Learner response: Newspapers assessment

Create a new blog post on your Media 1 Exam blog called 'Newspapers assessment learner response' and complete the following tasks:

1) Type up your feedback in full (you don't need to write the mark and grade if you want to keep this confidential).

2) Read the whole mark scheme for this assessment carefully. Identify three potential points that you could have made in your Question 3 answer - the i newspaper standing for "quality, clarity and independence".

Successful:

•  Respected and trusted newspaper brand, continuing the work of ‘parent’ paper the Independent which stated it would be “Free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence”.
•  Successful on its own terms – providing a print product that has remarkably succeeded in
• the digital age since launch in 2010. It remains profitable now it is owned by Johnston Press (although it may be soon sold so this may jeopardise its mission statement).
•  Selection of news emphasises quality – largely hard news (politics, economics etc.)
•  Stories are generally presented with balance: on chosen CSP edition, Theresa May’s Brexit
• (“The Salzburg disaster”) front-page story is balanced with double-page spread inside which includes analysis column acknowledging the difficulty of her job.

Unsuccessful:

• Clarity is achieved through clean design – like a website, image heavy with stories short and easy to digest within the daily commute.
•  The website inews.co.uk gives users the option of having the story selection determined by editorial or by most popular, meaning there is still a gatekeeping process maintaining quality and clarity.
• Launched by Russian billionaire Alexander Lebedev so question marks over true independence.
•  Generally viewed as left-wing (Brexit feature offers extended reporting of French Presidentn Macron criticising UK) so independence and balance questionable. “Quality, clarity and independence” suggests a lack of political bias but is this the case?
• Selection of stories, despite the main story on 21 September, still contains a lot of weak, Metro-style soft news (e.g. animal stories, celebrity or Royal news). The Independent famously refused to cover Royal stories but the i does cover Meghan Markle in this edition so therefore has a softer line.
• The inews.co.uk website and Twitter feed is full of ‘clickbait’ such as upcoming Netflix releases and viral stories (“Boy with autism receives 3,000 birthday cards”). This does not suggest “Quality, clarity and independence”, rather a demand for audience clicks and profit.

3) Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in your Question 4 answer - arguments against statutory regulation of the newspaper industry.

• As an example, the Daily Mail is famous for its ‘Murderers’ headline, naming those accused of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence – and challenging the accused to sue them for libel if they wished.
• IPSO is more powerful than the PCC and can fine newspapers and order them to print corrections or apologies on the front page. The Daily Mail has been forced to do this on several occasions, for example following a story regarding an Iraqi man’s compensation claim.
• The i already stands for “quality, clarity and independence” – if it is failing to do this, the pluralist media marketplace will see audiences go elsewhere. Government regulation should not be required.

4) Now use the mark scheme to identify three potential points that you could have made in your Question 5 answer - whether the pluralist model allows the newspaper industry to operate effectively.

• Generally, newspaper ownership and control is limited to a small number of super-rich individuals (e.g. Alexander Lebedev who started the i before selling it to Johnston Press and the Rothermere family owning the Daily Mail. Jonathan Harmsworth, 4 th Viscount Rothermere, is estimated to be worth £700m). This would suggest the newspaper industry is controlled by the elite (a more Marxist perspective).
• Curran and Seaton argue that audiences need to be empowered if media industries are to operate effectively. This is questionable in the newspaper industry. MailOnline is driven by audience clicks rather than professional editors (gatekeepers). This arguably does significant harm to the industry, reducing news to ‘clickbait’, celebrity gossip and the ‘sidebar of shame’ that MailOnline is infamous for.
• This decline in quality threatens the future of the newspaper industry – in no way could it be argued to be ‘operating effectively’. We are now in the era of ‘fake news’ with trust in journalism falling and audiences largely unwilling to pay for news.

5) Finally, look over your mark, teacher comments and the mark scheme - plus your answers to the task above - to write a complete essay plan for Question 5. 

Curran & Seaton, pluralism and how effective the newspaper industry operates - make sure you include specific references to the CSPs - the i and Daily Mail/MailOnline. Aim for around five paragraphs in total and make sure you cover both sides of the argument to some extent.

PLAN:

-the newspaper industry is reflective of the Pluralist Model, as suggested by Curran and Seaton
-proven through the newspapers: The i, and the Daily Mail and their online platforms

-The Daily Mail's online platform - institution embraces the concept of pluralism. 
-success or failure of newspapers is typically driven by audience demand:  and whether or not they like certain stories or not
-it is clear that the MailOnline's ability to recognise and respond to the demand of their target audiences has enabled them to become a major success in the newspaper industry: as reflected through their impressive 30 million monthly browsers and 177 million browsers across the globe 
-Mailonline homepage "sticky" and "addictive" : driven by the number of clicks, views, likes and dislikes an article receives
-the articles that receive the highest number of clicks and likes are shown at the top of the website; thus reinforcing the pluralist idea that the audiences are able to "manipulate the media" by "using pluralist values" (Hallaan). 
-Clarke constantly edits and updates the MailOnline web page in order to ensure that the stories that are most likely to receive the highest number of views are shown towards the top of the page

-The i news website also adopts the Pluralist model to some extent
-the i homepage sows the most breaking, popular news stories on their home page: "Top 5" on the left-hand side of the page ; reflects the i's clear ability to acknowledge what content sells, it also strays away from the pluralist model to some degree, content is less click-bait and celebrity focused, and is more focused on what is relevant, rather than what will sell
-i responds to audience demand but they do not rely solely on the opinions of their audience's to shape their content: the editorial team chooses what news stories they believe will be most informative

-the i newspaper do not incorporate as much click-bait into their newspaper and website, indicates that perhaps they do no rely on the Pluralist Model compared to the MailOnline
-suggests that whilst the Daily Mail and MailOnline need to use clickbait to encourage their readers to purchase their publication, the i newspaper and website are less focused on what their audiences want, but on what they need to be informed about.