Videogames CSP 1: Lara Croft Go

Our first videogames CSP is phone/tablet game Lara Croft Go.

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

Lara Croft Go: Notes

Lara Croft: History

Lara Croft first appeared in 1996 Eidos Playstation game Tomb Raider and was the first computer game to feature a female character as the protagonist rather than a supporting role or a secondary character.

The narrative of Tomb Raider was influenced by Indiana Jones and featured the daughter of a Lord (later a famous archaeologist), called Lara Croft on various missions through settings such as jungles, tombs and jungles. The genre is action-adventure and involves many conventions of this genre such as fighting villains using weaponry.

Evolution of Tomb Raider:




Lara Croft: Beyond a videogame character

Lara Croft has featured in films (the first starring Angelina Jolie; 2018 version rebooted the character). She has appeared on magazine covers more times than any supermodel.

There have been advertising tie-ins, merchandise, comic books and  spin-offs featuring the character. The franchise has had numerous incarnations before Lara Croft Go in 2015. 

Lara Croft has been credited with bringing success on the Play Station for the games’ creators (selling 7 million copies world wide) and launching the female protagonist in games. She has also been widely thought of as a sex symbol. 

Lara Croft Go 

Lara Croft Go explores the ruins of an ancient civilization in the Amazon Jungle while fighting menacing enemies, overcome dangerous obstacles and traps, and ultimately, uncover the myth of the Queen of Venom.  There is no specific timescale – but is modern-day in Lara’s weaponry.

This concept of action adventure exploring and uncovering relics from ancient civilisations is not new and there is some intertextuality here with the Indiana Jones movies, original Tomb Raider games, Tomb Raider films and more.

Watch this online review of Lara Croft Go:



What are the features of the Lara Croft Go game?

In many ways, there are traditional Action Adventure elements to this game (she moves, she shoots, she avoids hazards).  However, this game is a ‘turn-based puzzle’ which involves by-passing enemies and unlocking paths in a sequential manner which suits the ‘short timespan’ that people can sometimes commit to mobile gaming. It faithfully preserves element of original Tomb Raider game and brings the original adventure up to date. 

The game also involves collecting items that unlock special powers and tools that help your progress through the game.  On the image to the left you can see many of the opponents that Lara comes across (Lizards, Snakes, Spiders) and some of the collectables. There are not many different enemies as memory is key.  

The three-act narrative structure proceeds from an orientation stage through various complications and blockages to a simple resolution.

Evolution of the character of Lara Croft

• Lara is depicted as athletic with brown eyes and hair, frequently tied back in a plait or ponytail.
• Her costume is usually a blue tank top, light brown shorts, calf high boots and long socks. 
• Accessories / Props include gloves, a backpack, a utility belt with holsters and two pistols. 
• Her original back story was that she was the daughter of an aristocrat who had a plane crash in the Himalayas, causing her to re-evaluate her life and seek adventure, leading her to become a thief and mercenary, living outside the law. The second era changed the narrative to her father being an archaeologist and her wanting to discover the reason for her mother’s disappearance. A third era focused more on both her parents being archaeologists and her mother disappearing and her father dying.
• All three narratives feature her transition from a vulnerable girl to an independent, fierce adventurer (hero).
• Most stories feature her being stranded on a mysterious, far away island although the location of this changes. 

Representations

Does Lara Croft reinforce female stereotypes in the media?

Yes (reinforces traditional stereotype):

• Object of sexual desire. Her body features were particularly exaggerated in early versions of games.
• Scantily-clad designed for male audience. Would a male character be designed like this?  
• Is Lara Croft is designed to be attractive to the male audience as she basically acquires all the features that some men would describe as perfect.

 No (subverts female stereotype):

• She is an action hero – traditionally a male stereotype in gaming.
• She is empowered female heroine – rare in gaming industry at the time.  “The heroine, Lara Croft, is an intelligent, butt-kicking, gun-wielding, sexpot, ready to take on whatever comes her way.” Katherine Walker, Portrayal of Women in Media (Video Games)

This video from Feminist Frequency (videogame blogger Anita Sarkeesian) highlights the way male and female characters are constructed in videogames:

 

Industries

We need to learn about two distinct areas for the industries key concept:

• Videogame regulation
• The companies/franchises behind the game

Regulation: PEGI

PEGI stands for Pan European Game Information and is a European video game rating system established to help consumers make informed decisions when buying video games or apps through the use of age recommendations and content descriptors.


