OSP: THE VOICE CSP

Homepage

Go to the Voice homepage and answer the following:

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

- News stories centred on black people.

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?

- News, Sport, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Opinion, Faith.

- They offer a wide range of different areas viewers may be interested in.

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. 

- "Chris Kaba's Family vow to fight on after officer requited of his murder" - this might appeal to the Voice readers since they are a black audience and since its is not uncommon for black people to have injustice with the police they might want to see the outcome of this particular story to see how it plays out.

- "Charlton Athletic to host their Red, White and Black Day with pride"  - this might appeal to the Voice readers since Black people have always faced inequality and discrimination so this event would help stop that so they might want to know more about the who organised this event and might want to attend.

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.

"Chris Kaba's Family vow to fight on after officer requited of his murder"

- Enigma Code: when reading the article, audiences may question why the officer shot Kaba even though he was unarmed instead of waiting for him to get out of the vehicle.

 

- Action Code: “Kaba was already cornered by police cars, trying to reverse from the gun pointed at him." This quote can let the audience indicate what may happen next, whether he may get shot or not.

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?

- Them menu bar features different topics that you may want to read about such as food and fashion. This shows that the Voice is trying to be inclusive of all topics and to not limit their magazine to only about Black achievements.

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

- "From a bad breed to the big stage"

- "Amity community launches free patty day"

- "Put SONA on our radar"

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

- One of the stories reinforces the idea of black people being troublesome. This is shown through the "From a bad breed to the big stage" story. This is because there is typically a representation of black people being troublesome so "bad breed" reinforces that.

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

- The "Put SONA on our radar" story reflects The Voice's ideologies and values as it talks about social justice.

- The "From a bad breed to the big stage" story reflects The Voice's ideologies and values as it suggests a journey of overcoming negative labels to achieve success.

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?

- It talks about aiming to give the opportunity to thrive and flourish in an environment where authenticity and talent is appreciated and celebrated.

- It also talks about tokenism which isn't a well known term but can now help people become aware and educated.

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

- It aims to help black people and businesses succeed and to raise awareness about the unfairness and unjust black businesses may own.

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?

- The comments show that they strongly disagree with what Doreen Lawrence had said.

- This could link to Gilroy's work on the "Black Atlantic" identity as it features aspects of racial inequality and how black people supposedly were at a disadvantage when being rescued from the fire.

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 aimed at celebrating Black-owned businesses and giving the Black community a financial and emotional boost, after the anger at racial inequality in the UK evident by the protests that followed Floyd's death.

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

- They were promoted by well known celebrities.

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?  

- Black Pound Day encourages people to spend money on Black owned business since they often face barriers when it comes to these things.

- Black Pound Day is also about being aware of the culture and not just about spending money but displaying diversity and creativity of the businesses.

Audience

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

- Black British people.

- People interested in social justice.

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

- Personal Identity: Cultural Validation, Representation, black excellence.

- Surveillance: black stories being shown on their website.

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

- Black History Month : they focus on celebrating black individuals achievements.

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 black British audience have historically been excluded politically so their articles about political issues allow readers to engage with stories that relate to them.

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’?

- "Kaz Kamwi taking haircare up to a new level". This reflects Clay Shirky's work as it shows modern audiences turning into creators e.g. launching a new hair care brand.

Representations

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

- By representing art, goods or services produced by creators it can drive audiences to be involved in a  monetary way.

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

- Not really because The Voice is about celebrating black excellence and for expression whereas double consciousness is about marginalised communities who face discrimination. 

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?

- "Sande: I know who I am now". 

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

- By their being Black British representations in The Voice, it affirms their experiences allowing them to feel seen and empowered whereas some may see it as celebrating diversity.

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.)

- Story of the voice of Moana 2 and cultural value behind it.

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 original values and ideologies behind The Voice was to create a voice for Black Brits to allow for representation and to be seen and heard.

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? 

- The issue of black anger against racism is still an issue today as people still face unjust therefore still feeling the anger.

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.

- The Jamaica Gleaner

- The Observer (Jamaica)

- They may want to own The Voice as they want to expand digitally and adapt to changing media landscape. 

4) How does the Voice website make money?

- Adverts, Sales commissions, royalties

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 publishing a book about 40 years of Black British lives.

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?

- It serves cultural relevance by celebrating Black achievements in various fields, including arts, politics, and sport.

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

- Video Interviews and podcasts.

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

- It allows for their products to remain on the internet for longer allowing for audiences to view it for a long amount of time.

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

-  The Voice is more about promoting awareness about issues whereas Taylor Swift's is about promoting her image and work.

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

- Some videos don't have the best quality whether it's because they couldn't afford it or they wanted to focus on the message rather than appearance.