The stories that feature the front of the i paper are The Salzburg disaster that is also featured on the daily mail cover for the day but the i paper also features news stories such as some media based topics such as Emma Stone's new show Maniac, M.I.A the artist who has a voice to be heard and Christine and the Queens a French pop band who are breaking through to stardom with their new album release. There is also an editorial feature from Patrick Cockburn- on the future of Iraq. Other stories feature a study on what happens to an octopus that takes ecstasy, A Croydon cat killer being revealed and a small sports feature on Arsenal's Aubameyang with a double win.
2) From your analysis in class, what other stories and topics are covered in this edition of the i? You should address the following pages:
In pages 2 and 3, It shows the cars which can lower your insurance costs which will be beneficial to students. But it also talks about the PM which suggests that it covers a wide range of their demographic as they can appeal to different types of audiences. On page 5, It talks about the environment and animals and what is happening to them.
On Pages 6 and 7, It gives quite a balanced argument about Brexit where it gives opinions and viewpoints from other peoples perspective like the Europeans. Also, these pages are more likely to be targeted at an older demographic since they have more money which they are able to spend.
On Page 11, The i newspaper has given a small section to the Megan Markle story whereas it was at the front page for the Daily Mail. This shows that the are not as right wing as the Daily Mail. This is usually targeted at older people but this is then contrasted where the story below it talks about student fees.
On Page 15, it talks about Niche bands and musicians which creates opportunities for the audience to listen to new music. There is also talk about the new technology which is reflective of the audience's constant progression.
3) Media language: Write an analysis of the construction of the i front page: Page design, font, text, images, conventions, hard news/soft news, news values etc.
The front page has a very online web page feel to it making it seem like you can tap the screen to lead to another page like a website, this is done to possibly give the paper a more modern look to appeal to a younger demographic. Another key feature that is not seen on many papers is that there is a significant amount of text featured on the front page compared to papers such as Daily Mail and the Gazette. There is also a large mix of soft and hard news showing how the paper is trying to convey a wide range of stories to appeal to regular and new readers.
4) Narrative: How is the narrative used in this edition of the i? Look at the selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is the narrative created by the paper to engage an audience?
The biggest story of the Salzburg disaster introduces readers to the idea of what is this disaster regarding the prime minister and how it may affect them as they live in the same country as what the news is based around, There is then some news about a Croydon cat killer who has been caught after 3 years giving readers a time basis of how long this has been going on for emphasizing the importance of the story.
5) Representations: Are any stereotypes reinforced? Is the audience positioned to respond to the stories in a certain way? What contrasts can you find with the Daily Mail here?
The Prime Minister is shown to be running away from the situation as she has been part of or been in a disaster, making her seen in retreat while the Daily Mail showed May as being secluded by the EU ministers as there was a photo of men facing the opposite direction to May in the photo making readers feel bad for her.
Add additional notes from class here for future revision. Remember, you will need to write in detail about specific stories from this edition of the i and how these stories are constructed to appeal to the i readership.
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?
Some research had shown that "there was a strong desire for quality information in the print newspaper format but that consumers were increasing time poor." Resulting in the idea of a small bite-sized paper that delivered concise news to the public on a small amount of space,
2) How did i target readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers?
The i had done this by combing a strong design with high-quality content and opinion in a manageable size in the right price, it was designed to grow the market.
3) What was the target audience and why was this attractive to advertisers?
The paper had a target demographic of ABC1 which would attract advertisers as this demographic is more likely to buy something that is shown to them or to at least make the advert have an emphasis on them, this is due to these readers often having excess revenue to spend on stuff that is advertised to them.
4) What were the statistics that proved the i newspaper was a success - and that it hadn't 'cannibalised' (taken readers from) other newspapers?
This could be seen due to the success of the i not having a major impact on other papers other than the Independant itself, what the launch of the paper did do was signal that there was a future for the print industry that could be seen. even in this ideology of it is in decline.
5) What was the background to the i newspaper's launch?
The Independent and the Independant on Sunday had been purchased by The Lebedevs who had a conducted research showing that there was a market for a paper delivering short concise information which led to the birth of the i.
6) What were the objectives for the i newspaper launch?
Their objectives were to:
"Reach a circulation figure of 150,000 • Avoid cannibalization of The Independent (182,412 at i launch (source: ABC Avg.Net UK circulation October 2010) • Reach a combined Independent and i average circulation figure of 340,000 • Increase ad revenue growth for the business and achieve majority ad volume in the quality 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 i saw an opportunity in a market of people who were looking for an affordable paper to read in a small amount of time, they looked for three types of readers in particular which were, lapsed readers of qualities, new newspaper readers 3) people ‘upgrading’ from the Metro Research showed that these potential audiences viewed the Metro as an ideal size for a commute but the editorial content was too simplistic, slow and celebrity-focussed.
8) What were the five key principles of the i?
