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 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
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. The deal is subject to an investigation by Competition and Markets Authority to ensure DMGT won't become too powerful in the newspaper industry.
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. The deal is subject to an investigation by Competition and Markets Authority to ensure DMGT won't become too powerful in the newspaper industry.
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: Friday 31 January
Our chosen edition of the i to use as our CSP - just like the Daily Mail - is Friday 31 January - Brexit day. Consider the following in your analysis:
Media language
Page design, font, text, images, conventions, hard news/soft news, news values.
Narrative
Selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper 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?
The i case study: Blog tasks
Work through the following tasks to complete your case study on the i and specifically the 31 January edition of the newspaper.
The i analysis: Friday 31 January
Carry out a close-textual analysis of the selected pages and answer the following questions.
1) What is the front page story on the 31 January edition of the i and how is it presented?
2) From your analysis of your phone photos of The i, what other stories and topics are covered in this edition of the i? You can alos access the selected pages here if you login to Google using your Greenford details. You should address the following pages in addition to the front page:
- Pages 2-3
- Pages 6-7
- Pages 10-11
- Pages 14-15
4) Narrative: How is narrative used in this edition of the i? Look at the selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper to engage an audience? Can you link Galtung and Ruge's News Values theory to the use of narrative?
5) Audience and ideology: What ideologies are present in the text? Is the audience positioned to respond to stories in a certain way?
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 was the background to the i newspaper's launch?
6) What were the objectives for the i newspaper launch?
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?
8) What were the five key principles of the i?
9) How was the newspaper launched?
10) List three statistics quoted in the final section 'Achievements' to demonstrate the success of the i newspaper's launch.
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 history
Johnston Press buys the i
Read this article from the website Hold The Front Page on the announcement of the Johnston Press purchase of the i newspaper - and the closure of the Independent. Answer the following questions:
1) How much did regional published Johnston Press buy the i for?
2) What reasons were provided by Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield for buying the i?
3) The comments below the article are overwhelmingly negative. Choose three comments and explain how they criticise Johnston Press and the purchase of the i newspaper.
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?
inews.co.uk - the i newspaper website
Go to inews.co.uk and analyse the stories currently featured:
1) What are the top five stories? Are they examples of soft news or hard news?
2) How is the homepage designed? Do you see similarities with the print edition?
3) Are there examples of ‘clickbait’? What are they?
4) To what extent do the stories you have found on inews.co.uk reflect the values and ideologies of the i newspaper?
5) What similarities and differences are there between MailOnline and the i newspaper website?
Now 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. 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?
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