WORK IN LOCKDOWN

NEWS PAPER COVERAGE

RECENT NEWSPAPER COVERAGE

In the top right corner we have the Masthead ‘Daily Star’ this give the newspaper an identity, the title of the newspaper is also surrounded by a big red box making it noticeable to the viewers and readers and drawing them to the front cover. The masthead also contains the date of the paper therefore telling you the specific news articles for that day, the newspaper also has the website address showing you they have an online platform as well as their traditional newspapers; the price of the paper is also in the masthead(50p). There is also s sentence in the masthead that reads “Proud to support our NHS”, by adding this sentence to the masthead it tells the readers that this newspaper is supporting the NHS with the current COVID-19 situation and that they are proud of what the doctors and nurses and other medical professions are doing for our country at this moment in time.

On the left of masthead we have the plug, this advertises what else is in the newspaper. The plug uses the phrase ‘Lil nails it!’ this is a play on words as the articles itself is about construction men and therefore by having the word nails in the heading it reinforces the jobs the people do and the article itself as some construction men use nails to build things. The image that is used for the plug shows two men and through the code of gesture we can see that they seem over the moon as they have big grinning faces, and in the background of the image we can see a cement mixer implying that the people photographed work in the construction sector. They are also seen holding a magazine that pictures a women wearing revealing clothing that is followed with ‘lil something to welcome star readers back to work’, this shows that the newspaper think they have to sexualise women to get more attention from the male readers which works, they are seen holding this newspaper with smiles on their faces suggesting they are pleased with the image. The plug also contains a Jump Line“page 18-19”, this encourages the reader to buy the newspaper and to find out about the article.

The Headline states ‘TOP BOFFIN‘ suggesting the article is about scientific or technological research, this headline is also followed by “ALIENS ARE DUMBER THAN URANUS”, this headline has a childish tone to it and possibly ignorance as they are trying to make a joke on something extraordinary. Next to this we have a strapline this provides more information about the headline and anchors the meaning of the central image; the strapline says ” EXCLUSIVE by Berny Torre, A LEADING British astronomer reckons aliens do exist but says they are most likely to be dumb…” by having the word exclusive is suggest that the article is a one time thing, the also include ‘leading British astronomer telling us that they are reliable and know their subject, however they slightly imply that other life forces can’t be intelligent. There is also a subheading which reads ‘Intelligent life is only found on Earth’ suggesting that even if there is other life outside of Earth they won’t compare to the intelligence that we have on earth which is quiet arrogant and stuck up, because in reality the human race isn’t as smart as we’d like to believe.

The central image itself relates to the headline, it is a image of a UFO and an Alien, this illustration is nicely done, however the image does have a comical feel to it which overall links to the story as it comes off as a joke. The image also shows the alien saying something “Stupid? At least we didn’t elect Donald Trump…”, this shows that we as a human race are the stupid ones as people allowed Donald Trump to be elected for president as he is ignorant and a joke.

On the right side of the newspaper we have an article about balding, the headline reads “END OF THE SLAPHEAD” the words ‘end of’ are placed in a red circle signifying importance, and drawing attention to readers; they have also included the phrase ‘slaphead’ which usually happens to bald people as may others like to slap their heads due to the lack of hair.

There is also an image that follows along the headline which is of the the villain from Austin Powers, Dr.Evil. This may illustrate the stereotype of people who may be bald or balding they may be seen as evil or sly, but isn’t the case.

The article to the right of the central image talks about a ‘cure’ for baldness, as the quotation states “BALD blokes will no longer have to look like Dr Evil, thanks to mericale potion”; the discourse that is used comes across casual and common as they have used the term ‘bloke’ instead of men, this may be so they come across a more trendy as they have used slang. The article also seems reliable as they include words such as ‘scientist’ and ‘testers’, informing the readers that you can believe what you are reading which is also know as preferred reading where the producer wants the audience to interpret the media product how they have set it out. Another quotation is ” Testers who put the the potion on their scalps twice a day have for 16 weeks had ‘significant increase’ in hair count“, by referring the treatment as a potion it gives the overall article a untrustworthy source as it seems like the word ‘potion’ has connotations as magic and fairy tales. However they talk about the increase in hair, therefore this article could be seen through oppositional reading, as this is when , readers reject the dominant reading which is apparent but unacceptable to them owing to their social situation, and decode the text accordingly, therefore the readers can decided to believe this article or dismay it.

To the left of the newspaper we have an article about Euro 96, the headline reads “Dutch of class from our lads”, linking to the fact England played against Holland. The article talks about the memories of the match through the eyes of Mark Pougatch who is an ITV football host. The article starts with “ITV4’S Euro 96 Relieved will bring us the whole of England versus the mighty Dutch”, the language that is use could come across as excitement as Euro 96 was held in England therefore by re showing matches it bring back the good memories and causes people to feel the joy and excitement like they did when they first so the match; they also use the word ‘mighty’ to describe the rival team suggesting they have respect for Holland’s team.

Further down the article we have a quotation that states “All right it can’t quell our appetite for live, here-and-now football, but it’s certainly helping”, suggesting that ITV have decided to show past football games as we are currently having a global pandemic and are still on lockdown so people cannot go out and attend football matches as they are not on, therefore they have found a way for the public to still enjoy the atmosphere of a football game. The phrase ‘but it’s certainly helping’, tells us that showing past football games really helps people who are missing the feel of what it’s like being at a game.

