The Voice CSP: case study blog tasks

 Language and contexts

Homepage

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

• Social media links

• 'The Voice' title

• Today's date

• Top menu bar with links to: Home, Sport, Opinion, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Faith

• Images

• Articles

• Search bar

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?

The items on the top menu bar include: Home, Sport, Opinion, Entertainment, Lifestyle, Faith. 

These topics suggest that The Voice is well rounded and they make sure they cover a wide range of topics. The fact that 'Sport' is second on the list suggests that this is something The Voice cares about a lot and reports a lot of news around it. Furthermore, the way they report news stories is from a black perspective and the section 'Black parent-child experiences of racism affect whole family’s mental health, new study' highlights their ideologies and values regarding the black community.

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. 

Some of their stories have an element of surprise and most have an element of familiarity to their Black-British target audience. However, their stories aren't updated frequently so lack immediacy.

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.

The Voice uses Todorov's theory of equilibrium to engage their audience. For example, they will cover both the disequilibrium and equilibrium of a recurring story. AN EAST London mother has expressed her shock and anger after armed Metropolitan Police officers knocked her 13 year old son off his bike and pointed their firearms at him after wrongly suspecting that the toy gun he was playing with was a real weapon.

Lifestyle section

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 in the sub-menu are:

• Health

• Food

• Fostering & adoption

• Female

• Travel

• Relationships

• Competitions

These items show that the voice's audience is very family-centric and into lifestyle things. They also appear to be more on the older side.

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

• ASTON UNIVERSITY’S Vice-Chancellor has told Birmingham Tech Week that diversity is the region’s ‘superpower’, and it must be used to drive forward tech innovation.

• Access a range of health and wellbeing services through your GP Practice

• October is black history month and a time to draw strength from our history as we plan our futures. We hope our health series with the NHS helps to inform and empower our community to make informed health choices.

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

I believe that they challenge black stereotypes in the British media. There are so many stories of black successful people on The Voice even though black people are usually stereotypes to be unsuccessful. For example, the founder of Beats and Bands, is giving you all a chance to come and see what the hype is for yourself.

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

• Beats and Bands, where ‘Litness meets Fitness’- shows how dedicated they are to their community and how they always give back and supports those around them.

• 'Collaboration' is the region's superpowers - shows that breakthrough ideas rely on diversity, inclusion and collaboration.

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?

Embracing a bold, Black British future in the tech industry means giving our community the opportunity to thrive and flourish in an environment where authenticity and talent is appreciated and celebrated. 

We, the Black British community continue to shape the culture and inspire innovation. It is important to understand that diversity and inclusion go hand in hand – you cannot have one without the other.

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

Black Pound Day has successfully elevated the visibility of more than 1,500 British Black-owned businesses through its comprehensive directory and marketplace, including those participating in the Wray Forward program.

“Since launching three years ago, we have exponentially raised the awareness of spending with Black businesses, and our two premium retail locations allow thousands of conscious and ethical consumers to access a unique and broad range of underrepresented brands.

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?

 Lady Lawrence said: “Had that been a block full of white people in there, they would have done everything to get them out as fast as possible and make sure that they do what they needed to do.”

She added: “Nobody wanted to mention the word ‘race’ in the whole thing. [Because] when I saw the residents who lived in that block, to me it was under no doubt around the racism that existed at that time.”

''I have listened to “baroness”Lawrence interview and I can not believe the comments she made, how dare she, she is a disgrace and doesn’t deserve the baroness title, to say that the firefighters were racist and if the poor people who were in that tower had been white more would have been done is absolutely disgusting, those firefighters risk their own lives everyday they get called out, sometimes it must cross their minds “wonder if I’ll go home today “ but I bet it never crosses their minds “ if they are people of colour I don’t want to save them “ that woman should be made to public apologise to all firefighters and stripped of her title, she is using what happened which was awful to her son at every opportunity and now she is going too far, racism should go both ways but no it doesn’t it’s so unfair that she can get away with this, if it was the other way round there would be an uproar''

Social and cultural contexts - 40 Year of Black British Lives

1) What is Black Pound Day?

