The Voice: case study blog tasks

Go to the Voice homepage and answer the following:

1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage?

The key conventions I could find are as follows:
-Social media links
-Menu bar
-Polls
-Articles
-Search bar

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

The page seems a lot more outdated in comparison to Teen Vogue, in addition it's noticeable that it had a much lower budget. The website itself is very dull especially with it's colour scheme, in comparison to Teen Vogues more modern look.

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 menu bar covers many items such as sports, news, entertainment, faith, lifestyle, careers and education. This shows the diverse rang of content that The Voice produce for their audience. 

4) Look at the news stories on The Voice homepage. Choose three stories and discuss how they have presented the news from an angle or perspective that reflects The Voice's role as a voice for black Britons.

One of the stories is "Tottenham Hotspur embrace Black History Month" which shows how important it is to Spurs as a club to stand up against racism and support their black players along with many others. They are attempting to celebrate the huge achievements of black footballers that seem to get undermined. Another story is how the power of the black vote could decide 100 seats at the general election which shows how the black community are coming together to dictate where we go in the political world.

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.

I believe they use Todorov's theory of equilibrium to encourage audience engagement as the cover every aspect of a particular news story and continue to keep their audience updated as the story progresses, making sure we don't miss out on any details.

Lifestyle section

Now analyse the Lifestyle section of the Voice and answer the following:

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

The items are fashion & beauty, food, health & wellbeing, travel and relationships, which show The Voice audience are very family centred and community based. Additionally the seem to be a much older audience compared to Teen Vogue.

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

The current main stories are:
"Honourees aplenty at 2019 Black Magic Awards"
"Black male grooming brand secures investment to support its growth"
"How to podcast and influence people"

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

It differs as Teen Vogue aims for more of a younger audience so they refer to things that the younger generations will be more interested whereas The Voice focuses on many sub-categories and the Lifestyle section is aimed towards an older audience.

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

I think the sections are challenging the negative black stereotypes the media are trying to push out and portray black people as, due to the fact that they are constantly congratulating and celebrating the success of black people in the media.

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

The three stories I think reflect the Voice are "I think it's important that every woman is represented", "Honourees aplenty at 2019 Black Magic Awards" and "Black male grooming brand secures investment to support its growth". I picked these as the show how the want to reinforce the representational ideals The Voice has and how they want to celebrate the success of black people and also women in the media. Showing ow fr black people have come in regards to the media.

Feature focus

1) Read this Voice news story on Grenfell tower and Doreen Lawrence. How might this story reflect the Voice’s values and ideologies? What do the comments below suggest about how readers responded to the article? Can you link this to Gilroy’s work on the ‘Black Atlantic’ identity?

Doreen Lawrence believes Grenfell wasn't regarded as very important because the majority of victims from it were black people, a comment The Voice agrees with. Doreen is explaining how if white people were in that position it would be regarded as more of a problem and immediate action would take place. But, these comments from her were taken differently by many, in a controversial way. This links to Gilroys theory of black diasporic identity as it is the feeling of never feeling you belong or are accepted in western societies. 

2) Read/watch this Lifestyle feature about the Black Magic Awards. How do the article and video content reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice? What do you notice about the production values of the video interviews?

I noticed that the production values seem to be rather low budget which shows a low level of professionalism and the low budget The Voice have. However the article very much reflects celebratory actions towards black people the Voice intends.

3) Read this feature about the Young, Gifted and Black Awards. What does this story suggest regarding how The Voice is trying to change the representation of black people in British media? 

It shows how The Voice are attempting to make a change as to how black people are represented in the media, as they should be shown in a more positive and congratulatory light. We also see how The Voice wants to inspire the youth to achieve greatness.

Audience

1) Who do you think is the target audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics.

-Black Caribbeans
-Black Britons
-17-40
-Working class
-Psychographics- strugglers, reformers

2) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz (Uses & Gratifications).

Diversion- as they want to bring the audience in to a different place where they feel free to express themselves without worrying about the opinions of others
Surveillance- The Voice offers news and stories on what is occurring within the black community.
Personal Identity- Audience may feel a connection to what is being reported on as it may hit close to home.

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

One example of content that tells us this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience is the "Ocean race to promote St Lucia as  yachting destination", showing they specialise in covering news on black people, or people of Caribbean background.

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?

People are bound to have extremely strong views and opinions on such things as it may be critical to them as a person or they may know someone that has been affected by things that have occurred over the years.

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’?

There is an article that focuses on Rebel Wilson being accused of blocking many black women on Twitter which supports Clay Shirky's end of audience theory as a large group of twitter users came together to make this known and solve the problem themselves.

Representations

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

The audience are positioned to respond to the representations in a positive light, as they are able to see what it is like through the eyes of someone that is suffering.

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

I believe the representations in the Voice aren't applying due to the fact, the representations make sure to show black people they need to have the confidence and urgency to succeed.

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?

An example of"liquidity of culture" is a news story on a person living in Jamaica showing the promotion of black people around the world. The Voice aims to give a voice to those in the black community wherever they are.

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

The preferred reading would be that The Voice aims to highlight the success of black people and show the struggles they have to constantly come up against just to live their lives. The Negotiated reading would be that there is a huge lack of political news as they just want to primarily focus on making a change.

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.)

There is a representation of women being portrayed as more professional and independent. The youth are shown to be more progressive and creative, making a difference in their society.

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 shows the original values and ideologies of The Voice was to push up Black Britons to a new level, giving them a voice that needs to be heard as they haven't always felt a sense of belonging or freedom.

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? 

One of the problems that is still relevant to this day is that The Voice lost many readers and circulation had dropped by a large margin of 20% in 2001 as The Voice has decided not to publicly shown their subscriber count on YT. The Voice's sales are rather poor as well. A lot of the time The Voice also fails to cover stories that can bring in a younger audience.

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.

The Gleaner company currently owns 'The Weekly Gleaner' and 'The Weekend Star'. They both offer coverage on important issues occurring within the Caribbean and United Kingdom when it comes to black people. The Weekend Star was first published in 1951 and offers reviews of Jamaican music, dance, theatre and culture.

4) How does the Voice website make money? What is your opinion of the 'asking for donations' approach that The Voice is now using?

The Voice makes their money from online advertisements as they sell space on their website to promoters.

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?

On the website The Voice offers adverts that aren't generally fixed, instead being very random. This shows how low budget The Voice is and how they don't have a good flow of readers.

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?

I believe there's an element of public service to The Voice's role in British media as the community is able to have their say as polls are used to express their views and opinions. Giving black people a way to voice their ideologies. However there is of course a profit making side of it as a major aim for any company is to make profits. Without it they would have to shut down.

7) What examples of technological convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content?

The Voice are shown to have their own YouTube channel, as well as a range of video interviews on different topics.

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

Due to the fact that people are able to access content and make it much more easier, it raises the potential of The Voice gaining more recognition as audiences will push out more things. Anybody and everybody is able to become an influencer as it is 'the end of audience'

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?

The Voice's twitter seems to be a lot more image based, instead of using a lot of text. In addition there seems to be a bit of clickbait use which is similar to Teen Vogue.

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 Voice's YT channel is very low production and low budget as well as edited by people that aren't too professional in this kind of business. In addition the viewership in comparison to Teen Vogue is very low as we see Teen Vogue reaching much higher views than that of The Voice.