Research

Product Research

What is the news?

The news is everything around us. From a natural disaster to deaths to wars the news encompasses a plethora of subject’s perhaps endless possibility of article subjects. The news is reported in order to help people understand and explain the world around them and the events that occur daily within it. The news traditionally is presented on hard copies of printed paper which are printed daily, daily, weekly, fortnightly or monthly.

The way in which the news are reported is never presented without bias. Every news report will have an aspect of partisan on how it is reported. As much as the news around is are real life events they are all constructed to appeal to the reader.

All newspapers have political stances whether obvious or not they all exist. Political bias can be easily identified on with the national newspapers. For instance the Daily Mail which is a very right leaning newspaper will often victimise immigrants and perhaps everything that isn't English. Whilst the more central newspaper such as the independent will have a somewhat objective view on such matters. Newspapers also claim  far reaching influence as The Sun claimed in 2010 to have won the election for David Cameron and his Conservatives after it switched support from Labour to Conservative.

The news is dominated by 10 companies which publish local newspapers. These ten companies reach 90% of the total readership demographic. This is known as an oligopoly ( a group of powerful companies which dominate most of the market). In terms of national newspapers Rupert Murdoch owns a huge 35% of the market share owning publishing the Sun, The times and The Sunday times. Moreover Murdoch owns a further 800 companies worldwide and his News Corp has a net worth of over $13 billion. Murdoch`s publishing style has been highly successful but also very controversial. Especially The Sun has been criticised as dumbing readers down and also its representation of women as the infamous page 3 models have been published in the nude since November 1970.

Local newspapers are dominated by concentrated ownership; with over 50% of regional newspapers owned by five institutions (‘the big five’). These companies are Trinity International, Newsquest, North cliff, Johnson Press and   United Provincial. Local newspapers are predominately funded by local advertisements and are often regarded as the place where journalists start their career.

All newspapers compete against the internet, television and technology. The internet offers adverts, job vacancies, television guides, and property details. Rather than competing against this form of media newspapers decided to work in convergence with hard copies and virtual copies of the news. The Times was the first company to release a news website in 1999; this has become a trend within the newspaper industry. There has since been a decline in the purchasing of newspapers as a result of features offered by the internet and the World Wide Web such as twenty four hour news, blogs and vlogs.  Television has also impacted the news industry hugely because in semiotic terms signifiers make news easier to understand as they provide a visual aid. In 1953 BBC (British Broadcasting Committee) broadcasted visual news for the first time. Additionally apps are constantly being developed for smartphones where news is constantly updated and is sent straight to the user’s mobile phone. Generally speaking because of the digital divide newspapers and television news are predominately used by older people because they are usually less familiar with technology because they have not grown up with it; this is evident with in my audience research.

 Laws regarding the press

The official secrets act 1911. This act stipulated that anyone who works for the crown cannot and may not comment on any subject currently in the news.

Libel defamation act. This legislation allows anyone through counter litigation to remove a subject concerning them to be removed from the newspapers. In 2011 Ryan Giggs successfully removed a newspaper headline concerning his personal life. Giggs claimed that he headline infringed his right to privacy.

 

Controversy

Some media laws are breached resulting arrests and loss of money by the company. A prime and publicised example of this is Murdoch Scandal.

The News of the World was first published in 1843 by John Bell. Rupert Murdoch bought the newspaper in 1969, and changed it from a broadsheet to a tabloid. In 1989 Rebekah Brooks (Later married into the name Wade) was employed by News of the world as secretary.  At age 32 Wade is promoted to editor of the newspaper, this is a very young age for people to have such responsibilities.

One of the first exposures to such hacking was In March 2002 when Milly Dowler went missing; during her search close family and friends of Dowler were given hope when her voicemail messages were being deleted. Later it was discovered that Mulcaire (a private investigator) had been deleting the messages to allow new ones to be stored on the phone, for journalistic purposes.  This example of hacking was reported by The Guardian in 2004.

Rupert’s son: James Murdoch becomes chief executive of News Corporation in December 2007 and in 2009 Wade is made CEO of News International.

In July of 2009 The Guardian report that News of the world have been breaching privacy laws and have based some stories on information gained from intercepted messages. 