An event aimed at celebrating Black-owned businesses and giving the Black community a financial and emotional boost, after the 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? 

The inaugural Black Pound Day attracted support from the high profile celebrities and quickly became the top-trending topic on Twitter in the Uk.

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?  

One of the most important manifestations of this is the Powerlist magazine and the annual Powerlist Black Excellence Awards. The Powerlist was established in 2007 when Michael Eboda, a former Editorial Director of Ethnic Media Group, left to start his own company, Powerful Media. Initiflly billed as a role model guide for young people, The Powerlist published a list of the UK's 100 most influential men and women of African, African Caribbean and African American heritage. Using his contacts in government Eboda managed to secure then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown for the inaugural launch, a feat that was to set the bar for the publication going forward. The following year, the Powerlist was launched at 10 Downing Street. At that time, Black people outside the realms of sport and entertainment were rarely given any recognition. Men and women such as Damon Buffini, Tom Ilube, Ric Lewis, Karen Blackett, Ken Olisa and Jacky Wright, all of whom have been hugely successful and influential in their respective sectors, were barely known until the Powerlist spotlighted them as number one on the list. The headline from The Voice's report on the 2020 Powerl-ist - 'We have the power' - in its November 2019 edition illustrated why so many in the community point to the Powerlist Black Excellence Awards as an inspirational event.

Audience

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

• Black-Britons

• Black-Caribbean

• Older (30-40 year olds)

• Working class

• Psychographics- strugglers

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

• Surveillance- news on the black community in Britain and other countries

• Personal identity- can relate to the people they report about

• Diversion- lots of room for entertainment: sports, etc.

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

• The Black British Voices (BBV) survey, the largest study into social attitudes in the UK’s Black community, also found more respondents saying they were ‘spiritual’ than ‘religious.’

• A BRITISH historian has called for William Cuffay, the son of a freed slave from St Kitts, who played a key role in the struggle for democracy in Britain, to be honoured with a statue in Parliament Square.

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?

Applying Gilroy's theory of black diasporic identity and the idea that people have been 'scattered', we can say that the Black people living in Britain feel this way. There is this idea of 'liquidity of culture', where Black Britains are both British but still hold values and traditions from their original culture. Despite being born and raised in Britain, some still face prejudice and are asked 'why don't you just go home?'. The Voice's content will, therefore, resonate with them because they understand the impacts of racism and are a part of that history.

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’?

An article on Rebel Wilson being accused of blocking black women on twitter is a prime example of Clay Shirky's 'end of audience' theory. The twitter users took to themselves to address and solve the issue.

Representations

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

The audience are positioned to respond positively. The Voice presents its audience with the opportunity to see the world through their own eyes rather than through the prism of white, often racist, mainstream British media.

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

Yes, the Voice presents its articles and news specifically through the eyes of black people. Therefore, they are seeing the world through their own eyes for once.

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 Voice seems to capitalise on the fact that the majority of its readership/audience would originate from another country - particularly places in Africa/the Caribbean. This is highlighted through the use of banner advertisements promoting sending money to other countries. This directly relates to Gilroy's theory about "liquidity of culture" as it emphasises the sense of displacement that some Black Britons may feel as their families are likely to still be in their countries of origin despite them being in Britain - their identity has come from travelling to multiple countries rather than it solely being based on where they originate from.

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 audiences interpret the representations of black Britons on the voice positively and realise that this representation of black people is the true reality, not the negative representations that major media platforms show concerning black people.

However, the oppositional reading would be that audiences see the way that The Voice represents black Britons as a cover up for the 'truth'. They have been bombarded with negative sterotypes regarding black people for years and they might see The Voice as a joke.

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.)

Gender

• Females are highlighted in a positive way - portrayed as professional individuals attempting to become involved in a variety of career paths.

Age

• Portraying the black youth as creative individuals attempting to make a difference in their community rather than the typically negative portrayal of young black males (aggressive,violent etc).

Health

• Discusses sexual health, general health issues, diet/lifestyle related content on things that are usually not covered in as much detail.

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? 

Born in Jamaica, McCalla trained as an accountant at Kingston College, moved to London in the 1970s and started working on leftwing newspaper the East End News, where he helped edit a double-page spread called the Voice aimed at black readers.

