Audience Research - Theory

Individuals actively consume and use the media to meet certain needs, this iswhat was indentified by the theorisists Blumler and Katz. In this theory we see that there are four basic audience needs:

• Diversion where the audience use the media for escapism or emotional release from everyday pressure.

• Personal Relationships the idea that the audience needs companionship with 'known' TV programmes characters as well as the interaction with other people who an discuss the TV programmes.

• Personal Identity the ability to compare ones own life with characters' lives and situations, thereby gaining a perspective on one's own life.

• Surveillance being given the opportunity to see what else is going on in the world.

I hope that my newspaper will act as an escapism for those  teengers that may be seeking something to take their minds off any personal problems that they maybe facing in their lives. I also hope that it will be entertaininng for them too.   

Audience Research

Social Class of Blackheath

Blackheath is a village which caters to the middle classs. With so many independent and 'high -end' shops being located there, for instance Raffles, Fiorelli and Bullfrogs, this suggests that those living there can afford to shop in these shops and can also relate to the income and occupation of those living there. Income and occupation also helps to determine a person's social status whereby, the more someone earns the higher their social status is in society. Another factor which helped determine the social class of those living in Blackheath is education. The people of Blackheath are seen to be highly educated and with several private schools located there, this also helps to determine the social class.

Demographics

Blackheath is a suburb of London, located in the Lewisham Borough. Its name derives from the large open public grassland, which separates it from Greenwich to the north and Lewisham to the west. The centre of Blackheath, 'the village', is located to the south side of the heath, near Blackheath Railway station. This is also where a lot of the shops, restraurants and pubs are located. There is also the 'All Saints Parish Church' which is also located on the heath itself. One mile to the north-east, Blackheath Standard is another shopping area.

Lifestyle

The lifestyle of those who live in Blackheath is reflective of their social status whereby the people of Blackheath are seen to be of the the middle class. This implies that because their of the middle class, their income is higher than those of the working class, so therefore they can afford to maintain a slightly wealthy lifestyle. The hobbies of those living in Blackheath include activities such as kite flying, croquet and yoga.

Ethnicity

People that live in Blackheath are majority white. Despite this, Blackheath does have diverse ethnic groups.

Target Audience

What is a target audience?

A specific group of people with a target market at which a product is aimed at. Newspapers attempt to appeal to a certain target audience by fulfilling the specific needs and interests of a target audience within its stories.


Who are the target audience of a newspaper?

The target audience of a newspaper are based on numerous factors. The best way to identify the target audience of a newspaper is to use the technique 'RIVALING' which stands for,
Representation, Institution, Values, Audience, Language, Ideology, Narrative and Genre.

Represenation - Is the denoatation of people, places and events to convey hidden connotations in newspapers. It is how the audience is represented within the newspaper and with them expressing their interests.

Institution - A media institution is an established, often-profit based organization, that deal in the creation and distribution of advertising, entertainment and information services.

Values -  The values of a newspaper are constructed by the interests of its target audience. The quality, structure and contents of a newspaper are adapted as the needs of the target audience.

Audience - These aere the people who a newspaper target their newspaper to, and without them a newspaper would not have a market to appeal to.

Language - The language of a newspaper is designed according to the demograophics of its target audience.

Ideology - These are a set of aims, beliefs or morals a newspaper and audience share. Current newspaper ideologies focus on politics, due to the fact that politics have become more and more popular amongst a wider audience.

Narrative - This relates to how a newspaper can be read.

Genre - Genre describes the classification of a newspaper/story. For example my newspaper can be classified as a local tabloid newspaper.


Who are the target audience for my researched newspapers?

News of the World - This is a tabloid this means that its target audience will be targeted at working class people who are deemed  to low socioeconomic groups that  are less well educated.

The Guardian - This is a broadsheet which means that their target audience is likely to be people of high proffessions who are well educated and have a strong interest in world affairs and politics.

Greenwich Times - Local newspapers are targeted in that particular area. The stories within are directly related to the small area they are produced for.

The Bath Chronicle -The main target audience would be for people who are located in the Bath region. However this can change depending on subject matter and the content of the newspaper.

