The Voice, founded in 1982, is the only British national black weekly newspaper operating in the United Kingdom. It is owned by GV Media Group Limited, and is aimed at the British African-Caribbean community. The paper is based in London and is published every Thursday.
The first issue of The Voice was printed to coincide with the Notting Hill Carnival in August 1982. Its cover price was 54 pence, and was only sold in London.
The Voice: social and historical
context
In 1981, the Brixton race riots shone
a spotlight on race relations in Britain.
The Voice emerged in 1982 partly as a
result of these riots – both due to the need to offer a voice and
representation to black Britons and also due to a business loan from Barclays
Bank. The bank was keen at the time to improve their reputation with the black
community due to investments in Apartheid South Africa.
Social context - The Battle for
Brixton documentary
The Voice analysis: production values
The Voice offers a strong contrast to Teen Vogue with significantly lower production values across its digital operations – website design, video content and social media. However, the growth of digital technology means that the Voice can effectively compete on the same playing field as Teen Vogue, albeit targeting a niche audience.
Watch this video on influential black women in business and compare it to Teen Vogue’s video content – similar in ideology but very different in production values (note the view count too):
The Voice offers a strong contrast to Teen Vogue with significantly lower production values across its digital operations – website design, video content and social media. However, the growth of digital technology means that the Voice can effectively compete on the same playing field as Teen Vogue, albeit targeting a niche audience.
Watch this video on influential black women in business and compare it to Teen Vogue’s video content – similar in ideology but very different in production values (note the view count too):
The Voice: representation
The Voice was launched to cater for the interests of British-born black people. 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, often-racist mainstream British media.
The Voice: industries
The Voice is owned by a Jamaican media organisation the Gleaner company and published in Britain by GV Media Group. It is a significant contrast to Teen Vogue and the international giant Conde Nast.
The Voice: case study blog tasks
Language and textual analysis
Homepage
1) What news website key conventions
can you find on the Voice homepage?
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram links
Photographs
Main story
Subscription option
2) How does the page design differ
from Teen Vogue?
Teen vogue is mostly just photographs of celebrities with minimal text and no main story or any trending news. There is no external social media links e.g facebook or twitter. The voice page design is a lot more conventional compared to that of Teen Vogue, which takes quite a visual approach to their home page, with plenty of images and article titles .
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?
home
sport
opinion
entertainment
lifestyle
faith
career
4) Look at the news stories in the
Voice. To what extent does the selection of news stories fit Galtung and Ruge’s
News Values theory? (See image below)
(News–values
and news–criteria, determine how much prominence a news story is given by a
media outlet and explain the attention it is given by the audience.)
5) How is narrative used to encourage
audience engagement with the Voice? Apply narrative theories (e.g. Todorov
equilibrium or Barthes’ enigma codes) and make specific reference to stories on
the homepage.
Lifestyle section
1) What are the items in the sub-menu
bar for the Lifestyle section and what does this suggest about the Voice
audience?
Apprenticeship
Multimedia
Dating
Jobs
These suggests many things about the audience of the voice, some of which being that a portion of the readers are single, unemployed and use different types of media for news, e.g. internet/videos.
Apprenticeship
Multimedia
Dating
Jobs
These suggests many things about the audience of the voice, some of which being that a portion of the readers are single, unemployed and use different types of media for news, e.g. internet/videos.
2) What are the main stories in the
Lifestyle section currently?
Honourees aplenty at 2019 Black Magic Awards
Impossible Foods launches plant-based ‘pork’ product
New year resolutions: just how do they tell the stories of our lives?
Jidenna credits DJ Abrantee for spearheading afrobeats’ global takeover
Honourees aplenty at 2019 Black Magic Awards
Impossible Foods launches plant-based ‘pork’ product
New year resolutions: just how do they tell the stories of our lives?
Jidenna credits DJ Abrantee for spearheading afrobeats’ global takeover
3) How does the Lifestyle section of
the Voice differ from Teen Vogue?
