CSP Newspapers: The Daily Mirror

Language

1) Write the definition of the following key language for newspaper front pages:

Masthead:
Incentive:
Pug:
Splash Head:
Slogan:
Dateline:
Kicker:
Byline:
Standfirst:

2) How much does a copy of the Daily Mirror cost?

70p

3) What is the main story on the CSP edition of the Daily Mirror?

A conservative politician being interrogated by the police.

4) What promotion takes up a large amount of the front page and why might it appeal to Mirror readers?

A gambling/betting offer 

5) What is the balance on the Daily Mirror front page between images, headlines and text?

Images and headlines are the dominant aspect on the front page andAudience

1) What is the target audience for the Daily Mirror?

The Daily Mirror targets a mainstream audience +

2) Why does the Mirror front page story appeal to the Daily Mirror audience?



3) Why might the 'Prey and Display' parking story on the double page spread be interesting for Daily Mirror readers?  

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

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


Representation

1) How does the Daily Mirror represent the Conservative Party and its MPs? Look at the main front page story.

2) How does the Daily Mirror represent the golf club that is now admitting female members? Read the story 'At last, Muirfield men let women join golf club'.

3) How does the Daily Mirror represent ordinary people? Look at the Prey and Display article to answer this question.

4) How does the Daily Mirror represent older people? Look at the Prey and Display article to answer this question.

5) How does the Daily Mirror represent businesses and people who make a lot of money? Look at the stories on the double page spread to answer this question.


Industries

1) What company owns the Daily Mirror?

2) What is the Daily Mirror's circulation in 2019? How many papers did the Daily Mirror used to sell back in the 1990s?

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

4) What does IPSO stand for and what is IPSO's job?

5) Why do some people want stronger regulation of British newspapers?


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this Guardian column on the Mirror's struggles with covering Brexit. How did the Mirror suggest people vote in the EU referendum and how did many of its working class audience actually vote?

The Daily Mirror's owner, Reach (then Trinity Mirror) bought control of the Express and Daily Star newspapers in 2018. Read this Guardian feature on the deal. Why did Trinity Mirror buy the papers?

Guardian Media critic Roy Greenslade writes about why tabloid newspapers like the Mirror are struggling to attract younger readers in this column. Make a note of some of the key statistics in this article and also what Greenslade thinks tabloids should do to stay relevant in the digital age. This column also has an excellent discussion of the Mirror's political stance which is ideal to grade 9 answers.