Newspapers: The i case study

Newspapers: The i case study

The i is our second newspaper CSP and provides a compelling case study of a print product actually launched in the digital age.

As with the Daily Mail, we need to study the newspaper from the perspective of audience and industries, linking what we've already learned about the newspaper industry and journalism. Similarly, we need to look at the i newspaper website inews.co.uk just as we studied MailOnline.

Notes from the lesson

The i was launched in October 2010 as the first quality UK daily newspaper to appear in 25 years.

Its major selling point was price and convenience: just 20p at launch (now 60p) and designed to be read quickly, it was aimed at young, ‘time-poor’, middle class commuters who wanted a better quality paper than Metro but didn’t have time for the traditional titles.

The newspaper was originally linked to the Independent, a liberal daily paper that has since stopped its print edition to go digital-only.

The i: key principles and circulation

The i was launched with five key principles:

1. High quality content
2. Pleasing design
3. Balanced comment/opinion
4. Manageable layout
5. Affordable price

It targeted an initial circulation of 150,000 and was an immediate success. Today, its circulation is 244,000 (post-Independent’s print closure) and the paper continues to make a profit.

The i: values and ideologies
The i was designed to create a bitesize version of the Independent, a newspaper that launched in 1986 with the banner “Free from party political bias, free from proprietorial influence”. 

This perspective remains the objective of the i newspaper today – but it is generally seen as significantly more liberal and left-wing than newspapers like the Daily Mail.

The i: ownership
The i was launched by Alexander Lebedev, a Russian billionaire who owns the Independent and Evening Standard.

In 2016 it was bought by regional publisher Johnston Press for £24 million. Johnston Press publishes titles such as the Yorkshire Post and the Scotsman alongside around 200 other UK regional titles.


As of October 2018, Johnston Press reported significant financial difficulties and put itself up for sale – likely to lead to the break-up of the company and a new owner for the i. Watch this space!

Audience 

The i readership key details (according to YouGov profiles):

• Around 61% of readers aged 18-39
• Male 58% - Female 42%
• Around 60% social class ABC1
• Significantly less disposable income than Daily Mail readers
• Likely to work in civil society and charity, media and publishing or community and social care sectors

The i: Friday 21 September 

Our chosen edition of the i to use as our CSP - just like the Daily Mail - is Friday 21 September. Consider the following in your analysis:

Media language
Page design, font, text, images, conventions, hard news/soft news, news values.

Narrative
Selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper to engage an audience?

Representations
Are any stereotypes reinforced? Is the audience positioned to respond to the story in a certain way?



The i case study: Blog tasks

Work through the following tasks to complete your case study on the i and specifically the 21 September edition of the newspaper. 

The i analysis: Friday 21 September

Use your notes from the lesson to answer the following questions.

1) What are the front page stories on the 21 September edition of the i?
The main story is on the Salzburg meeting with theresa may. The 'i' covers 

it as a 'disaster' as did most of the British press except the Daily Mail.

2) From your analysis in class, what other stories and topics are covered in this edition of the i? You should address the following pages:

• Page 2:The News Matrix: A short summary of news stories of many different topics
• Page 3:Newsnight presenter Evan Davis will take over the Radio 4 PM programme
• Pages 5:Tigers, chimps and rhinos receiving aid from UK taxpayer
• Page 6-7:Salzburg coverage
  Westminster terrorist mother apologises for the attack.
• Pages 11: Meghan Markle coverage with her mum Students warned about misleading university marketing campaigns
• Page 15: Amazon device lets you switch off the lights
  Vodafone demonstration of how 5G allows us to make potential holographic phone calls
  Wolf Alice wins Mercury Prize
• Page 16: Voices section featuring:
  Opinion Matrix of other newspapers
  Life in Brief: paying homage to a translator of more than 100 books has died.
• Page 18: Featuring audience views on stories - used by social media and email
• Page 45*:Review of former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger's book on the change of news and journalism in the last 20 years.

3) Media language: Write an analysis of the construction of the i front page: Page design, font, text, images, conventions, hard news/soft news, news values etc.
The page design of the I newspaper is like a website and the page has stories  to give a good impression to audiences so that they read further. There are both types of hard news and soft news and give audiences a source of surveillance. 

4) Narrative: How is narrative used in this edition of the i? Look at the selection of news: is there an ongoing narrative? How is narrative created by the paper to engage an audience?

The newspaper uses the story of Theresa May on the first page as it gives the audience a ongoing narrative. We are positioned to see Theresa May in a certain way.

5) Representations: Are any stereotypes reinforced? Is the audience positioned to respond to the stories in a certain way? What contrasts can you find with the Daily Mail here?

Add additional notes from class here for future revision. Remember, you will need to write in detail about specific stories from this edition of the i and how these stories are constructed to appeal to the i readership.

*Page 45 of this edition of the i contains a review of former Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger's book on the changes in news and journalism in the last 20 years.


