Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1) - www.curriculum-press.co.uk Number 175 - St Vincent College
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Media Studies
www.curriculum-press.co.uk Number 175
Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1)
more concise and populist in tone. The practices that Harmsworth
The aims of this Factsheet are to consider the Daily
used are acknowledged to have shaped the modern press and remain
Mail within the theoretical framework of audience.
fundamental within the popular press: wide ranging contents;
advertising to keep prices low; aggressive marketing; independence
Origins from party political control. The paper reflected the societal changes of
The Daily Mail is a national tabloid middle market daily paper in the time: The Elemental Education Act (1870) introduced compulsory
the UK. This means that the paper includes a combination of serious universal education for children aged between 5-13 and a newly
journalism and entertainment, occupying the middle ground between literate lower middle class was created. The paper appealed to this
broadsheets that cover hard news (The Times, The Daily Telegraph, group through the use of a low cover price and lots of competitions/
The Guardian) and the more down-market sensationalist tabloid prizes/ promotions. The Daily Mail was always intended to appeal to
papers (The Sun, The Mirror). The Daily Mail and the Daily Express a female audience and offered features specifically aimed at women;
are the only middle market dailies, and are distinct from other tabloids it remains a paper whose readership is predominantly female.
with their black top mastheads as opposed to red top mastheads.
The Daily Mail was established by Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Mode of address
Northcliffe, in 1896. Harmsworth was responsible for the rise of The mode of address is a method of creating a relationship between the
popular press. Harmsworth wanted to introduce a new style of addresser (producer) and the addressee (audience). For print media,
journalism aimed at the working classes, focusing on sensational we consider the use of textual features. It is influenced by the genre
topics. This was based on the American style of reporting, and was of the media product, so the way a real-life event (such as the 2013
Boston marathon bombing) is mediated
for news media is different from the way
the same event may be presented in a
film version (such as Patriots Day, 2016
or Stronger, 2017). However, whatever
the genre for the media product, a mode
of address requires a fictional image
of the preferred audience to be created
by the producer (an assumed target
audience stereotype).
Newspapers share similar content
(covering broadly the same news)
however the mode of address is often
different. This is because the audience
for different newspapers is different;
the Daily Mail’s mode of address is
aimed at women so the language and
discursive strategies are ones more
likely to appeal to preferred female
audience. As such, the mode of address
creates a relationship between the
addresser (producers) and the addressee
(readership).
What is the Daily Mail’s mode of
address?
To understand how the Daily Mail
address their readership, we need to
know who the dominant readership is.
From the NRS data, we can see that the
dominant readership for the Daily Mail
are adults aged 65+, in the demographic
group ABC1(C2).
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Media Studies Factsheet
175. Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1) www.curriculum-press.co.uk
Content and audience
Activity: Analyse the statistics below. What conclusions can you draw about the Now we have a clear idea of who is
Daily Mail and the MailOnline. consuming the Daily Mail, we should
consider the content of the paper.
News content across the print and
online versions often includes stories
concerning women (health, family,
fashion, celebrity focus); Royal family
coverage; outspoken columnists
such as Richard Littlejohn; attacking
Jeremy Corbyn and the Labour party
in general; politics including pro-
Brexit comment; criticism of the EU
(regulation, laws) and coverage of
European leaders; campaigning against
the current NHS supporting a ‘patients
betrayed’ ideology; wide ranging health
section; British interests (food and
agriculture, terrorism risks/ plots/ acts
of…). The mode of address used is often
outspoken, hyperbolic with a strong
sense of the newspaper attempting to
express the frustrations of their readers.
Sensationalism and simple language
are used with little complex sentence
structures. Often, online news content
is accompanied by numerous images
which are captioned in some detail; a
reader could get the gist of the news
report from looking at the images/
captions alone. This is particularly true
of the Daily Mail app.
Techniques of Persuasion
As newspaper print circulation has
decreased in the wake of digital media,
it is vital that institutions maintain
readership figures to maintain revenue
streams (cover price/ advertising/
sponsorships). A method used by the
Daily Mail is the use of techniques of
persuasion to establish a consensus
in line with the political and social
ideologies. These techniques are subtle
and will attempt to stir the emotions
of the consumer to prompt consensus.