David Cameron is elected as Prime Minister, and Coulson is made Media Chief by May 2010, but resigned from this role in 2011 and was later accused for paying the police for information, and was later charged for bribery along with Goodman.

 The blatant hacking form The News of the World lead to the arrests of: Ian Edmondson (senior editor), James Weatherup (senior journalist) and Neville Thurlbeck (Chief reporter). Wade (Now called “Brooks” after a second marriage) resigned in 2011, and was arrested later that year for bribery. Rupert and James denied any knowledge of the hacking scandal and in 2012 Rupert resigned from his last major role.

This story of the News of the world not only emphasizes the heights of immorality that the media will face to compete against other organizations, but also exposes the media surveillance that we all face. Regardless of whether we are aware or not our lives can be observed and our privacy can be invaded to large extents as a result of developing technologies. As audiences we are fed only information that the media intend for us to know. It is evident that we do not control information we are given, meaning that due to technologies and lack of morals the media can expose us as an audience. The laws that govern the release of such information are often only enforced once the information has been exposed (this is evident in Dowler case), this fact of life when added with the power and manipulation that the media has can be problematic.

News theory

Journalism tends to be bias because readers only know about the thing that journalists tell them. Galting and Rug recognised some news values in 1965. This ideology says that the news values are:

•         Regency, currency and continuity

 •         Simplicity

 •         Closeness to home

•         Negativity and human interest

•         Celebrity and powerful people.

History of British Newspapers

 Britain's press can trace its history back more than 300 years, to the time of William of Orange. Berrow's Worcester Journal, which started life as the Worcester Postman in 1690 and was published regularly from 1709, is believed to be the oldest surviving English newspaper.

William Caxton had introduced the first English printing press in 1476 and, by the early 16th century, the first 'news papers' were seen in Britain. They were, however, slow to evolve, with the largely illiterate population relying on town criers for news.

Between 1640 and the Restoration, around 30,000 'news letters' and 'news papers' were printed, many of which can be seen today in the British Museum.

The first regular English daily newspaper, the Daily Courant, was launched with the reign of Queen Anne in 1702.

 Timeline

1476   William Caxton sets up the first English printing press in Westminster.

1549   First known English newsletter: Requests of the Devonshyre and Cornyshe Rebelles.

1621 First titled newspaper, Courante, published in London.

 1649 Cromwell suppressed all newsbooks on the eve of Charles I's execution.

 1690 Worcester Postman launched. (In 1709 it starts regular publication as Berrow's Worcester Journal, considered to be the oldest surviving English newspaper).

 1702 Launch of the first regular daily newspaper: The Daily Courant.

 1709 First Copyright Act; Berrow's Worcester Journal, considered the oldest surviving English newspaper, started regular publication.

 1712 First Stamp Act; advertisement, paper and stamp duties condemned as taxes on knowledge. Stamford Mercury believed to have been launched.

 1718 Leeds Mercury started (later merged into Yorkshire Post).

 1737 Belfast News Letter founded (world's oldest surviving daily newspaper).

 1748 Aberdeen Journal began (Scotland's oldest newspaper - now the Press & Journal).

 1772 Hampshire Chronicle launched, Hampshire's oldest paper.

 1788 Daily Universal Register (est. 1785) became The Times.

 1791 The Observer launched.

 1835 Libel Act; truth allowed as defence for first time in Britain.

 1836 The Newspaper Society founded.

 1844 The Southport Visiter first published.

1848 The first issue of the Brechin Advertiser was published on Tuesday 3 October

1853 Ormskirk Advertiser and Birkenhead News first published.

 

 

1855 Stamp duty abolished. Daily Telegraph started as first penny national. Manchester Guardian, The Scotsman and Liverpool Post became daily. Shields Gazette is the first of 17 regional evenings founded this year.

 1868 Press Association set up as a national news agency.

 1889 First Official Secrets Act.

 1905 Harmsworth (then Northcliffe) bought The Observer.

 1906 Newspaper Proprietors Association founded for national dailies.

 1907 National Union of Journalists founded as a wage-earners union.

 1915 Rothermere launched Sunday Pictorial (later Sunday Mirror).

 1922 Death of Northcliffe. Control of Associated Newspapers passed to Rothermere.

 1928 Northcliffe Newspapers set up as a subsidiary of Associated Newspapers. Provincial Newspapers set up as a subsidiary of United Newspapers.

