contrast with the Daily Mirror. The Times is a right-wing broadsheet newspaper that generally supports the Conservative Party and is aimed at a more educated, middle-class audience. Remember, this is an in-depth CSP and needs to be studied with reference to all four key concepts: Language, Representation, Industries and Audience. We'll be covering all of those concepts over the next two weeks.

This is the front page of The Times we will be studying for the exam (see right).

The Times - Introduction: blog tasks

Read the About Us page of the Times website and answer the following questions:

1) What year was The Times founded and when did it start using the Times name?

2) What content did John Walter suggest the paper would offer in the first edition?

3) What does the page say about the political views in The Times? 

4) Who owns The Times today and how is editorial integrity protected?

5) What did The Times introduce in 2010 and why?

6) What was The Times named in 2018 by the Reuters Institute for Journalism at Oxford University?

7) What does the section on Editorial Standards say about The Times and newspaper regulation?

8) What does the section on Ownership say about The Times and who is the current editor? 

Extension tasks

Look at this News UK webpage with key information about The Times for potential advertisers and complete the following tasks:

1) Write down three key statistics from this page.

2) Look at the various sections of the newspaper outlined on this page (e.g. Entertainment, Announcements, Travel). What do these sections suggest about The Times newspaper's audience?

3) Click on three of the sections - your choice. Write down one key detail for each section you choose e.g. Travel - more Times readers took a holiday abroad last year than any other newspaper.

Due date: on Google Classroom

Newspapers: Daily Mirror - Representation and Industry

Our final tasks for the Daily Mirror involve studying Representation and Industry.

Remember, this is an in-depth CSP and needs to be studied with reference to all four key concepts: Language, Representation, Industries and Audience.

Daily Mirror notes

Representation

The Daily Mirror supports the Labour Party and is against the Conservative Party. Generally, the newspaper will act as a voice for normal people and go against the rich and powerful (like Conservative politicians or 'greedy bankers').

You need to study the selected CSP pages for the Daily Mirror to see how the newspaper represents different people and groups.

Industries

The Daily Mirror is owned by Reach, which used to be called Trinity Mirror. Reach publishes over 240 regional titles in addition to the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror - including our local newspaper website getwestlondon.

The Daily Mirror's circulation has fallen drastically over the years from over 3 million a day in 1990 down to around 350,000 a day in 2021. Recent falls have been due to the rise of the internet which is why the Mirror's audience is much older now.

To combat falling print revenues, the The Daily Mirror has:

• Created the mirror.co.uk website and social media content such as the Daily Mirror Twitter feed.
• The move towards a multi-platform landscape means that it publishes and synchronises across its print, desktop and mobile platforms. The Daily Mirror provides this online content for free. Some newspapers (e.g. The Times) have a paywall on their online content which means that they charge subscription fees to read articles.  Free providers make money from advertising space online.
• Created a social media strategy in collaboration with the digital team to drive growth of their Twitter and Facebook profiles. 
• Create news based content that updates regularly, is shared on social media channels, includes a range of video content and encourages audience involvement. Printed newspapers cannot do this so effectively.

News values

Media theorists Galtung and Ruge defined a set of news values to explain how journalists and editors decided that certain stories and photographs were accepted as newsworthy, while others were not. The following list is adapted from their work:

• Immediacy: has it happened recently?
• Familiarity: is it culturally close to us in Britain?
• Amplitude: is it a big event or one which involves large numbers of people?
• Frequency: does the event happen fairly regularly?
• Unambiguity: is it clear and definite? 
• Predictability: did we expect it to happen?
• Surprise: is it a rare or unexpected event?
• Continuity: has this story already been defined as news?
• Elite nations and people: which country has the event happened in? Does the story concern well-known people?
• Negativity: Is it bad news? Bad news tends to get more focus as it’s more sensational/ attention grabbing. 
• Balance: the story may be selected to balance other news, such as a human survival story to balance a number of stories concerning death.

