News

L/O: Critically evaluate the nature of news and news sources.

Purpose Of News

To make money
To inform an audience
To educate
To push a political orientation
To entertain
To influence
To persuade


All newspapers are commercial companies and can publish whatever appeals to their views and audience.

Over 77% of British press is owned by a handful of billionaires.

Over a quarter is owned by Lord Rothermere, and another quarter is owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Not legally obliged to publish unbiased and true information.

Press is self-regulated unlike TV.

Fake news is news that is either completely wrong or biased by the publishing company to fit their views in a persuasive and manipulative way. This can come from cutting down an interview with an important figure to parts that show the figure in a negative way compared to how they actually are, to lying about the actions of someone, or even manipulating images to show a much more believable story.

You can check fake news by looking at the publishing company, writers and editors to see if they have previously written a biased or fake article. You can check the date to see if it is relevant information.

There is more fake news now rather than 30 years ago because there are many more means to spread fake news, social media is a breeding ground for fake news to spread as it can be shared, written or edited by anyone.

Examples:










150 years ago when the first printing press was created, newspapers could now be made at a very high rate to the point where they could sold en-masse on street corners, produced at a low price and sold at a decently low price too. This made it a successful business model as it created jobs and brought profit.

It is a mostly wonderful thing as there is now much more fake news but it can be seen anywhere by anyone at any time.

Prince William flips the bird at mommy for not giving him his pocket money

Eye witness accounts cannot be trusted as perspective can change what a person sees.

History of the News Industry

L/O: Critically evaluate the impact of technology in the newspaper industry.

News is spreading information of what is happening that is relevant at the time.

News being a commercial industry causes disadvantages as it can be as biased or fake as it wants to be.

The advantages of news being commercial is that it can be made at a very fast rate and can open up lots of jobs, it also creates rivalry and competition between news sources.

The advantages of news being self regulated is that they can write in more detail and more explicitly for more sensitive news stories.

The disadvantages are that they can literally write whatever they want to appeal to a mass audience even if it is wrong.

News Context

When newspapers started to be produced in the UK they needed a license to produce a news article, news was also taxed, controlled, and regulated by the government so that they could push what they wanted into the news.

When the American and French Revolution happened, the printing press was made, where newspapers could now be made by anyone at a very fast rate.

The creation of the electric telegraph meant that you could get news from very far away very fast.

When the radio was created, the competition began, as there was now an extremely fast way to spread news from long distances.

Mobile devices pose the biggest threat to newspapers as you can access news for free from nearly anywhere in the world, whereas for newspapers you need to actually go out and get a newspaper that is not up to date to the minute.

I do not think newspapers will survive for long, they have been around for hundreds of years now and we are moving towards a future where they are just no longer effective at delivering news or information like an app or the internet could. Apps like BBC news even notify you when something important happens that may be relevant to you or if a terrorist attack happens to try and keep people safe. To keep making money they will need to run more advertisements but at this point it no longer seems worth it.

Technology has shaped our access to news by giving us access to it from anywhere in the world at any time, it is almost always on a mobile devices' screen as a notification or in certain apps news is shown, for example on social media as there it can spread quickly.

Technological developments such as the internet, radio, the mobile phone, and others has made newspapers suffer in terms of viewership and readership, they now struggle to even get more than a few thousand readers a day if they are regional or if they are national then less than a million at the most. Newspapers have been made irrelevant by everybody having a constantly updated one in their pocket or near them at all times.

1960s Newspaper Case Studies

L/O: Identify examples of 1960s political segmentation.

Lawyers were urging for divorce by consent, which is an example of the growth of women's rights towards gender equality. Change in attitude to marriage.

Peace protests in response to the Vietnam War were beginning to happen, which reflects the peace culture that was the trend in the 60s.

Many spy movies were being made as a response to the threat of the Cold War, as people's interests in spies were heightened at this time. Lots of fear about the threat of communism against western societies.

Unusual for famous women to marry a less famous man, especially for the widow of a president.

Newspaper Online Case Study

L/O: Critically evaluate the how online content (Observer website, Facebook and Twitter reflects the values and beliefs of the newspaper and the audience)
Evaluate the importance of convergence in the digital age.

Observer values & beliefs:
Mid-left leaning
Values culture
Varied opinions and viewpoints represented
Has a positive view on internationalism
Ethnically diverse representation
Known for discussing difficult topics and issues
Middle class
Social conscience

Contemporary Newspaper Case Studies

L/O: Critically evaluate the impact of social, cultural, political and historic contexts on newspapers.

• A Progressive audience - They are forward thinkers who look to solve problems in society, they embrace change and technology growth.
• Active fashion and tech consumers - They are at the forefront of technological developments and are the people who receive this, they have a high disposable income.
• Well travelled - They have interest in places further out than home and will spend money on travel, they have lots of holidays, more than average.
• Finance Savvy - They care about their income and care to be the most effective with their money.
• Highly affluent and well educated - They come from a background of mainly wealthy families who can afford cutting edge education and tutoring.
• Engaged, influential and well connected - They understand that having their links into the latests news, technology and money making methods will get them far in life.
• Passion for food, art and culture - They have enough spare time to indulge into enjoyment.
• 85% is ABC1 social level, they value learning.