 1931 Audit Bureau of Circulations formed.

 1936 Britain's first colour advertisement appears (in Glasgow's Daily Record).

 1944 Iliffe took over BPM Holdings (including Birmingham Post).

 1946 Guild of British Newspaper Editors formed (now the Society of Editors).

 1953 General Council of the Press established.

 1955 Month-long national press strike. Daily Record acquired by Mirror Group.

 1959 Manchester Guardian becomes The Guardian. Six-week regional press printing strike.

1960s Photocomposition and web-offset printing progressively introduced.

 1964 The Sun launched, replacing Daily Herald. Death of Beaverbrook. General Council of the Press reformed as the Press Council.

 1969 Murdoch's News International acquired The Sun and News of the World.

 1976 Nottingham Evening Post is Britain's first newspaper to start direct input by journalists.

1978 The Times and The Sunday Times ceased publication for 11 months.

1980 Association of Free Newspaper founded (folded 1991). Regional Newspaper Advertising Bureau formed.

 1981 News International acquired The Times and the Sunday Times.

1983 Industrial dispute at Eddie Shah's Messenger group plant at Warrington.

 1984 Mirror Group sold by Reed to Maxwell (Pergamon). First free daily newspaper, the (Birmingham) Daily News, launched by husband & wife team Chris & Pat Bullivant.

 1986 News International moved titles to a new plant at Wapping. Eddie Shah launched Today, first colour national daily launched. The Independent launched.

 1987 News International took over Today.

 1988 RNAB folded. Newspaper Society launched PressAd as its commercial arm. Thomson launched Scotland on Sunday and Sunday Life.

 1989 Last Fleet Streetpaper produced by Sunday Express.

 1990 First Calcutt report on Privacy and Related Matters. Launch of The European (by Maxwell) and Independent on Sunday.

 1991 Press Complaints Commission replaced the Press Council. AFN folded. Death of Robert Maxwell (November). Management buy-out of Birmingham Post and sister titles. Midland Independent Newspapers established.

 1992 Management buy-out by Caledonian Newspapers of Lonrho's Glasgow titles, The Herald and Evening Times.

 1993 Guardian Media Group bought The Observer. UK News set up by Northcliffe and Westminster Press as rival news agency to the Press Association. Second Calcutt report into self-regulation of the press.

 1994 Northcliffe Newspapers bought Nottingham Evening Post for £93m. News International price-cutting sparked off new national cover-price war.

 1995 Lord Wakeham succeeded Lord McGregor as chairman of the PCC. Privacy white paper rejected statutory press controls. Most of Thomson's regional titles sold to Trinity. Newsquest formed out of a Reed MBO. Murdoch closes Today (November).

 

 

 

1996 A year of buyouts, mergers and restructuring in the regional press. Regionals win the battle over cross-media ownership (Broadcasting Act). Newspaper Society launches NS Marketing, replacing PressAd.

 1997 Midland Independent Newspapers is bought by Mirror Group for £297 million. Human Rights and Data Protection bills are introduced.

 1998 Fourth largest regional press publisher, United Provincial Newspapers, is sold in two deals: UPN Yorkshire and Lancashire newspapers sold to Regional Independent Media for £360m and United Southern Publications sold to Southnews for £47.5m. Southern Newspapers changes its name to Newscom, following acquisitions in Wales and the West (including UPN Wales in 1996). Death of Lord Rothermere. Chairmanship of Associated Newspapers passes to his son Jonathan Harmsworth. Death of David English, editor-in-chief of Daily Mail and chairman of the editors' code committee.

 1999 Trinity merges with Mirror Group Newspapers in a deal worth £1.3 billion. Newsquest is bought by US publisher Gannett for £904 million. Portsmouth & Sunderland Newspapers is bought by Johnston Press for £266m. Major regional press groups launch electronic media alliances (eg, This is Britain, Fish4 sites.) Freedom of Information bill introduced. Associated launches London's free commuter daily, Metro.