Blog tasks: Daily Mirror case study

Work through the following questions to complete your work on the Daily Mirror.

Representation

1) What political party does the Daily Mirror support?

2) How does the Daily Mirror usually represent rich and powerful people?

3) How are celebrities usually presented in tabloid newspapers like the Daily Mirror? Look at the 'New Bond stars are revealed' story on the front page of the Daily Mirror.

4) How are the royal family presented in the double-page spread 'Kate told Harry to make peace... then they all met up for tea'? 

5) Why do you think the Daily Mirror represents the royal family as a 'normal' family? Why might this appeal to Daily Mirror readers?


Industries

1) What company owns the Daily Mirror?

2) What is the Daily Mirror's circulation in 2021? How many papers did the Daily Mirror used to sell back in the 1990s?

3) Why has the newspaper industry struggled in the last 20 years?

4) How has the Daily Mirror reacted to the decline in print sales and the growth of the internet?

5) List five of Galtung & Ruge's News Values and explain how they link to the stories in our CSP edition of the Daily Mirror.


Grade 8/9 extension task

The Daily Mirror's owner, Reach (then Trinity Mirror) bought control of the Express and Daily Star newspapers in 2018. Read this Guardian feature on the deal. Why did Trinity Mirror buy the papers?

You will get some lesson time to work on this case study but will need to complete it at home - due date on Google Classroom.

Newspapers: Daily Mirror - Language and Audience

Our first Newspapers CSP is the Daily Mirror.

Remember, this is an in-depth CSP and needs to be studied with reference to all four key concepts: Language, Representation, Industries and Audience.

Daily Mirror notes

Language

AQA has selected the following pages as our Daily Mirror CSP pages:

Analyse these pages and look at which stories have been selected for the newspaper and how they are constructed for their audience.

Audience

The Daily Mirror audience is older with almost half the audience aged 65+. In terms of social class, most are in the C1, C2 DE social classes. They are likely to be in the Struggler, Resigned or Mainstream psychographic groups.

Blog tasks: Daily Mirror case study

Work through the following questions to cover the Language and Audience key concepts for the Daily Mirror.

Language

1) Write the definition of the following key language for newspaper front pages (you may want to add an example for each from our Daily Mirror CSP):

Masthead:
Pug:
Splash Head:
Slogan:
Dateline:
Kicker:
Byline:
Standfirst:

2) How much does a copy of the Daily Mirror cost? (Note: the current cost is different to the CSP edition - I recommend learning both).

3) What are the main stories on the CSP edition of the Daily Mirror (see above)? Make sure you learn the headline and what the stories are about.

4) Why is the choice of news stories on the Mirror CSP front page typical of a tabloid newspaper?

5) What is the balance on the Daily Mirror front page between images, headlines and text?


Audience

1) What is the target audience for the Daily Mirror?

2) Why does the Mirror front page story appeal to the Daily Mirror audience?

3) Why might a reader enjoy the Daily Mirror? Use Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory to add detail to your answer.

4) Why are print newspapers generally read by older audiences?

5) How is the 'Wills and Harry royal rift' story on the double page spread constructed to appeal to Daily Mirror readers? 


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Guardian column on the Mirror's struggles with covering Brexit. How did the Mirror suggest people vote in the EU referendum and how did many of its working class audience actually vote?

Guardian Media critic Roy Greenslade writes about why tabloid newspapers like the Mirror are struggling to attract younger readers in this column. Make a note of some of the key statistics in this article and also what Greenslade thinks tabloids should do to stay relevant in the digital age. This column also has an excellent discussion of the Mirror's political stance which is ideal to grade 9 answers.

You will get some lesson time to work on this case study but will need to complete it at home - due date on Google Classroom.

Newspapers: Introduction

Our final in-depth exam topic is Newspapers.

Remember, as an in-depth CSP this needs to be studied with reference to all four key concepts: Language, Representation, Industries and Audience.

