Down Market, Mid Market and Upper Market of Newspapers - Annotated Bibliography Example

INTERNATIONAL JOURNALISM The various news values covered in this paper for analysis includes Politics, Sports, Finance, International Issues, and Entertainment from different newspapers including The Sun, The Mirror, The Star, The Mail, The Express, The Telegraph, The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, and The Herald Tribune. I. Down market (Sun, Mirror, Star) The articles that appeared as “Top Stories” in The Sun1, which claims to be the best newspaper for showbiz, sports, celebrities and T.V, on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, are listed and discussed below: 1. Title: 10,000 slam Brand and Ross, Newspaper: The Sun Author: Staff Reporters, Subject: Entertainment, Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2008. Thesis: This news article relates to the incident whereby BBC reportedly received over 10,000 calls condemning the prank played by its star reporters Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand that involved veteran actor Andrew Sachs and his grand daughter Georgina. It was alleged that the duo left cruel answer phone messages which sought to demean the veteran’s grand daughter and himself. Evidence: As evidence, the article quoted several reliable sources including remarks of the Conservative leader David Cameron, Commons Committee Chairman John Whittingdale, the channels spokesman as well as by the actors themselves. The article seeks to highlight the issue and condemns the act and even suggesting that apologies be made. It has been put up for discussion whereby the readers are invited to give their own opinion about the whole issue. Significance: The significance of the issue lies in the fact that the broadcasting agencies need to be well guarded in the choice of programs as well as content that they choose to telecast and in case of such occurrences the stance that the government and other regulating bodies ought to take. The erring commentators should be held accountable for disrespecting the sentiments of people. 2. Title: World Bank is going bust, Newspaper: The Sun, Author: George Pascoe Watson Subject: Finance, Date: Wednesday, 29, 2008. Thesis: The article “The world bank’s International Monetary Fund is going BUST and must be bailed out, Gordon Brown warned last night” comments on the issue of acute scarcity of funds in the IMF and the concern expressed by the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urging the cash rich oil sheikhs as well as China to contribute hundreds of billions of dollars to stop the trend, since they have surplus cash reserves and are in a position to extend their help and support. This concern was shared by the French President Nicolas Sarkozy during the talks on the reshaping of IMF in Paris. Evidence: As evidence the author relates to the comments by Gordon Brown on the issue. The article is mostly informative rather than argumentative, in nature and intends to provide the reader with the basic information on the issue. Significance This news item would be of utmost significance to all the readers especially the citizens since a contribution towards the World Bank’s IMF would be made out of the tax payer’s money and hence would have a significant impact on their incomes. II. Middle Market (mail, express) 3. Title: Now Brown wants us to bail out hard – up nations, Newspaper: Daily Express2, Authors: Alison Little, Subject: Politics, Date: Wednesday, October, 29,2008. Thesis: This article informs about the Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s intention to prop up more funds to support the struggling countries administered by World Bank’s International Monetary Fund. It suggested that the option of generating money from the tax payers’ income could not be ruled out; he does expect a bulk of the fund to be contributed by oil rich states of Gulf and from China. This decision was however criticized by Mark Wallace, who was quoted as saying “A lot of people will be very concerned by this proposal …..more often than not, Britain ends up footing a disproportionately large part of the bill while other countries nod and express sympathy but don’t cough up.” Evidence: As evidence, the author has quoted several authoritative figures such as Mark Wallace – of campaign group the Tax Payer’s Alliance, and Mr. Brown himself. Significance: This article holds significance for all the citizens of the country, and tax payers in particular since it would greatly affect their incomes. The author avoids taking a direct stand on the issue but does quote concerns of the general feelings and concern among the people about the said proposal which aptly communicates their dissatisfaction /disapproval on the issue. 4. Title: Maradona set for return to Football as Argentina Boss3, Newspaper: Daily Express, Author: Nicola McCafferty Subject: Sports, Date: Wednesday, 29, 2008 Thesis: “Legend Diego Maradona is on the brink of making a return to football as the new Argentina Boss: This article comments on the Football legend Diego Maradona’s much coveted return to his favorite sport, after being in talks with the country’s Football Association president Julio Grondona. The plan, according to the article is expected to be revealed tomorrow. According to the article the former Argentine coach Carlos Bilardo is also likely to be a part of the new set up. Maradona has also expressed his pleasure and gratitude on the plan and at the turn of events. Evidence: The author has backed the article with several apt evidences such as quotes by the player, AFA Secretary Luis Segura, and the under 20 coach of Argentina – Sergio Batista. The article is informative in nature and contains adequate information to capture the interest of the