22/02 & 23/02

Audience Targeting and Newspapers 

The Daily Mirror: 

  • C2DE (socio economic status) main readers but they target ABC1C2​. 

  • Majority over age 35 - 66% are aged over 55​. 

  • Working class in the main​. 

  • Labour supporters​. 

  • Many work in the public services e.g. NHS, fire, police.​ 

  • Over 54% male and 46% female (2019 data)​. 

  • Family oriented – most have children​. 

  • Large % of readers live in the north of England​. 

  • Interested in sports particularly horse racing and football​. 

  • Enjoy television and entertainment​. 

 

The Times: 

  • 62% Social Grade AB.​ 

  • £55,585 mean family income​. 

  • 1.4 million of their readers own a pet​. 

  • 500k(thousand) readers belong to a sports club​. 

  • 1.1 million readers are mindful of their health​. 

  • Large number of business professionals read the publication​. 

  • Take around 3 x holidays a year​. 

  • Over 700,000 interested in the environment and nature​. 

  • Majority over age 35​. 

  • Educated, liberal/right-wing political stance, middle-class readership​. 

  • Interested in politics and global affairs​. 

  • Read by marginally more women than men. 

  • Strong cultural capital​ (diverse knowledge, news from abroad). 

TARGET: ​ 

You need to identify the target audience. You need to think about primary and secondary audiences. What methods are used to target those audiences? Think content, think choice of representations, think choice of language, image etc.​ 

 

ATTRACT: ​ 

Very similar to a targeting essay but it is about the big things that draw the audience in. You might also think about the wider attractions such as the subscription deals, platforms of availability, etc.​..

  1. How does The Daily Mirror target its audience through its content? Give specific examples from the edition you have studied in class to illustrate your points. [10]​ 

 

Targeting method used 

Specific example from the newspaper/website for the newspaper 

Why this method might work for the target audience or demographic as part of the target audience 

Sport news on the front page. 

On the front page there’s news about horse racing and a football player. 

The Daily Mirror audience enjoy sport, particularly horse racing and football.  

Entertainment 

Sky advert on page 6 

The Daily Mirror audience enjoy entertainment, so having a sky advert could encouraged to get a subscription.  

Food shop deals 

Morrisons advert that shows deals. 

Target audiences are mainly working class, so having deals could be what they want. 

News about children’s health  

On page 39 there’s an article about new-born health. 

Target audience often has a family and is family orientated, so news about children health would interest the.  

  • The front page of the newspaper is important in attracting an audience, particularly regarding tabloid newspapers.

  • The choice and style of the main headline and central image are important in attracting the reader and in communicating the view the newspaper is taking on the particular story featured.

  • For example, the headline ‘Thanks for Nothing’ and the sub-heading ‘Sunak’s Sickener’ used emotive language and alliteration to make its views clear about the mini budget in March 2022.

  • Other pages in the newspaper and on digital platforms will reinforce the ideology of the newspaper including the editorial ‘The Voice of the Mirror’, the letters pages and opinion pieces.

  • The values, attitudes and beliefs of the newspaper and the way in which they represent particular stories will resonate with like-minded readers who may have chosen this newspaper because of its left-wing stance.

  • Readers will be made to feel part of the newspaper’s community and that the stories and articles reflect their views.

  • This audience will accept the preferred reading of the newspaper.

  • Newspapers have had to adapt to survive, and the Daily Mirror has achieved this using new technologies.

  • In May 2021, it became the UK’s number one website with 32 million monthly readers across all digital platforms (www.mirror.co.uk)

  • The digital platforms also enable the readers to interact with the newspaper and encourages them to post comments on the stories featured.

  • Distributing the publication across digital platforms which allow it to be interactive and immediate will also appeal to younger audiences

One way The Daily Mirror targets their audience is by highlighting sports news because the target audiences of The Daily Mirror are interested in sports news. For example, on the front page of out set print paper, there is coverage of horse racing and the scandal surrounding football player, Kyle Walker. By putting this news on the front page, it could persuade a fan to read the paper as it has news that interests them. Another example of how The Daily Mirror targets its audience is by having food shop deals throughout the newspaper, one example being the Morrisons advert on page 12. This targets their audience as their audience is mainly working class so food deals would interest them as they aren’t in a high socio-economic status. Furthermore, there’s also multiple news pages and articles about television and film. For example, on page 3 there’s a full-page coverage on the TV show ‘Call The Midwife’ which is a popular Tv show. This helps The Daily Mirror target their audience as they have an interest in entertainment and television.