The decline in newspapers: MM case studies

The New Day

1) What was the New Day trying to achieve?

The new day article was introduced in order to aid the decline of print media such as newspaper due to the raise of new and digital media. It was also designed to target a new audience.

2) List the key statistics on the first page: how many people buy newspapers in the UK? How has this declined in the last year?

• ·         6million people buy a newspaper everyday
• ·         Over a million people have stopped buying newspapers in the last two years

3) What audience was the New Day trying to attract?

The newspaper was introduced to target and attract both male and females from ages 35-55.

4) Why do you think the New Day failed so spectacularly? There are several possible reasons listed in the article but do develop your own opinion here as well.

There are many reasons why I believe that the new day newspaper has been a complete disaster as first of all the pricing of the paper increased to 50p. Print media is in terminal decline meaning it will eventually die out this is the case as people are now keeping tabs on the via social media and other online sites on their latest technology. The fact that they will be receiving their news for free is a bonus for audience as it is less of an inconvenience for them to pay for their news when they can get it for free.

The Guardian

1) List the key statistics on page 10: How many unique digital browsers used the Guardian website in June 2016? What are The Guardian's latest print sales figures? How does this compare to the Telegraph? In terms of finances, how much did the Guardian lose in 2015?

• ·         The Guardian online is the third most read paper on the internet,
• ·         2015 the Guardian lost £70 million this led to cutbacks of 20%
• ·         The sales of newspapers have been in steady decline since the explosive growth of the internet in the 1990s

2) What has been The Guardian's strategy for reversing this decline?

The guardian newspapers have the strategy of reversing the decline of print by ensuring their target audience invest into their business. This is the case as there hasn’t been any setback in other countries which drives them to carry on.

3) What global event did The Guardian's digital coverage win awards for?

 The event has indeed received awards for the attacks that took place in Paris because it was a way for people to keep updated which helped them survive.

4) In your opinion, will the global website strategy be enough to save The Guardian?

I think that it does because print news is only released once a day and with it being accessible online it makes it easier for people to gain access to it and t

Week 7: Story 14- 'Social media can be a pretty ugly place if you're a woman in politics'

Social media can be a pretty ugly place if you're a woman in politics

https://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2016/oct/21/female-politicians-social-media-abuse-european-parliament

Social media can be a place for politicians to express their opinions however its also a place where they can receive backlash due to social medias interactivity.

• New report about social media, based on a survey of more than 900 female parliamentarians from 107 different countries. All the MEPs agreed: social media can be an pretty ugly place if you’re a woman in politics.
• 22.8% of national members of parliament are women, and there are still 38 countries in which more than 90% of MPs are men.
• “I do think there’s a psychology about this that we’re not trained in but I’m learning by accident,” she says.

I believe that it showcases how powerful social media is as its one of the biggest hosts for people to share there thoughts and opinion. This is evident in sites such as Facebook and Twitter where people can voice their opinion can also be countered with harmful and hateful comments. 

Week 7: Story 13 - Stephen Hawking says artificial intelligence could be humanity's greatest disaster

Stephen Hawking says artificial intelligence could be humanity's greatest disaster

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2016/10/19/stephen-hawking-says-artificial-intelligence-could-be-humanitys/

Stephen Hawking has suggested that artificial intelligence would be the end of civilisation,

• “It will bring great disruption to our economy, and in the future AI could develop a will of its own that is in conflict with ours,” he said.
• Professor Hawking, a prominent critic of making unchecked advances in AI, said that the technology promised to bring great benefits, such as eradicating disease and poverty, but “will also bring dangers, like powerful autonomous weapons or new ways for the few to oppress the many”.

I believe that Stephen Hawking is overrating a bit as i think that we should have artificial intelligence but they should be restricted to a specific amount and the roles that they have in society because it can cause people to lose their jobs.

Week 6: Story 12 - Elon Musk says fully self-driving Tesla cars already being built

Elon Musk says fully self-driving Tesla cars already being built

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/20/elon-musk-says-fully-self-driving-tesla-cars-already-being-built

Tesla has started to advance in their technology and our usual view on cars which is fully self-driving Tesla cars.

• The death in May of a Tesla driver using the company’s existing Autopilot system prompted an investigation by safety regulators.
• Rival automakers have said they expect to be able to field autonomous driving capability by 2019 or 2021.
• Musk said the software was being built in-house and would run on an Nvidia Titan chip.

