In this lecture we looked at how the press represents stories in newspapers and how newspapers in general have changed more into a commodity based product rather than a reliable source of information. It is quite evident that the media like to construct stories creating myths and ideologues however it is also important to know that it all depends on how the reader receives and interprets the information, whether he/she is a passive or active consumer. As time went on newspapers eventually became much more visual in it’s layout, saturating the page with pictures and keeping words to a minimum and straight to the point. When looking at newspapers from the 1830s we can see that there are much more stories on the page but no use of colour what so ever. Nowadays many newspapers rely heavily on adverts and commodity based items on the front page in order to draw more people into buying them. “The image does not illustrate the text; it is the text which amplifies the connotative potential of the image.” Only in the 1980s did colour start to feature in newspapers.
It can be argued that the press has become more of a commodity and are purposely more colourful and entertaining, sensationalising quite trivial events on the front page while leaving the more serious stories as an afterthought. Stories can often be exaggerated, creating a blur between fiction and reality. Is this becoming way of dumbing down news papers for it’s target audience? The Sun newspaper can be considered as a demotic voice of the people in which it addresses it’s readers in a language they can understand whilst celebrating quite consumerist values at the same time. It is important to realise that we don’t all believe what we read and we are not as passive as we used to be. Although there is still an attraction to gossip and exciting stories, audiences still need to challenge stories and make their own meanings of what they read. Interpreting current media in this way can be seen as a form of empowerment.
Quote from, Pg 107 from Cultural Studies and the Study of Popular Culture, John Storey.
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