He had the idea of expanding the column into a weekly title for black Britons and in 1982 founded the Voice newspaper.

The paper and the mini publishing empire that grew up around it quickly came to be regarded as a pillar of the black community in Britain and made McCalla a millionaire.

"I decided deliberately to have a newspaper that targeted people who were born here and had spent most of their lives here," said McCalla in a rare TV interview in 1992.

"In doing so I had obviously captured a niche market, a market of people who had never had a voice before."

The Voice, dubbed "the black Sun", has never shied away from controversy, building up a reputation for campaigning against racism and injustice.

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 Voice's early sales were poor, but it was buoyed by job adverts from the newly aware London boroughs, which were willing to pour in money to satisfy their consciences, regardless of the response. Sales eventually rose, and by the start of the 1990s the Voice had its circulation officially audited at 45,000 - a figure which was proudly printed on the front page each week above the masthead. Nothing, it seemed, could stop the inexorable rise of the Voice - not even a challenge from me, its former assistant editor, when I launched a competitor, Black Briton, in 1991.

Unable to break the Voice's stranglehold on advertising, Black Briton folded after a year and by December 1993, Voice sales reached 51,318. But a few months later, the sales figure mysteriously disappeared from the front page, and observers began to realise something was going wrong. Sales began to slump and by the end of 1996 when another rival, the New Nation, was launched, circulation had dropped by 20%.

Despite a shaky beginning, which caused the Nation to be sold on after less than a year to a local newspaper group, it slowly turned the corner. It joined a group with three other ethnic-minority newspapers, giving it strength in numbers; its owners were bought out by the giant Trinity-Mirror; and it is now widely regarded as the country's best-quality black paper. And as if to confirm the Voice's decline it decided not to have its sales figures audited last year, having seen a drop to 30,000 in 1999.

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.

• Youthlink

• Western Focus

• The Flair Magazine

• The Financial Gleaner

• The Weekly Gleaner (UK)

4) How does the Voice website make money?

Through advertisements - they sell space on their website to promoters who need the advertising space.

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?

They are typically fixed adverts. This shows that the Voice has quite a basic level of technology and that compared to most modern websites, the Voice is a lot less sophisticated. The fact that they don't use the consumer data to create specific/personalised advertisements suggests that the Voice are unable to operate at a technology level that high/they do not have the funds to do so.

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 think the Voice was originally designed as a public service tool - a means of giving those in the black community a platform to express themselves and be represented through (dispelling this concept of double consciousness).

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

The interviews offered with different influencers.

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

I think that it has increased the potential outreach for products like the Voice. I think this is because people are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of gaining an insight on multiple perspectives, and because they can access the content easier now it makes it easier for niche products like the Voice to receive more recognition.

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's twitter feed has a lot more clickbait compared to the twitter feed for Zendaya.

• Does have a lot less text in the actual tweets - very image/video based.

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

• Production values are of a lower quality 

• More simply shot/edited

• They receive a fewer views (some videos have less than 100 views).

Paul Gilroy - blog tasks

Paul Gilroy - blog tasks

1) How does Gilroy suggest racial identities are constructed?

Are historically constructed – formed by colonialization, slavery, nationalist philosophies and consumer capitalism.

2) What does Gilroy suggest regarding the causes and history of racism?

Gilroy is saying that racism isn’t caused by race, racism causes race. Racism is not caused by the clash of two or more races – racism is not a natural phenomenon. Instead, Gilroy states that racial difference and racial identities are the product of racial oppression. Racial identities are caused by historical conflicts that have brought different groups into opposition. That is not to say that there were no human differences before historical conflict between different groups; different human groups existed but their differences were not defined by ‘race’ lines.

3) What is ethnic absolutism and why is Gilroy opposed to it?

Ethnic absolutism is a line of thinking which sees humans are part of different ethnic compartments, with race as the basis of human differentiation. Gilroy is opposed to ethnic absolutism as it is counter to his argument that racism causes race. 

Ethnicity is the identity that is shared with others in your ethnic group; inherited from parents; passed down from generations before. Ethnicity is defined by: the national and/or religious holidays an individual observes; the language spoken; the religion followed; the food eaten.

