The Voice CSP: case study blog tasks

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 The Voice CSP: case study blog tasks


Language and contexts

Homepage

Go to the Voice homepage and answer the following:

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

The homepage includes a top menu, a search icon, adverts and small thumbnail images for stories.



2) 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?

Site mixes hard news with lifestyle+ entertainment. Appeals to many readers. Most section focus on interesting stories to individuals, showing the voice prioritising positive soft news.

3) Look at the news stories on the Voice homepage. Pick two stories and explain why they might appeal to the Voice's target audience. 

The article about spiderman attracts possibly younger readers? And also a very wide "mainstreamer" audience who is interested in general celebrity/hollywood/pop culture.

The Eubank article celebrates black success which again touches on the voice's conventions

4) 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 and how they encourage audiences to click through to them.

Links to Barthes’ idea of enigma codes, as the audience is encouraged to click for answers (The mysterious thumbnails and headlines, drawing attention). Helps readers identify themselves personally.  


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?

Promotes positive stories about black people and gives attention to local community achievements, such as adoption and business success.

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

The main stories are financial advice, news about the average person, interviews and general world events.

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

It challenges stereotypes since in British news and media black people are usually presented as criminals, or in general coloured people as well, while The Voice presents people of colour in a positive light.

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

The black business initiative for raising awareness about black business managers shows again the values of the voice as they are actively being a voice for the black community. The adoption story I previously mentioned also shows how the voice wants to paint black people in a positive light.

Feature focus

1) Read this Voice opinion piece on black representation in the tech industry. How does this piece reflect the values and ideologies of The Voice?

The article discusses tokenism, where companies pretend to promote diversity without real action. The Voice takes the opposite approach and rejects tokenism by sharing authentic perspectives from black British people. On the other hand, it struggles with online engagement and relies on donations, which may limit its influence..

2) Read this feature on The Black Pound campaign. How does this piece reflect the values and ideologies of The Voice?

Reflects values and ideologies of the voice as Black Pound campaign sheds light on black businesses who had previously not had their recognition. 13% of black businesses are twice more likely to wait for up to two years for a business loan compared to non black business owners.

3) 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?

Readers responded negatively overall, with a few positively agreeing with Doreen Lawrence, the overall reception with the readers was that they vehemently disagreed with her.

This reflects the voice's values of speaking up for minorities, as Doreen is trying to say that the victim's race were a factor of why they had not been attended to quickly enough. 

Link to Black Atlantic: She insists that race cannot be ignored which links to Gilroy's work on how race exists within dominant narratives





Social and cultural contexts - 40 Year of Black British Lives

Read this extract from The Voice: 40 Years of Black British Lives on rapper Swiss creating Black Pound Day (you'll need your Greenford Google login to access the document). Answer the following questions:

1) What is Black Pound Day?

Black pound day is an initiative for celebrating black owned businesses after George Floyds murder, giving backto the community financially.

2) How did Black Pound Day utilise social media to generate coverage and support? 

Garnered support via celebrities and twitter

3) How do events such as Black Pound Day and the Powerlist Black Excellence Awards link to wider social, cultural and economic contexts regarding power in British society?

A platform and voice given to blacks to be celebrated like white people in higher class settings  


Audience

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

Reformers.


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

Surveillance, Identity.

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

The Voice : "Britain’s only black newspaper." Its smaller digital audience shows that it focuses on a specific community rather than the general public.



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?

Presented in ways that respect and uplift the black community, offering a more positive and balanced view

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’?

Yes, the voice includes opinions and competition of the readers, showing audience takes part in the production, links to Shirky's idea of "end of audience" and the beginning of "mass amateurisation" where people are now contributing instead of only consuming media.


Representations

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

Meant to support and relate to the positive images of black poeple, going against negative portrayals in other media.

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

No, since the voice shows confidence and takes pride in the black peoples culture instead of conflicts



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?

Presents proud and successful identity based on community and positivity


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

Readers can notice positive representations of black people, which makes contrast with negative mainstream ideas

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.)

Voice pushes against how mainstream news links black people to crime and social issues, presents black people in a good light


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? 

The voice always aimed to give black british people a space to be heard and represented well

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? 

Racism and marginalisation continue to affect black communities

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 or look at this Guardian article when Gleaner first acquired The Voice.

Owned by GV media, part of the Jaimaican Gleaner company who also publishes other positive niche media, possibly due to sharing similar values.


4) How does the Voice website make money?

Adverts and donations

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?

Adverts fixed rather personal, Links are inactive, ads promote the voice, limited funding and web design

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?

Partly serves public via including opinions area encouraging interaction and discussion

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

Subscription feature shows the voice moved to digital publishing, showing digital convergence

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

Online platforms have made it easier for smaller publications like The Voice to reach specific communities that want real representation.


9) Analyse The Voice’s Twitter feed. How does this contrast with other Twitter feeds you have studied (such as Taylor Swift)? Are there examples of ‘clickbait’ or does the Voice have a different feel?

More natural, less "coorprate" less polished. Sensationalist headlines to help it compete

10) Study a selection of videos from The Voice’s YouTube channel. What are the production values of their video content?

Extremely simple and low budget, basic lighting, editing. Highlights a lack of funds and technical rescources in the department



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