 2000 Newscom is sold to Newsquest Media Group for £444m, Adscene titles are sold to Southnews (£52m)and Northcliffe Newspapers, Belfast Telegraph Newspapers are sold by Trinity Mirror to Independent News & Media for £300m, Bristol United Press is sold to Northcliffe Newspapers Group, and Southnews is sold to Trinity Mirror for £285m. Daily Express and Daily Star are sold by Lord Hollick's United News & Media to Richard Desmond's Northern & Shell. Launch of Scottish business daily Business a.m. and more Metro daily frees. Newspaper Society launches internet artwork delivery system AdFast. Communications white paper published.

 2001 RIM buys six Galloway and Stornaway Gazette titles, Newsquest buys Dimbleby Newspaper Group and Johnston Press buys four titles from Morton Media Group. UK Publishing Media formed. Sunday Business changes name to The Business and publishes on Sunday and Monday.

 2002 Johnston Press acquires Regional Independent Media's 53 regional newspaper titles in a £560 million deal. Northcliffe Newspapers Group Ltd acquires Hill Bros (Leek) Ltd. Queen attends Newspaper Society annual lunch. New PCC chairman, Christopher Meyer, announced. Draft Communications Bill published. The Sun and Mirror engage in a price war.

 2003 Conrad Black resigns as chief executive of Hollinger International, owner of Telegraph group. Claverly Company, owner of Midland News Association, buys Guiton Group, publisher of regional titles in the Channel Islands. Archant buys 12 London weekly titles from Independent News & Media (December) and the remaining 15 the following month (January 04). Independent begins the shift to smaller format national newspapers when it launched its compact edition. Sir Christopher Meyer becomes chairman of the Press Complaints Commission. DCMS select committee chaired by Gerald Kaufman into privacy and the press. Government rejects calls for a privacy law.

 2004 Phillis Report on Government Communications published (January). Barclay Brothers buy Telegraph group and poach Murdoch Maclennan from Associated to run it. Kevin Beatty moves from Northcliffe Newspapers to run Associated Newspapers. Trinity Mirror sells Century Newspapers and Derry Journal in Northern Ireland to 3i. Tindle Newspapers sells Sunday Independent in Plymouth to Newsquest. The Times goes compact (November).

 2005 Johnston Press buys Score Press from EMAP for £155m. Launch of free Lite editions for London Evening Standard and Manchester Evening News. The Times puts up cover price to 60p, marking the end of the nationals’ price war. The Guardian moves to Berliner format after £80m investment in new presses. DMGT puts Northcliffe Newspapers up for sale; bids expected to open at £1.2 billion. Johnston Press buys Scotsman Publications from Barclay Brothers for £160m.

 2006 DMGT sale of Northcliffe group aborted but DC Thomson acquires Aberdeen Press & Journal. Trinity Mirror strategic review: Midlands and South East titles put up for sale. Growth of regional press digital platforms. Manchester Evening News city edition goes free. Government threat to limit Freedom of Information requests. Associated and News International both launch free evening papers in London during the autumn.

2007 Archant Scotland acquired by Johnston Press. Northcliffe Media buys three regional newspaper businesses from Trinity Mirror; Kent Regional Newspapers, East Surrey and Sussex Newspapers and Blackmore Vale Publishing. Dunfermline Press Group acquires Berkshire Regional Newspapers from Trinity Mirror. Tindle Newspapers buys 27 local weekly newspapers from Trinity Mirror which retains its Midlands titles. The government abandons plans to tighten Freedom of Information laws and limit media access to coroners’ courts. Former Hollinger International chief executive Conrad Black is sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison for fraud. Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation buys Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, appointing News International boss Les Hinton as chief executive.

 2008 The global economic downturn hit advertising revenues and shares of media companies fell sharply during the year. John Fry was announced as Tim Bowdler’s successor at Johnston Press in September. The Independent announced a plan to move to DMGT’s Kensington building to cut costs in November. The BBC Trust rejected plans for local video that would have a negative impact on regional titles in the same month following a sustained campaign by the NS.

