inews.co.uk
Notes from the lesson
- The i was launched in October 2010 as the first quality UK daily newspaper to appear in 25 years.
- Its major selling point was price and convenience: just 20p at launch (now 60p) and designed to be read quickly, it was aimed at young, ‘time-poor’, middle class commuters who wanted a better quality paper than Metro but didn’t have time for the traditional titles.
- The newspaper was originally linked to the Independent, a liberal daily paper that has since stopped its print edition to go digital-only.
The i: key principles and circulation
The i was launched with five key principles:
- High quality content
- Pleasing design
- Balanced comment/opinion
- Manageable layout
- Affordable price
It targeted an initial circulation of 150,000 and was an immediate success. Today, its circulation is 244,000.
The i: values and ideologies
The i was designed to create a bitesize version of the Independent, a newspaper that launched in 1986 with the banner “Free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence”.
This perspective remains the objective of the i newspaper today – but it is generally seen as significantly more liberal and left-wing than newspapers like the Daily Mail.
The i: ownership
The i was launched by Alexander Lebedev, a Russian billionaire who owns the Independent and Evening Standard.
In 2016 it was bought by regional publisher Johnston Press for £24 million. Johnston Press publishes titles such as the Yorkshire Post and the Scotsman alongside around 200 other UK regional titles.
As of October 2018, Johnston Press reported significant financial difficulties and put itself up for sale – likely to lead to the break-up of the company and a new owner for the i. Watch this space!
Audience
The i readership key details (according to YouGov profiles):
- Around 61% of readers aged 18-39
- Male 58% - Female 42%
- Around 60% social class ABC1
- Significantly less disposable income than Daily Mail readers
- Likely to work in civil society and charity, media and publishing or community and social care sectors
Our chosen edition of the i to use as our CSP - just like the Daily Mail - is Friday 21 September. Consider the following in your analysis:
Media language
-General lifestyle features: Sans Serif font connoting to modernism
-Copy has been relegated to the inside of the newspaper: cover relies on images and colour to relay the story
-Lack of capitalisation: Less traditional, more digestible and user friendly - less feeling of urgency
-Headline: Bold, heavy font which establishes importance of story but no capitalisation which is usually used to draw a reader in as it catches eye more effectively and creates a sense of urgency and importance
-Bitesize introductions to the other articles available - almost acts as clickbait and mimics the layout of a website
-Lack of capitalisation: more user-friendly and calming rather than creating a sense of urgency
Narrative
-Far less sympathetic towards Theresa May: "vulnerable PM" -free from political bias, still reflects issues of today but is considered more liberal and left wing than the Daily Mail who portrays TM in a more subjective way
-Sense of continuity: stories continued on inside of paper
-Soft news also on front page to lighten the mood of the newspaper
The i analysis: Friday 21 September
1) Headline:
The Salzburg Disaster - relating to Theresa May's ongoing attempts to secure a deal with other EU leaders that will be of benefit to the UK
Other stories:
Interviews with M.I.A, Emma Stone and information on new albums
Croydon cat killer revealed
What happens when an octopus takes ecstasy
Aubameyang at the double in Arsenal win
2) What other stories and topics are covered in this edition of the i?
Page 2-3: The News Matrix
Interestingly, the layout of this page makes it a lot easier to navigate and consume information compared to traditional newspapers.
The news stories are concise and are summarised to allow the "time-poor" commuter to gain a wide range of info in a short space of time
Wide variety of news stories - appeals to the various demographics
Pages 5: Tigers, Rhinos etc
The subject of this article is reflective of the socially aware and conscious nature of the audience
Demonstrates the concerns and the viewpoints of the audience - environmentalists etc
Younger audience is more likely to campaign against injustices etc
Page 6-7: The Chequers Plan & Jaguar Car advert
Reflective of the older audience demographic - older readers are likely to have more disposable income, and therefore be able to afford the new Jaguar
The Chequers Plan - highlights the importance of politics; being aware of what's happening around us and how it could affect us
Page 9: The Ecstasy octopus
Positive representation of drug use
Highlights the dangers of overusing the drug, but also shows the positive impact that ecstasy could have in small doses (i.e. happiness, could be used for medicinal purposes)
Pages 11: Meghan Markle story & University articles
Interestingly, the Meghan Markle story is on page 11 of the newspaper, and is given a small section of the page in comparison to the over stories - contrasts to The Daily Mail, who had this story as a front page article.
Reiterates that what The Daily Mail views as newsworthy/immediately relevant is different to what the i Newspaper finds newsworthy.
Relegation of the royal news and info on the monarchy
Appeals to millenials - the progressive idea of hyper-diversity
Page 15: Technology and The Mercury Award
Niche bands and musicians - creating opportunities for the audience to open themselves up to new music
New technology - reflective of the audience's constant progression and somewhat liberal mindset.
Page 16: The Opinion Matrix
Sense of pluarlism - diversity of opinions, not a biased or one-sided account of stories.
More liberal - presenting various opinions and allowing the reader to form their own rather than attempting to influence their viewpoints.
*Page 45 of this edition of the i contains a review of former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger's book on the changes in news and journalism in the last 20 years.
The i launch campaign and success
Read this Marketing Society case study on the launch of the i newspaper:
1) What was the research that led to the launch of the i newspaper?
