As with the Daily Mail, we need to study the newspaper from the perspective of audience and industries, linking what we've already learned about the newspaper industry and journalism. Similarly, we need to look at the i newspaper website inews.co.uk just as we studied MailOnline.
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 80p or 60p if you subscribe) 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. At one point its circulation was over 250,000 but is now just below its target of 150,000.
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.
In October 2018, Johnston Press reported significant financial difficulties and put itself up for sale – leading to the break-up of the company and a new owner for the i. In November 2019, the newspaper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) for £49.6 million. This means both of our newspaper CSPs are now owned by the same company.
Audience
The i readership key details (according to YouGov profiles):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.
In October 2018, Johnston Press reported significant financial difficulties and put itself up for sale – leading to the break-up of the company and a new owner for the i. In November 2019, the newspaper and its website were bought by the Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) for £49.6 million. This means both of our newspaper CSPs are now owned by the same company.
Audience
- 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
The i analysis and significant front pages
AQA's CSP booklet suggests studying one entire issue of the i print edition alongside a selection of stories from the i website. You can buy a copy to study for this or alternatively you can use our scanned in edition from 31 January - Brexit day. Consider the following in your analysis:
Selection of news
How is news selected and presented by editors? Is there an ongoing narrative created by the newspaper to engage an audience?
Audience and ideology
What ideologies are present in the text? Is the audience positioned to respond to stories in a certain way?
Significant front pages - more balanced, but also leaning towards issues such as international aid and climate change.
UK urged to help refugees:
Climate meltdown - when Johnson was replaced by an ice sculpture in a debate:
Boris Johnson
The i website
The i has a subscription model for online readers – a paywall designed to bring in income. This can raise revenue but also risks a lack of traffic in a media landscape where many sites offer news for free (Mail Online, Guardian etc.) This is an important aspect of the economic contexts of our newspaper CSPs.
Work through the following tasks to complete your case study on the i newspaper and website.
The i newspaper and website analysis
Use your own purchased copy or our scanned copy of the Brexit edition from January 2020 plus the notable front pages above to answer the following questions - bullet points/note form is fine.
1) What are the most significant front page headlines seen in the i in recent years?
2) Ideology and audience: What ideologies are present in the i? Is the audience positioned to respond to stories in a certain way?
3) How do the i stories you have studied reflect British culture and society?
Now visit the i newspaper website and look at a few stories before answering these questions:
1) What are the top stories? Are they examples of soft news or hard news?
2) To what extent do the stories you have found on the website reflect the values and ideologies of the print edition?
3) Think about audience appeal and gratifications: what would an audience enjoy about the i newspaper website?
The i: introductory reading
Look at the following articles to give you the background on the i newspaper:
BBC News website: Independent launches new 20p newspaper called i
Campaign magazine: Independent to launch first quality daily newspaper for 25 years
The i launch campaign and success
Read this Marketing Society case study on the launch of the i newspaper and answer the following questions:
1) What was the research that led to the launch of the i newspaper?
2) How did i target readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers?
3) What was the target audience and why was this attractive to advertisers?
4) What were the statistics that proved the i newspaper was a success - and that it hadn't 'cannibalised' (taken readers from) other newspapers?
5) What were the objectives for the i newspaper launch?
6) What were the five key principles of the i?
The i newspaper Factsheet
Read Media Factsheet #189 The i Newspaper - Industry Case Study. You can access it from our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive or download it here via Google using your school login details. Answer the following questions:
1) Summarise the 'Origins' section of the factsheet.
2) How has the i newspaper's ownership changed over the last 10 years?
3) Look on page 3 of the factsheet - Theoretical application. What are the three main ideas from Hesmondhalgh and how do they link to the i newspaper?
4) What does the factsheet suggest are the four key ideas from Curran and Seaton?
5) Which of Curran and Seaton's ideas apply to the i newspaper? How?
The i ownership: DMGT buys the i
Read this article from the Guardian on the Daily Mail and General Trust buying The i newspaper and website. Answer the following questions:
1) How much did DMGT buy the i for?
2) Why did the then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn protest against the deal?
3) What did new owner Lord Rothermere say about the political direction and ideology for the i?
The i newspaper website
Finally, read this Business Insider feature on the launch of the i newspaper website (which coincided with the purchase of the newspaper by Johnston Press). Answer the following questions:
1) The interview with Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield features the claim there will be "no clickbait". Does your analysis of inews.co.uk support this claim?
2) He states the website will "stick very closely to the brand values of the i". What are these?
3) How does he claim inews.co.uk will differ from online rival Buzzfeed?
4) What audience does Highfield want the website to target?
5) Why is the millennial audience less attractive?
Extension tasks
In order to develop a comprehensive understanding of all things i, you may want to read the following articles.
The i turns five
Read this collection of quotes and messages in the Independent to celebrate the i newspaper's fifth birthday. You could then 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?
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"?
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?
4) Scroll down towards the bottom of the article. What are the campaigns that i have run since their launch in 2010?
5) What do these campaigns tell you about the values and ideologies behind the i newspaper? Do they also tell you something about the readership of the i?
6) What did the critics say when the paper was first launched? Why did many think the paper would fail?
7) Choose three quotes from the critics' reviews and discuss whether these viewpoints remain valid today.
8) Look at the bestselling front page stories from 2011-2015. What do these tell us about the i's values and ideologies - and what do we learn about i readers?
Additional reading
Read this editorial from the Independent (original parent paper for the i) regarding their royal coverage. How does this approach differ to the Daily Mail?
Read this BBC News article on the end of the Independent's print edition. Look at the analysis and graphs - what do these suggest about newspapers' future online?
Finally, read this Business Insider feature on the launch of the i newspaper website (which coincided with the purchase of the newspaper by Johnston Press). Answer the following questions:
1) The interview with Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield features the claim there will be "no clickbait". Does your analysis of inews.co.uk support this claim?
2) He states the website will "stick very closely to the brand values of the i". What are these?
3) How does he claim inews.co.uk will differ from online rival Buzzfeed?
4) What audience does Highfield want the website to target?
5) Why is the millennial audience less attractive?
Extension tasks
In order to develop a comprehensive understanding of all things i, you may want to read the following articles.
The i turns five
Read this collection of quotes and messages in the Independent to celebrate the i newspaper's fifth birthday. You could then 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?
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"?
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?
4) Scroll down towards the bottom of the article. What are the campaigns that i have run since their launch in 2010?
5) What do these campaigns tell you about the values and ideologies behind the i newspaper? Do they also tell you something about the readership of the i?
6) What did the critics say when the paper was first launched? Why did many think the paper would fail?
7) Choose three quotes from the critics' reviews and discuss whether these viewpoints remain valid today.
8) Look at the bestselling front page stories from 2011-2015. What do these tell us about the i's values and ideologies - and what do we learn about i readers?
Additional reading
Read this editorial from the Independent (original parent paper for the i) regarding their royal coverage. How does this approach differ to the Daily Mail?
Read this BBC News article on the end of the Independent's print edition. Look at the analysis and graphs - what do these suggest about newspapers' future online?
Due date on Google Classroom
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