i newspaper

 

The main story in the news that day was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – celebrating 60 years on the throne.

The ‘i’ newspaper has been a notable success story in the newspaper industry in the last two years. Costing just 20p Monday-Friday (30p Saturdays), circulation figures for January 2012 had the ‘i’ selling 243,000 copies daily. When the ‘i’ was launched in October 2010, it was noted that the ‘i’ found 170,000 readers that were not taken from other publications – meaning that previous to buying the ‘i’, their readers were not engaging in newspapers at all.

The ‘i’ is a sister paper to the Independent, owned by Alexander Lebedev, and its editor is Stefano Hatfield. Its political leanings are liberal.

Media Forms
How does the text both subvert and reinforce the typical conventions for a newspaper front page? (12 marks)

The ‘i’ is a successful newspaper industry which has been on-going for the past two years. The ‘i’ follows certain codes and conventions which we expect from a newspaper such as the fact that the name is quite big and bold. Also, on the front cover, there’s an important article to catch the audience’s attention along with other attention grabbing articles such as the sports ones which would attract more of a male demographic audience rather than a female one. It also consists of quite a few colours to stick out from the others in the newspaper rack.

On the other hand the ‘i’ also subverts from the typical codes and conventions of a newspaper due to the fact that on the front cover there an important article but it doesn’t continue inside the paper, nor does it have a little part of the article on the front like the sun. Instead, there are bullet points or a short summary underneath the title just informing readers what to expect in that article. Another convention which subverts from the typical codes and conventions of a newspaper is the fact that the price of the newspaper is listed at the top left hand corner. This is not on the front of other big selling newspapers such as the sun. I think the ‘i’ chooses to do this because they are trying to promote their paper through the cost of it; as its way cheaper than its competitors. The ‘i’ is 20p on weekdays and 30p on weekends.

Also, the ‘i’ logo on the newspaper is on the left column of the paper whereas other newspapers have their name/logo right at the top of the paper in big bold writing. Despite, the ‘i’ having its name in the left column rather than the top, it’s still in big bold writing therefore ensuring that the reader/viewer can differentiate between which paper it is by just knowing where the name/logo is placed (positioned).

Media Institutions
Why might the ‘i’ newspaper have been successful in a newspaper industry that has generally been in decline? (12 marks)

The ‘i’ newspaper has been successful; even through the recession; because of the fact that its main purpose is to inform audiences about what is going on in the world currently. It’s also been very successful due to the fact that it’s quite cheap in comparison to its competitors such as the sun therefore its more likely to be picked up. The ‘i’ promotes its price on the newspaper on the top left corner. In terms of audiences and readers, people read from left to right therefore meaning that the first thing they are to read would be the price “20p”.

Another factor to be taken into consideration with why the ‘i’ newspaper has been successful could be the fact that it appeals to more than one audience. This is evident from just the front cover. For example, the main story “A right royal party” attracts to predominantly an elder audience aged 35 and over. They’ve also got the small footer on the bottom of the paper which has a small sports article; attracting a younger audience; and a female attracted audience through the article next to this about Jane Austen.

The institution itself was launched in 2010 and is a sister paper to the Independent owner by Alexander Lebedev.

Media Audiences
What would you expect the ‘i’ newspaper’s target audience to be based on this front page? (12 marks)

The ‘i’ newspaper attracts to a wider range of audiences in comparison to its competitors such as the sun and the guardian. This is vastly evident from just looking at the font cover of the newspaper as it consists of many different articles, attracted to a various number of different audience demographics. For example, the main story which can be differentiated by the article “A right royal party” which attracts to predominantly an elder audience aged 35 and over. They’ve also got the small footer on the bottom of the paper which has a small sports article; attracting a younger audience; and a female attracted audience through the article next to this about Jane Austen.

Also, there is a cross word shown in the bottom of the cover meaning that people who buy the ‘i’ newspaper may want to complete this crossword. This may appeal to a slightly younger audience demographic due to the newspaper having a daily puzzle page which they might like to complete daily to stimulate their minds.

The ‘i’ newspaper promotes to all age demographics; in terms of its audience; rather than just one small group/audience.

Media Representations
How is Britain represented in this text? (12 marks)

The ‘i’ newspaper is a British newspaper which has predominantly British articles attracting to the people living in London. The main story in the newspaper that day was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – celebrating 60 years on the throne. This attracts to all British citizens above the age of 35 as they would be interested in current events involving the Queen.

Also, Britain in general is promoted positively through the chosen colours and specifically chosen articles. For example, the main story in the news that day was the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and is called “A right royal party”. As, you may be able to see, the word royal is coloured in Red, Blue and white which as the typical British colours due to the Union Jacks’ colours. The articles in the newspaper are related to the country and what’s going on in the country is promoted such as the Queen and the government. Its political leanings are liberal and therefore its ideologies and main beliefs are liberal