Homepage
Go to the Voice homepage and answer the following:
1) What news website key conventions can you find on the Voice homepage?
Menu section
Adverts
Social media links
Search button
2) How does the page design differ from Teen Vogue?
This is much more compact with a lot more in a small area. In order words, Teen vogue shows a much more minimalistic side.
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?
News / sports / lifestyle / entertainment / faith / opinion / video. Most of these point out as a regular modern magazine but the faith and opinion section my suggest that the values of the Voice where they really value peoples voices and their thoughts. Faith may be hinting at a religious approach as well.
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.
Fundraiser for National Caribbean Monument Charity- Suggests the support for native Caribbeans.
University lecturer makes list of top 50 inspirational black women- This article features gender representation aswell as black success in a way that isn't usually praised
Mental health organisation partners with Haringey Council to support families affected by crime- The importance of mental health amongst the black community.
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.
Narrative is used in The Voice by using enigma codes such as "This black-owned swimming cap brand is the product you need " which entices audiences in a black British society.
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?
fashion & beauty, food, health & well-being, relationships and travel
The Voice audience is that of working to middle class.
2) What are the main stories in the Lifestyle section currently?
Stories are powerful – Just ask former child soldier Michel Chikwanine
Honourees aplenty at 2019 Black Magic Awards
3) How does the Lifestyle section of the Voice differ from Teen Vogue?
The Voice focuses on niche lifestyle content that caters specifically to Black Britons whereas Teen Vogue is more all-rounded.
4) Do the sections and stories in the Voice Lifestyle section challenge or reinforce black stereotypes in British media?
The sections and stories challenge stereotypes as they praise black people as opposed to ridiculing them.
5) Choose three stories featured in the Lifestyle section – how do they reflect the values and ideologies of the Voice?
Love Island star lands £1 million fashion deal
Naomi Campbell: Driving Diversity In Fashion
Rihanna Launches Fenty In Paris
These stories reflect as they talk about successful Black people in the beauty and fashion industry.
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?
The story reflects the ideologies as the article focuses on a respected black woman.
The comments suggest a disappointment of Doreen Lawerence as she is said to abuse her title as a baroness.
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?
The feature talks about successful black people but the production values are low and of an amateur level.
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?
They change the representation by showing young successful people in the community as opposed to the stereotype of them being dangerous in the mainstream media.
Audience
1) Who do you think is the target audience for the Voice website? Consider demographics and psychographics.
Psychographics: Reformer, succeeder and an aspirer.
C2 (skilled manual workers. Plumbers, builders, etc) and C1 (lower middle class. Office supervisors, junior managers, nurses, clerical staff).
2) What audience pleasures are provided by the Voice website? Apply media theory here such as Blumler and Katz (Uses & Gratifications).
They offer surveillance through their news article and lifestyle tips etc.. aswell as personal identities of people in the BAME community.
3) Give examples of content from the website that tells you this is aimed at a specialised or niche audience.
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?
The Voice's content offers the allowance of black people to be themselves without being judged like they may have been in the past such as the Brixton Riots.
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’?
Football: Should England walk off over racist abuse?"
This gives the opportunity for audiences to vote for themselves for topics in the mainstream media.
Clay Shirky would suggest that this is an example of audiences becoming their own publishers- End of Audience.
Representations
1) How is the audience positioned to respond to representations in the Voice website?
They are positioned to support and praise The Voice for their efforts and representations.
2) Are representations in the Voice an example of Gilroy’s concept of “double consciousness” NOT applying? Why?
The voice subverts "double consciousness" by making the articles personal to a black British audience.
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?
The identity of an African or Carribean person living in Britain.
The adverts offer topics that link to people form these certain countries.
4) Applying Stuart Hall’s constructivist approach to representations, how might different audiences interpret the representations of black Britons in the Voice?
Dominant- The support and praise of black Britons.
Negotiated- A positive representation of Black people that may be too superficial.
Oppositional- Viewing the website as 'black supremacist'
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.)
The representations of all ages in the content are very universal to every age and situation to a black Briton.
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?
They value the voice of Black people as they don't get enough coverage.
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?
Being equal with everyone else/ The print sales fall/ The fall of circulating
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.
Voice UK, The Star, Go-Jamaica are all also owned by Gleaner company. This may be they are all magazines that publish Black media coverage.
4) How does the Voice website make money? What is your opinion of the 'asking for donations' approach that The Voice is now using?
They make their money through being sponsored by different companies for adverts to put on the website. Their current way of asking for money makes them seem a bit desperate which may damage some of their reputation.
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 such as the ultimate events guide advert is fixed adverts. Being a fixed advert seems outdated unlike the user cookies based advertising that most modern companies now use.
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 that this is simply a vehicle to make profit but there is an element of PSB in there.
7) What examples of technological convergence can you find on the Voice website – e.g. video or audio content?
One example of digital convergence is the use of social media links that are put onto the website.
8) How has the growth of digital distribution through the internet changed the potential for niche products like the Voice?
Even though the digital distribution has changed over the years, people have yet to spend more time conversing with niche media products as seen by the struggles of The Voices struggles.
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?
With the focus on specifically Black British news makes their tweets unique and niche compared to other mainstream twitter posts we see.
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 difference in quality between the two are very visible. This could be because of the different budgeting numbers both sides have. Teen Vogue being a more mass magazine with higher budgets can afford to spend more into the video aspects of their online presence, whereas the voice as a niche magazine with small budgets can only do so much to not risk losing money and being unable to survive.
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