The masthead give an identity to the newspaper, the Daily Mail is know as a right wing newspaper; which tend to focus on British values therefore the masthead shows a coat of arms symbolising Britain and and traditional values and shows they are proud of their country.The masthead also contains the date of the paper showing you what news articles they have for that paper and what happened; the price is also shown within the masthead (70p) ensuring you how much the paper is, next to the price we have the sentence ‘Daily newspaper of the year’ this informs you that they are the best newspaper and that you should read it because you’ll be entitled to the best news.

The plug runs right across the top of the newspaper, it gives the paper a more broader aspect and shows the audience/readers that the paper isn’t just about political beliefs, and current situations.; the subheading reads “PLAY MAIL+TRIVIA LIVE AND YOU COULD WIN £1,000” followed by “Play today FREE at mailplus.co.uk/trivia”, the main subheading is in all capital letters drawing attention to it, the reasoning to place this add at the top of the paper may be to help readers forget about the current situation and allow them to have some time to play trivia games to help them relax and unwind, the also tell you that you would possibly win £1,000 leading to further interest and making the readers want to play. In the other sentence the word free is in capital letters showing you that you don’t have to pay money to join.Also on the right of the plug there is a red bubble that says “NEW BIG MONEY QUIZ!” by placing this in a red bubble is symbolises importance and by adding a exclamation mark at the end further shows importance and makes a statement.

The central image is a picture of Jigsaw tycoon owner David Ross and his Ex-Lover Shelley. The picture shown is of David and Shelley, by their code of gesture they seem happy as they both have smiles on their faces. The central image is followed by a byline “Kate’s favourite store, its brash backer- and a puzzle over jigsaw’s turmoil”, this quote mentions Kate, who’s is known as part of the Royal Family so by mentioning her it’s likely to draw the attention of readers who are invested in the life of the Royal Family. The byline also has ‘SEE PAGES 24&25’ making the reader want to buy the paper to find out about the story.

On the left side of the newspaper the headline reads “GR8 NEWS!,Mail Force’s PPE fund edges towards £8million thanks to generous readers’ donations”, the headline is wrote in a serif font making it easy to read and it also gives the overall text a clean and elegant logo for a company, telling the readers the newspaper is the best of the best which right wing newspapers tend to do. The headline uses the term Gr8 instead og great they may have done this to try and appeal to the younger audience or to seem trendy as they are using slang, however this could also possibly draw the audience in as the words are big and bold and are exaggerated with the exclamation mark, this will be eyecatching and may be considered preferred reading as the producer of the newspaper wants the readers to be excited about this article and want to read it because it is seen as great news.The headline also includes “£8million thanks to generous readers’ donations” which can be seen as praise to the readers of the newspaper as they are the ones who have helped Mail force’s.

To the left of this page the article the intro starts with “THE Health Service was there for them in their hour of need”, the word ‘The’ is in capitals making a statement by telling the readers that The one and only Health Service were there for them and helped them when they needed it most, also showing that the Health Service is here for you whenever you need it. The discourse throughout the article is praising, as they are showing respect and gratitude to the NHS as many doctors and nurses are risking their lives to help people with COVID-19. Further down the article it says “Many readers sending cheques include letters saying why they were donating and praising the NHS”, this further reinforces the praising discourse as the newspaper itself is a right wing paper so it tends to care for British values and one of them values is to respect your country and by the reader of the newspaper donating money it shows their respect for the NHS and Britain, however this could be seen as contradictory as the Daily Mail, is mostly towards the right wing agenda and is towards the conservative party which originally wanted to get rid of the NHS, therefore the readers of this paper are more likely to also be part of the conservatives, meaning they mostly voted for Boris Johnson.

There is also a small anecdote in the article,“Allan Mason,74…. told how he had suffered from a heart attack recently”,”Words cannot express the thanks to the vast number of people……..gave love, devotion and dedication to saving my life”.By having a anecdote it give the whole story a personal stance and make the audience feel connected.The Newspaper has also used the words ‘love,devotion and dedication’ , adding to the emotive language making the story affect the readers. I overall think this is preferred reading as the producer of the newspaper wants the readers to feel emotions when reading someone story and to feel proud of our NHS.

On the right [age of the double spread, the headline is “Oarsome….Venice gets back to business”, this is a play on words as the central image shows a man rowing a canal boat, and you tend to row with oars hence ‘oarsome. The headline states that after months of lockdown Italy, especially Venice are starting to reopen business and are getting their lives back together. There are three images attached to the headline which all show people starting up their businesses/jobs again, but still wearing mask just to be cautious.

The structure of the articles have short paragraphs to keep the readers interested.

The article has sympathetic discourse as they talk about how Italy was Europe’s most affected county. However it later talks about the environmental impacts the lockdown had on the city, “It’s lockdown saw the waterways of the usually tourist-thronged city of Venice become crystal clear for the first time in generations……” this shows us that COVID-19 also had a positive affect on Italy as it restored nature, by lockdown occurring people couldn’t travel leading to the canals water no loner being polluted and allows animals to start living in the waters, such as swans. The article also talks about how priests and nuns have to be screened by body temperature scanners before they are allowed into the Vatican to pray/worship, as cautions still have to be taken place as you cannot just rush back into everything.