Audience Profiling

There are many ways that an audience can be profiled for example by their gender, age, and demographically. 

NRS 'Super Profiles' classification UK

'NRS (National Readership Survey Ltd) is a separate organization specilaising in demographic information. NRS use the following summary headings as an alternative way of classifying lifestyle types in the UK. Percentage figures for the distribution of these types are available from various sources.'

My newspaper is aimed at young people but I also need to be aware of other audiences, in case I can corporate them into my product. By looking into different classifications I am becoming more aware of who will be reading my product. In this group I will be aiming my newspaper at group A, teenagers who wish to achieve, therefore having money to spend on my newspaper.

THE FOUR C’S (Cross-Cultural Consumer Characteristics)


This is one of the earliest, but still most popular, ways of profiling audiences. It profiles the audience in terms of wants and needs, not simply demographic. The categories are as follows:

• Mainstreamers (this is the largest group. They are concerned with stability, mainly buying well-known brands and consuming mainstream texts).
• Aspirers (they are seeking to improve themselves. They tend to define themselves by high status brands, absorbing the ideologies associated with the products and believing their status alters as a result)
• Succeeders (people who feel secure and in control – generally they are in positions of power. They buy brands which reinforce their feelings of control and power).
• Reformers (idealists who actively consume eco-friendly products and buy brands which are environmentally supportive and healthy. They also buy products which establish this ‘caring and responsible’ ideology).
• Individuals (highly media literate, expects high-production advertising and buys product image not product, requires high-profiling sophisticated advertising campaigns).

In this group my target audience will be people classed as aspirers and reformers because they are the will be the most likely group to purchase my product. Mainstreamers will not suffice here because they only buy well known brands, and since my newspaper will be local, therefore they will not purchase it. 

Uses and Gratifcation Theory 


This theory relies on the premise that audiences have free will and choose to consume certain things for different reasons. The theory was developed in the 1960s and was in expanded in 1974 by Blumer and Katz who suggested a series of possible reasons why audience members might consume a media text;

• Diversion (escape from everyday problems)
• Personal relationships (using the media for emotional and other interactions e.g. substitution soap opera for family life).
• Personal identity (constructing their own identity from characters in media texts, and learning behavior and values – useful if trying to fit into a new country/culture)
• Surveillance (information gathering e.g. news, educational programming, weather reports, financial news, holiday bargains etc).

My newspaper will be used by audiences for personal identity since it will be a local newspaper, and also for surveillance (keeping up to date with news)

Denis McQuail puts forward a more detailed breakdown of audience motivations:

• Information

-          finding out about relevant events and conditions

-          Seeking advice

-          Satisfying curiosity and general interest

• Learning

-          Self-education

-          Confidence gained through knowledge

• Personal Identity

-          finding reinforcement of positive values

-          finding models of behavior

-          identifying with celebrities e.g. David Beckham

-          Gaining insight into oneself

• Integrating and social interaction

-          gaining insight into circumstances of others

-          identifying with others – a sense of belonging

-          finding a basis for conversation and social interaction

-          having a substitute for real life companionship

-          helping to carry out social roles

-          enabling one to connect with family, friends and society

• Entertainment

-          escaping, or being diverted, from problems

-          relaxing

-          getting intrinsic cultural or aesthetic enjoyment

-          filling time

-          emotional release

-          sexual arousal

Ideologies

Ideology is an important factor to consider when creating a product because you have to represent the ideology your target audience wish to see. Ideology refers to the systems of beliefs that is constructed and presented by a media product. As Marx claims, the dominant ideologies are those that already underpin society. This can differ country to country, for example a soap made for a UK audience will differ to one made for a US audience, Spain or Iran. In terms of newspapers, the editor attempts to strike a chord with the target audience (hence why different paper may approach something like immigration differently) – all papers use language that connotes a certain view is ‘right’ e.g. “Foreign workers DEMAND a pay rise” could connote the workers are in the wrong. Another interesting example of a dominant ideology in the news media relates to Patriotism (this can also be applied to fiction films etc) when they cover war, royal stories or international sports stories like the World Cup.

This sort of language subtly attempt to influence the reader through putting forward the ‘facts’ in a way that supports the dominant ideology of the institution (newspaper, TV channel, film company etc). Gramsci defines dominant ideologies as ‘hegemonic’ and argues, like Marx, that media institutions are used by those in power to maintain their control. 

Local Papers - Dead or Alive - YouTube

This YouTube hour long clip in which a group of people discuss if local newspapers really are going out of fashion and being overtaken and wiped out by national newspapers. 

This is worrying as it majorly affects my own product and if local papers are 'dying out' then my paper has no future. Even websites and iPad apps are losing views and downloads as the economy pushes prices through the roof and people would rather save the few pennies than buy virtual apps.
To bring back interest the idea of selling the paper at young people is perfect because it brings the adults of tomorrow into the company, which then means that some percentage of them will stay with the paper, and also bring their children up reading the product. This creates a future for the newspaper, something The Cornish Guardian might not have soon because they aim for working class, middle age people and not attracting the local youths, which in my view is vital. 

