The Guardian newspaper and website analysis

 The Guardian newspaper and website analysis

Visit the Guardian newspaper website and look at a few stories before answering these questions:

1) What are the top stories? Are they examples of soft news or hard news? 

• Starmer Mandela scandal - Hard News
• cease fire in Iran - Hard news
• Job recession - Hard News

2) To what extent do the stories you have found on the website reflect the values and ideologies of the Guardian?

Mainly left wing, using words such as 'scandal' for Starmer and Highlighting the cease fire in Iran.

3) Think about audience appeal and gratifications: what would an audience enjoy about the Guardian newspaper website?

Surveillance, the guardian informs audiences about the most prominent thing in the world.

The Guardian newspaper Factsheet

Read Media Factsheet #257 The Guardian Newspaper. You can access it from our Media Factsheet archive on the Media Shared drive or download it here via Google using your school login details. Answer the following questions:

1) Who owns the Guardian and what is their ownership designed to achieve? 

The Guardian Media Group

The Guardian’s ownership pattern was designed so that no individual could benefit from the profits of the newspaper or have total control over it.

2) How is the Guardian regulated? Note its very unusual regulatory approach and give examples where you can. 

They have formed their own regulatory board with The Financial Times and are not regulated by IPSO.

3) Pick out some key statistics on the Guardian's audience (see beginning of page 2).

The demographic of the readership is 86% ABC1. Fifty-four percent of The Guardian readers are male, and the average age of the print reader is 54.

4) What are the institutional values of the Guardian? What does it stand for? 

• Guardian Media Group is a global news organisation that delivers fearless, investigative journalism – giving a voice to the powerless and holding power to account.
• The Guardian’s tone, style, and content are shaped by their values. They are a quality newspaper that adopts a formal tone.
• The Guardian adopts a “critical friend” approach to political parties that share their centre-left political values, such as The Labour Party, The Liberal Democrats, and The Green Party.

5) How is the Guardian's international audience described? See the end of page 2 and pick out some more useful statistics here about their audience .

International Audience Profile

•  79% men / 21% women
• 89% degree educated or above
• Average age: 44
• 34% are expats
• 66% are daily visitors to the site
• More than 1 in 4 earn €58k+ (in Europe, or $100k+ in the rest of the world)
• 26% have £100k+ in savings and investments
• International business people, who have budget responsibilities and who travel frequently
• More than 1 in 4 are C-Suite or director level
• 42% are responsible for budget expenditure at work
• 61% travel on business (73% of these take 3+ business flights a year)

6) Now look at page 3 of the factsheet and the Guardian online. Select a few examples of the different sections of the website and copy them here. 

• Spotlight
• Sport
• Editorials and letters
• Around the world

7) What different international editions of the Guardian's website are available and what example stories are provided as examples of this?

The April 29th US edition leads with a story about Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis and his time as a lawyer for the state in Guantanamo Bay, the prison for suspected terrorists. 

8) What is the Guardian's funding model? Do you think it is sustainable? 

• The sale of the print newspaper – although it is clear that print news is declining rapidly and the costs associated with print make it less profitable and attractive to advertisers.
• Digital subscriptions – the newspaper offers a range of packages to suit different economic groups.
• Patron support with exclusive offers.
• Traditional advertising.
• Philanthropic partnerships such as with The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

yes because they are a popular and commonly used news company

9) What is the Cotton Capital Commission and how does it link to the Guardian's values and ideologies?

“The Cotton Capital” is investigative journalism, coupled with what amounts to a historical autobiography of the newspaper. It is a fascinating read that utilises a range of literary techniques to tell the story of the newspaper’s past.

10) What audience and industry theories could be applied to the Guardian? How? 
Cultivation theory: People only take in/ internalise information from who they deem opinion leaders

Reception Theory: Preferred/ Oppositional readings about the viewpoints presented in the Guardian.

Media Magazine articles

Media Magazine has two excellent features on our newspaper CSPs - a focus on Guardian front pages and a comparison of how the Guardian and Daily Mail cover the same story in different ways. You need to read both articles - MM78 (page 12) and MM87 (page 20) - our Media Magazine archive is here. Answer the following questions:

MM78 - The Guardian

1) What are the Pandora Papers and how does the story fit with the Guardian's ethos, values and ideologies?  

Name refers to secret about the financial dealings of the world’s rich and powerful. They’ve been uncovered and released through the collaborative efforts of over 150 news organisations from around the world, including The Guardian.

2) Pick out all the key statistics and quotes from the section on the Guardian's funding model. In particular, the fall in paper readership, the rise in digital readership and the number of contributors  paying to support the journalism. 

3.5 million readers per day online and 129 million monthly visits.

3) What does it mean when it says the Guardian frames regular payments from readers as a "philanthropic act". 

Those who pay are supporting a free press and making information available on a global scale to those who cannot pay.

4) What is the Scott Trust and do you think it is a sustainable model for newspaper ownership in the future? 

The Trust operates for profit, but all money is ploughed back into the newspaper. It ensures that editorial interests remain free from commercial pressures.

5) Why is the Guardian criticised as hypocritical? Give some specific examples here.

Liberalism is entirely compatible with capitalism and so allows its supporters to accrue wealth and power. In calling for a fairer, more equal society, within capitalist structures, it also gets to hold the moral high-ground – a form of power in its own right, and one that can be particularly galling for people

MM87 - The Daily Mail and the Guardian front page analysis

1) What are the stories featured on the Guardian and Daily Mail on November 10, 2023? 

The Guardian sticks to its commitment to challenging those in power but can, in one way at least, be accused of being  to borrow from the language of another paper. The Daily Mail sticks to its unashamedly reactionary guns (in this case, overtly anti-feminist guns) in a way entirely consistent with its professed outlook on the world.

2) How do they reflect the values and ideologies of the two newspapers?

It reflects the ideologies, The guardian is seen as very left wing so the story reflect this and same with the Daily Mail the story reflects the same aswell.

3) Why does the writer suggest the front-page images on both papers might be exploitative? Do you agree? 

The Guardian is exploiting the very gender stereotypes it is supposed to challenge. An oppositional reading could be a proclamation of female empowerment and humanity in the face of the male war-machine. 

4) What else does the writer suggest regarding the Daily Mail's front-page image of murdered teacher Ashling Murphy?

 How it is using Ashling Murphy to make money.