Language and textual analysis
Homepage
Go to The Voice homepage and answer the following:
1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage?
The Voice homepage has a top menu bar along with a clear masthead at the top of the page which is considered a key convention of a website especially alongside the search icon at the top right of the page and a table of contents positioned on the right of that. The subscribe button at the top and even the use of ads on the home page are also key conventions of a website
2) How does the page design differ from Teen Vogue?
This page design differs from Teen Vogue due to the advertisements which are not as discrete due to their size being bigger than the news stories. Teen Vogue also has more modern designs which The Voice is lacking
3) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice?
Some of the items in the top menu bar are: News, Sport, Black British Voices and Faith. This tells us that while The Voice focuses on black Britons, there is still a mainstream nature due to the representation of sports as well as an interest in traditional values for older black Britons with stories on faith
4) Look at the news stories on the Voice homepage. Pick two stories and explain why they might appeal to the Voice's target audience.
- "Chris Kaba: Funeral held for unarmed man shot dead by police": This is the story of a black man who was shot by police despite being unarmed. This is relevant to The Voice's target audience as they produce content for black Britons who aim to educate themselves on what is happening to black people so this article is informative about what black people are still facing
- Government reject call for new institutional racism inquiry after Fire Brigade scandal: The author of a report which found the London Fire Brigade “institutionally misogynist and racist” has warned that similar problems could be widespread in other public organisations. The independent review found colleagues from ethnic minority backgrounds were “frequently the target of racist abuse”. This is relevant to The Voice's target audience because they are an audience who is actively looking for updates on racism around the world and this article informs them of the things that happen globally that are even affecting institutes
5) How is narrative used to encourage audience engagement with the Voice? Apply narrative theories (e.g. Todorov equilibrium or Barthes’ enigma codes) and make specific reference to stories on the homepage and how they encourage audiences to click through to them.
Narrative is used to encourage audience engagement with The Voice through the use of enigma codes (applying Barthes enigma codes) with headlines such as "First commercial flight from Africa to Caribbean lands in Antigua", "London is the place for me" and "Labour finally fills race post". These headlines are vague which encourages a reader to read the article to understand the meaning of the headline due to the vague nature of the headline originally
Lifestyle section
Now analyse the Lifestyle section of the Voice and answer the following:
1) What are the items in the sub-menu bar for the Lifestyle section and what does this suggest about the Voice audience?
The items in the sub-menu bar for the Lifestyle section are: Fashion & Beauty, Food, Health & Wellbeing, Relationships and Travel. This suggests that The Voice's target audience is likely to be middle-class seeing as they are able to afford this kind of lifestyle
2) What are the main stories in the Lifestyle section currently?
"Ghanaian architect looking to build for the future" and "The only woman in the world to lead an army"
3) How does the Lifestyle section of the Voice differ from Teen Vogue?
The Lifestyle section of The Voice differs from Teen Vogue due to the fact that there is less focus on education and campus on The Voice due to the target audience being more aimed towards an audience that is interested in a society that based around the issues that black people face. Teen Vogue aims to target its products towards a young audience and produces content about college life and celebrities. The target audience of The Voice differs in that it targets itself at an older black audience so their lifestyle section would differ to a younger target audience like Teen Vogue
4) Do the sections and stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British media?
I believe that the stories in the lifestyle section challenge black stereotypes in British media because the "Ghanaian architect looking to build for the future" article shows the success of a black women which is not a common representation in the media so this is undeniably challenging stereotypes because the success of white people typically dominates the media so this is a subversion of that representation and taking a step towards equality. Likewise, the "The only woman in the world to lead an army" article is a powerful article due to the fact that it also highlights the success of a black woman which has been severely underrepresented in the media which emphasises the growth that the black community has faced in recent years
5) Choose two stories featured in the Lifestyle section – how do they reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?
- Ghanaian architect looking to build for the future: This reflects the values and ideologies of The Voice because it subverts the stereotypical representation of the media that shows the success of white people most dominantly. This allows the audience to understand the way that black people are being offered more opportunities in society which shows progress
- The only woman in the world to lead an army: This story is not only empowering for black people but is also empowering for black women. The underrepresentation of black women in the media is already devastating so this story allows for empowerment for the women who do not feel represented in the media
Feature focus
1) Read this Voice opinion piece on black representation in the tech industry. How does this piece reflect the values and ideologies of The Voice?
This piece reflects the values and ideologies of The Voice due to the recognition of the inequalities in terms of the percentage of black people in workplaces urging them "to do better". The feature lays out the facts in order to portray their desire for more black success which starts with accepting more black people into areas such as tech
2) Read this feature on Michaela Coel supporting Oxfam's Second Hand campaign. Why might this feature appeal to readers of The Voice?
This feature might appeal to readers of The Voice due to the empowerment for readers to make a change by getting involved in Oxfam's Second Hand September Campaign. By having Michaela Coel as the face of this campaign, her fans will be more inclined to participate due to the personal relationship (applying Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory) they have built with her
3) Read this Voice news story on Grenfell tower and Doreen Lawrence. How might this story reflect the Voice’s values and ideologies? What do the comments below suggest about how readers responded to the article? Can you link this to Gilroy’s work on the ‘Black Atlantic’ identity?