Absolutism considers separate ethnic compartments are absolute which are invisible & tightly bonded together. Compromising your ethnic group would, for an ethnic absolutist, be against natural order and risk the future existence of that ethnic group. Gilroy identifies with a position that is opposite to ethnic absolutist compartments.

4) How does Gilroy view diasporic identity?

He considers a transatlantic diasporic identity, where groups across the Atlantic share cultural practices – a “single, complex unit” of black cultural practitioners as a result of a shared history of oppression and slavery. Gilroy sees black identities as a product of movement – the African diasporic identity is based on ROUTES taken throughout history, and not the ROOTS of origin. Gilroy sees this as a diaspora that cannot be reversed, unlike the classic position which offers the myth of returning to the place of origin. For Gilroy, the Black Atlantic diaspora is irreversible because the experience of slavery irrevocably changed the diasporic identity. It cannot be ‘rewound’ to a state of cultural purity and cannot return to Africa as the place of origin has changed – the place of origin doesn’t exist as it did before diaspora.

5) What did Gilroy suggest was the dominant representation of black Britons in the 1980s (when the Voice newspaper was first launched)?

At the time, the dominant representation of black Britons was as “external and estranged from the imagined community that is the nation.” As such, to accept the role of slavery into the cultural identities of Britain would be to challenge the negative stereotype of black Britons at the time, and reverse the “external and estranged” relationship with the nation.

6) Gilroy argues diaspora challenges national ideologies. What are some of the negative effects of this?

Negative experiences of exclusion, exposure to regressive ideologies and marginalisation will also create an identity which is then shared within the diasporic community and perhaps from the origin country.

7) Complete the first activity on page 3: How might diasporic communities use the media to stay connected to their cultural identity?

• Online Communities and Social Media: Diaspora members create online communities, forums, and social media groups to connect with others who share their cultural background. These platforms allow them to discuss their culture, share news from their home country, and organise cultural events and gatherings.

• News and Information: Diaspora communities often rely on media from their home country to stay informed about current events and developments. They may subscribe to foreign newspapers, watch TV channels from their homeland, or follow news websites to keep up to date.

• Transnational Media Outlets: Some diaspora communities establish their own media outlets, such as newspapers, radio stations, or TV channels, catering to their specific cultural needs.

8) Why does Gilroy suggest slavery is important in diasporic identity?

Gilroy also argues the importance of slavery to modernity and capitalism. The modern world was built upon a normalised view of slavery, particularly plantation slavery. Slavery was only rejected when it was revealed as incompatible with enlightened rationality and capitalist production. Gilroy argues that the figure of the black slave of ‘the Negro’ provided enlightened thinkers and philosophers an insight into concepts of property rights, consciousness and art.

These areas were often defined in relation to slavery or blackness; the philosopher Hegel theorised that the master/ slave relationship was ‘a modernising force in that it leads both master and servant first to self-consciousness and then to disillusion.’ Gilroy claims that the inside/outside position of black people enabled writers and thinkers to question the liberty offered to white North Americans and Europeans. It ‘forced a special clarity of vision – a dreadful objectivity’ (Du Bois) as a result of being black and living in the modern world with a sense of double consciousness.

9) How might representations in the media reinforce the idea of ‘double consciousness’ for black people in the UK or US?

The media will offer a range of representations for various groups. However, these are often limited from some groups more than others. The dominant representations of black males, primarily in the US, is either a rapper, criminal or gang member, or an athlete.

These representations then serve to reinforce the double consciousness of the black male, that he is not anything more than what he sees in the media.

10) Finally, complete the second activity on page 3: Watch the trailer for Hidden Figures and discuss how the film attempts to challenge ‘double consciousness’ and the stereotypical representation of black American women.

• Throughout the film, the characters confront and challenge racism and gender discrimination. They do not accept their mistreatment; instead, they fight for equal opportunities and recognition. This challenges the traditional portrayal of black women as submissive or powerless.

• "Hidden Figures" highlights the importance of representation in STEM fields. By showcasing these black women's contributions to science and technology, the film encourages more diverse participation in these fields and challenges the stereotype that scientists and engineers are predominantly white and male.

