The Process of Generating and Disseminating News - Essay Example

NEWS ANALYSIS by News Analysis The process of generating and disseminating news is dependent on the process of news selection. The process of news selection requires an individual to select stories based on the worthiness of the event. New selection also requires an individual to ignore items that are considered irrelevant or insignificant. News selection is dependent on the focus and target audience (Foreman, 2010, p. 59). For instance, tabloids mainly focus on people who consume celebrity gossip, while quality press publication focuses on people who read scandalous or political stories. A tabloid newspaper will have celebrity gossip on the front or cover page while a quality publication will have political news or news about a scandal on its front page. Different newspaper publications focus on different conventions (Bignall, 2007, p. 19). As a result, it is vital to decipher the signage within a news story across a range of news publications (Culler, 2011, p. 21). The aim of this exercise is to analyze the different codes and their effects on the perceived meaning of a story. This essay will analyze three newspapers: the Daily Mail, Daily Mirror and The Times. The story that will be studied focuses on a meeting between French President Nicolas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron at a summit in 2012. National publications carried the story the following day, on February 18. 2012. In the Daily Mail, the story was reported by Daniel Martin under the title, “Le Snub Forgiven and Forgotten as Cameron cosies up to Sarko and Backs Him for French Election”. Tom McTague of the Daily Mirror reported the story under the title, “The Reservoir Duds: Cameron, Clegg and Hague Play the Toff Guys at French Summit”. The Times had a heading that read, “A pat on the back and lots of handshakes as the entente gets embarrassingly cordial”. This story is important because the newspapers covered the story from different perspectives. The three newspapers demonstrate the interpretations of publication news conventions. Two months before the two leaders met, President Sarkozy expressed his reservations towards David Cameron because he vetoed a European Treaty for dealing with the financial crisis. The financial crisis was hurting a number of European economies. The President refused to acknowledge Cameron, and the two leaders could not shake hands (McTague, 2012, p. 1). The second meeting during the Paris summit was a makeup exercise as the two leaders hugged and talked freely. In my opinion, the story would have been front page news had the meeting happened on a weekday. Since it was on a weekend, the story was relegated to the middle pages of the three newspapers. This meeting focused on improving Anglo-Franco relations. The meeting was held with an aim to improve future plans for cooperation on the development of pilotless war drones, nuclear power stations and the establishment of a joint military command. The meeting was important to the French President as he sought to improve his ratings in France since it was an election year (Martin, 2012, p. 1). The main criterion for selecting the three newspapers was based on the use of large provocative pictures. While I choose to focus on the large proactive pictures, another person would have attached significance to the size of the story’s typeface. This shows that different readers use different sets of code to decode a news story. For that reason, the text is open to different interpretations, which depend on the reader’s ideological viewpoint. In my opinion, the different viewpoints may be influenced by background or social class factors. The communication of news can be achieved through pictorial and written language. The three newspapers used pictures, diagrams and caricatures to enable readers or audiences understand the news. The main advantage of newspaper over other forms of communicating news is that newspaper signifiers are on display to readers simultaneously (Allan, 2007, p. 114). This enables the readers to absorb the coded information or signifiers at their pace. This is not achievable with radio or television dissemination of news because once the audience misses the news they do not gain the information. News or stories on radio or television broadcasts are scheduled. Newspapers allow their readers to effectively and timely scrutinize the graphic codified materials and typographical linguistic. Radio and television are limited by the availability of direct visual coverage of stories or events. The stories and news are edited with an aim of displaying visually emotive elements of a story. The different linguistic and visual connotations found within the coded framework help the reader to understand the message. The connotations are dependent on the narrative and the formats of the newspaper’s codes. The reader has to understand the different coding used in the different publications (Foreman, 2010, p. 64). The Daily Mail had a headline that read, “Le Snub forgiven and forgotten as Cameron cosies up to Sarko” while The Times had a heading that read, “A pat on the back and lots of handshakes as the entente gets embarrassingly cordial”. The heading used by the Daily Mirror read “RESERVOIR DUDS”. The narrative codes used in the titles of these publications create a framework for understanding the tone of the article. I consider the titles as linguistic syntagms that