PEGI was set up by the ISFE* – an independent group that represents European software companies. Important: this is an example of self-regulation, not government.

Lara Croft Go: Companies and franchises

Lara Croft Go is the combination of two successful franchises – Lara Croft Tomb Raider and the Hitman Go mobile game.

Tomb Raider is a media franchise that originated with an action-adventure video game series created by British gaming company Core Design. Formerly owned by Eidos Interactive, it is now controlled by Square Enix after their acquisition of Eidos in 2009. 

Square Enix developed Hitman Go in 2014 based on the successful Hitman game franchise.

Audience

We need to think about the following for the audience key concept:

• Audience pleasures
• Target audience for Lara Croft Go – and whether videogame audiences are changing

What is the appeal of Lara Croft Go?

“Acrobatics and platforming are key features of a Tomb Raider adventure, and we quickly realized that Lara had to be fully animated. Our animator did an amazing job of quickly producing a first batch of short animations for Lara, and immediately everything felt better. Again, we looked back at Lara’s classic animations from the first Tomb Raider and they fit right in with our turn-based game.”

– Square Enix

Audience pleasures: Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications Theory

Remember that audiences consume media products for a variety of reasons (from Blumler and Katz: Uses and Gratification Theory)

1. The need to be INFORMED and EDUCATED about the world in which we live (Surveillance) 
2. The need to IDENTIFY personally with characters and situations in order to learn more about themselves (Personal Identity)
3. The need to be ENTERTAINED (Diversion) and escape daily life. 
4. The need for SOCIAL INTERACTION (Personal Relationships)

Which of these apply to Lara Croft Go?

Target Audience

Who is the target audience for Tomb Raider / Lara Croft games?  They fall into various groups and may be a mixture of all three:

1. Those interested in the quality of the innovative gameplay.
2. Those with brand loyalty to the Hitman Go series.
3. Those with brand loyalty based on the feminine empowerment displayed.
4. Those with brand loyalty based on nostalgia or even the sexualisation of Lara Croft (especially if they played older Croft games when at a formative age)

Videogames: Lara Croft Go blog tasks

Create a blogpost called 'Lara Croft Go CSP Blog Tasks' and complete all the following questions under the subheadings Language, Representation, Industries and Audience. 

Language

1) When did Lara Croft first appear in a videogame?

2) What classic films influenced the creation of Lara Croft and the Tomb Raider games?

3) How has Lara Croft and Tomb Raider moved beyond just being a videogame?

4) What devices can you play Lara Croft Go on?

5) What type of game is Lara Croft Go?

6) How does Lara Croft Go use narrative (storyline) to make the game enjoyable for the audience?

7) What iconography can be found in Lara Croft Go? How does this help communicate the genre of the game? Think about mise-en-scene and setting here.

8) What other characters or enemies feature in the game?

9) What is the setting for Lara Croft Go? How does this compare to previous Lara Croft or Tomb Raider games?

10) Read this BBC article on the history of Lara Croft and Tomb Raider. How has the character of Lara Croft evolved over the last 25 years?

Representations

1) How are women usually represented in videogames?

2) How does the character of Lara Croft reinforce female stereotypes in the media?

3) How does the character of Lara Croft subvert female stereotypes in the media?

4) Why do some people believe the videogames industry is sexist and needs to change?

5) Do you think Lara Croft is an empowering feminist icon or just another objectified woman designed to appeal to male gamers?

Industries

1) What does PEGI stand for?

2) What is PEGI's job?

3) Which company created Lara Croft Go?

4) What two popular videogame franchises were combined to create Lara Croft Go?

5) What else is part of the Lara Croft/Tomb Raider franchise?

Audience

1) Why might an audience enjoy playing Lara Croft Go?

2) Where and when might an audience play a game like Lara Croft Go? Think about the device it is played on and the times of the day someone might want to play the game.