Baseline assessment learner response

Baseline assessment learner response

1) Type up your feedback in full

WWW- Good attempt to incorporate a range of theories

EBI- You focus too much on industry contexts and not enough on social/cultural - more consideration of masculinity and femininity needed.

2) Focusing on the unseen question 1, pick out three bullet points on the anticipated content and link each point to the three aspects of the question - denotation, connotation, myth.

 • the visual codes and composition of the image including framing

 • the denotation of the costume, props, colour and body language

 • the construction of myth through the use of signs – the lone, charismatic American

    hero, violent but thoughtful and reflective.

3) Look at the anticipated content for the 25-mark Magazines question. Pick out three points on GQ and three on The Gentlewoman that you think are particularly interesting for this question on social and cultural contexts.

GQ

• In contrast, students may point to the Francis Ford Coppola feature on The Godfather as

reinforcing a more traditional masculine interest in gangster films and violence. Similarly, the

Jonathan Bailey fashion suit certainly subverts traditional masculinity in many ways

(alongside the actor’s discussion of his sexuality in the interview) but it could also be argued

the costume of suits and jackets, the formal shoes, the serious expressions and the low-

angle shots to signify power actually reinforce some masculine stereotypes.

• In addition to a changing approach to masculinity, Welch also moved the magazine’s focus

away from traditional print and towards digital, social media and video content. From this

perspective, it may be less social and cultural changes towards gender and instead

generational differences in terms of the distribution and consumption of media products.

Younger audiences are not engaging with print products and therefore GQ has changed its

product to move with this technological change. Video content such as the Netflix

Heartstopper actors responding to key scenes or Bukayo Saka talking about his essential

lifestyle items is more about technological convergence than social or cultural change.

• GQ supports David Gauntlett’s view that the mass media is a force for change and is actively

liberalising society – he talks of a “slow and steady process of change and transformation”.

This would support the idea that as the mainstream media and corporations become more

‘woke’ that brands need to move with this social and cultural change.

The Gentlewoman

• CSP edition front cover features Scarlett Johansson but construction of cover certainly

reflects the changing social and cultural contexts both in terms of media language and

representation of celebrity. The cover lacks the typical conventions of a magazine cover – no

cover lines aside from the celebrity’s name – and the cover image is unusual. A tight close-

up with exaggerated make-up shot slightly from below offers an fresh and unusual

representation of a female Hollywood star.

• CSP edition features also suggest producers are responding to changing social and cultural

contexts. Ramla Ali boxing feature offers a working class woman from a minority group

talking about her strength and what it is like to be punched. Isabella Tree rewilding feature

reflects changes in attitudes towards the environment and climate change, a key interest for

younger demographics in particular. Finally, the Stella McCartney feature on a vegan

handbag also reflects social and cultural changes in society.

• In contrast, it could also be argued that these features do not represent a huge social and

cultural change and in fact offer more of a reflection of The Gentlewoman’s upper middle

class, wealthy typical reader. The Gentlewoman Club reinforces this, an exclusive series of

events where attendees are hand-picked by Penny Martin and take place in conjunction with

luxury brands. The pretension and privilege in the Gentlewoman is nothing new, just

repackaged for a new generation.

4) Write a full essay plan for the 25-mark Magazines question. The mark scheme contains plenty of ideas you can use here. Your plan should include notes/bullet points addressing the following:

• Introduction: one sentence answering the original question and laying out your argument clearly. 

GQ, and The Gentlewoman can provide insights into the extent to which media producers respond to changing social and cultural contexts to maintain audiences. These magazines target different audiences and have particular editorial approaches, which can show how they adapt to evolving societal and cultural trends.

• Paragraph 1 content: 

GQ - Will Welch and Jonathan Bailey feature

• Paragraph 2 content: 

GQ - Diversification

• Paragraph 3 content: 

The Gentlewoman - Penny Martin

• Paragraph 4 content: 

The Gentlewoman - The Gentlewoman's club

• Conclusion: sum up your argument a final time in one sentence

In conclusion, changing social and cultural understanding of identity is particularly relevant to lifestyle magazines and is an important aspect of targeting audiences.