I believe that by Tesla investing on these new innovation will attract a mass audience due to the fact that it will be convenient for them as they wouldn't have to drive themselves. However, i feel like the technology is risky as people could hack into the software which is harmful for everyone driving or even those who are walking as the car could be controlled by a hacker just to cause harm to people.

Week 6: Story 11 - 'Facebook bans 'offensive' Swedish breast cancer awareness video'

 'Facebook bans 'offensive' Swedish breast cancer awareness video'

      https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/20/facebook-bans-swedish-breast-cancer-awareness-video-for-being-offensive

Facebook have been slated by The Guardian for banning a video that focused on breast cancer awareness

• Cancerfonden said, “We find it incomprehensible and strange how one can perceive medical information as offensive" 
• Facebook took down the video believing that the video portrays images and themes that would be uncomfortable for a facebook audience 

This story showcases social networks such as Facebook utilise censorship in the wrong way. The breast cancer awareness charity is sending out useful information to women regarding this illness. however some of the images where seen to be 'incomprehensible and strange how one can perceive medical information as offensive" by Facebook

Newspapers: the effect of online technology

Newspapers: the effect of online technology

Do you agree with James Murdoch that the BBC should not be allowed to provide free news online? Why?

1) I personally believe that BBC should not provide free news. This is the case as it would mean that the journalist would perhaps lose their jobs due to the fact that people are taking news into their own hands from example the increase of citizen digital. This could then mean that the accuracy of news will be in question.

Was Rupert Murdoch right to put his news content (The Times, The Sunday Times) behind a paywall?
2) I believe that Murdoch made the right decision to introduce a paywall. I believe that by this method being utilise it could save journalists jobs. This is the case as they have a more significant role in their occupation. If there wasn't any journalists we as media consumers wouldn't have access to relevant news stories.

Choose two comments from below the Times paywall article - one that argues in favour of the paywall and one that argues against. Copy a quote from each and explain which YOU agree with and why.

3) "It is so ridiculous if these mainstream newspapers believe that they can "force readership of fee-based news. One can get the same "news" for free almost anywhere on the internet."

I personally disagree with this because I think that news can be obtained from easier sources for free but the quality of the news may not be the same which we receive from journalists and the accuracy may not be as high either which means the audience receives news which isn't accurate or of low quality. 

"It strikes me that the difference in business models has a profound effect on the content type. "

I can agree with this comment as  there are different target audiences and those who are younger are more likely to get their news from an online source whereas those who are older are more likely to get it from a print format. 

Why do you think the Evening Standard has bucked the trend and increased circulation and profit in the last two years?
4)  I believe that the evening standard has bucked this particular trend as due to the raise of new and digital media people are most likely to consume their media online. On the other hand the Evening Standard do indeed have loyal customers who read their news everyday and would pay to consume the media as in their eyes it is a reliable source.

Is there any hope for the newspaper industry or will it eventually die out? Provide a detailed response to this question explaining and justifying your opinion.
5) I believe that the news industry is in terminal decline and will eventually die out due to the vast raise of new and digital media. This is the case as the internet is constantly innovating itself meaning the users will be receiving and have access to new media. The paywall does showcase a new strategy making money out of the newspaper industry.

Week 4:Story 10 - 'Digital crisis looms as 'ruthless' fourth industrial revolution breeds startup fear'

'Digital crisis looms as 'ruthless' fourth industrial revolution breeds startup fear' 

http://www.cbronline.com/4th-revolution/digital-crisis-fourth-industrial-revolution-startup-fear/

2/3 of UK businesses feel threatened by digital startups - they think that new startups pose significant threat to their organisation according to Dell Technologies

• 32% of UK businesses fear they may become obsolete in the next 3 to 5 years due to new digital born startups 
• 41% of business leaders have faced disruption with digital technologies and the Internet of Everything having a significant change 
• 38% of businesses do not know what their business will be looking like in 3 years time 

This article shows the problems that businesses are facing due to this idea of digital startups as pretty much anyone with an idea is able to create a business online and try to find an investor. The disadvantage of this is of course that institutions will not be making as much money as better companies will take over, however I do not think this is necessarily a problem as it enables competition between institutions, therefore would allow companies to change and better their strategies to create a better business.