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The Times: Theory - Coggle Diagram
The Times: Theory
Feminist Theory: Van Zoonen
Van Zoonen suggested that women are often portrayed as sexualised, weak or vulnerable in the media
Though Theresa May is shown as vulnerable, the image used also suggests defiance in the face of adversity; she is not sexualised (compare to the infamous Daily Mail ‘legs-it’ headline)
Also, even though the reader may not agree with her political actions, May is a high profile, very powerful woman who is often portrayed battling against privileged male politicians
This kind of woman is rarely seen in the media, especially within current affairs, and Van Zoonen would suggest that despite her politics many women would aspire to her status
The personal tone of the headline and photo build this sense of intimacy
Power & Media Industry Theory: Curran & Seaton
The Times is part of a horizontally and vertically integrated company and subsequently a large conglomerate
Being part of a huge press organisation could limit or inhibit creativity and journalists’ freedom
Rupert Murdoch is often accused of controlling his newspaper content and editorial teams which would support this point
However, it could also be suggested that by having a more diverse pattern of ownership, a more pluralistic approach could create conditions for more varied and adventurous media productions
Regulation: Sonia Livingstone and Peter Lunt
The Times Newspaper Group and News Corp are facing increased pressure alongside the rest of the UK press industry to adhere to strict rules and regulations on industry practice
This has arisen after the phone hacking scandal and subsequent Leveson enquiry into the industry
There is an underlying issue of protecting citizens from harmful material while ensuring choice and press freedom
The increasing power of companies like News Corp and their expansion into digital media has also placed traditional approaches to media at risk
Cultural industries: David Hesmondhalgh
The Times Newspaper group is part of a vertically and horizontally integrated company with a wide range of titles on offer in order to maximise audiences and minimise risks
Rather than seeing digital media as a threat, the company has embraced its digital expansion and introduced paywalls to allow for online content to be viewed while still generating income
As part of News Corp, the company finds itself part of a wide organisation responsible for different cultural industries
This can benefit the newspaper greatly in terms of production and promotion
The Times’ target audience, according to NRS and ABC data, is predominantly ABC1, over
Cultivation Theory: Gerbner
Exposure to repeated patterns of representation (of May struggling to reach a deal, of Brexit chaos generally) by newspapers can shape and influence an audience’s views and opinions
Gerbner went on to say that this is not like ‘hypodermic model’ but rather depends on what the audience already believes
The messages (e.g. politicians are ineffectual) need to resonate with an established belief (e.g. Brexit is a chaotic mess) in the audience (e.g. middle class, middle-right wing)
Reception Theory: Stuart Hall
The Times has portrayed May and the vote in a way that encourages a negotiated reading
By focusing on the emotional state of May and the general despair at the progress of negotiations, it is asking readers to reflect on their own emotional response to the situation
End of Audience: Clay Shirky
The concept of audience members as passive consumers is no longer tenable in the age of the internet with the rise of the prosumer who can create their own content such as submitting stories and being part of forums
Many broadsheet newspapers like The Times have embraced this, taking popular ‘below-the-line’ (i.e. nonprofessional) commentators and offering them ‘above-the-line’ columns in their on-line editions