OSP: The Voice - blog case study

The Voice - background and notes

The Voice, founded in 1982, is the only British national black weekly newspaper operating in the United Kingdom. It is owned by GV Media Group Limited, and is aimed at the British African-Caribbean community. The paper is based in London and is published every Thursday. 


The first issue of The Voice was printed to coincide with the Notting Hill Carnival in August 1982. Its cover price was 54 pence, and was only sold in London.

You can read more of this background from the original source - the Voice website About Us page.

The Voice: social and historical context

In 1981, the Brixton race riots shone a spotlight on race relations in Britain. 

The Voice emerged in 1982 partly as a result of these riots – both due to the need to offer a voice and representation to black Britons and also due to a business loan from Barclays Bank. The bank was keen at the time to improve their reputation with the black community due to investments in Apartheid South Africa.

Social context - The Battle for Brixton documentary

The Voice analysis: production values

The Voice offers a strong contrast to Teen Vogue with significantly lower production values across its digital operations – website design, video content and social media. However, the growth of digital technology means that the Voice can effectively compete on the same playing field as Teen Vogue, albeit targeting a niche audience.

Watch this video on influential black women in business and compare it to Teen Vogue’s video content – similar in ideology but very different in production values (note the view count too):

The Voice: representation

The Voice was launched to cater for the interests of British-born black people. Applying Gilroy’s work on “double consciousness”, it could be argued that the Voice was launched to give black audiences an opportunity to see the world through their own eyes rather than through the prism of white, often-racist mainstream British media.

The Voice: industries

The Voice is owned by Jamaican media organising the Gleaner company and published in Britain by GV Media Group. It is a significant contrast to Teen Vogue and the international giant Conde Nast.

The Voice: case study blog tasks

Language and textual analysis

Homepage

1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage?

-Advertisement and display adverts

-Social media links 

-"Latest news" on front homepage : "Pick of the day"

-Menu bar with different sections of website labelled clearly

-Clear branding / Logo

2) How does the page design differ from Teen Vogue?

-Overwhelming aesthetic/design

Looks messy, busy, crowded on homepage

Less professional design and look

No clear colour scheme (rainbow menu bar etc)

-More entertainment based 

"sport" "entertainment" "lifestyle" "motoring"

-Not as politicised as Teen Vogue 

Younger people are arguably more politicised so this element highlights the voce's older audience demographic

-"Faith" section

Afro Caribbean community takes religion on more 

Highlights older audience demographic

-Offers a strong contrast Teen Vogue with significantly lower production values across its digital operations

Website design

Video content

Social media

3) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice?

"Home, Sport, Opinion, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Faith, Careers, Education, Motoring, Business, Windrush 70" 

-More entertainment based 

-Windrush 70: highlighting cultural politics, audience can relate to this political topic because it's more personal to their culture and life/heritage 

-The voice is not as politicised as Teen Vogue 

-"Faith": Afro Carribbean community takes religion on more and it also highlights older audience demographic

Regular features and special publications covered in the newspaper include:

• African & Caribbean Food Guide - A annual publication listing the best African & Caribbean restaurants across the UK and including regular features on up and coming restaurants and key figures to watch.
• Family Matters. Each month The Voice looks at an issue surrounding family, parenting, care, fostering and adoption, healthy lifestyle and fitness, in a pull-out guide containing expert advice, information and contact points.
• Health Matters. Each month The Voice considers an issue surrounding mental and physical well-being. It is another pull-out guide that is filled with expert advice, useful information and contact points.
• Apprenticeships - Each year, a supplement highlighting apprenticeships across the UK is published alongside the newspaper. The supplement includes features from key figures in business and apprenticeships, alongside tricks on how
• Carnival - Every August, The Voice publishes a Carnival supplement to coincide with The Notting Hill Carnival.

4) Look at the news stories in the Voice. To what extent does the selection of news stories fit Galtung and Ruge’s News Values theory?

5) How is narrative used to encourage audience engagement with the Voice? Apply narrative theories (e.g. Todorov equilibrium or Barthes’ enigma codes) and make specific reference to stories on the homepage.

Lifestyle section

1) What are the items in the sub-menu bar for the Lifestyle section and what does this suggest about the Voice audience?

"Health, Food, Fostering and Adoption, Female, Travel, Relationships, Competition"
-These categories definitely highlight the older audience demographic that the Voice target 
-"Female" category - stronger female audience?

2) What are the main stories in the Lifestyle section currently?

-"10 year old cooking sensation recognised by PETA"
-"Usain Bolt: 'I don't think London has 
proper Jamaican food'"
-"World Aids Day: Why women's lives matter"
-"Will Smith opens up about relationship with eldest son"
-"Celebrated black hairstylist inducted into Hair Hall of Fame"

3) How does the Lifestyle section of the Voice differ from Teen Vogue?