readers. Significance This article is important for Maradona’s fans as well as all sports lovers in general, but it would fairly attract a homogeneous audience. The articles on International sports are mostly commercial news items that seek to attract the largest possible attention in terms of number of readers. III. Upper Market (telegraph, guardian, times, independent, IHT) 5. Title: Powerful earthquake hits south – west Pakistan4, Newspaper: The Guardian, Authors: Rachel Williams, Subject: International, Date: Wednesday, October, 29, 2008. Thesis: This news article informs the readers about the earthquake that hit Pakistan claiming several lives and destroying homes, followed by a second earthquake as much as twelve hours after the first one hit the country. The other details of the quake such as death toll, severity of the damage caused and the areas which were affected have been included in the article. Evidence: The statement of the local mayor Dilawar Khan Kakar, who gave account of the death toll and other damages caused, accounts of the rescue workers, as well as statements made by the senior officials have been included as supporting evidence of the tragic incident. Significance: The news is significant information for readers all around the world since it helps in gaining a prospective of the natural disasters taking place on any corner of the world. It helps the scientists and researchers to analyze the trend and carry out appropriate research work in the area so as to be able to prevent it in future. Moreover it helps in keeping track of the developments taking place in the world around us and assistance in terms of financial aids could be sought. 6. Title: Mortgage approval rise for the first time in a year5, Newspaper: The Times, Subject: Business News, Authors: Grainne Gilmore, Date: Wednesday, October, 29,2008. Thesis: This article informs the readers about the rise in mortgage approvals for house purchases in the month of September, according to the figures provided by the Bank of England. It also informs the readers that according to the economists this slight upturn could not and should not be considered as recovery arguing that the downturn in housing market activity and prices has still a long way to go. The article includes details about the housing market such as total mortgage lending, average monthly growth rate, and net repayment. The article is informative as well as conclusive since it takes a stand on the issue and guides the reader’s analysis on the issue by including a range of data as supporting evidence. Evidence: The author has sighted several financial data such as facts and figures and various ratios as quoted by the bank as well as other reliable sources such as Bank of England’s monetary policy Committee. These facts help the readers in basing their views and interpret the transformation of information with expectable degrees of efficiency. Significance: The article holds significance to various categories of readers from diverse financial backgrounds as well as those involved in the housing market business. Since the article includes various data – including facts and figures from reliable sources, it is capable of being interpreted accurately by the readers who may base their decisions on the information presented to them through the newspaper. Analysis & Conclusion: This paper examines articles from three different categories of newspaper market – down market, mid market and upper market. The type of publishing material included by each category as well as reporting styles of the journalists have been analyzed in terms of thesis, evidence and significance of the news items so presented. It can be observed that the kind of information being printed through such newspapers depends largely on the internal competitive scenario. Most of the titles being publicized by the down market newspapers for instance, clearly indicate an attempt to grab maximum reader attention and is purely commercial in nature. As competition amongst the newspapers intensifies the titles get more and more commercial, also the overall content of the newspapers such as advertising content and space also undergoes a sea change. The down market newspapers, often termed as non serious daily newspapers have been remarkable in terms of choice of titles which are targeted at customers with a view to maximize their profits and increase their circulation. To facilitate this purpose the publishing material included is mostly designed to generate mass appeal and caters to an audience – comprising of mostly young readers, that thrives on commercial news and celebrity gossips. These news values are believed to have the widest appeal and hence generate lot of interest on a hyped issue, thereby ultimately leading to large scale circulation of their tabloids. The estimated circulation for the down market newspapers including the Sun, Daily Mirror and Daily Star was estimated to be 2,896,330; 1,318,168; and 605,261 respectively6. The mid market newspapers on the other hand which includes The Daily Mail, and the Daily Express mostly target readership of a niche market segment comprising of affluent women. The contents are designed to attract mostly the working group, apart from the women readers. The major headlines often cover news on politics, environment, sports, finance, international news etc. and have a circulation of 2,077,545, for the Daily Mail, and 687,069 for Daily Express respectively7. The upper market segment of newspapers which includes The Times, The Guardian, The Independent, The Herald have a circulation of 547,381; 292,909; 178,576 and 61,317 respectively, which is considerably lower than the down market newspapers, although the contents of these newspapers are more in depth, precise and accurate. Read More