3) How did Square Enix design Lara Croft to make it appealing to an audience?

4) Which of Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory might apply to Lara Croft Go?

5) Who is the target audience for Lara Croft Go? How does brand loyalty contribute to this target audience?

Exam practice optional extension task:

“Videogames are increasingly played and enjoyed by a wider and more diverse audience." 

Does your study of Lara Croft Go support this view?

Write a detailed three-paragraph answer to this question using the information you have learned in this case study.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Language
1) Watch some Lara Croft Go gameplay online or, even better, play the game yourself. How is the game constructed to attract and maintain the engagement of an audience?

2) How is narrative, character, iconography and setting used to create intertextuality? (Links to other genres and media texts)

Representations
1) Read this NME feature on the history of the Lara Croft character. Do you agree that she is now a 'feminist icon' rather than a 'trapezoid-boobed pinup'? What do these terms mean?

2) Have later versions of the Tomb Raider/Lara Croft franchise featured a less-sexualised version of the character? Does this suggest society is changing in its attitude towards women?

Industries
1) Why do videogame producers prefer the self-regulation of PEGI to government regulation? Why is videogame regulation increasingly important in the 21st century?

2) Watch the full lecture embedded above: Distilling a franchise - the making of Lara Croft Go. How did the designers make conscious decisions based on previous franchises to create a successful game?

Audience
1) How has the marketing of Lara Croft/Tomb Raider franchise changed over the last 20 years and how might an audience respond to this? Think about reception theory - preferred and oppositional readings. 

2) Does Lara Croft Go target a female audience? Why do you think female gamers dominate the phone/tablet market?

There is a lot of work here - so please ensure that you give yourself enough time to complete this full. Due date on SatchelOne.

Videogames: Introduction

Our final media topic is Videogames - an in-depth area of study with two Close-Study Products.

Over the next few weeks, we need to study the following CSPs:

Lara Croft GO
Blackpink The Game

We need to study these products using all four key concepts: Language, Industry, Audience and Representation. Both Lara Croft GO and Blackpink The Game are good examples of the changing nature of the videogames industry and give us a chance to further explore representations in media products.

Introduction to Videogames: Blog Tasks

Watch the YouTube video outlining the history of the videogames industry from the 1970s to the 2010s. Now answer the following questions:

1) What were the first videogames like?

2) How have videogames changed over time?

3) What do the most successful games have in common? Answer this in as much detail as you can. Think about audience pleasures - what do people like about playing videogames?

4) What criticisms have been made towards videogames?

Next, read this Guardian feature from when Fortnite first became sensationally popular and watch the original trailer below.



Now answer the following questions:

1) At the time of the article, how many Fortnite players were there worldwide? (Bonus question - how many are there now? Try Googling it.)

2) Why is it so popular? What are the audience pleasures of the game?

3) Why might some people criticise Fortnite?

4) Copy and paste two comments from 'below the line' of the Guardian article - these are comments written by Guardian readers in response to the feature. Select one comment you agree with and one you disagree with and explain why.

Extension task: read this news story reporting that Prince Harry has called for Fortnite to be banned. Why does the Prince think Fortnite producer Epic Games is irresponsible?

Read this Guardian article on videogames being more important than sport and music when it comes to youth culture. Do you agree on the cultural significance of videogames?

If you don't finish this in the lesson you will need to complete for homework - due date on SatchelOne.

Newspapers: The Times - Audience and Industries

The second part of our case study for The Times focuses on Audience 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.

Audience

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 - 62% from social group AB. This means Times readers are likely to be professionals, managers or company owners. They are likely to be in the Succeeder psychographic group. You can revise demographics and psychographics here.

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. This includes British politics and Britain's place in world politics and economics (patriotic). The Times focuses on hard news that we expect from a broadsheet newspaper - politics, economics, world news etc.

Diversion/Entertainment

One of the main reasons we read newspapers is for entertainment. The Times has evolved over recent years to contain more stories that provide entertainment or diversion. It also 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 the way stories are constructed. The way businesses are represented also shows the Times values private companies over working class people. 

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.

