Sample questions from previous years

Do some of these and email them to me, it is the best way to prepare for the exam.

2 (b) Celebrity and the Tabloid Press
The following areas may be covered for all questions in this section:
• Knowledge and understanding of how representation is constructed in the specified
medium
• Detailed textual examples to illustrate points of comparison and address the question set.

1. Compare the extent to which the representation of celebrity in your chosen two
tabloid newspapers is dependent on stories about their private lives as opposed to
their careers.

2. Compare the ways in which the visual and written elements of your two chosen tabloid newspapers represent celebrity.

3. Compare the extent to which the representation of celebrity is restricted to stories about secrets and scandal in your two chosen newspapers. [45 marks]

4. Compare the representation of celebrities’ successes and/or failures in the two tabloid newspapers you have studied. [45 marks]

5. Compare how the representation of celebrities reinforces or undermines their celebrity status in your two chosen tabloid newspapers

A conference on female celebrity, something for you to think about

This one-day event sponsored by the School of Film and Television Studies will examine how discourses of tabloidism, “reality,” and scandal shape the construction of female celebrity in contemporary and historical periods. It originates with the broadly-felt sense that female celebrity (at least of a certain kind) is seen to be depreciating in value and it asks why this might be the case. While work on stardom/ celebrity has acknowledged the existence of hierarchies of fame, surprisingly little attention has been paid to how such hierarchies are gendered. We will explore whether such hierarchies have intensified of late and the factors which are shaping this process, while also reflecting on how this shift might constitute a challenge for the next wave of scholarship on stardom/celebrity.
Questions include, but are not limited to: Is the perceived uncoupling of talent from fame in fact a particularly gendered phenomenon? Is it postfeminist? How do new delivery systems such as YouTube and older ones like celebrity magazines favor and foster the spectacle of female “train wreck” celebrity? What kinds of narratives about wealth and class do these female celebrities anchor and how do they uphold or challenge nationalized/regionalized archetypes of the “chav” or “white trash?” How do the scandals in which they so often figure differ from those of some male celebrities (as was amply demonstrated in 2007 when a comparative dignity and respectful distance was accorded by a variety of media outlets after Owen Wilson’s suicide attempt)? What contemporary views about female sexuality are inscribed onto the bodies of these celebrities? What drives the fascination/repulsion for “bad” women/girls (Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, Rosie O’Donnell, Amy Winehouse, Charlotte Church, Jade Goody) in today’s celebrity culture and what are the historical precedents for this? Related and proximate topics including divadom, celebrity feuds, the “toxic” celebrity couple, and the potential reinforcement of age-old cultural prohibitions on attention-seeking as “unfeminine” will also factor in symposium discussions.

Gender representation in tabloids

You may be asked to comment on the representation of gender in tabloids, in the Observer on Sunday 18th May this article  ( scroll right down to the last section, 'Do some people despise Amy' appeared. It discusses the differing popularity between male and female celebs, this is down to how they are represented, in a positive or negative light, by using approving or disapproving language, the choice of images, flattering or unflattering and the general tone and editorial point of view that is presented. 

Marketing magazine reveals that the 5 most loved celebs are men ( McCartney, Lewis Hamilton, Gary Lineker, Simon Cowell & David Beckham).

The 4 most hated are women ( Heather Mills, Amy Winehouse, Victoria Beckham, Kerry Katona). 

I think this would be a very interesting statistic to include in your response and consider why this should be so, Simon Cowell for instance promotes himself in a very hard, almost, Mr Nasty way, and the Beckhams, husband and wife, what has she done to incur the publics' hatred, he was the one who had the affair yet she is the one vilified.

The McCartneys also a married couple with Heather coming off worst. 

Interesting also to note that 3 of the men are sportsmen

Tabloid Press today

Tabloids are the best selling newspapers today. The Sun is the most popular,with an average daily circulation of around 3 million. However, that slipped under to 2.99 million in January 08. The owner, Rupert Murdoch ( who also owns Sky and The Times under the News International blanket!) ordered a price drop from 35p-20p to try and get figures up again. 

Apparently Murdoch dislikes the amount of coverage of celebrity in The Sun. Read this article 

Rebekah Wade, editor of the Sun, discusses her editorial control and relationship with the owner, Murdoch. 