The Independent took the bold decision to create a brand extension specifically designed to give these potential readers exactly what they wanted. The i was created with 5 key principles in mind:
1) High-quality content 2) Aesthetically pleasing design 3) Balanced comment/opinion 4) Manageable pagination 5) Affordable price
9) How was the newspaper launched?
The launch of the newspaper ran in multiple phases, phase one was between Oct 25th 2010 to Jan 15th 2011 and began to focus on a national outdoor campaigning to generate initial awareness. The Independent’s teams also visited 12,000 retail outlets as part of a London focused distribution drive. The launch was supported by press ads and vouchers/sampling in sister paper The Evening Standard and 60 tube stations and train stations nationwide. Phase one was backed by a strategic PR campaign that targeted all key broadcasters to ensure rolling news and feature coverage for the first 48 hours of launch.
Phase two was designed to react to the findings of the research at the end of the initial stage of launch. The response was the creation of a new, bold above-the-line campaign covering TV, print, radio and digital, explaining exactly what the paper was and why the target audience would love it.
10) List three statistics quoted in the final section 'Achievements' to demonstrate the success of the i newspaper's launch.
At the end of phase one, the title had a circulation of 60,000 and following the boost in activity during the second phase of the marketing campaign, the circulation rose to 167,944 by the end of February.
n launch day the i was stocked in 37,000 retail outlets nationally.
2.3 readers per copy and 73% ABC1 readers confirmed the i as a quality newspaper with a quality audience.
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?
The way Nick Clegg views the i show that the paper is about to provide strong information that is interesting while also being very enjoying for the readers as it does not feature exclusively negative news or boring topic but acts more like a magazine that talks about media and sports to a large extent.
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"?
The news and stories featured in the i are stories that are not as focused on crisis and horrible events but also focuses on all the positive news and something that the general public will focus on leading to people being more happy and likely to purchase the i paper again.
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?
'A success story in modern newspapers deserves a birthday drink.'
NIGEL FARAGE, UKIP LEADER
This indicates that the paper has alot of people suprised that it was able to start up during a time where print media is 'in decline'.
'Congratulations to i on your 5th birthday. You have defied the doubters and quickly established yourself as an innovative campaigning paper. Good luck for the future.'
DAVID CAMERON, PRIME MINISTER
This conveys that the way the i launched their paper led to a big success story for the paper industry as it meant that a new paper could be launched in this digital age where print was thought to be failing.
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?
This conveys that the i is not biased towards any other paper and that all of their viewers are ones that are open to taking in multiple views and perspectives of stories.
6) What did the critics say when the paper was first launched? Why did many think the paper would fail?
“i for ill-conceived and, ultimately, ill-fated” They thought that the i would fail because it was written by the same journalists who wrote The Independent
7) 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?
We can tell that the target market is fairly young where the readers tend to enjoy news stories concerning the economy and politics
Johnston Press buys the i
1) How much did regional published Johnston Press buy the i for?
£24m.
2) Who did Johnston Press buy the i from?
Evgeny Lebedev.
3) What did the sale signal for the Independent newspaper?
It signalled that they would need to find a way to costs
4) What reasons were provided by Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield for buying the i?
Ashley Highfield said that it has a very good reputation where they have loyal customers. It will also allow them to gain more market share which allows them to grow even more.
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?
- Brexit Deal: The cabinet ministers who have resigned so far (hard)
- Theresa May Vows to stand by Brexit deal (hard)
- Brexit Deal: This country and its people deserve better (hard)
- What happens when your childs bully is their best friend (soft)
- Sir Billy Connolly: "when the originals are solid a little part of me dies. But its a joy to do (soft)
2) How is the homepage designed? Do you see similarities with the print edition?
The colour schemes have stayed the same through out; red, white and grey which is key as they need this consistency for their brand. They also have the i logo, but it is not as large as the one on the paper but this is because they would need their print article to stand out from the others
3) Are there examples of ‘clickbait’? What are they?
At this moment of time, i believe that there is no examples of clickbait.
4) To what extent do the stories you have found on inews.co.uk reflect the values and ideologies of the i newspaper?
I think that it does reflect it to a large extent because they both talk heavily about Brexit, and they talk about it in the same way.
5) What similarities and differences are there between MailOnline and the i newspaper website?
The mail online has a design where there is an endless scroll. This gives the idea that a viewer can be on the website for an infinite number of times where as the i does not do that. Also, the mail online has a "sidebar of shame" where it also provides a lot of articles which is filled with clickbait stories.
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?
I believe that it does support this claim as the i has factual articles.
2) He states the website will "stick very closely to the brand values of the i". What are these?
- Quality
- Concise daily digest
- Updated continually
- Everything you need to know
3) How does he claim inews.co.uk will differ from online rival Buzzfeed?
It won't "chase traffic" on its website and will focus on maintaining its political independence.
4) What audience does Highfield want the website to target?
An older and more affluent audience.
5) Why is the millennial audience less attractive?
Because they don't have as much money to spend as others
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