The i: introductory reading

Look at the following articles to give you the background on the i newspaper:

BBC News website: Independent launches new 20p newspaper called i
Campaign magazine: Independent to launch first quality daily newspaper for 25 years
BBC News website: Johnston Press to buy i newspaper for £24m



The i launch campaign and success

Read this Marketing Society case study on the launch of the i newspaper and answer the following questions:

1) What was the research that led to the launch of the i newspaper?It showed that it had a strong desire for quality and was under the new ownership of the Lebedevs.

2) How did i target readers and lapsed readers of quality newspapers?they set out the page professionally and gave the audience high quality news stories

3) What was the target audience and why was this attractive to advertisers?ABC1 was the target audience and this was attractive to audiences because it was designed to grow in the market and not take readers off other things.

4) What were the statistics that proved the i newspaper was a success - and that it hadn't 'cannibalised' (taken readers from) other newspapers?By the end of 2011 i was the fastest growing daliy with a circulation of 170,436 and little cannibalization of The Independent. No other national newspaper reported a significant decline, proving that i has genuinely grown the newspaper market.

5) What was the background to the i newspaper's launch?The newspaper market has been experiencing a decline both on a national and global scale for over twenty years. In the UK alone, the market slumped 21% between 2007 and 2009.

6) What were the objectives for the i newspaper launch?

• Reach a circulation figure of 150,000 

• Avoid cannibalisation of The Independent (182,412 at i launch (source: ABC Avg.Net UK circulation October 2010) 

• Reach a combined Independent and i average circulation figure of 340,000 • Increase ad revenue growth for the business and achieve majority ad volume in the quality marketplace

7) The Independent saw an opportunity in the print newspaper market. How did potential i readers view other newspapers and what product did they want?

The Independent identified three potential types of readers: 

1) lapsed readers of qualities 

2) new newspaper readers 

3) people ‘upgrading’ from the Metro 

8) What were the five key principles of the i?1) High-quality content
2) Aesthetically pleasing design
3) Balanced comment/opinion
4) Manageable pagination
5) Affordable price

9) How was the newspaper launched?
The launch was supported by press ads and vouchers/sampling in sister paper The Evening Standard and 60 tube stations and train stations nationwide. 

10) List three statistics quoted in the final section 'Achievements' to demonstrate the success of the i newspaper's launch.

• On launch day 'i' was stocked in 37,000 retail outlets nationally.
• 'i' has also achieved success through daily interaction with readers and now has a Facebook following of over 18,000 and a Twitter following over 34,000 i’s was the fastest growing newspaper for 2011.
• At the end of phase one, the title had a circulation of 60,000 and following the boost in activity during the second phase of the marketing campaign, the circulation rose to 167,944 by the end of February.

The i turns five

Read this collection of quotes and messages in the Independent to celebrate the i newspaper's fifth birthday. Answer the following questions:

1) Read Nick Clegg's message ("thoughtful, independent-minded and liberal (with a small 'l')...") What does this tell us about the values and ideologies behind the i newspaper?it tells audiences that the 'i' newspaper holds a left wing approach and is concerned with liberalism. This newspaper has a diversity of opinion and holds pluralistic values.

2) Why might one of the readers suggest that switching from the Daily Mail to the i has meant their "blood pressure has returned to normal"?Audiences may consider this as being that opinions have become balanced after reading both newspapers. 

3) Choose three other messages from readers. What do they suggest about the audience pleasures provided by the i newspaper - why do readers love it?

BORIS JOHNSON, MAYOR OF LONDON

A success story in modern newspapers deserves a birthday drink.

NIGEL FARAGE, UKIP LEADER

Congratulations to everyone at i. It’s  a great read and  that rarest of things,  a thoughtful,  independent-minded  and liberal (with a small ‘l’) newspaper that takes politics and current affairs seriously. Getting  to five years is no mean feat for a new paper in what was  supposed to be a  declining market – long may your  success continue.

NICK CLEGG, DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER 2010-2015

Congratulations to i on reaching its 5th birthday. The newspaper has been innovative, informative and entertaining in its first five years and I look forward to its continuing success in the years to come.

4) Scroll down towards the bottom of the article. What are the campaigns that i have run since their launch in 2010?

• instagram, Apple’s iPad and Uber all launch.
• David Cameron becomes the 75th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• The cruise ship MS Queen Elizabeth launches, capable of carrying up to 2,092 passengers.

5) What do these campaigns tell you about the values and ideologies behind the i newspaper? Do they also tell you something about the readership of the i?The readership is highly educated and has a variety of opinions this could also tell us that they are wealthy and middle class.

6) What did the critics say when the paper was first launched? Why did many think the paper would fail?Critics believed that this newspaper would not be able to establish itself well enough in the market because they thought it wouldnt appeal to a wide audience

7) Choose three quotes from the critics' reviews and discuss whether these viewpoints remain valid today.