5) Finally, identify three key skills/topics you want to work on in A Level Media this year before the final exams in June.

• feminist ideas
• masculinity theories
• social and cultural contexts

Zendaya: Audience and Industries blog tasks

Zendaya: Audience and Industries

Audience

Smart Water brand case study

1) What is the charity link to her Smart Water brand ambassador role and how does this link to the celebrity persona she has created?

Zendaya has been announced as the Global Brand Ambassador for smartwater. As ambassador for the premium water brand, Zendaya will appear in a series of new creative celebrating those defining ‘smart’ on their own terms, and support community water programmes that directly impact women.

She will work with the Global Water Challenge, a charity working to help achieve universal access to clean drinking water, by launching the smart solutions: global water challenge, inviting local organisations to apply for funding to GWC’s women for water action platform.

2) Read the analysis of Zendaya’s social media profile. What statistics support why she is described as ‘a high-ranking celebrity influencer’?

“We could not be more thrilled to have Zendaya join smartwater as the newest face of our brand,” said Matrona Filippou, Global Category President, Hydration, Sports, Tea & Coffee, The Coca-Cola Company. “A global icon and cultural force, Zendaya isn’t afraid to be true to herself, and that’s what makes her the perfect addition to the smartwater family.”

“I’m very excited to begin this new relationship with smartwater,” said Zendaya. “We all know how important it is to stay hydrated and smartwater is my go-to source no matter what I am doing throughout the day.”

3) What details are provided about Zendaya’s audience?

Drinks brand smartwater speaks to a 59% female audience across both Instagram and Twitter. Single or married, its followers are most typically 25-29, though its reach expands both younger and older. 

4) What psychographic groups would fit the profile for Zendaya’s audience in this case study?

Professionally-speaking, smartwater is followed by marketers, bloggers, fashion stylists, performers and company directors on Instagram, and marketers, social media specialists, PR specialists, bloggers, designers and real estate agents on Twitter. Looking at likes and interests, this group enjoy music, soft drinks, fast food, film and TV, clothing, dance, theme parks, coffee and sport. Zendaya appears in the list of high-ranking celebrity influences (alongside Selena Gomez, Bill Gates and Miley Cyrus), ranking in the top 10% of all Twitter accounts, with 25.4% share.

5) Why does the case study suggest Zendaya is a good fit for the Smart Water brand? 

Overall, Zendaya and smartwater are more or less aligned when it comes to age, gender and location demographics. It may be that the brand are hoping the star will raise its profile with younger consumers, as well as tapping into her 190m social reach and over £1m social media value. Zendaya also has well above average equity, appeal and awareness scores and is one of the biggest names on the planet right now. She is no stranger to brand partnerships, but this marks her first drinks collaboration and continues her philanthropic project work.

Social media data analysis

1) Pick out three notable statistics from the site.

185,328,761

Followers

3.43%

Engagement Rate

3.42%

Likes Rate

2) Scroll down through the data available. Who are Zendaya’s top mentions? 

@lancomeofficial

110%

@abdmstudio

110%

@bulgari

110%

3) How does Zendaya’s Instagram engagement rate of 3%+ compare with the average engagement rate for accounts with more than 100,000 followers? 

The engagements rate is at zero than on Instagram meaning she uses Instagram for her personal use.

Zendaya: audience questions and theories

1) Is Zendaya’s website and social media constructed to appeal to a particular gender or audience?

Zendaya posts glimpses into her personal life and shows her commitment to social justice, but most of her content is focused on promoting her film projects and partnerships with other brands. With tens of millions of followers across various social media platforms, Zendaya has quickly become a fashion icon.

Zendaya shares trailers and teasers for her film work to generate publicity and excitement for the productions. She posted this dramatic production still from Dune to Instagram and racked up over 5 million likes.

The YouTube video helps pitch the lavish musical to a younger target audience, but it also celebrates Zendaya’s acting and impressive acrobatic talents. By positioning the audience to admire her hard work and professionalism, Zendaya is boosting her star power and shaping her public identity. It is worth mentioning the single “Rewrite the Stars” went on to become a multi-platinum success in the American and UK markets.