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 social media profiles. 
• The Times and Sunday Times have hit 500,000 subscribers as digital outnumbered print for first time at an initial cost of £1 per week for a digital subscription.

Watch this Times video on how it is finding new audiences and promoting different platforms such as Times Radio: 

You can also watch this advert promoting the Times across different platforms: 

 

Key question: Why have print newspapers declined?

Newspaper regulation: How and why are UK newspapers regulated? 

The newspaper industry is regulated by IPSO.

Previously, 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.

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.

Blog tasks: The Times Case Study - Audience and Industries

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

Audience

1) What are the main audience demographics 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 or challenged by the design and news stories in the CSP pages we have studied?  

4) What are the main audience pleasures 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.

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? You can find all of these statistics in the blogpost above.

3) How has the Times reacted to the decline in print sales and the growth of the internet? Watch the two videos above for more on this.

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

5) Why do some people want stronger regulation of British newspapers? Look at the information above on newspaper regulation to find out more on this.


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? 

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 fantastic Media teacher Ms Fisher explaining The Times and the Daily Mirror for A Level students:

Due date: on SatchelOne

Newspapers: The Times - Language and Representations

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

Here are your two CSP pages for The Times:

The Times: Notes

Media 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.

The Times: Representation notes

Front page

Some key aspects of the representation on the front page:

• By using the crest in its masthead, the newspaper is associating itself with being British and part of an established heritage and tradition.
• Reporting on the Post Office story is more balanced and doesn't criticise the Conservative government in the same way the Daily Mirror does. 

Inside page

Some key aspects of the representation on the inside page:

• These pages partially take the side of the Conservative MPs, presenting them as somewhat heroic rather than calling for the likes of Vennells to be held accountable.
• Look at the different headlines and how they talk about the IT experts that previously worked for the Post Office.

Politics

The Times generally supports the right wing Conservative Party and is against the more left wing 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 front cover of the Times we need to study as the newspaper is not supporting the individuals that lost millions as a result of the scandal.

Post Office Scandal

If you're not sure about the main story in these CSP pages then this video summary will help.

Blog Tasks: The Times - Language and Representations

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 and why does it appeal to Times readers?

2) How is the presentation of this story different to how the Daily Mirror presents it? 

3) How is the Times front page designed to reflect broadsheet newspaper conventions?

4) How can you tell the inside pages of the Times are a broadsheet newspaper? 

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

Representations

1) How does the Times represent the Post Office workers and Fujitsu in the CSP pages?

2) What representation of the Conservative Party can be found in the CSP pages of the Times?

3) Consider the subheading about Vennells "Vennells faces call..." - How does this newspaper present her involvement in this story? 

4) What representation of Fujitsu can be found in the CSP pages of the Times? What does The Times journalist think of Fujitsu and Horizon's role in this scandal? 

5) What opinion would Times readers be likely to have about Vennells, the Post Office workers and Fujitsu from reading these pages?

Grade 8/9 Extension Tasks

Read this article on the legal battles surrounding the Post Office scandal.

How has the government/society made it incredibly difficult for the postal workers to obtain justice despite the overwhelming support and evidence in their favour?

Due date: on SatchelOne.

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:

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 Satchel One

Newspapers: Daily Mirror - Audience and Industries

Our final tasks for the Daily Mirror involve studying Audience 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

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. 

Active or Passive?

Traditionally, newspapers were seen as more passive. Audiences had to write to the editors to communicate their opinions and views on news content.

With the increase in technology, the Daily Mirror now offers its audience opportunities to engage with the stories on a much more personal level as well as watching video content. The newspaper is speaking directly to the reader and allows them to comment or share their views on social media.  

Blumler & Katz: Uses and Gratifications theory

Surveillance – The main reason we read newspapers is to find out what is going on in the world around us.  We find out news, different opinions and catch up with the latest gossip and scandal. 

Diversion/Entertainment – One of the main reasons we read newspapers is for entertainment.  Whether it’s enjoying reading the opinions of others, reading the cartoons or completing crosswords.  We want to be entertained. 

Personal Identity – The newspaper you read reflects what type of person are.  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 and thus reinforcing their own values.