SUE WHYTE

It’s my type of paper, straight to the point with news, without pages and pages of sh*te!

 i think this view will hold up today as the i still tries to give its readers the content they want

THOMAS ANTHONY CARROLL

Please cease and desist the use of sloppy Americanisms. Cheers –  and keep on being top daily.

STEVE HILL, LEEDS

To the Editor and all staff: i has given me a voice. I feel I matter. No other newspaper comes close.

other newspapers and news outlets have now began to integrate their audience into their work giving them a voice.

8) Look at the bestselling front page stories from 2011-2015. What do these tell us about the i's values and ideologies - and what do we learn about i readers? 
The best selling front-page stories tell us that the ideologies that the newspaper holds are quite socialistic and liberal-minded.

Johnston Press background and research

Read this history of Johnston Press and the news of its impending break-up from veteran Guardian media correspondent Roy Greenslade.

1) How did the company begin?

2) What did Johnston Press do in the 1980s and 1990s?He accepted that expansion was the way to go, but his financial advisers could see that his heart was not really in it, and he also lacked the know-how.

3) List some of the regional newspapers owned by Johnston Press in its history (you may need to research this separately beyond Greenslade's article).

• Arbroath Herald.
• Banbury Guardian.
• Batley & Birstall News

4) What happened to Johnston Press in the 2000s to the present day?

5) How does Greenslade see the future of Johnston Press - and what might happen to the i newspaper?


Johnston Press buys the i

Read this article from the website Hold The Front Page on the announcement of the Johnston Press purchase of the i newspaper - and the closure of the Independent. Answer the following questions:

1) How much did regional published Johnston Press buy the i for?£24m

2) Who did Johnston Press buy the i from?
ESI Media, which is controlled by Evgeny Lebedev.
3) What did the sale signal for the Independent newspaper?

4) What reasons were provided by Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield for buying the i?
Ashley:  “This is a transformational acquisition for Johnston Press and an important step towards delivering our long-term strategy."

5) The comments below the article are overwhelmingly negative. Choose three comments and explain how they criticise Johnston Press and the purchase of the i newspaper.



inews.co.uk - the i newspaper website


Go to inews.co.uk and analyse the stories currently featured:

1) What are the top five stories? Are they examples of soft news or hard news?
The Brexit meaningful vote is a pivitol moment in UK history but here’s what could happen next
NHS commissioners to be fined for patients left waiting more than a year for vital care

RSPCA rescues hundreds of horses as shortage of demand renders them worthless

Sturgeon refers herself to watchdog over Salmond meetings – but denies she has broken ministerial code
Anna Soubry, Brexit, and the rise of antagonistic politics

this is mostly hard news 

2) How is the homepage designed? Do you see similarities with the print edition?
Yes, it is similar to the print design which is also set out like a website. 

3) Are there examples of ‘clickbait’? What are they?Father left paralysed after falling down the stairs while sleepwalking

4) To what extent do the stories you have found on inews.co.uk reflect the values and ideologies of the i newspaper?These stories reflect moralist views and give a diversity of opinion.

5) What similarities and differences are there between MailOnline and the i newspaper website?
The similarities are that both newspapers generate their own point of view aesthetically and provide audiences with a diverse range of news containing both hard an soft news.

Now read this Business Insider feature on the launch of the i newspaper website (which coincided with the purchase of the newspaper by Johnston Press). Answer the following questions:

1) The interview with Johnston Press CEO Ashley Highfield features the claim there will be "no clickbait". Does your analysis of inews.co.uk support this claim?No, it does not support this claim as the i news does include an examples of click bait to draw attention to this newspaper.
2) He states the website will "stick very closely to the brand values of the i". What are these?

• quality
•  concise daily digest
•  updated continually

3) How does he claim inews.co.uk will differ from online rival Buzzfeed?"What we are going to try to do is stick very closely to the brand values of the i: a quality, concise daily digest, updated continually but at any one moment, when you go to the site, the idea is the matrix will give you everything you need to know to be informed on the day. I think that possibly flows better to the zeitgeist than the acres of never-ending content"

4) What audience does Highfield want the website to target?An older audience. 
5) Why is the millennial audience less attractive? 

They all do not have much money due to the student loans.

Additional reading

In order to develop a comprehensive understanding of all things i, you may want to read the following articles.

Read this editorial from the Independent (original parent paper for the i) regarding their royal coverage. How does this approach differ to the Daily Mail?

Read this BBC News article on the end of the Independent's print edition. Look at the analysis and graphs - what do these suggest about newspapers' future online?



Once again, there is a lot of work here - easily 3-4+ hours reading and writing. You will be given some lesson time to start this but most of this case study work will need to be completed at home - due date specified by your exam class teacher. 

Don't forget you also need to keep posting your weekly stories from MailOnline and the i newspaper website too - and we'll be continuing this after half-term (details to follow).