grab the attention of the reader. Readers of the Daily Mail would be interested about the spat between the two leaders. The title grabs their attention because they want to know the cause of the spat, how the leaders made up and the current relationship between the two leaders. Readers of The Times would want to know how the meeting got embarrassingly cordial, while readers of the Mirrors will be interested to know why the reporter considered Cameron and his entourage as jokers. They also suggest to the reader the codes that need understanding. As a result, the reader can decode the news article effectively. The Times and Daily Mail use similar language for their titles. The titles of the two publications are similarly lengthy. However, the Daily Mail plays with words, with the French President’s name and words such as “cosies” (McTague, 2012, p. 1). The two publications are radically diverse from The Mirror. The Mirror uses colloquial and oral vocabularies, and a sensational title. Additionally, the newspaper has a provocative tag line, “Cam admits he’s an election liability at summit in Paris” (McTague, 2012, p. 1). The newspaper then goes on to place alliterations of emphasis on words such as “Cameron and his chums” and “hopeless toffs”. The linguistic codes used in the article give connotations of familiarity and informality, in addition to some degrees of contempt. As a tabloid, the main function of the Daily Mirror is to create attitude among its readers. In this case, the newspaper was creating an attitude that the British leaders went to France for friendly purposes, instead of holding onto their initial political position. In the main text of the story, the newspaper uses formal language such as “Mr. Cameron and Mr. Sarkozy. The use of these words shows that the newspaper strives to restore seriousness and order when discussing business and political matter. Conversely, The Times and Daily Mail do not deviate from the formal approach. The two leaders are always addressed as Mr. Sarkozy and Mr. Cameron (Martin, 2012, p. 1). The main difference in the way the three newspapers tell their story is in the use of typographical devices. The Mirror uses bold texts at the start of an article. This helps in extending the title into the main story. It also attracts readers to the story. The Times does not use this strategy. The Daily Mail uses the strategy of bold texts at the beginning of an article in order to attract readers. The Times does not use this approach because it is a quality press. The Daily Mail uses this approach partially. The opening sentence in the Daily Mail is slightly larger than the other text (Martin, 2012, p. 1). This shows that the Daily Mail is a middle ground publication while The Mirror is a tabloid publication. The Daily Mail occasionally uses bold text in a paragraph. This helps in breaking the length of the paragraph. It also directs a reader in the identification of the main points. The Times does not use these codes of practice. In The Times, the only bold text used is in the title and journalist’s name. The body of the article has the same font and size. This creates an impression that the newspaper is an authoritative and formal quality publication, which does not employ colloquial terms. The Times and Daily Mail have common textural signifiers. The two newspapers have an analysis or opinion column. This gives the newspaper critical opinions or analysis of the stories or news. The columns are usually written by qualified journalists, and they are given reverence as expert critics. They give the two newspapers codified appearances of being knowledgeable and authoritative (Martin, 2012, p. 1). In this case, the analysis relates to the business associated with the relationship between President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Cameron. In this case, it is not only about Cameron’s support for Sarkozy’s presidential bid, but also with the Anglo-Franco relationship and co-development of nuclear power stations and other collaborations. Though linguistic and typological codes are essential, graphical codes emphasize on the professionalism and quality of the press. Photographs are edited before they are inserted into a newspaper (Fiske, 2005, p. 31). The selection process is based on aesthetics, professionalism and ideologies. Journalists and editors select suitable images from a collection of images from news worthy sources. The best images should have an ability to communicate or reinforce a story (Berger, 2012, p. 14). In this case, the three newspapers used pictures taken during the summit meeting, in addition to the leader’s press conferences. It is vital to note that each of the newspapers used different images to convey different aspects of the story. The Times used a large mid-shot picture of Sarkozy and Cameron standing at their podiums shaking hands. The picture shows the two leaders portraying solidarity in front of their diplomats and officials. In addition, the newspaper uses smaller pictures of the two leaders shaking hands and showing solidarity outside the Elysee Palace. The two small pictures are long and mid shot photos. From the two photos, a French policeman is standing besides the French flag. This signifies the formality of the state occasion. In another different picture, the two leaders are seen shaking hands, this time without a background. This photo emphasizes on the handshake. This photograph reinforces the assumption