 2009 Russian businessman Alexander Lebedev acquires the London Evening Standard from Daily Mail & General Trust and the title is subsequently relaunched as a free newspaper. Baroness Peta Buscombe is appointed chairman of the Press Complaints Commission.

 2010 Britain officially emerges from the longest and deepest recession since the war. Lebedev acquires the Independent and Independent on Sunday from Independent News & Media for a nominal fee of £1. Trinity Mirror acquires GMG Regional Media, publisher of 32 titles, from Guardian Media Group for £44.8 million. News International erects paywalls around its online content for The Times and The Sunday Times. Eleven regional print titles are launched by seven publishers in the first six months of the year. Newly-elected coalition government announces it will look at the case for relaxing cross-media ownership rules and stop unfair competition from council newspapers. The Independent launches i, a digest newspaper to complement their main title, and the first daily paper to be launched in the UK in almost 25 years.

 2011 In April, following campaigning by the NS and the industry, a revised Local Authority Publicity Code came into effect to crack down on council newspapers. In July, The News of The World was closed after 168 years of publication. The Prime Minister announced an inquiry led by Lord Justice Leveson into the role of the press and police in the phone-hacking scandal. In October, Lord Hunt of Wirral was appointed chairman of the Press Complaints Commission. Five regional daily titles switched to weekly during the year. Local cross media ownership rules were abolished. Kent Messenger Group’s proposed acquisition of seven Northcliffeweekly titles was referred to the Competition Commission by the OFT forcing the deal to be abandoned. Northcliffe Media announced the subsequent closure of Medway News and the East Kent Gazette.

Research

In order to determine how my local newspaper will be designed I have constructed two questionnaires, One for people who regularly read a local newspaper and the others who don’t.

 Readers Questionnaire

1. What is your local newspaper?

2. How often do you purchase this newspaper?

   Every day          Weekly            Monthly

3. How do you read this newspaper?

Skim read      Completely        Sections

4. What do you do with the finished copy of the newspaper?

Give to friend/relative      Put in bin       Recycle

5. In which order would you read your local newspaper?

Front to back       Back to front          Read only the sections with relevance to you

6. What is the reason/s for why you read your local newspaper?

Take an interest in your local community

Like to know what’s going on in your local community

Use it to find local offers and sales

Friends or Family read it

(Other reasons please specify)………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

7. Are you more likely to read an article which has pictures to guide it?

Yes                                                                                No

8. How often do you visit the website of your local newspaper?

3+ a day         Once a day           Once a week                 Once a month         When required                                                                           

When required

9. Do you find it easy to use?

Yes          No                                   Don’t use it 10. How did you hear about your local newspaper?            Word of mouth          friends/family          other

 

 Non-readers questionnaire

1. What is your local newspaper?

 

2. How old are you?

10-15          15-21       22-30      31-42        43-60       61+

3. Do you find your local newspaper too expensive?

Yes                                         No

a.If yes was selected above please select an adequate price

10p      20p     30p    40p    50p  60p    70p     80p    90p       £1.00+

b.If no was selected above what price do you pay for your local newspaper?

……………………………………………………………….                  

4.Do you think that newspaper are being replaced by modern media such as computers and smartphones?

Yes                                 No

If yes was selected above please state why ?

………………………………………………………………….

5. Why do you think that newspapers are being replaced by newer technologies?

 

6. In order for you to read a newspaper what would have to change?

 

7. Which colours you find appealing on a newspaper?
 

 

Questionnaire results from readers and non readers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Questionnaire analysis for readers

All of the people which I surveyed live in the local area therefore their local newspaper is the Bournemouth Echo or Daily Echo.

60% of the people which took my questionnaire buy the local newspaper daily. Because just over half purchase this newspaper on a daily basis I must make sure when constructing the artefact that I make it a daily newspaper as demand for a daily newspaper is relatively high. Nevertheless a 20% of the people I asked purchase the paper weekly therefore increasing my chances of making a large quantity of sales if the newspaper I construct is printed daily.

When it comes to how people read their newspaper opinion is very divided. 40% of people skim read while 30% read it completely. I must make sure for this reason that the paper is not boring in structure but also that it interesting to look at and read through.

