Blog Tasks: Daily Mirror - Audience and Industries

 Audience

1) What is the Daily Mirror's audience? List the key statistics here.

Target Audience Age: A typical reader is around 60 years old.
Age Breakdown: 66% of readers are aged over 55; 42% are between 55-74.
Social Grade: Primarily C2DE (skilled working class and lower).
Loyalty: 27% of print readers are considered "loyal," reading 4 out of 5 issues a week. 

2) Why do the Mirror stories on the CSP pages appeal to the Daily Mirror audience?

They are about scandals and celebrities which would appeal to a lower class audience.

3) Why might a reader enjoy the Daily Mirror? Use Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory to add detail to your answer.

entertainment: Celebrity news can be entertaining and light-hearted

Surveilence: Find out news about celebrities and the world

relationships: Learn about celebrities you have bonds with

identity: Find products and people which you use/identify with

4) Why are print newspapers generally read by older audiences?

Older audiences are typically less tech-savy therefore they may not be able to use online newspapers and have to buy print ones.

5) How are the CSP pages constructed to appeal to Daily Mirror readers? Think about text and selection of images.

There is minimal informal text which makes it easy for uneducated audiences to understand and the typography is serifs which connotes a more modern text. There are lots of images which readers will like to see and can use to further understand the stories.

Industries

1) What company owns the Daily Mirror and why are they struggling? 

Reach PLC - they are struggling due to a decrease in news paper circulation and algorithms on social media stopping promoting their channel and their news.

2) Who was the Daily Mirror editor between 2018 and 2024 and what was the Partygate scandal that the Daily Mirror exposed?  

Alison Phillips - Boris Johnson had help a party which involved braking the health and quarantine regulations placed for the COVID 19 precautions

3) What is the Daily Mirror's circulation? How many papers did the Daily Mirror used to sell back in the 1990s?

approximately 166,472

During the 1990s, the Daily Mirror saw its daily circulation drop from over 3 million at the beginning of the decade to just over 2.3 million by 1998.

4) How has the Daily Mirror reacted to the decline in print sales and the growth of the internet?

They have created a website where you can read online versions of the newspaper and they have created a social media account.

5) List five of Galtung & Ruge's News Values and explain how they link to the stories in our CSP edition of the Daily Mirror.

Familiarity: It effected a lot of people which could mean that people have a personal relationship with the story

Amplitude: The post office is a big thing and the scandal affected a lot of people

Frequency: This had never happened before

Predictability/surprise: It is shocking as it hurt a lot of people

Elite nations and people: It has happened in the country that the newspaper belongs to and it involves some very well known people e.g. Paula Vennels and conservative MPs