Teen Vogue Lifestyle section consists of a sub-menu bar containing: "Tech, Campus Life, Careers, Decorating ideas, Food" - these things are targeted at a much younger audience demographic than the voice as these topics are aimed at teenagers building their life instead of adults who may just want to enhance what they've already built.

4) Do the sections and stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British media?

The stories in the lifestyle section definitely empower black people, especially black women who are often underrepresented in the media - "Celebrated black hairstylist inducted into Hair Hall of Fame" , "Meet the woman on a mission to boost black businesses" (this headline in particular challenges the stereotype of black women as not being able to succeed). 

5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – how do they reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?

1) "Prada apologies for 'blackface' products after backlash" "Prada sets up diversity council after racism row":
The Voice is against racism, especially as black people are seen as a minority and are usually racially targeted in person and by the media, so the fact that they are identifying a brand which has been found and apologised for racism shows their values being against it. They also further reported on brand 'Prada' setting up diversity council after racism backlash showing their support in making change by trying to rule out racism and make high end brands more diverse rather than sticking to their more traditional white upper class target consumer. 

2)"Britain's first black female orthopaedic surgeon speaks":
This article brings light to a black woman making history as the first 'black female orthopaedic', giving praise to her hard work and showing other black women that succession is never impossible, encouraging more of it from people within this minority sector. 

3)"Model forced to relax hair or be fired from reality show":
This article highlights the problems black women are still facing in the work place as well as the media in today's progressive society, especially concerning their appearance. 

Feature focus

1) Read this Voice Lifestyle feature on the first black photographer to shoot the cover of Vogue magazine. Why would this appeal to the Voice’s audience?

Ijewere gives thanks to,  "@edward_enninful for your part in changing the industry, giving people like me the opportunity to exist in such a prestigious space" - this would appeal to the Voice's audience as t is showing progression and diversity in an industry that is dominated by white elite. "Until there is a mosaic of perspectives coming from different ethnicities behind the lens, we will continue to have a narrow approach and view of what the world actually looks like."

2) Read/watch this Lifestyle interview with The Hate U Give star Amandla Stenberg. How does the interview reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice? What do you notice about the production values of the interview?

3) Read this feature on ‘buying black’ for Black Friday. What does this feature tell you about the values and ideologies behind the Voice? Does this viewpoint reflect Gilroy’s theory of the ‘Black Atlantic’ identity?

"Buying from black-owned brands allows you to take something home you love whilst feeling good about putting money back into a homegrown business. " 

Audience

1) Who do you think is the target audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics.

The voice is a specialised product aimed at a minority, niche audience -  specifically an afro-carribean audience.
-C2DE
-Afro-carribean demographic
-Working/ Lower class
-Older age demographic
-Strugglers, mainstreamers, aspirers

2) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz (Uses & Gratifications).

Personal identity: Audiences can relate to the specified content on the voice
Surveillance: News stories and other information proved to educate and inform an audience

3) Give examples of content from the website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.

-"windrush 70" category - highlighting cultural politics, audience can relate to this political topic because it is more personal to their culture and life/heritage (specifically older target audience)
-The content and news stories is mainly focused on empowering afro-carribean people and showing this minority group in a more positive, uplifting manner (success stories, progress in businesses and industry etc)

4) Studying the themes of politics, history and racism that feature in some of the Voice’s content, why might this resonate with the Voice’s British target audience?

The Voice was ultimately launched to cater for the interests of British born black people - politics, history and racism resonate with the Voice's target audience as they can directly relate with these topic and issues as they are are a part of a minority group who have been victimised and outcasted in all of these subjects.

5) Can you find any examples of content on the Voice website created or driven by the audience or citizen journalism? How does this reflect Clay Shirky’s work on the ‘end of audience’ and the era of ‘mass amateurisation’?

Representations

1) How is the audience positioned to respond to representations in the Voice website? 

The voice was launched to represent afro-carribean people in an empowering, positive light so they are positioned to respond in a supportive manner. 

2) Are representations in the Voice an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying?

DOES APPLY:
Girloy's work on "double consciousness" - it can be argued that the voice was launched to give black audiences an opportunity to see the world through their own eyes rather than through the voice of white, often racist British media.

3) What kind of black British identity is promoted on the Voice website? Can you find any examples of Gilroy’s “liquidity of culture” or “unruly multiculturalism” here?

"Liquidity of culture" - The Voice website promotes successful, influential and important black people from all over the world, not just Britain; black identity is formed by journeys across seas, not the solid ground of a home country or culture.
-The Voice praised and reported on Raheem Sterling for highlighting the difference in media reports on two other young Manchester City players who brought houses for their families, suggesting an inherent racism remains in British newspapers over 35 years since the Voice launched. 

4) Applying Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representations, how might different audiences interpret the representations of black Britons in the Voice? 

The voice's target audience would interpret the representations of black Britons on their website as positive and empowering, giving this minority group a voice through the media where they can be represented in a more accurate, positive way which opposes the way black people are represented in most mainstream media. 

