News is traditionally separated from editorial, news being factual, and editorial being opinion. Both should be clearly demarcated from advertising. These boundaries are established by journalistic and editorial practice and professional ethics, by self-regulation, and by the laws of libel (which mean that a newspaper has to prove the facts to be true to successfully defend a libel case).
2. How do the Daily Mail and The Guardian aim to maintain the boundary between journalism and advertising?
Its easier to maintain these standards in the quality national press, where audiences are paying for high-quality journalism. In lower-status newspapers, such as local newspapers, advertising can more easily succeed in their aim to blur the boundary between journalism may simply be persuasive content from media relations and public relations personnel. The Daily Mail and the Guardian, by contrast, would aim to maintain that boundary by attributing sources and clearly labelling advertising or sponsored material.
3. Summarise in 7 bullet points the version of reality that is constructed by the Daily Mail.
- Many problems are caused by the ruling liberal elites and the nanny state.
- Problems are best solved by allowing the free market to operate and minimising bureaucratic interference.
- We should look after our own people before we look after foreigners.
- Ordinary people are rightly proud to be British.
- We should respect great British institutions such as the monarchy.
- Catching criminals is more important than protecting human rights.
- Brexit is a fantastic opportunity.
4. Summarise in 7 bullet points the version of reality that is constructed by The Guardian.
- Many problems are caused by uncontrolled free markets.
- Problems are best solved by public control in the public interest.
- As a rich country we have a duty to help others in the world.
- Some patriotism is associated with zenophobia and racism; we should be both internationalist and proud to be British.
- We should recognise where institutions need to improve.
- Protecting human rights is the cornerstone of a free society.
- Brexit is a disaster.
5. Which of the Daily Mail and The Guardian represents a more definite world and which represents a more questioned world? What do you think this means?
The two newspapers differ in how definite they are about their version of reality. Looking again at the two tweets on page 19, it is clear that the Mail tweet is trying to represent an unproblematical version of reality whereas the Guardian tweet suggests there is a problem caused by a difference between the image and the reality. Though both newspapers have their own moral certainties, the Daily Mail represents a more definite world, the Guardian a more questioned world. As we shall see later, this may be because the Daily Mail in Hall's terms, is providing a more-dominant representation of vents, one that accepts aspects of how society is organised and criticises other aspects.
6. What is the narrative equilibrium and how is narrative important in the construction of reality?
Narrative, is important in the construction of reality. The world of 'spin doctors', for example, is to create a suitable narrative around news events. News stories are constant disruptions of Todarov's narrative equilibrium in that most news stories are 'bad news' - a disruption of the previous state of affairs and a drive towards a restoration of a new equilibrium. Like dramatic narratives, a good story will keep the audience wanting resolution by at first delaying it, creating desire in the audience to know what happens next, then giving them resolution (e.g. will climate changed be remedied?) and are inherently less satisfactory. Examples of much more satisfactory resolutions include stories about people falling down wells when the narrative is resolved by a successful rescue. For example a news story about a bay who was rescued after 58 hours trapped in a well in 1987 was famous enough to be revisited by the Mail Online in 2017 in an article about 'baby Jessica' from the 'miracle rescue' 30 years on.
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