Twitter is popular with its users because it spotlights breaking news and trending topics. Zendaya is taking advantage of the real-time updates to make the programme seem like a “live” event her audience cannot afford to miss.

I believe through all this her particular gender audience is targeting both men and women as this representation is typical of the unwavering confidence Zendaya encodes in her social media output. It will also encourage users to watch the epic story in the cinema and see her in action.

2) What opportunities are there for audience interaction in Zendaya’s online presence and how controlled are these? 

Feminist discourse has always addressed the imbalance of power between the traditional gender roles. We have already seen Zendaya’s determination to construct representations through her acting and modelling work which inspire and empower women to take control of their future and have their voices heard. She is very articulate when discussing her views on equality. In an interview with The Female Lead, she said “a feminist is someone who believes in the power of a woman the same way they believe in the power of anyone else”.

Zendaya also positions herself as an intersectional feminist seeking ways to address issues that affect women from all backgrounds regardless of their ethnicity, class, and sexuality. When she was featured as the cover star of Cosmopolitan’s July 2016 issue, she told the publication “It’s hard as a young person of a different ethnicity or background to look at the TV and not see anyone who looks like you. Representation is very important.”

3) How does Zendaya’s social media presence reflect Clay Shirky’s ‘End of Audience’ theories? 

In the traditional model of media consumption, audiences simply read the newspapers and watched television programmes produced by the large media outlets. Moving from the broadcast to broadband, social media has enabled audiences to be active participants and engage directly with the content creators. Clay Shirky argued this shift in consumption challenges the old power structures and offers new opportunities for individuals to shape the world.

We have already analysed the different ways Zendaya uses social media platforms to start conversations with her followers. But we have also seen how many of these posts are partnerships with luxury brands and promotional pieces for her acting work. Despite the huge increase in user-generated content and the mass amateurisation of production, the media conglomerates and global enterprises can still exercise their power through these social networks to reach their target audience.

4) What effects might Zendaya’s online presence have on audiences? Is it designed to influence the audience’s views on social or political issues or is this largely a vehicle to promote Zendaya’s work? 

Media Effects theories attempt to explain how content can influence the audience and society as a whole. For example, George Gerbner investigated the impact of television on the viewer’s attitudes and beliefs. Known as the cultivation theory, he argued heavy users of television were more likely to view the world as hostile and violent because they saw those representations on the screen. Albert Bandura also showed viewers would imitate behaviour they observed on television through a process he called symbolic modelling.

We should also consider to what extent Zendaya’s posts and tweets satisfy the needs of the audience. The uses and gratifications theory suggests we use the media to help construct our personal identity. Perhaps her followers are motivated to engage with her empowering messages because they want to emulate that success and confidence in their own lives. Some users might be inspired by her fashion sense and buy the products.

5) Applying Hall’s Reception theory, what might be a preferred and oppositional reading of Zendaya’s online presence? 

Audiences will interpret the messages according to their own framework of knowledge. Zendaya wants to inspire the audience, so the preferred reading is linked to personal identity.

Industries

How social media companies make money?

1) How many users do the major social media sites boast?

2.96 billion monthly active users.

2) What is the main way social media sites make money? 

This isn’t a unique observation, but it’s a crucial one: If you’re not paying for the product, the product is you. The real transaction here isn’t you receiving enjoyment in the form of a free temporary distraction created by a  media company at great expense. That media company renting your eyeballs to its advertisers.

For many people, this is most obvious in the television industry. CBS doesn’t come up with a new episode of NCIS every week strictly to please viewers with a limitless capacity for being passively entertained. It’s because you and 12 million other people will watch that episode, and thus pay at least subconscious attention to the 16 minutes of commercials that are interspersed throughout it.

For a car manufacturer or fast-food restaurant, there are few more efficient ways to grab customers’ attention, something CBS and its rival networks are well aware of. Media companies are interested in pleasing the brewer before the viewer.

3) What does ARPU stand for and why is it important for social media companies? 

ARPU, which means average revenue per user.