The Mirror ( owned by Trinity Mirror) also slipped at this time to 1.49 million copies.

This is part of world wide trend, what the future for newspapers?

Compare these figures to Broadsheets, Guardian daily circulation of 410,000 but they got 25.9 million hits to their webpage during January 08 compared to the Sun's web hits which were a third of that of the Guardians.

Look a this article

According to Tunstall (1996)

tabloids lead the way and set the news agenda that other papers follow according to their house style.

The human interest agenda is led by a downmarket tabloid exclusive

Followed by mid market dailies

The more upmarket broadsheets report on 'what the tabloids say', but with a longer, more 'worthy' angle and analysis, relating to wider media issues. 

Glossary

authorial intent- intention of writer

anchorage- including captions to cement the 'meaning' of an image or story

chequebook journalism- someone being enticed to sell their story for money

connotation- the association a word creates

defamation- attacking someones good name

gatekeeping- the decisions made be an editor about which stories to cover

graphology-the visual aspects of a text, layout and images

homonym- a word that has more than one meaning eg lighter

intertextuality- when a text refers to another text- eg Pulp Fiction ( story about Jarvis Cocker)

interpolation-how a mood is signalled and the reader dragged in

journalese- tabloid style of writing

libel- writing something that damages a subjects reputation

mode of address- the tone of voice the paper 'speaks' to its audience in

news values- what it deemed newsworthy

polyseme- a word that has closely related different meanings- head

redtops- another word for tabloids

stereotypes- socially constructed image, often used as  a shorthand

tabloid tag- colloquial phrase to describe someone. 

Analysing your tabloids

1. Count the number of features, articles and adverts in each tabloid. Work out the number of these that are to do with celebrity, calculate the percentage.

2.Look at the language that has been used to describe the celebrity. Language can be used to represent celebrities in a certain way, language can manipulate audiences to promote certain values or attitudes towards a certain celebrity.

The transmission of a message through language encodes values into the message. It has its own emotional and cultural loading. 

In their representation of celebs, tabloids often use an informal, familiar approach and 'tabloid tags'. 

Women are often referred to as 'girls'. Often women are referred to in terms of their marital status, 'police arrested the wife of...', 'Prince Charles' mistress'...

Motherhood and the role of mothers in society are often commented on. Consider the coverage of Madonna's adoption process. 

Often their behaviour is reported as being childlike, 'showed off', 'upstaged' with connotations of female rivalry. 

Where they are actiing more positively it is often against their own bodies and emotions-

'fights annorexia...', 'battles depression...'

Homosexuality is  often reported with hostility

'committed a lewd sex act...', 'caught with his pants down...' - suggests farce. 

Word choice is a powerful tool for establishing idealogical stance, beliefs and prejudices of a society can be reinforced by language use. 

Have 'tabloid tags' been used in your editions?

 These give more description about the person but also anchor the way they are being represented, eg 'sad Kerry' -refering to Kerry Katona going back into the Priory hospital. 

3. Research the readership figures for your tabloids and compare them to broadsheets, how does daily coverage compare to Sundays?

4. Look at the PCC's code of practice, how does it relate to the representation of celebs?

Headlines

Should encapsulate the story and attract the reader to the story or the paper.
They need to bear in mind the different readers and the different ways they are going to consume the publication. ( read every detail, or skim and cherry pick).
The lead story may not necessarily be such as it is the most important news item. It may be the most scandalous and the most likely to attract readers and therefore increase sales of the tabloid.

Headlines are written, not by the writer of the article but by a team of specialist writers, they use short, attention grabbing words that are often not found outside of journalese.

Techniques such as:
1. linguistic jokes or puns are frequently used as is ambiguity, homonyms ( words with more than one meaning), polysemes ( several linked meanings).
2. Intertextuality- refer to popular culture or sayings- eg 'Babes in the Woods"
3. Phonology-alliteration & similar sounding words.
4. Loaded words with emotive, strong connotations eg 'butchered'.
5. Reorganising standard order of words or missing words out.
6. Graphology- the headlines stand out more than the rest of the copy.
7. Conveying information in an economical way- who, what , where and how ( the why is dealt with in the article).