1. We know what a newspaper is, what goes into a newspaper
and the whole history of newspapers. Today we’re going to
look at WHO newspapers are for!
You have 90 seconds to silently
note down any words/phrases Okay, here are the ones you are going to use
you can think of that will help today. (The boxed ones are THE BARE
us today. ESSENTIAL ones)
Target Socio-economic
group
audience
audience
demographic
Segmentation / segment
2. demographic groups
•A Top management, bankers, lawyers, doctors
and other professionals.
•B Middle management, teachers, many
'creative’s e.g. graphic designers etc.
•C1 Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses,
specialist clerical staff etc.
•C2 Skilled workers, tradespersons (white collar).
•D Semi-skilled and unskilled manual workers
(blue collar).
•E Unemployed, students, pensioners, casual
workers.
3. How does an
Audience Engage?
AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT - This describes how an audience
interacts with a media text. Different people react in different
ways to the same text.
AUDIENCE EXPECTATIONS - These are the advance ideas an
audience may have about a text. This particularly applies to
genre pieces. Don't forget that producers often play with or
deliberately shatter audience expectations.
AUDIENCE FOREKNOWLEDGE - This is the definite information
(rather than the vague expectations) which an audience brings
to a media product.
AUDIENCE IDENTIFICATION - This is the way in which audiences
feel themselves connected to a particular media text, in that
they feel it directly expresses their attitude or lifestyle.
AUDIENCE PLACEMENT - This is the range of strategies media
producers use to directly target a particular audience and make
them feel that the media text is specially 'for them’.
AUDIENCE RESEARCH - Measuring an audience is very
important to all media institutions. Research is done at all
stages of production of a media text, and, once produced,
audience will be continually monitored.
4. What Can You Remember?
Reception
Hypodermic Theory
Needle Theory
Use’s and
Gratifications
Theory
5. Use’s and
Gratifications
Theory •Diversion – Escape from everyday
problems and routine.
•Personal Relationships – Using the
media for emotional and other
interaction.
•Personal Identify – Finding yourself
reflected in texts.
•Surveillance – Information which
could be useful for living.
6. Reception
•Dominant or Preferred Reading – Theory
audience fully accepts the texts
codes.
•Negotiated Reading – the audience
partly shares the text’s codes, but
sometimes modifies it in a way that
reflects their own position,
experiences and interests.
•Oppositional Reading – The
audience, whose social situation
places them in a directly oppositional
relation, understands the preferred
reading but rejects it and offers an
alternative.
7. There are two ways of looking at an audience. From the
inside and from the outside!
TODAY, however, we’re also interested in a THIRD perspective – the view from
behind the stage/camera/publishers. The point of view of those who are organising
and funding everything!
8. So... It’s important to remember that it’s a little bit more
complicated than perhaps we’ve previously thought!
INSTITUTION
TARGET AUDIENCE PRODUCERS
10. Amongst other papers around the world, Rupert
owns TWO of the most popular papers in the UK!
Below is an outline of their sales and their target
demographic.
Circulation – about 600,000 Circulation – about 3,000,000
Cost - £1 Cost – 30p
Pages – about 80 – 100 Pages – about 34 - 45
Covers – national, international and Covers – sports, celebrity, national
financial news, sport, the arts, etc... news, major international events.
Readers tend to be: Readers tend to be:
•Aged 30 and over (mostly male) •Aged between 18 and 80
•Educated to at least A Level, most •Male and female
often university level. •Earning in the middle 30% of the
•Earning in the top 25% of the country. country.
•Ambitious, intellectual, likes to keep •Like to be entertained, enjoy
up to date, likes to think of themselves personality, interested in popular
as cultured. culture, strong opinions.
11. WHAT THE CLASS CAME UP WITH: WHAT THE COMPUTER CAME UP WITH:
WHY WOULD HE •Because they are aimed at different
OWN TWO audiences (very few people would be torn
between buying both of them).
NEWSPAPERS •Because the country is too diverse
to make one newspaper that
AND BE IN everyone will like!
COMPETITION •Because competition is healthy.
WITH HIMSELF? •Because if he owns the means of
(In small groups consider some of the potential reasons
for this – there is more than ONE)!
making one paper he might as well
make two (or more).
•Because people want to speak to
different groups of people –
advertisers for example.
12. From the point of view of the writers, editors,
photographers... (those who are “on the stage”):
What is “audience”
AUDIENCE according to these
three groups?
From the point of view of the INSTITUTION (the people who run the company that
makes the newspaper):
13. So – to prove all of this, answer this question:
WHY DO PEOPLE MAKE NEWSPAPERS
AIMED AT THE POPULAR PRESS MARKET?
The Sun’s primary target group is young adults (male & female) in the 18 – 45
years age bracket and in the B and C social economic class (teachers and
managers through to plumbers, plasterers, carpenters). A mixture of singles and
married people with the emphasis on families.
This is the biggest social group in the UK.