Introduction to newspapers - notes

GLow Words

• Left-wing (Socialist): in favour of social equality and reform. The Labour Party is considered left-wing and the Daily Mirror generally supports Labour and left-wing causes.
• Right-wing (Conservative): prefer the traditional way things are and in favour of low taxes. The Conservative Party is considered right-wing and the Times generally supports the Conservatives and right-wing causes.
• Agenda: issues brought to the attention of the people through news.
• Elitist: for the good of a few people, usually the upper classes or most educated.
• Political Bias: when an industry or media product supports a certain political view.
• Hard news: information on topics like business, politics and international affairs.
• Soft news: blurs line between information and entertainment so may be centred more on gossip, celebrities or lifestyle issues.
• Tabloid: smaller, popular and tends to focus on sensational stories and softer news. 
• Broadsheet: larger, more niche and tends to focus on serious, harder news.

Historical, social and cultural context

The ‘Press’ is a collective term for the newspaper industry.  The name comes from printing presses. 

Newspapers are still popular media products for audiences to get their news, be entertained and informed.  There are a range of national (Daily Mail), regional (Birmingham Mail) and specialist newspapers (The Racing  Post). 

Whilst still popular, since the 1950s, there has been a gradual decline in newspaper sales due to the rise of TV ownership (and news programmes) and, more recently, the growth of digital news through websites and social media.

The importance of a free press

A free press implies that journalists (those that write for newspapers) and newspaper editors can edit content free of intervention from Government influence.  

More than a third of the world’s population live in countries where there is no press freedom. Journalists are often imprisoned if they disagree with the Government, social media channels are not allowed, non-democratic countries often control access to information and employ state-run news organizations.

Tabloids and broadsheets

There are generally two classifications of newspapers – tabloids and broadsheets.

Tabloids tend to be easier to read, feature shorter articles and include more photographs. They report on major news, but also include a lot of showbiz gossip, entertainment and sport. They tend to be the better sellers. Examples include The Sun and the Daily Mirror.

Broadsheet newspapers traditionally used to be larger (printed on ‘broad sheets’) although most are the same size as tabloids now. They tend to be more serious, have smaller fonts, more advanced use of language and less photography (although they have included more over the last 20 years to be more popular). They tend to have lower circulation figures than tabloids. Examples include the Times and the Daily Telegraph.

Introduction to Newspapers: blog task

Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Newspapers' and answer the following questions:

1) What type of news can you typically find in a tabloid newspaper?

2) What type of news can you typically find in a broadsheet newspaper?

3) If someone is left-wing, which political party are they likely to support? Which newspaper would they be likely to read?

4) If someone is right-wing, which political party are they likely to support? Which newspaper would they be likely to read?

5) Why has there been a decline in newspaper sales in the last 20 years?

6) Why is a free press important in a democracy like the UK?

Extension: Read this BBC website report on the impact of coronavirus on the newspaper industry. 

Which newspapers have been worst hit by Covid-19? 

Which newspapers are trying to move their readers from print to digital? Why is the switch to digital attractive for newspaper companies?

Do you think newspapers will survive Covid-19? Why?

You should have lesson time to work on this but will need to finish for homework - due date on Google Classroom. 

Videogames case study 2: Kim Kardashian Hollywood

Our second Videogames Close-Study Product is another phone/tablet game: Kim Kardashian Hollywood.

Again, this is an in-depth topic so we need to make sure we have studied this product across media language, audience, industry and representation. 

Kim Kardashian Hollywood: notes

Language

Gameplay

The gameplay for Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is explained in detail in the app store or Google Play store:

Join KIM KARDASHIAN on a red carpet adventure in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood! Create your own aspiring celebrity and rise to fame and fortune! 

CREATE YOUR OWN STAR and customize your look with hundreds of style options, including Kim Kardashian’s personal picks!

⋆ STAR in a huge interactive adventure as you encounter other celebs, dedicated fans, persistent paparazzi… and even hang out with Kim herself!

