The Voice - case study

 

The Voice

Media Factsheet #229 - Applying Post-Colonial Theory to The Voice Online

1) What does the factsheet suggest regarding how The Voice is constructed from a media language perspective?

The Voice is conventional in the formal register of writing in the use of standard grammar, punctuation and sentence structure. It avoids overly long descriptive sentences

and favours short, forceful sentences.

2) Suggest a possible demographic and psychographic breakdown for The Voice's audience.

The target demographic of the Voice is displayed in its tagline: ‘Britain’s Black newspaper’.

3) How can we apply Stuart Hall's audience theories to The Voice?

Stuart Hall’s theory of audience reception is where media is encoded with an intended meaning by the producers, which is then decoded by an audience who may or may not accept the intended meaning. A preferred reading of The Voice is likely to rely on the audience having the direct experience of being a British black person in order to fully

decode the meaning of the content.

4) What is an anti-essentialist perspective and how does this link to Paul Gilroy? 

It is the theory that there are potential worlds in which an individual possesses the property and possible worlds in which it does not for each individual and property. It relates to Paul Gilroy's concept of diasporic culture and identity, in which an individual's identity is distributed around the world.

5) Choose three of the key terms from Gilroy's post-colonial theory  and apply them to The Voice as a media product.

6) How does The Voice link to Gilroy's Black Atlantic theory?

Because it appeals to Black British fans from all over the world, The Voice is tied to Gilroy's Blank Atlantic concept.

7) What news stories are highlighted as examples of the way the media reports differently depending on the race or ethnicity of the victims?

The new stories that have been highlighted are all Windrush-related. This is due to the fact that it demonstrates how different firms might choose to provide news on various themes.

8) How does the factsheet summarise and apply wider media theories The Voice on the final page?

Language and textual analysis

Homepage

1) Does The Voice homepage tend to use news or magazine website conventions? Give examples.

The homepage features a menu bar across the top of the page with various topics and articles divided between them, as well as social media tags alongside this so readers can stay up to date with news on various platforms, as well as a trending news bar, similar to those found in many tabloid newspapers.

2) How does the homepage design differ from Teen Vogue? 

The Voice website contrasts from the Teen Vogue website in that the Teen Vogue website is more appealing to the eye since the layout is well-designed, but the Voice website is packed and appears to be less expensive.

3) What are some of the items in the top menu bar and what does this tell you about the content, values and ideologies of the Voice?

The website's faith section suggests that the majority of its users are religious, while the Black British voices section symbolises and illustrates that the website is working to provide Black British people a voice.

4) Pick two stories and explain why they might appeal to the Voice's target audience. 

The story about an MP who supports an anti-racism movement on the site helps to build an audience since it appeals to those who are interested in politics as well as Black culture.

5) How is narrative used to encourage audience engagement with the Voice? Apply narrative theories and make specific reference to stories on the homepage and how they encourage audiences to click through to them.

Most of the articles begin by describing a disequilibrium that is likely the source of a bad occurrence, and then go on to describe how things are being mended or modified to achieve a re-equilibrium or new equilibrium.

Lifestyle section

1) What are the items in the sub-menu bar for the Lifestyle section and what does this suggest about the target audience for The Voice?

. Relationships

. Travel

. Beauty

2) What are the main stories in the Lifestyle section currently?

The major headlines on the voice website's lifestyle section right now are Britain's first "black introvert week" and the treachery of Mark Grey Windrush.

3) How does the Lifestyle section of the Voice differ from Teen Vogue?

The Voice's Lifestyle department not only provides a greater range of material, looking at many other facets of lifestyle, but it is also more localised in its approach, again focusing on black people in the United Kingdom, but still aimed at a big audience within the United Kingdom.

4) Do the sections and stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British media?

The stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge the British media's assumptions about black people by showcasing some of the positive elements of being black.

5) Choose two stories featured in the Lifestyle section – how do they reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?

Two stories in the lifestyle section represent the voice's ideals and ideologies: "Making Black Love Last" and "US chicken brand Popeyes to open first UK outlet." This is crucial because it shows that the voice is aiming to cater to the black community in Britain by publishing items that may be helpful to them, as well as entertaining its readers by offering tales about everyday events.

Feature focus

1) How does this piece reflect the values and ideologies of The Voice?

Because it is addressing the challenges of black people in the technology area, the voice opinion post on black representation in the tech business reflects the voice's ideology and ideals.

2) Why might this feature appeal to readers of The Voice?

Michaela Coel's support for Oxfam's second-hand campaign may appeal to the voice's reader since it shows that someone (black) is doing something good.

3) How might this story reflect the Voice’s values and ideologies?Can you link this to Gilroy’s work on the ‘Black Atlantic’ identity?

It emphasises the possibility that race played a role in the response to the Fire. This would appeal to the Black British population since it might be related to racism, a hot problem that needs to be discussed and eradicated.

Audience

1) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz.

Personal Identity and Surveillance.

2) Give examples of sections or content from the website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.

Because it is an odd feature to include in a news website, the faith section on the voice website reveals that the website is aimed at a niche audience. It appeals to a tiny audience who visit the voice because they are predominantly Christian.

3) Can you find any examples of content on the Voice website created or driven by the audience or citizen journalism? How does this reflect Clay Shirky’s work on the ‘end of audience’ and the era of ‘mass amateurisation’?

Representations

1) How is the audience positioned to respond to representations in the Voice website?

The audience is positioned to an opportunity to see the world through their own eyes

rather than through the prism of white, mainstream British media.

2) Are representations in the Voice an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying to this text?

Applying Gilroy’s work on “double consciousness”, it could be argued that The Voice was launched to give black audiences an opportunity to see the world through their own eyes rather than through the prism of white, mainstream British media.

3) What kind of black British identity is promoted on the Voice website? Can you find any examples of Gilroy’s “liquidity of culture” or “unruly multiculturalism” here?

4) Applying Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representations, how might different audiences interpret the representations of black Britons in the Voice?

5) Do you notice any other interesting representations in the Voice website? For example, representations or people, places or groups.

All the representations are of black people.

Industries

1) What does this tell you about the original values and ideologies behind the Voice brand? 

"I decided deliberately to have a newspaper that targeted people who were born here and had spent most of their lives here,"

2) What issues raised in the article are still relevant today? 

Racism and injustice are issues which are still relevant today.

3) What other media brands do the Gleaner company own and why might they be interested in owning the Voice?

Gleaner owns 

4) How does the Voice website make money?

5) Is there an element of public service to the Voice’s role in British media or is it simply a vehicle to make profit?

6) How has the growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice?

7) How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied?

8) How does this content differ from Teen Vogue? What are the production values of their video content?