As part of my Journalism Now topic I am starting to study newspapers themselves and in this blog look at how the different British papers operate and their differing audiences and styles. Peter Cole wrote an interesting series on this in the Guardian and I will link his pages at the bottom.
The sales of newspapers in general are in decline. This may well be to the modern day desire to have everything online, despite this however, over 11.7m papers are bought each day. This figure clearly shows the massive influence that newspapers have on our everyday lives and they can affect everything from how we vote to what we eat and can even form certain prejudices.
Most ‘normal’ people (and by that I mean non- Journalists) read one particular paper. They are often dismissive of other titles despite having never actually read them. What paper we read says a lot about who we are and using Cole’s articles I am going to look at the different papers and try to understand who they are aimed at and how their chosen stories and language affects this; as well as trying to see if papers really are dying and if different titles are evolving and trying to stop this.
Most ‘normal’ people (and by that I mean non- Journalists) read one particular paper. They are often dismissive of other titles despite having never actually read them. What paper we read says a lot about who we are and using Cole’s articles I am going to look at the different papers and try to understand who they are aimed at and how their chosen stories and language affects this; as well as trying to see if papers really are dying and if different titles are evolving and trying to stop this.
The ‘Mid- Market’ (Express and Mail)
The Daily Express is a clear example of a paper who’s circulation is in decline, selling 770,000 papers daily whereas in its peak it topped 4m. It was traditionally a Tory newspaper however during the 1960’s new ownership led to a new Labour preference, though it has recently reverted back. Cole describes its favourite topics to include house prices, taxes, the weather, political correctness, the threat of immigrants and an obsession with Princess Diana (!Express readers look away now! – What was Diana wearing the night she died? A blue bonnet).
The major player in the mid-market section nowadays however is the Daily Mail, which is the second highest selling daily behind The Sun. Cole accredits its success to stable ownership and an understanding of who its reader is. The Mail is very anti liberal, with the majority of its readers over 45 and I would imagine middle class. Cole states that the Mail understands its audiences (probably out dated) prejudices and reflects them socially, culturally and politically.
One way in which I would suggest the Mail is trying to battle newspaper declines is that it spends the highest amount on promotions. It regularly gives away DVD’s and CD’s (although who uses them anymore?) such as The Artist formerly known as Prince’s last CD, to help boost sales. I think that this shows a willingness to battle against decline and evolve and this may well be the reason for it overtaking the Express in the mid-market sales.
The Tabloids
The Daily Express is a clear example of a paper who’s circulation is in decline, selling 770,000 papers daily whereas in its peak it topped 4m. It was traditionally a Tory newspaper however during the 1960’s new ownership led to a new Labour preference, though it has recently reverted back. Cole describes its favourite topics to include house prices, taxes, the weather, political correctness, the threat of immigrants and an obsession with Princess Diana (!Express readers look away now! – What was Diana wearing the night she died? A blue bonnet).
The major player in the mid-market section nowadays however is the Daily Mail, which is the second highest selling daily behind The Sun. Cole accredits its success to stable ownership and an understanding of who its reader is. The Mail is very anti liberal, with the majority of its readers over 45 and I would imagine middle class. Cole states that the Mail understands its audiences (probably out dated) prejudices and reflects them socially, culturally and politically.
One way in which I would suggest the Mail is trying to battle newspaper declines is that it spends the highest amount on promotions. It regularly gives away DVD’s and CD’s (although who uses them anymore?) such as The Artist formerly known as Prince’s last CD, to help boost sales. I think that this shows a willingness to battle against decline and evolve and this may well be the reason for it overtaking the Express in the mid-market sales.
The Tabloids
Tabloid papers are generally considered the papers for the masses. Cole states that they feature quick read stories on crime, sex, sport and celebrities with a mostly working class audience in mind. He adds to though they too are in decline they are something of a loathed obsession for the rest of the media and those who don’t actually read them. The main tabloids of today are owned by two groups The Trinity Mirror (The Mirror and The People) and Rupert Murdoch (The Sun, NOTW). The tabloids aim to connect with ‘ordinary’ people and its main readers are in the skilled manual workers and below social grouping. To meet this demand they have a very low reading age of text and run extensive features on ‘celebrities’ and lower pop culture, the things they seem to think their target audience cares most about. Despite this audience The Mirror in particular under Piers Morgan tried to take a more upmarket approach, no doubt as a result of the falling numbers of the working class population, however this failed, allowing The Sun to increase its stronghold of the tabloids.
Broadsheets
Broadsheets are considered the ‘quality’ newspapers, although Cole suggests this is inaccurate and that ‘serious’ would be a better adjective. The main broadsheets are The Guardian, The Independent, The Times and The Telegraph. Though their circulation is very small they are considered to be of great importance and are the first choice read of most politicians, professionals and managers. As a result of this their style is generally more affluent than that of the tabloids and mid-market papers with a higher reading level and more focus on higher levels of interest and culture.
Broadsheets are considered the ‘quality’ newspapers, although Cole suggests this is inaccurate and that ‘serious’ would be a better adjective. The main broadsheets are The Guardian, The Independent, The Times and The Telegraph. Though their circulation is very small they are considered to be of great importance and are the first choice read of most politicians, professionals and managers. As a result of this their style is generally more affluent than that of the tabloids and mid-market papers with a higher reading level and more focus on higher levels of interest and culture.
It could also be argued that the broadsheets have achieved the most innovation over recent years. The Independent, Times and Guardian all changed to a more compact, tabloid style format of paper with an increase in sales a sign of the success this had. Other examples of change include the magazine supplements that feature in The Times and Guardian in particular, whilst The Times also launched a pay-per-view online format, recently copied by the NOTW, although whether this has been a success is still up for debate. The Telegraph, whilst keeping its broadsheet format, has also moved into the internet age with many interactive features and podcasts.
In conclusion, it is very interesting to try to understand how the different newspapers operate with regards to their audience and attempting to do so certainly changes the way we read and view the differing titles. Change seems to be something that a lot of papers have been reluctant to do but the declining sales suggests that it is something they must attempt. Regardless of this however newspapers are still vital forms of media and are certainly not irrelevant just yet.
For Peter Coles articles see the following links:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/aug/20/mondaymediasection.pressandpublishing
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2007/aug/20/mondaymediasection.pressandpublishing
Well done - a good summary of Cole's introduction. Would have been good to update some of the issues from your own experience of the papers as Cole's articles are a few years old now, but good work nevertheless.
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