⋆ RULE THE RED CARPET as an A-list movie actor, cover model, fashion designer and more – what you do is up to you!

⋆ TAKE OVER L.A. in a virtual world complete with exclusive clubs, upscale boutiques, and luxury homes! Travel to New York City and Miami!

⋆ DATE AND DUMP CELEBS at the best parties and hottest clubs! Flirt and become the next huge celebrity power-couple!

⋆ BRING YOUR FRIENDS ALONG FOR THE RIDE using Game Center and Facebook – help each other rise to fame, compare styles, send gifts, and see who can be the biggest star!

Game trailer:



Gameplay example:



Kim Kardashian: Hollywood - Narrative and objectives

The aim of Kim Kardashian Hollywood is to work your way  up the celebrity scale from Z-List to A-List.  As you play you will interact with a range of real and fictional characters in the United States and around many of the world’s most glamourous and famous locations.  As you progress, there are collectibles and missions that will allow you to develop the status of your customisable character. Your ranking is determined by your position on the Top Stars list in Hollywood. They are sorted into six different lists, Unlisted being the lowest rank to the A-list being the highest rank. You rise up in ranks by gaining fans. The goal of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is to gain as many fans as possible by doing well on projects, getting attention from Starnews, and dating to get to the A-list.

Characters

Characters are NPCs (Non-Playable Characters) that appear in goals or locations and the storyline as you progress in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. These exclude NPCs you meet in the game that you can date or network with. These types of contacts are randomly generated according to each individual game.

The characters in Kim Kardashian Hollywood are a mixture of real VIP characters and fictional characters. There are 100s – you can see a few opposite.

In your pursuit of celebrity some of the fictional characters work with you and some actively try to ruin your journey by beating you to A-List.

Settings

There are a range of locations in the game that try to mirror the stereotype of the celebrity lifestyle of an A-lister:

Narrative: special events

Special Events are temporary goal arcs that are available only during Weekend Events in the game. By completing them, players can not only earn Cash Cash, XP XP, Energy Energy and Star Stars, but also Special Event stars.  These regularly happen and keep the game fresh.  It also means established players keep coming back to the game to see what the latest updated events are.

By collecting Special Event stars, players can unlock exclusive rewards and Kustomize items. The Kustomize screen, also known as your wardrobe, is the screen where you can customize your character to your liking. You can purchase tops, dresses, pants, skirts, shoes, hairstyles, facial features, nail colours and fashion accessories like bags, jewellery, and tattoos.

You can change your look whenever you like. The game encourages players to "keep on top of current fashion to maximise your fans!"

Audience

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is incredibly popular. It has been  downloaded over 50 million times and generated $200 million plus.

Why do audiences like it?

One way of understanding why audiences choose certain media texts is Blumler & Katz's Uses and Gratification Theory.

Uses and Gratification Theory states that audiences consume media products/texts for at least one of the following reasons:

1. Diversion, escapism or entertainment – escaping from normal life.
2. Personal relationships – fulfils their need for companionship. This is particularly true of social media products, online gaming and online communities. It can also apply to audiences developing an affection for certain stars or characters.  
3. Personal identity - seeing your own lifestyle, interests or ambitions reflected in a media product; reinforcing your own identity.
4. Surveillance – using media to find out about the world around them.

Which of these apply to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?

Watch this video of Buzzfeed staff trying to play the game:

Representation

There are some key questions we need to consider regarding representation in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood:

• How are women represented?
• How is celebrity represented?
• How is race/ethnicity represented?

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood contains quite controversial representations of women, celebrity and race/ethnicity.

It has been criticised for offering a representation of women focusing on appearance, modelling and dating as a way to be successful. Similarly, celebrity is represented as something to aspire to even without an obvious talent or ability.

On a more positive note, the game has been praised for its representation of race, ethnicity and sexuality – with the game offering a diverse range of characters.