Ariel Winter Wore Head-to-Toe Neon to the Golden Globes 2020 After Party
‘Euphoria’ Cast Had a Fashionable Reunion at the Golden Globes 2020 After Party
Emily Ratajkowski Reflects on Sexuality and Growing Up
Comparing Black Women to Animals Is a Residue of Chattel Slavery
Ariel Winter Wore Head-to-Toe Neon to the Golden Globes 2020 After Party
‘Euphoria’ Cast Had a Fashionable Reunion at the Golden Globes 2020 After Party
Emily Ratajkowski Reflects on Sexuality and Growing Up
Comparing Black Women to Animals Is a Residue of Chattel Slavery
4) Do the sections and stories in the
Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British
media?
The different sections in the voice arguably challenge the black stereotypes due to the fact that the stories that black people are represented in are that of which are very positive, and celebrate the success of black people. Some of which includes: Nottingham Based Restaurant Launches Cooking Book.
The different sections in the voice arguably challenge the black stereotypes due to the fact that the stories that black people are represented in are that of which are very positive, and celebrate the success of black people. Some of which includes: Nottingham Based Restaurant Launches Cooking Book.
Feature focus
1) Read this Voice Lifestyle feature on the first black photographer to shoot
the cover of Vogue magazine. Why would this appeal to the
Voice’s audience?
Readers of The Voice would find some level of appeal in this article due to the fact that it not only is focused on a pioneering black women in a cut throat industy, it focuses largley on her success.
Readers of The Voice would find some level of appeal in this article due to the fact that it not only is focused on a pioneering black women in a cut throat industy, it focuses largley on her success.
2) Read/watch this Lifestyle interview with The Hate U Give star Amandla Stenberg. How does the interview reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?
What do you notice about the production values of the interview?
The values and ideologies of the voice are a lot more sophisticated compared to that of other websites, which may have asked more light-hearted questions, whereas with the voice it is perhaps more looking into Stenberg's personal life and talking about her acting and what kinds of groups she's apart of etc.
The values and ideologies of the voice are a lot more sophisticated compared to that of other websites, which may have asked more light-hearted questions, whereas with the voice it is perhaps more looking into Stenberg's personal life and talking about her acting and what kinds of groups she's apart of etc.
3) Read this feature on ‘buying black’ for Black Friday. What does this feature tell you about the values and ideologies behind
the Voice? Does this viewpoint reflect Gilroy’s theory of the ‘Black Atlantic’
identity?
This tells us that The Voice wants the black community to thrive and an example of this is the promotion of black owned businesses, essentially.
This tells us that The Voice wants the black community to thrive and an example of this is the promotion of black owned businesses, essentially.
Audience
1) Who do you think is the target
audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics.
Age:30-45
Psycographics:Struggler/Reformer
Age:30-45
Psycographics:Struggler/Reformer
2) What audience pleasures are
provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz
(Uses & Gratifications).
3) Give examples of content from the
website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.
The motoring section of the websites top header bar suggests a more male oriented audience, or even an audience that are in that field of work, either way this example clearly shows a more specialised audience.
On top of this, there is the lifestyle section, whereby it displays quite happy, religion related stories, again displaying the kind of audience they're looking for.
The motoring section of the websites top header bar suggests a more male oriented audience, or even an audience that are in that field of work, either way this example clearly shows a more specialised audience.
On top of this, there is the lifestyle section, whereby it displays quite happy, religion related stories, again displaying the kind of audience they're looking for.
4) Studying the themes of politics,
history and racism that feature in some of the Voice’s content, why might this
resonate with the Voice’s British target audience?
This may be becuase thhey are older, they may have experienced some sort of racism or even seen some of the history before them when they were younger, creating a sense to learn more about it in articles, on websitres like The Voice.
This may be becuase thhey are older, they may have experienced some sort of racism or even seen some of the history before them when they were younger, creating a sense to learn more about it in articles, on websitres like The Voice.
5) 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 are positioned to feel like the industries are progressing to be more fair, allowing an equal chance for everyone, an example being the hair stylist being inducted into the hair hall of fame.
The audience are positioned to feel like the industries are progressing to be more fair, allowing an equal chance for everyone, an example being the hair stylist being inducted into the hair hall of fame.
2) Are representations in the Voice
an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying?
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?
