Annotations and deconstructions of newspapers

The Daily Mail

The “Daily Mail” is known to be a quality tabloid as it is aimed at middle class families, in comparison to a red top like that of “The Sun”, and is a right winged newspaper – therefore meaning it is more politically inclined to the conservative party.

It is said that the quality tabloids such as the “Daily Mail” are a mix of current affairs and human interest stories such as the strapline and headline of “persecuted for praying” – the story of which would form interest upon the “Daily Mail’s” key target audience of women. Quality tabloids also contain the celebrity culture; however this is in a more understated way than that of red tops who brand themselves on the celebrity culture. This is conveyed on this issue of the “Daily Mail” as we see Carol Vorderman, again a powerful female figure who is representative of the target audience, in the purple box-out. It could be said that her celebrity image being located in the box-out on the front cover will lure the target audience into the paper to find out a more in-depth answer to the rhetoric, “bitter?” The colour filling the box-out being purple could also represent the connotations of the “Daily Mail” being aimed at women, purple connoting a sense of regality, opulence and wealth, all the qualities of more middle class women.

            Both of the stories on the front cover are not shown in their entirety to act as a lure to the audience as they may pick up the paper and read the front cover, but the stories should then lure them in to buying the paper so that they can finish reading them. Clear page references are also made on the front cover to lure the audience in as it makes the reading of the paper much more accessible.

            The use of the “Free six nation’s rugby pullout” also promotes a lure for middle class men into the newspaper. The adjective “free” lures the audience into purchasing the newspaper as they are gaining a free pullout out of it. Rugby is also seen to be more of a middle class sport compared to football, which you would see more commonly in a red top newspaper, and therefore represents the target audience of who the paper is aimed at reaching.