Newspapers: Daily Mirror - Language and Representations

 Daily Mirror notes


Background

The Daily Mirror was first published in 1903 as a newspaper for women ‘to act as a mirror on feminine life’.

Sales for this demographic were limiting, so the newspaper was re-designed to appeal to a broader audience. Initially to middle-class but later during WW2 changed to target C1-C2-DE skilled and semi-skilled working classes who were affiliated with the Labour party.

It was hugely popular in the 1990s and sold millions every day. However, it has now significantly declined and now sells around 200,000 copies a day.


Language

AQA has selected the following pages as our Daily Mirror CSP pages:




Analyse these pages and look at which stories have been selected for the newspaper and how they are constructed for their audience.

Representations

The Daily Mirror supports the Labour Party and is against the Conservative Party. Generally, the newspaper will act as a voice for normal people (hence the old slogan 'Fighting For You') and go against the rich and powerful (like the Conservative Party in their row with Gary Lineker).

Here's a graph of the most left-wing and right-wing newspapers: 


You need to study the selected CSP pages for the Daily Mirror to see how the newspaper represents different people, groups, issues and events. Remember: CAGE - class, age, gender, ethnicity.

Blog Tasks: Daily Mirror case study

Work through the following questions to cover the Language and Representations key concepts for the Daily Mirror.

Language

1) Write the definition of the following key language for newspaper front pages (you may want to add an example for each from our Daily Mirror CSP):

Masthead: The title of a newspaper or magazine at the head of the first page, for Example the 'Daily Mirror' Red Top on the Fujitsu Scandal CSP.
Pug: A pug or "pickup" directs the viewer's attention to the main story of the Article, e. g. "Exclusive: Post Office Scandal" on the CSP.
Splash Head: A single comment utilising emotive language to comment on the main story, e.g. "Shameful", reveals the opinion that the Daily Mirror has in reference to the situation.
Slogan: 
Dateline: When the Newspaper Article was produced.
Byline: Who wrote the article , e.g.  The Daily Mirror's CSP Article writer is Jeremy Armstrong.
Standfirst: A standfirst in a newspaper is a brief, introductory summary of an article.

2) What is the main story on the CSP edition of the Daily Mirror (see above)? Make sure you learn the headline and what the story is about.
The post office scandal : Fujitsu Files, it's about the faulty Horizon accounting system that caused one of the worst miscarriages of justice in British history. 

3) What is the 'pug' or smaller celebrity story on the front cover? Why might it appeal to Daily Mirror readers?
The smaller Celebrity story on the front cover is about Paula Vennells who is the ex-CEO of Fujitsu, this might appeal to Daily Mirror readers as it puts a face to a name for one of the perpetrators of the scandal.

4) Why is the choice of news stories, content and page design on the Mirror CSP front page typical of a tabloid newspaper?
The use of informal slang, excessive images and minimal text alongside a gossip-style storyline mixed with soft and hard news is typical of a tabloid newspaper as it aims to be as accessible as possible for a C2-D social working class demographic.

5) What is the balance on the Daily Mirror front page between images, headlines and text?
The front page uses large bold font texts with mainly images to create an accessible image of the newspaper so that it can be purchased by a wider subset of people.


Representations

1) What political party does the Daily Mirror support? Is there any evidence to support this in the CSP pages we have studied?
The daily Mirror supports the Labour party, this becomes evident throughout the tabloid as it constantly utilises antagonistic language in reference to the ones responsible for the scandal who are major executive CEO's and people in positions of power.
This is supported through their use of nicknames such as the 'tories'.

2) How does the Daily Mirror represent the Post Office in the CSP pages? Why do you think they present them in this way?
The daily Mirror presents the Post Office as incompetent for being unable to execute their jobs properly. I think they present them this way due to their own left-leaning agenda as the CEO of the post office is a supporter of the conservative party.

3) How is Fujitsu represented in the Daily Mirror CSP pages? Look particularly at the use of images on the front cover and the section on Fujitsu on the inside page. Give detailed answers with evidence from the CSP pages.
Using non-verbal, narrative and verbal codes the term 'fujistsu files' connotes the idea that the high ranking executives operating within the fujitsu company are the felons responsible for the scandal, this is supported by the 'case files' and images on the side of the spreadsheet which feature members of the conservative party and supporters. This presents fujitsu as the 'villain' in the narrative as their lack of care resulted with the extreme casualties. 

4) How are the Conservative Party represented in the Daily Mirror? Again, provide evidence from the CSP pages to support your answers.
The Conservative Party are presented as a set of key players in the scandal through the use of  widely known party members such as Rishi Sunak in the 'case files' on the two page spread. Additionally, the Daily Mirror shows clear opposition to the Conservative Party through their usage of the word 'Tories,' a nickname often used by those on the left in order to patronise / demean members and supporters of the Conservative Party alike.

5) Read the main articles on the inside pages. How are different people, groups and organisations represented in the Daily Mirror? Does this reinforce or subvert the stereotypes we usually see in the media?

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