Research into Genre

Tabloids and Broadsheets

John Friske describes genres as “attempts to structure some order into the wider range of texts and meanings that circulate in our culture for both the convenience of both producers and consumers.” In other words, genre is simply a way of categorising products (texts) through the common codes and conventions. 

When you create your own media products for coursework or in the real world it is important to follow the codes in order to fulfil the expectations of your target audience.

Genre classifications are defined through a series of signs (visual and oral) associated with that genre. 

Audre Basin is considered the first theorist to have developed genre theory because he was the first person to explore the significant advantages of genre from an institutional perspective in the 1950s when he analysed Westerns. He concluded that, 'genres make film making more efficient (by allowing the re-using of plots, sets and the like) and more marketable (by using generic conventions as a way of ‘selling’ the film to the target audience). Genres in film therefore, were seen as more arbitrary: they originate at the level of production' .

Rick Altman argues that genres are usually defined in terms either of certain media language, for example in Westerns the semantic field would be similar to: guns, horses, wagons, towns, landscapes, stars like John Wayne and the ‘tough guy’ etc. The can also use certain ideologies and narratives. He calls the former group the semantic element and the latter the synaptic and argues that genre theory needs to keep the two separate as a means of dealing with genre progression over time and hybridity. 

British newspapers fall loosely into two categories the tabloid (which is half the size of a broadsheet) and the broadsheet itself, with tabloid newspapers tending to be quite different from broadsheets in style and content as well as in size. Primarily there are many differences between broadsheets and tabloids newspapers, such things like the layout, font, and colour… As well as in how the both of the newspapers cover the news.  If you compare two of the same stories, one from a tabloid industry and one from a broadsheet style of newspaper, you would notice that the heading or title of the story will somewhat be different. A broadsheet would be more factual and formally written compared to a Tabloid, this is because broadsheets are liable for attracting older and well-educated audiences.

Broadsheets

Broadsheet is the largest of the various newspaper formats and is characterized by long vertical pages (typically 22 inches or more). The term derives from types of popular prints usually just of a single sheet, sold on the streets and containing various types of matter, from ballads to political satire. The first broadsheet newspaper was the Dutch Courante uyt Italien, Duytslandt, &c. published in 1618. 
My own product might not be a broadsheet because they are large and therefore this has two bad points; young people will not want to carry a large paper around with them, and the cost of printing will increase dramatically. They are also known for their formality and my newspaper will most likely be placed under the informal category since this will attract more young people.

Tabloids

A tabloid is a newspaper industry term which refers to a smaller newspaper format per spread; to a weekly or semi-weekly alternative newspaper that focuses on local-interest stories and entertainment, often distributed free of charge (often in a smaller, tabloid-sized newspaper format); or to a newspaper that tends to emphasize sensational crime stories, gossip columns repeating scandalous innuendos about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and other so-called "junk food news" (often in a smaller, tabloid-sized newspaper format). As the term "tabloid" has become synonymous with down-market newspapers in some areas, some papers refer to themselves as "Compact" newspapers instead.

My product will most likely be a tabloid, even though they are not known for their trustworthiness. Perhaps this is a time to show that not all newspaper are alike. Tabloids are small and easy to carry and therefore the perfect size for young people since today teenagers want everything fast and efficient. 

Synopsis for The Cloud

“The media have great influence in terms of how groups are represented and the legislation is there to ensure that individuals are not misrepresented in any way” (Hall and Holmes, 1998).

The news can reach us by many forms of media and the newspaper is one of the most popular. I have chosen to create a local newspaper for Cornwall with the target audience being young people as I feel that the local area lacks on representing youth in a positive light, and providing for their needs. It could be said that one of the main reasons young people are not trying as much nowadays is because the industries that present news constantly put them down. 

Hall (1904) stated that teenagers need excitement and if this cannot be found in legal matters then they turn to drink, drugs, and sex. The aim of my newspaper is to encourage teenagers to become part of the media again; to encourage them to think differently. It may not be as exciting as partying late on a Friday night but showing youth in a positive light will start to make the change for the better. 

The stories will be condensed apart from the main story as it is known that young people lose interest quickly. I will be following similar conventions of 3 newspapers; the i for condensing news, The Guardian for being youth friendly, and The Cornish Guardian for being local, all in all creating a hybrid newspaper designed for young people. 

The newspaper will contain adverts aimed at young people and I have considered upcoming games, local events and products, and coupons for the Eden Sessions. I will only have a few adverts in my newspaper, though I am aware that this is the main source of income. 

My poster will be innovating with colours and images, rather than just black and white text on a plain white background. It will advertise the newspaper as well as the story and attract and persuade young people to purchase the product. 

My website will follow conventions of other newspaper websites, with the masthead being in the top left, and having scroll bars where news can flash up and down constantly, giving the website an overall feel of professionalism. The stories will have a tone of informality, like the stories in the newspaper which creates an anchor for young people, and allows them to take in the information easier. 

Overall my newspaper is innovating for young people because it constantly refers back to my target audience. Representation of the primary target audience is important because it makes them aware that the newspaper will represent them and their needs. Therefore when you plan a product it is important to consider who your primary target audience is in order to get this right.

 “All media texts are re-representations of reality…they may be stereotypes or they may be complex representations but it is important to remember that they have been constructed to appeal to a particular target audience” (Hall and Holmes 1998).