portrayed in the title that things are getting embarrassingly cordial. The picture might appear staged because the two leaders are overly friendly. In this photo, Sarkozy can be seen to be grinning, which possibly connotes desperation. He can be considered to be desperately showing the world and his country that he has made up with Cameron and that he wants a stronger friendship with Cameron and Britain. By contrast, Cameron seems to be doing the photos for public relations purposes. He does not appear to be smiling, but rather looking into and for the cameras. In my opinion, he could be putting on a false show for the sake of the friendship with President Sarkozy, the British nation and the interests of the corporation. It is vital to note that the photos and their connotations are controlled by the photographer, who might have taken the pictures from an angle in which the Prime Minster was not smiling. Additionally, the selection process of the photographs might have selected pictures in which Cameron does not smile in order to give an impression that the Prime Minister does not smile often. The Daily Mail has similar pictorial representations as The Times. One of the photos used by the newspaper shows the two leaders reaching for each other and placing their hands on each other’s arms. This can be derived as a sign of unison and friendship. The newspaper also has pictures of Sarkozy smiling. This can be considered as a signifier where Sarkozy is willing to ignore the fact that he previously snubbed Cameron (Martin, 2012, p. 1). The Daily Mail and The Times use small amounts of text beneath the photographs to signify friendship and the fact that the two leaders have forgotten the December 2011 snub. The Daily Mirror adopts a different approach to the story. The newspaper uses three pictures with the main picture showing Cameron on foot with his entourage. The newspaper does not seem to recognize the formality or the seriousness of the event. The newspaper likens the entourage, which is comprised of government officials and men in suits, to a movie called “Reservoir Dogs”. The codified messages are reinforced with the use of labels to identify Cameron and his entourage. In this case, the newspaper refers to them as Mr. Blue, Mr. Grey and Mr. Orange. This is further reinforced with the use of a picture of the characters from the movie. The two pictures work in hand under the heading “Reservoir Duds” (McTague, 2012, p. 1). This gives a signifier connotation that the politicians are blundering and incompetent. This gives an impression that the newspaper is against Cameron’s government, and it would not miss a chance to ridicule Cameron and his assistants. In another picture, the newspaper article uses a picture of Cameron shaking hands with Sarkozy. This signifies that the newspaper recognizes the event and its significance. Half of the article in The Mirror is used to mock Cameron. The newspaper suggests that the friendship between President Sarkozy and Prime Minister Cameron will not benefit Sarkozy. An analysis of the three publications or newspapers helps in the comprehension of how semiotic analysis plays a role in decoding meaning within a news article or story. Semiotic helps in deciphering the text, graphic or linguistic codes. It is vital to note that semiotic analysis alone cannot influence the strategies that readers use to interpret news articles. Different readers interpret news differently. This analysis provides insights into the factors that are used in the production of news articles, in addition to the codes used by different news outlets to represent their news. In this case, The Times appears to be conservative with an objective standpoint. Readers are given all facts and opportunities to make judgments. The Daily Mail is conservative and judgmental because its reporter makes conclusions that are based on his perspective. The reporter does not give readers an opportunity to make conclusions by themselves. The Daily Mirror is populist and opinionated because of the reference of David Cameron to the movie characters. Reference List Allan, S., 2007, Journalism, Maidenhead, McGraw-Hill International (UK) Ltd. Http://Public.Eblib.Com/Eblpublic/Publicview.Do?Ptiid=287836. Berger, A., 2012, Media Analysis Techniques, 4thEdn. Los Angeles, Ca: Sage Press. Ch 1. Bignall, J., 2007, Media Semiotics an Introduction, Manchester University Press. Ch 4. Culler, J., 2011, The Pursuit of Signs – Semiotics, Literature, Deconstruction,Ithica NY: Cornell University Press. Ch 2. Danesi, M., 2002, Understanding Media Semiotics, Laborn: Arnold Press. Ch 3. Fiske, J., 2005, The Semiotics of Television, Critical Studies in Mass Communication. Vol. 2(2), 178-179. Foreman, G., 2010, The Ethical Journalist Making Responsible Decisions in the Pursuit of News,Chichester, U.K., Wiley-Blackwell. Http://Public.Eblib.Com/Eblpublic/Publicview.Do?Ptiid=819434. Martin, D., 2012, Le Snub Forgiven and Forgotten As Cameron Cosies Up To Sarko And Backs Him For French Election, Mail Online. Retrieved From: < http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2102487/David-Cameron-leads-British-delegation-Paris-ahead-landmark-agreement-nuclear-energy-cooperation.html> McTague, T., 2012, The Reservoir Duds: Cameron, Clegg and Hague Play the Toff Guys at French Summit. Mirror News. Retrieved From < http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/the-reservoir-duds-cameron-clegg-and-hague-689994> Read More