This story might reflect the Voice's values and ideologies by reporting on a topic that criticises an organisation as large as The Fire Brigades Union over the way in which the Grenfell Tower fire was handled. While this tragic event in itself is a sensitive topic, reporting on Doreen Lawrence's views establish a sense of agency from black people along with their awareness and how this is then interpreted/reacted to by the mainstream media
Audience
1) Who do you think is the target audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics.
I think that the target audience for The Voice website is likely to be made up of older Black Britons due to the focus on giving black people a 'voice' as a central point of the magazine alongside the section on Faith which seems more traditional and accommodating to an older black audience. In terms of psychographic groups, I believe that The Voice readers are likely to be part of the Resigned group because of the traditional values they have that are unchanging and they choose what is familiar to them
2) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz (Uses & Gratifications).
The audience pleasures provided by The Voice website include entertainment due to the fact that they provide news on productions that are show that their readers might be interested in. The Voice website also suggests a personal relationship through the faith section where Muyiwa Olarewaju makes frequent appearances which allows the readers to become familiar with him. The website undeniably provides personal identity as it aims to give black people a 'voice' so that their content represents black people by black people
3) Give examples of sections or content from the website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.
The Black British Voices section tells you that The Voice is aimed at a specialised or niche audience as black people are actually a huge minority in England. The section on Faith also suggests that The Voice is aimed at a specialised or niche audience as it highlights a need for content for people that are religious
4) Studying the themes of politics, history and racism that feature in some of the Voice’s content, why might this resonate with the Voice’s British target audience?
The themes of politics, history and racism in The Voice's content might resonate with The Voice's British target audience as it highlights the black experience in the UK and acts as a reminder of the things they've been fighting for in the journey for equality
Representations
1) How is the audience positioned to respond to representations in the Voice website?
The audience is positioned to respond to representations on The Voice website in a positive manner as The Voice aims to provide a more realistic and accurate representation of black people than can be seen in the mainstream media
2) Are representations in the Voice an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying?
I think that the representations in The Voice are an example of Gilroy's concept of "double consciousness" as The Voice tries to capture an honest depiction of the black experience and through doing this, the double consciousness regarding being both British and Black is definitely prevalent and seemingly divided reinforced by the fact that The Voice as a magazine even needs to exist
3) Applying Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representations, how might different audiences interpret the representations of black Britons in the Voice?
Applying Stuart Hall's constructivist approach to representations, different audiences might interpret the representations of black Britons differently to The Voice's own target audience in accordance with their own conceptual map. Different audiences might view The Voice's content as reaffirming black people's role as being either entertainers or being violent due to the stories on theatre and music alongside news of shootings
4) Do you notice any other interesting representations in the Voice website? For example, representations or people, places or groups (e.g. gender, age, Britishness, other countries etc.)
Another interesting representation on The Voice website is the sports section which covers information as the content focuses on how black people are represented in sport
Industries
1) Read this Guardian report on the death of the original founder of the Voice. What does this tell you about the original values and ideologies behind the Voice brand?
This tells me that the original values and ideologies behind The Voice brand were to target people "who were born here and had spent most of their lives here" and building up a reputation for campaigning against racism and injustice
2) Read this history of the Voice’s rivals and the struggles the Voice faced back in 2001. What issues raised in the article are still relevant today?
The article raises many relevant issues that are still relevant today such as the decline of sales for The Voice dropping circulation by 20% from its previous sales of 51,318 3 years earlier before the launch of its rivals - New Nation
3) The Voice is now published by GV Media Group, a subsidiary of the Jamaican Gleaner company. What other media brands do the Gleaner company own and why might they be interested in owning the Voice? You'll need to research this using Google/Wikipedia or look at this Guardian article when Gleaner first acquired The Voice.
The Voice is now published by GV Media Group, a subsidiary of the Jamaican Gleaner company. The Gleaner company also owns media brands such as The Gleaner which is the oldest continuously published newspaper in Jamaica. From this, I think that The Gleaner company might be interested in The Voice as they share traditional values
4) How does the Voice website make money?
The Voice makes money by asking for donations, ad revenue and sponsorships
5) What adverts or promotions can you find on the Voice website? Are the adverts based on the user’s ‘cookies’ or fixed adverts? What do these adverts tell you about the level of technology and sophistication of the Voice’s website?
On The Voice website there are adverts for McDonald's and joining Hackney Council which suggests that their adverts aren't based on user's cookies but are rather fixed adverts
6) Is there an element of public service to the Voice’s role in British media or is it simply a vehicle to make profit?
There is definitely an element of public service to The Voice as they are doing what even major magazines fail to do by representing those who have less of a platform than those who are majorities
7) What examples of technological convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content?
There are a few examples of technological convergence on The Voice website such as the link to purchase their book along with links to their YouTube videos
8) How has the growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice?
The growth of digital distribution through the internet has definitely changed the potential for niche products like The Voice due to the fact that they are now able to reach a larger proportion of their target audience even if they don't live locally but still want to consume the content of The Voice
9) Analyse The Voice’s Twitter feed. How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied (such as Teen Vogue)? Are there examples of ‘clickbait’ or does the Voice have a different feel?
The Voice's Twitter feed is relatively straight to the point and the tweets are copies of the headline for the articles
10) Study a selection of videos from The Voice’s YouTube channel. How does this content differ from Teen Vogue? What are the production values of their video content?
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