Becoming an active participant – Increasingly newspapers, especially online editions, encourage audiences to get involved through comments and social media. This contributes to a sense of personal identity for audiences.

Daily Mirror Advertising Campaign

What do these adverts tell us about the target audience and audience pleasures for the Daily Mirror?

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 200,000 a day now. 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 accounts on all the major sites.
• 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 but this is usually a very small amount of money.
• Create news based content that updates regularly, is shared on social media channels, includes a range of video content and encourages audience involvement.
• Reach's social media strategy backfired when Facebook changed its algorithm to deprioritise news content from sites like the Mirror and its revenue dropped sharply.

Daily Mirror Editor

The Daily Mirror last year announced its editor Alison Phillips will be leaving the newspaper after more budget cuts at Reach. Phillips was the Mirror's first female editor since 1903 and was loved by the staff at the paper. While Phillips was editor, the Mirror ran major investigations including into special advisor Dominic Cummings and Barnard Castle (one of the biggest stories from the first Covid lockdown) and later the Partygate scandal that brought down Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

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 - Audience and Industries

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

Audience

1) What is the Daily Mirror's audience? List the key statistics here.

2) Why do the Mirror stories on the CSP pages 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 are the CSP pages constructed to appeal to Daily Mirror readers? Think about text and selection of images.

Industries

1) What company owns the Daily Mirror and why are they struggling? 

2) Who was the Daily Mirror editor between 2018 and 2024 and what was the Partygate scandal that the Daily Mirror exposed?  

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

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

There have been plenty of articles about Reach's decline recently as print newspapers struggle to survive - this Guardian story on Reach boss Jim Mullen is particularly good. What statistics and quotes can you pick out from this article to further you understanding of the industry contexts? 

Read this analysis of Mirror owner Reach and its struggle to survive. Do you think there is a future for local and national newspapers like those owned by Reach? 

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 for grade 9 answers.

Due date on SatchelOne.

Newspapers: Daily Mirror - Language and Representations

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

Background

The Daily Mirror was first published in 1903 as a newspaper for women ‘to act as a mirror on feminine life’.

Sales for this demographic were limiting, so the newspaper was re-designed to appeal to a broader audience. Initially to middle-class but later during WW2 changed to target C1-C2-DE skilled and semi-skilled working classes who were affiliated with the Labour party.

It was hugely popular in the 1990s and sold millions every day. However, it has now significantly declined and now sells around 200,000 copies a day.

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.

Representations

The Daily Mirror supports the Labour Party and is against the Conservative Party. Generally, the newspaper will act as a voice for normal people (hence the old slogan 'Fighting For You') and go against the rich and powerful (like the Conservative Party in their row with Gary Lineker).

Here's a graph of the most left-wing and right-wing newspapers: 

You need to study the selected CSP pages for the Daily Mirror to see how the newspaper represents different people, groups, issues and events. Remember: CAGE - class, age, gender, ethnicity.

Blog Tasks: Daily Mirror case study

Work through the following questions to cover the Language and Representations 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: 
Byline: 
Standfirst: 

2) What is the main story on the CSP edition of the Daily Mirror (see above)? Make sure you learn the headline and what the story is about.

3) What is the 'pug' or smaller celebrity story on the front cover? Why might it appeal to Daily Mirror readers?

4) Why is the choice of news stories, content and page design 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?


Representations

1) What political party does the Daily Mirror support? Is there any evidence to support this in the CSP pages we have studied?

2) How does the Daily Mirror represent the Post Office in the CSP pages? Why do you think they present them in this way?

3) How is Fujitsu represented in the Daily Mirror CSP pages? Look particularly at the use of images on the front cover and the section on Fujitsu on the inside page. Give detailed answers with evidence from the CSP pages.

4) How are the Conservative Party represented in the Daily Mirror? Again, provide evidence from the CSP pages to support your answers.

5) Read the main articles on the inside pages. How are different people, groups and organisations represented in the Daily Mirror? Does this reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we usually see in the media?

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? What does this tell us about social class in Britain in recent years?


You will get some lesson time to work on this case study but will need to complete it at home if it isn't finished - due date on SatchelOne.