Research showed that consumers still wanted quality news information however, their lack of time prevented them from doing so.
2) How did i target readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers?
They combined their strong design with high quality content to ensure that people could digest the information easily without hassle. They also formatted their newspaper into a smaller size, meaning that commuters could manage the newspaper during their journey easier.
3) What was the target audience and why was this attractive to advertisers?
The target audience for the i newspaper was a professional ABC1 audience, as this demographic often proves to be the most time-poor. It was attractive to advertisers because it meant that advertisers would be able to target their products to the right audience - i.e. expensive cars to the AB demographic, holiday deals to the C1 demographic etc.
4) What were the statistics that proved the i newspaper was a success - and that it hadn't 'cannibalised' (taken readers from) other newspapers?
The circulation of the i newspaper was 170,436 by the end of 2011, and there were no signs of cannibalisation of the Independent newspaper. Also, no other newspapers reported a significant decline after the introduction of the i newspaper; thus proving that the i hadn't cannibalised other newspapers, rather it added to the industry.
5) What was the background to the i newspaper's launch?
The newspaper market was in decline - the UK market declined 21% in just 2 years (between 2007 and 2009), and the competition for readers was becoming increasingly intense.
6) What were the objectives for the i newspaper launch?
-Reach a circulation of 150,000
-Avoid cannibalisation of The Independent
-Reach a combined Independent and i circulation of 340,00
-Increase the ad revenue growth for the business
-Achieve majority ad volume in the marketplace
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?
The typical i newspaper reader expressed that:
-The Metro was the ideal size, but the editorial content was too simplistic, slow and celebrity-focused
-The Daily Mail and The Express (midmarket titles) were the right size, but too opinionated and biased.
-Upper market newspapers were highly regarded for content, but has too many pages and is too expensive.
8) What were the five key principles of the i?
- High quality content
- Aesthetically pleasing design
- Balanced comments/opinions
- Manageable pagination
- Affordable price
9) How was the newspaper launched?
Phase One - Involved highly-focused national outdoor campaigns, worked alongside LBC. The Independent's teams also visited 12,000 retail outlets as part of a focused distribution times.
Phase Two - explained exactly what the paper was and why the target audience would love it. They spelt out the benefits of the newspaper, and allowed different people to express why they loved the paper.
10) List three statistics quoted in the final section 'Achievements' to demonstrate the success of the i newspaper's launch.
- In paid for sales The Independents content is now nearly 3 times greater than last year and has secured a fresh audience of ABC1 quality daily readers for its advertisers.
- 73% ABC1 readers confirmed the i as a quality newspaper with a quality audience.
- December ABC figures were impressive at 170,436
The i turns five
Read this collection of quotes and messages in the Independent to celebrate the i newspaper's fifth birthday. Answer the following questions:
1) Read Nick Clegg'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 tells us that the newspaper successfully balances the demand for hard news with soft news. It also highlights how well the newspaper has flourished in a marketplace which is in an apparent decline. It shows us that the ideologies are a lot more central/left-wing compared to other newspapers.
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"?
Barbara Williams made this comment that The i Newspaper "returned their blood pressure to normal" to imply that the Independent's approach to reporting and their ideologies are more sensitive and informative compared to other newspapers.
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?
NICOLA STURGEON, FIRST MINISTER, SCOTLAND
"The paper’s focus on the NHS financial crisis, staffing shortage and the ongoing A&E crisis have been relentless and the paper is to be commended for that."
This means that the newspaper promotes societal issues allowing audiences the comment back on them and actually follow them. This provides surveillance for audiences.
JEREMY CORBYN
"Farewell to the gloomsters who said i wouldn't work - here's to the power of print."
The i was designed to create a bitesize version of the Independent, a newspaper that launched in 1986 with the banner “Free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence”.
This perspective remains the objective of the i newspaper today – but it is generally seen as significantly more liberal and left-wing than newspapers like the Daily Mail.
The i was launched by Alexander Lebedev, a Russian billionaire who owns the Independent and Evening Standard.
In 2016 it was bought by regional publisher Johnston Press for £24 million. Johnston Press publishes titles such as the Yorkshire Post and the Scotsman alongside around 200 other UK regional titles.
As of October 2018, Johnston Press reported significant financial difficulties and put itself up for sale – likely to lead to the break-up of the company and a new owner for the i. Watch this space!
Our chosen edition of the i to use as our CSP - just like the Daily Mail - is Friday 21 September. Consider the following in your analysis:
Media language
-General lifestyle features: Sans Serif font connoting to modernism
Narrative
-Far less sympathetic towards Theresa May: "vulnerable PM" -free from political bias, still reflects issues of today but is considered more liberal and left wing than the Daily Mail who portrays TM in a more subjective way
The i analysis: Friday 21 September
The i launch campaign and success
Read this Marketing Society case study on the launch of the i newspaper:
1) What was the research that led to the launch of the i newspaper?
This suggests that the readers enjoy the versatility of the i newspaper, and that although it was considered a difficult endeavour, the i has scucessfully continued to grow. The growth of the i demosntrates that the audiences have responded positively to the viewpoints reflected by the newspaper
NICK CLEGG
"The newspaper has been innovative, informative and entertaining in its first five years..."
This suggests that the audience are able to experience both surveillance (by learning about various topics), as well as diversion as they would enjoy the entertainment-related articles etc.
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