5) Do you notice any other interesting representations in the Voice website? For example, representations or people, places or groups (e.g. gender, age, Britishness, other countries etc.)

Women: The Voice website empowers black women and shows them in a positive,successful light which differs to the way they are represented in traditional, mainstream media. Black women are also given a voice and strong opinion on the Voice website, their voice is usually suppressed and unheard in mainstream media.
Age: The voice website aims to inspire young black people and wants to see the afro-caribbean youth going above and beyond their stereotypes. 
e.g- "Why we must empower our students to apply to Oxbridge" (https://www.voice-online.co.uk/article/why-we-must-empower-our-students-apply-oxbridge-0)

Industries

1) Read this Guardian report on the death of the original founder of the Voice. What does this tell you about the original values and ideologies behind the Voice brand? 

"...[expanded] the column into a weekly title for black Britons and in 1982 founded the Voice newspaper. The paper and the mini publishing empire that grew up around it quickly came to be regarded as a pillar of the black community in Britain and made McCalla a millionaire."
"The Voice, dubbed "the black Sun", has never shied away from controversy, building up a reputation for campaigning against racism and injustice."
- The Voice's original values and ideologies were based on empowering black britons by giving them a voice which they did not have in mainstream media. From the establishment of the Voice they fought against racism and stereotypes of BAME groups especially afro-caribbean community.

2) Read this history of the Voice’s rivals and the struggles the Voice faced back in 2001. What issues raised in the article are still relevant today? 

"The Voice does a lot more racism-based stories - maybe it's because they came out of the 1981 riots. But people now want to know what's going on in the mainstream community that will affect them."
-Racism is still apparent in todays society, especially targeting BAME groups and is not really represented in the media 

3) The Voice is now published by GV Media Group, a subsidiary of the Jamaican Gleaner company. What other media brands do the Gleaner company own and why might they be interested in owning the Voice? You'll need to research this using Google/Wikipedia.

• The Gleaner is published Monday through Saturday. The Gleaner, a morning broadsheet, is the flagship of the group, containing news, views, sports and in-depth reporting. The Gleaner contains the following regular sections and features the following:
  • Western Focus provides for the needs of the people lining in the five western parishes; this special edition carries news, features, and advertisements from those parishes.
  • The Flair Magazine is designed to address topics of concerns to women.
  • The Financial Gleaner is for the business and financial community.
  • Youthlink is a magazine addressing educational and other issues of concerns to the youth and highlighting their achievements.
• The Sunday Gleaner, first published in 1939, is a weekend paper reaching twice as many readers as the daily paper.
• The Star is an afternoon tabloid. "The people paper", it provides investigative reports, news, special columns, and stories.
• The Weekend Star, first published in 1951, reviews of Jamaican music, dance, theatre, and culture.
• Track and Pools is for the horse-racing fraternity. It features computer-calculated tips for each race.
• The Children's Own is published each week during the academic term.
• Hospitality Jamaica is about tourist industry news.

• The Weekly Star, the Entertainment Paper, covers Jamaican music, arts, and theatre, with human interest features and news about community life.
• The Weekly Gleaner with North America Extra is the top Caribbean newspaper, distributed in 22 American and eight Canadian cities.

• The Weekly Gleaner (UK) carrying news of interest to the West Indians in United Kingdom, the paper offers coverage of important issues and events in both the Caribbean and the United Kingdom.

4) How does the Voice website make money? 

-Advertising on website 

5) What adverts or promotions can you find on the Voice website? Are the adverts based on the user’s ‘cookies’ or fixed adverts? What do these adverts tell you about the level of technology and sophistication of the Voice’s website?

-Durnham University
-Small world Kenya money transfer
-Sky my TV 'Moses and the ten commandments'
-Royal Air Mardoc

These adverts are not based on the user's cookies, they are fixed adverts. These adverts show the lack of sophistication and low level of technology that this website has, this is shown especially through the placement of adverts on the page -  they are placed next to the title of the news website which is not usual. 

6) Is there an element of public service to the Voice’s role in British media or is it simply a vehicle to make profit?

7) What examples of technological convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content? 

- Lower production values : poor audio, poor camera quality and poor editing 

8) How has the growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice? 

- The growth of digital distribution lowers potential for niche products like the Voice as they have a low budget and therefore have less money to put into their content to reach the standards of higher budget online newspapers

9) Analyse the Voice’s Twitter feed. How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied (such as MailOnline or Teen Vogue)? Are there examples of ‘clickbait’ or does the Voice have a different feel?
-No clickbait 
-Quite basic and not much writing

10) Study a selection of videos from the Voice’s YouTube channel. How does this content differ from Teen Vogue? What are the production values of their video content?

-Offers a strong contrast toTeen Vogue with significantly lower production values across its digital operations: website design, video content and social media.
-"Voice talks" 
Not professional/ poor eating and camera quality
Poor audio
Distracting, messy setting
HOWEVER, content/questions are worthy and promotes The Voice's ideologies and aims