Representing Historical Contexts

Explain how broadsheet newspapers reflect the time and historical contexts in which they were published.

There are a number of ways in which newspapers reflect their historical contexts, in the way these contexts influence their producers, their audiences and the world that they represent through their news stories.
Britain in the 1960s was a more patriarchal society and this meant most journalists were men, that audiences expected patriarchal representations, and the mostly political news that featured on the front pages was about powerful political figures - nearly all men. Only one female politician - Mrs Castle - features in the three front pages below.
Britain is becoming a multicultural society in the 1960s but still saw itself as white, and race relations as a 'problem'. What stories in these front pages reflect that tension in British society? The newspaper is trying to be liberal on 'race issues' but still presents a very white point of view.
There is much less marketing and little news about celebrities compared to today, showing less development of celebrity culture and consumerism in the 1960s.
The Cold War is reflected in articles about Russian spy planes, Russian spies and the Vietnam War. This shows the importance of this historical conflict at the time.

Look closely at the articles in the historic newspapers to understand more about the time they were written.

Click on each image to find an electronic copy of the newspaper that you can easily read. Read each article and then answer the questions. The answers are designed to help you write an exam-style answer in your book. You can type your answer, using a Word document entitled historic newspaper analysis, (you need to email it to your teacher by the end of today's lesson l.downie@lutterworthcollege.com).

Questions:

1. Read the main articles on each newspaper and consider what each one is in turn. Make a list of the articles with a short explanation of what topic they are covering.
2. Look at how ethnic groups are represented in all three newspapers. Comment on what this shows about the multicultural Britain of the 1960s in comparison with the multicultural Britain of 2019.
3. Look at how women are represented in all three newspapers. Comment on what this shows about women at the time.
4. How much coverage is there of celebrities. Why do you think this is?
5. What do the newspapers say about historic conflicts that were happening during the 1960s? How are they being reported in a different way to contemporary conflicts in 2019?
6. How do the adverts reflect the time the newspapers were published?

Wednesday 30th October 1968

Monday 30th October 1966

Sunday 6th November 1966

 

Comparing newspapers

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News: Analysis of print and online editions of the Observer

The Observer is a UK-based National Sunday newspaper. It is published in two different ways, as a traditional printed newspaper format and online.

Print out a copy of the printed version below and stick into your books.

Task 1: Using the News Glossary, label as many conventions as you can around the image in your book.

Refer back to the BBC News Media Review 2018 to help you think about the impact of technology on the newspaper industry.

Task 2: Working in pairs, you need to create a presentation, using whatever software or method you like, based on the following questions. Credits are awarded for a combination of the quality of written analysis and the clarity and creativity of the presentation. Click on The Observer logo above to find the newspaper website.

1. Media Industry
Who publishes the newspaper?
How long has it been running?
Who owns the newspaper?

2. Media Language
What stylistic features does The Observer newspaper format have?
Analyse the front page (deconstruct the conventions using the news glossary to help you label all of the elements). Explain in detail how The Observer uses these conventions to appeal to those readers.
What is the newspaper's Target Audience and how can you tell?
How does the layout of the newspaper work to appeal to consumers?
What features of the front page would you consider the most important and why?