These techniques are split into 3 areas:
Practical, Emotional, Associations
Practical techniques include: bribery
(offering rewards/ coupons/ incentives);
newness (being new, or new and
https://www.statista.com/statistics/380710/daily-mail-the-mail-on-sunday- improved); longevity (reminding
monthly-reach-by-demographic-uk/ consumers of their childhood/ or the longevity of a brand to evoke
Which demographic group has the highest reach? How many nostalgia and trust); ease of use (offering a simple solution to a
individuals were reached in this group? complex problem); inexpensive (offering a product at a low price
How does this compare to individuals aged 15 – 34? compared to competitors); luxury (offering consumers a chance to
Look at the readership per demographic group. What do you notice feel rich with abundant content). Emotional techniques include:
about the ABC1 social class compared to the C2DE social class? exaggeration or hyperbole (taking a fact or statistic and blowing
What do you notice about the website visitor figures? Why do you it out of proportion); repetition (repeated lines/ ideas/ themes to
think this has happened? reinforces an idea); comforting (offering consumers a ‘fuzzy warm’
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Media Factsheet
175. Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1) www.curriculum-press.co.uk
feel – this could be from the human-interest news, images, nostalgia); fear (warning consumers of the danger to their way of life/ family values/
financial security); humour (often at the expensive of those in conflict with the ideologies of the news institution – readers like a product that
makes them feel good or echoes their dislike through the use of humour or satire). Associations include: celebrity endorsement; experts
(having an expert to appeal to the logical brain helps to convince consumers).
Activity: Look at a range of Daily Mail articles (in print, online and via the free app). Find evidence of this mode of
address and complete the table below:
Effect on audience?
Mode of address Example You could apply Uses & Gratifications –
(Blumler & Katz) or Utopian Solutions (Dyer)
Hyperbolic
Simplistic language
Reliance on images
Female interest
Outspoken
Activity: Complete an analysis of this cover of the Daily Editorial stance
Mail. How does it use conventions and persuasion to In a recent YouGov poll (Feb 20-22, 2017), of those questioned
reach the dominant readership? “81% considered the [Daily Mail] to be right-wing to one degree
or another” with 44% considering it as “very right-wing”. These
responses were largely unaffected by the ideologies of those
questioned, and highlights that the media is seen as being dominated
by a more right-wing press.
Activity: Complete the following reading
https://yougov.co.uk/news/2017/03/07/how-left-or-right-wing-are-
uks-newspapers/
https://www.theguardian.com/media/greenslade/2015/jun/08/
newspaper-reader-election-ukip-express-sun-mail-telegraph
Watch 9m17-9m48s of the vlog by Owen Jones https://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=lGhOTihjHlk&feature=youtu.be&t=9m17s
and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4nwf5eXD14 until
1m47s
What is your response to these texts? Do you agree? What
impact on news could this form of ownership or influence
have?
Editorial Stance
The Mail’s political stance is traditionally Conservative, having
supported the party in all recent general elections. The paper is also
known for criticism of the Labour party, and in particular the current
leader Jeremy Corbyn (correct as of January 2018). So much so, that
during the 2015 general election, The Daily Mail advocated readers
in some constituencies to vote UKIP (as the main challenger to the
Labour Party). The paper is often critical of the BBC, seeing it as
an institution biased to the left. Other published pieces reveal a pro-
Brexit, consumerist stance that supports traditional Britishness.
(left) Front cover of the Daily Mail, Wednesday 3 January, 2018
http://img.kiosko.net/2018/01/03/uk/daily_mail.750.jpg
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Media Factsheet
175. Case Study: The Daily Mail (Part 1) www.curriculum-press.co.uk
Activity: Complete an analysis of this article by Richard Littlejohn (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5227331/
RICHARD-LITTLEJOHN-says-Veganuary-gimmick.html). How does it reveal the editorial stance of the Daily Mail?
Remember the audience profile we considered earlier – how does this opinion piece appeal to this audience? Look
at the language, tone of voice and persuasive techniques that are employed to encourage the reader to accept the
consensus ideology.
Conclusion
The Daily Mail is one of the most successful newspapers in the UK having made the transition to digital media effectively. It is important to consider
how the paper and the digital service have integrated to meet the needs of the audience. The combination of simplistic language, news articles that
reflect the values of the audience and the use of images (particularly online) offer the audience a product which is convenient and easy to consume.
Acknowledgements: This Media Factsheet was researched and written by Katrina Calvert and published in January 2018 by
Curriculum Press. Media Studies Factsheets may be copied free of charge by teaching staff or students, provided that their school is a
registered subscriber. No part of these Factsheets may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any other form or
by any other means, without the prior permission of the publisher. ISSN 1351-5136
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