The Sun Success Or Failure Essay

The Sun : Success Or Failure Essay, Research Paper

The Sun daily newspaper is a success! It may not be every ones idea of a success; in fact to many The Sun is a disaster. This essay will explore the differences between these two views of what is the United Kingdoms largest circulation newspaper. It will reach into the past to discover its roots and follow its growth to the present day as Britain.s and possibly the Western worlds largest circulation of a Nation daily newspaper How national newspapers like the Sun .fit. into the large media conglomerates and the restraints and freedoms encountered and enjoyed in an expanding world of media technology Whether this technology has created a fourth estate and as James Curran and Jean Seaton would have it .Power without Responsibility.. (2) Finally it will address the future of newspapers as we approach the 21st century

The first object of the media, any media is to attract an audience. In this the Sun has certainly succeeded six days a week month in month out it has attracted that audience in large numbers. It was not always so! The Sun was built on the ashes, or rather the remains of the Old Daily Herald. The International Publishing Company, which had acquired Oldham.s shares in the paper in 1961, gained a controlling interest by persuading the Trade Union Council to part with their substantial holding in 1964. (3)

Up to this time The Daily Herald with its links with labour, and part ownership by the T.U.C. was the sole remaining outright supporter of the labour party. It radical views attracted a mainly working class readership which compared to its capitalist rivals had a larger circulation than most, and certainly a more loyal one. However despite the fact that The Daily Herald had grown to be the daily newspaper with the largest circulation in the Western World Throughout it existence, with the exception of an all to short period whilst newsprint was rationed during the Second World War, it has struggled to survive. In the post war period after the rationing of newsprint ceased the input of advertising determined whether a publication continued remained financially viable The Daily with a readership drawn mainly from the working class fail to attract sufficient advertising that would, together with the cover price to make it financially viable. The elite press such as the Daily Telegraph could survive and prosper on a readership of just over a million, thanks to the advertising revenue it attracted because of its prosperous readership The Daily Herald with a marginally larger circulation was continually appealing to its readers for support, as well as going cap in hand to the T.U.C. to enable it to stay afloat.

To gain access to the advertising so desperately needed to survive I.P.C decided to close the Herald and re-launch it under a new banner The Sun. The concept was to aim for a new readership of the upwardly mobile social radical, whilst retaining the loyalty of the Old Daily Herald readership. The pre-launch research suggested that The Sun should have gone down market and launch as a popular working class daily tabloid. The Daily Mirror also owned by I.P.C already occupied this space in the market . Despite the research, and almost as if it was a death wish the launch went ahead with an almost impossible task. That of attracting two radical wings of the left, who may have held similar political beliefs and objectives, but held widely different views as to the means of obtaining them.

The new middle of the road Sun failed to attract the young upwardly mobile radical socialist. It fail to please the old Daily Herald readers, who did not transfer their loyalty to this .neither one nor the other hybrid. Most importantly of all the advertisers failed to come knocking on the door. In 1969 the Sun was all but given to Mr Rupert Murdoch

Ironically The Sun under Rupert Murdoch proprietorship moved down market. As a popular working class daily newspaper. No longer restricted with a Daily Mirror bed mate, and by using this rival as an aiming mark, the new skilled staff of Murdoch.s Sun set out to chase and eventually overtake the Mirror to become Britain.s favourite daily newspaper

This was achieved by attracting a working class audience in general, and the working class male in particularly by, what has come to be known as .dumming down.. The political coverage was drastically reduced; entertainment and sports coverage increased along with human interest reports featuring stars of stage, screen and television. The cream on the cake was an imput of soft porn, with the page three girl the decoration on top. Whilst this revitalising was taking place, through its editorial columns the political views expressed was shifted away from left and centre values to support hard right policies. The current Conservative views of the time were rigorously followed, expounding the materialistic and authoritarian views expressed by supporters of a capitalist system. Selection and structure highlighted nationalist and iclonistic rhetoric, peaking during the Thacherite era, particular during the Falklands conflict with its controversial .GOTCHA. headline, following the sinking of the Argentinean Cruiser Belgrano.

This wooing of a mass readership, by an appeal to the basic instincts of the working class male, successful in building The Sun. The disaster that is pointed to by critic of Murdoch, is