When asked what the people do with the finished copy of the newspaper and overwhelming majority said they bin the newspaper.  For this reason I must print the newspaper or sustainably sourced paper not wrapped in plastic which will be easily degradable.

50% of people said when reading the paper they will only read sections relevant to them. Perhaps this is because the rest of the newspaper is advertising or boring and poorly written articles. However I must make sure that my newspaper has modern but very informative look to it.

40% said they read their local newspaper to find out what is going on around them in their local community. For this reason I must makes sure that I include plenty of relevant information regarding local news and developments but also local deals and sales as seen in many other local newspapers.

Most participants said they would most likely read an article which is guided by a picture whilst 40 % said that they did not mind. Personally I believe articles guided by a picture carry more legitimacy therefore when constructing my own artefact I will include pictures to guide the article.

The number of times people visit the local newspapers website is relatively low. Perhaps living in an area where the population is on average older means that access to the website is not such an issue but people are content with the information they gain from the newspaper itself. However I must make sure for the people that do visit the website that it is information packed but also interesting and easily usable.

Most people I questioned said they had heard of the local newspaper by word of mouth whilst a minority said they had heard of it through friends and family.

The overwhelming majority of people I surveyed where between 16-21 simply because at this time having access to a large number of people who are older I do not have. However I can still create and artefact which will have something for everything whilst not losing any amount of information.

Red Blue and Green polled highest in the survey. As Poole is close to the sea most likely I will chose blue to represent the link with the sea. Perhaps red will also feature as one of the major colours used on the front cover.

 

Non readers Questionnaire analysis

80% of people told me that their local newspaper was too expensive. The local newspaper cost 65 pence to purchase therefore I would probably have to look at a considerably lower price in order to attract the people who are put off by this price.

All of the people I asked suggested dropping the price to between 30 and 50 pence therefore creating a much more marketable price.

Moreover just over half of the people questioned were not interested in local news. Perhaps in my artefact I should try and integrate local news with national and international news in order to make the paper a much more far reaching publication. The people who were not interested did in fact favour national and international news.

The people who do not read the local newspaper have read it before but perhaps something put the off. Such reasons could be an increase in price or change of editor.  But maybe it could be much more straight forward than that. People are getting news from the internet and therefore from multiple sources this means that newspaper as a single source are becoming more and more redundant each day.

 

 

 

 

 

Front cover analysis

 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Website analysis

 

 

 

 

 

 

Conclusion of website analysis

During the analysis of the local newspapers website I discovered a plethora of conventions which were used on multiple occasions by differing websites. I will document the conventions so that when I come to creating my artefact I can use the same conventions that make the websites which I have analysed so accessible and easy to navigate.

Hyperlinked Masthead

On the majority of modern websites a hyperlinked masthead will be present. This masthead acts as a tool to inform the user that they have come to the right website but it also acts as a tool for navigation. When a user clicks on the masthead they will get navigated straight to the websites main page, effectively creating a back button. Usually the hyperlink masthead is the same that is printed on the hard copy of the newspaper therefore creating continuity.

Layout

Newspaper websites usually follow the same conventions when it comes to page layout. The page is almost full with stories. Usually there are two sides to a website one where a main headline is displayed for a certain amount of time without removal and another where a rollover feature has been used to allow the reader to flick through the main headlines very quickly. This layout makes the website seem full and therefore more interesting.

Moreover, some websites stick to a basic set of colour. For instance blue, red and black are very common to be chosen. The colours communicate establishment and also honesty. However some of the websites also feature a lot of colours. For instance the navigation bar frequently has different colours. Perhaps this is so that the subjects are differentiated from each other. However websites may also have colour for a basic reason which is just to create interest in the website and to make it more vibrant.

Navigation bar

Modern websites all have a navigation bar in order to create a more fluid and accessible website for users. Local newspaper websites have followed suit. The navigation bar features on every page which a user may visit, this feature makes it very difficult to get lost within the website.

The left of the navigation bar usually feature more traditional subject such as news and sport whilst the right has been modernised to facilitate modern subjects such as job search or online dating. Very frequently the buttons on a search bar are coloured differently to create contrast against each other but also to make them prominent on the page.




Masthead analysis