Different audiences would see Black Britons as facing challenges and barriers which are needed to overcome, which paint them in some ways, in a positive light.
Different audiences would see Black Britons as facing challenges and barriers which are needed to overcome, which paint them in some ways, in a positive light.
5) Do you notice any other
interesting representations in the Voice website? For example, representations
or people, places or groups (e.g. gender, age, Britishness, other countries
etc.)
Industries
1) Read this Guardian report on the death of the original founder of the Voice. What does this tell you about the original values and ideologies
behind the Voice brand?
This article tells us that he was a pioneer of sorts, who was willing to take risks in order to advance the world, made clear through how he set up the voice in the 70s'
This article tells us that he was a pioneer of sorts, who was willing to take risks in order to advance the world, made clear through how he set up the voice in the 70s'
2) Read this history of the Voice’s rivals and the struggles the Voice faced
back in 2001. What issues raised in the article
are still relevant today?
That of sales of newspapers declining, causing them to go out of business, as well as buyouts
That of sales of newspapers declining, causing them to go out of business, as well as buyouts
3) The Voice is now published by GV
Media Group, a subsidiary of the Jamaican Gleaner company. What other media
brands do the Gleaner company own and why might they be interested in owning
the Voice? You'll need to research this using Google/Wikipedia.
Hospitality Jamaica and The Weekend Star due to the work they do for the black community and in Jamaica, which is suited to The Voice as it is a mainly African/Carribean aimed website.
Hospitality Jamaica and The Weekend Star due to the work they do for the black community and in Jamaica, which is suited to The Voice as it is a mainly African/Carribean aimed website.
4) How does the Voice website make
money?
Newspaper sales, Youtube ad Revenue and ads on their website.
Newspaper sales, Youtube ad Revenue and ads on their website.
5) What adverts or promotions can you
find on the Voice website? Are the adverts based on the user’s ‘cookies’ or
fixed adverts? What do these adverts tell you about the level of technology and
sophistication of the Voice’s website?
The Voice Jobs, The Voice Dating and Windrush 70. These ads were all still , boring and non animated, suggesting a low amount of technological investment in the website.
The Voice Jobs, The Voice Dating and Windrush 70. These ads were all still , boring and non animated, suggesting a low amount of technological investment in the website.
6) Is there an element of public
service to the Voice’s role in British media or is it simply a vehicle to make
profit?
There is definitely some aspect of being a public service as it can be said that black britons are under or misrepresented in the media, therefore having a newspaper that accurately does so can be seen as a public service.
There is definitely some aspect of being a public service as it can be said that black britons are under or misrepresented in the media, therefore having a newspaper that accurately does so can be seen as a public service.
7) What examples of technological
convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content?
The entire multimediasection which displays stories in the form of videos for people who prefer to watch than read . There is also a slideshow which advertises the stories with their own respected story.
The entire multimediasection which displays stories in the form of videos for people who prefer to watch than read . There is also a slideshow which advertises the stories with their own respected story.
8) How has the growth of digital
distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like
the Voice?
The internet has allowed for niche products to be reached by a wider market, meaning that now anyone around the world can view the stories on The Voice website, rather than just the newspaper.
The internet has allowed for niche products to be reached by a wider market, meaning that now anyone around the world can view the stories on The Voice website, rather than just the newspaper.
9) Analyse the Voice’s Twitter feed.
How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied (such as
MailOnline or Teen Vogue)? Are there examples of ‘clickbait’ or does the Voice
have a different feel?
There aren't really any examples of clickbait on the Voice's twitter, as really it is only being used to advertise the stories on the website.
There aren't really any examples of clickbait on the Voice's twitter, as really it is only being used to advertise the stories on the website.
10) Study a selection of videos from
the Voice’s YouTube channel. How does this content differ from Teen Vogue? What
are the production values of their video content?
The Teen Vogue youtube videos have more of a production value and are clearly backed up by investments of some sorts. Whereas the voice's videos are likley to be substaintially lower budget, compared to Teen Vogue.
The Teen Vogue youtube videos have more of a production value and are clearly backed up by investments of some sorts. Whereas the voice's videos are likley to be substaintially lower budget, compared to Teen Vogue.
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