The Times - Audience and Industries

 Blog tasks: The Times case study - Audience and Industries


Audience

1) What are the main audience demographics for The Times newspaper? Add as much detail as you can.

The Times target audience is older with over half the audience aged 55+. In terms of social class, they are overwhelmingly in the ABC1 social classes - 62% from social group AB. This means Times readers are likely to be professionals, managers or company owners. They are likely to be in the succeeder psychographic group.

2) What aspects of the front page of the Times CSP edition suggest that their readers are likely to be more educated and interested in hard news rather than entertainment?

They have long paragraphs and a lot of writing, meaning it's for people who like to read and they use formal vocabulary such as "exodus" showing they target an educated audience.

3) Times readers are mostly over 55 years old. Why is this and how is this reflected or challenged by the design and news stories in the CSP pages we have studied?  

This is reflected through the formality or the newspaper as well as the long pieces of writing, which elders enjoy reading. The Times newspaper is themed blue, which is a rich but boring color, compared to the bright colors shown in the daily mirror. 

4) What are the main audience pleasures offered by the Times? Use Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory.

surveillance- The main reason we read newspapers is to find out what is going on in the world around us.  News, different opinions, information about current affairs. This includes British politics and Britain's place in world politics and economics (patriotic). The Times focuses on hard news that we expect from a broadsheet newspaper - politics, economics, world news etc.

5) Why might a reader enjoy this CSP edition of the Times? Use Blumler & Katz Uses and Gratifications theory categories and write as detailed an analysis as you can.

The Times has evolved over recent years to contain more stories that provide entertainment or diversion. It also targets people with disposable income and an interest in culture/status and how they are perceived. Also, the upper middle class audience will enjoy it as they may be part of the conservative party and support them at all costs.


Industries

1) Who owns the Times? Write the name of the company AND the billionaire who owns the company.

The Times is owned by News UK (a subsidiary of News Corporation). News Corporation is a conglomerate mostly owned by Rupert Murdoch, an Australian media mogul with many business interests worldwide such as the Fox network in the USA.  

2) What was the The Times's circulation in 2019? How many papers did the Times used to sell back in the 1990s? You can find all of these statistics in the blogpost above.

The Times circulation in 2019 was 376,000, down 12% in a year and much lower than the high point of over 800,000 in the 1990s.

3) How has the Times reacted to the decline in print sales and the growth of the internet? Watch the two videos above for more on this.

In response to the decline in print newspapers, the Times has:
  • Moved towards a multi-platform landscape. This means that it publishes and synchronises across its print, desktop and mobile platforms. Some newspapers (e.g. The Times) have a paywall on their online content. The Times has had a hard paywall since 2010, but it often experiments with making content available for free. Last summer, it began free registrations and has been adding around 30,000 a week.
  • Created a social media strategy in collaboration with the digital team to drive growth of their social media profiles. 

4) What does IPSO stand for and what is IPSO's job?

Independent press standards organisation- its job is to:
  • Regulate 1500 print and 1100 online titles.
  • Listen to complaints about press behaviour.
  • Help with unwanted press attention.
  • Advise publication editors .
  • Provide information to the public.
  • Provide a journalist whistleblowing hotline.

5) Why do some people want stronger regulation of British newspapers? Look at the information above on newspaper regulation to find out more on this.

Some people argue that the newspaper industry cannot be trusted to regulate itself using IPSO and that stronger, statutory regulation should be introduced instead. This would also implement the recommendations of the Leveson Inquiry which followed the phone-hacking scandal. 

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