The Daily Telegraph - This newspaper is more associated with being a broadsheet but tends to have very few characteristics of a tabloid. Despite this the target audience would be aimed at middle class people who share an interest in world affairs and politics but also enjoy the occasional gossip antics.

Who are the target audience for my newspaper?

The target audience for my newspaper will be for well educated, upper class 16-19 year old teenagers living in Blackheath. The reason for targeting my newspaper at well educated, upper class teenagers is because my newspaper will be distributed in Blackheath. Blackheath is mostly populated with an upper working class community who are well educated. Also I felt I could relate to teenagers and be able to provide a newspaper that would appeal to them which is why I'm aiming it at 16-19 year olds. The final reason for aiming my newspaper at teenagers is because there is currently no local -tabloid newspapers for teenagers being distributed in Blackheath, so therefore I will be targeting a market that is not being targeted at.

Characteristics of a Tabloid

Characteristics of a Broadsheet

Types of Newspapers

Types Of Newspapers

Tabloid:  Tabloids cover national and international news. They often contain gossip, scandalous news and personal stories. An example of a tabloid would be 'The News of the World'. 'The News of the World' was a national newspaper, published in the UK from 1843 - 2011. It was at one point, one of the biggest selling English Language newspaper in the world. However, due to the phone hacking scandal allegations against the newspaper, News Limited decided to eradicate the newspaper on the 7th July 2011. 

   Broadsheet:  The broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats. It  covers all national and international news, often in a serious or formal way. An example of a broadsheet would be 'The Guardian'. 'The Guardian' founded in 1821 by John Edward Taylor is a daily newspaper that was once known as 'The Manchester Guardian'.

Local: A local newspaper contains some national and international news, but tends to focus on fairly local news topics in detail. Usually based around towns, cities or groups of villages. An example of a local newspaper would be the 'Greenwich Time'. The 'Greenwich Time' is a weekly newspaper that is distributed to local households within the Greenwich Borough every thursday.




 

     Regional: A Regional newspaper contains some national and international   news, but focus on news relating to a specific area of the country. An example of a regional newspaper would be, 'The Bath Chronicle'.  'The Bath Chronicle' is a weekly newspaper, that was first published under various titles in 1700. The newspaper is distributed within Bath and prior to September 2007, it was published daily.

National: A national newspaper covers news across the whole country, together with international news. An example of a national newspaper would be 'The Daily Telegraph'. 'The Daily Telegraph' is a daily morning broadsheet which is distributed  throughout the United Kingdom and internationally.

History of the Newspaper

Newspapers

 Newspapers tend to meet four criteria:

• Publicity: The contents are reasonably accessible to the public.
• Periodicity: The newspaper is published at regular intervals.
• Currency: The information in the newspaper is up to date.
• Universal: The newspaper covers a range of topics.

History of the Newspaper Industry

59 B.C: Acta Diurna the first newspaper is published in Rome.

1631: The first french newspaper published, The Gazette.

1690: The first newspaper is published in America, Publick Occurrences.

1704: Considered the world's first journalist, Daniel Defoe publishes the Review.

1830: Number of newspapers published in the U.S. is 715.

1833: The New York Sun costs one cent- the beginning of penny press.

1855: The first newspaper is published in Sierra Leone.

1864: William James Carlton of J. Walter Thompson Company begins selling advertising space in
newspapers. The J. Walter Thompson Company is the longest running American advertising company.

1873: First illustrated daily newspaper in New York
.
1877: First weather report with map published in Australia.

1954: There are more radio stations than there are daily newspapers.

1967: Newspapers use digital production processes and began using computers.

2007: There are now 1,456 daily newspapers in the United States alone, selling 55 million copies a day.

2009: Newspapers are moving into online internet versions.

Introduction to A2 Media

For A2 Media Studies, I have chosen to create a local newspaper with a poster and a radio advertisement. The reason for my choice is because last year for my AS coursework we had to create an opening scene to a movie,because I have already had the experience of creating a part of a film. This year I wanted to try something new through creating a newspaper.