Industries

Kim Kardashian: Hollywood was developed by Glu Mobile, a highly successful mobile game developer and publisher. It was released in June 2014 and was marketed heavily using the Kim Kardashian brand.

With social media promotion, the game quickly shot to the top of download lists and iTunes app store charts.

Media convergence

The game design means that there is a great deal of media convergence.  Media convergence is the merging of different media texts. How does Kim Kardashian Hollywood involve media convergence?

The game: TV Show and social media channels are referenced in game.  Player encouraged to engage online and gain bonus items for sharing on Facebook etc.

Social media: Game appears on Kim’s actual social media platforms. Also, need to tweet in game.

TV Show: Game appears on Keeping Up with the Kardashians episodes.  TV Show is also referenced in game.

Marketing and promotion

Watch this TV advert for the game:



Glu: monetising Kim Kardashian: Hollywood

The game is free to download but makes huge amounts of money from in-app purchases and subscriptions. Players need to buy energy to complete tasks (or wait 30 minutes for energy to replenish). They can also buy subscriptions:

• Gold: 49.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)
• Silver: 19.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)
• Bronze: 4.99 USD / month (or local equivalent)

Small print

Due to the addictive nature of the game and the potential to spend huge amounts of money on in-app purchases, the developers place warnings in the app store before purchase:

PLEASE NOTE: - This game is free to play, but you can choose to pay real money for some extra items, which will charge your iTunes account. You can disable in-app purchasing by adjusting your device settings. - This game is not intended for children. - Please buy carefully. - Advertising appears in this game. - This game may permit users to interact with one another (e.g., chat rooms, player to player chat, messaging) depending on the availability of these features. Linking to social networking sites are not intended for persons in violation of the applicable rules of such social networking sites.

Videogames case study 2 - Kim Kardashian: Hollywood blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Kim Kardashian Hollywood CSP case study' and complete all the following questions under the subheadings Language, Representation, Industries and Audience.

Language

1) What is the objective when playing the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game?

2) What is an A-list celebrity? Why is it important in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?

3) How do you download the Kim Kardashian: Hollywood game?

4) What is the narrative or storyline of Kim Kardashian: Hollywood? Where is it set?

5) What characters can you play as? What characters appear in the game?

Audience

1) Who is the intended audience for the Kim Kardashian Hollywood game? Why do you think this?

2) What audience pleasures are provided by the game? Use Blumler & Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory.

3) Why is the game so addictive for audiences?

Read this article from Forbes on why the Kim Kardashian game is so successful. If the website is blocked in school, you can access the text of the article here.

4) Why does James Liu think Kim Kardashian: Hollywood is so successful?

5) What does James Liu suggest is the reason players keep coming back to the game?


Representations

1) What representations of women can be found in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?

2) What representations of race, ethnicity or sexuality can be found in the game?

3) How does the game both reinforce and subvert stereotypes in the media?

4) What does the game suggest regarding modern perceptions of celebrity and how to get famous?

5) How might someone criticise the representation of celebrity in Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?

Industries

1) How much does Kim Kardashian: Hollywood cost?

2) How does the game make money?

3) What subscriptions are available to Kim Kardashian: Hollywood?

4) How was Kim Kardashian: Hollywood marketed and promoted?

5) How does Kim Kardashian: Hollywood use media convergence to cross-promote the game and the Kardashian brand?


Grade 8/9 extension tasks: reading and response

Read this Independent article on the Kardashians and celebrity culture. Why does the academic Dr Meredith Jones think the Kardashians are important to study?

Read this Stylecaster article on 5 things we learned playing Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. How does the game encourage players so spend real money on in-app purchases?

Read this article on Glu Mobile, the game developer behind Kim Kardashian: Hollywood. What does the article say about targeting female gamers and using celebrity to sell the game?

Read this Guardian article on a Kardashian controversy regarding promoting products on Instagram. Why do some people regard Kardashian as a "toxic influence"? 

Complete for homework: due date on Google Classroom.