Meta's ARPU at the end of 2022 was $39.63. Multiply that by the aforementioned estimated user base for Q4 2022 to get a total revenue approximation, and now you can understand why Meta had a market capitalization of over $1 trillion at its height.

4) Why has Meta spent huge money acquiring other brands like Instagram and WhatsApp? 

Growing Meta’s user base to the point where it reached critical mass was obviously important to the company’s operations, but only to the extent that it provided something to attract advertisers. To an uninterested observer, committing $19 billion to acquire the texting application WhatsApp might sound like the height of dot-com-era hubris and recklessness. But it wasn't.

WhatsApp boasts over 2 billion monthly active users, which to Meta management means an even greater stock of susceptible minds to sell as a unit to companies looking to, for instance, move a few more smartphones this quarter. Every acquisition Meta has made since, whether it was $1 billion for Instagram or $19 billion for WhatsApp, was conducted with the same goal in mind.

5) What other methods do social media sites have to generate income e.g. Twitter Blue? 

Other social media companies are also exploring new ways to increase their revenue. For example, after Elon Musk bought Twitter in 2022, he changed the site's blue "verified" checkmark system. These checkmarks were once given to prominent or important accounts (such as journalists, politicians, celebrities, and newspapers, and other media accounts) to show that their identities had been verified and could be trusted.

Regulation of social media

1) What suggestions does the report make? Pick out three you think are particularly interesting. 

One of its suggestions is that social networks should be required to release detail of their algorithms and core functions to trusted researchers, in order for the technology to be vetted.

It also suggests adding "friction" to online sharing, to prevent the rampant spread of disinformation.

The report was published by the Forum for Information and Democracy, which was established to make non-binding recommendations to 38 countries. They include Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, South Korea and the UK.

2) Who is Christopher Wylie? 

Among those contributing to the report were Cambridge Analytica whistleblower Christopher Wylie, and former Facebook investor Roger McNamee - a long-time critic of the social network.

3) What does Wylie say about the debate between media regulation and free speech? 

One of the core recommendations is the creation of a "statutory building code", which describes mandatory safety and quality requirements for digital platforms.

"If I were to produce a kitchen appliance, I have to do more safety testing and go through more compliance procedures to create a toaster than to create Facebook," Mr Wylie told the BBC.

He said social networks should be required to weigh up all the potential harms that could be caused by their design and engineering decisions.

4) What is ‘disinformation’ and do you agree that there are things that are objectively true or false? 

The report also suggests social networks should display a correction to every single person who was exposed to misinformation, if independent fact-checkers identify a story as false.

5) Why does Wylie compare Facebook to an oil company? 

An oil company would say: "We do not profit from pollution." Pollution is a by-product - and a harmful by-product. Regardless of whether Facebook profits from hate or not, it is a harmful by-product of the current design and there are social harms that come from this business model.

6) What does it suggest a consequence of regulating the big social networks might be? 

The way Facebook approaches these problems is: we'll wait and see and figure out a problem when it emerges. Every other industry has to have minimum safety standards and consider the risks that could be posed to people, through risk mitigation and prevention. 

If you regulated the big social networks, would it push more people on to fringe "free speech" social networks?

If you have a platform that has the unique selling point of "we will allow you to promote hate speech, we will allow you to deceive and manipulate people", I do not think that business model should be allowed in its current form. Platforms that monetise user engagement have a duty to their users to make at least a minimum effort to prevent clearly identified harms. I think it's ridiculous that there's more safety consideration for creating a toaster in someone's kitchen, than for platforms that have had such a manifest impact on our public health response and democratic institutions. 

7) What has Instagram been criticised for?

This is a product of a platform that is making recommendations to you. These algorithms work by picking up what you engage with and then they show you more and more of that. 

In the report, we talk about a "cooling-off period". You could require algorithms to have a trigger that results in a cooling-off period for a certain type of content. 

If it has just spent the past week showing you body-building ads, it could then hold off for the next two weeks. If you want to promote body building, you can. 

But from the user's perspective, they should not be constantly bombarded with a singular theme.

8) Can we apply any of these criticisms or suggestions to Zendaya? For example, should Zendaya have to explicitly make clear when she is being paid to promote a company or cause? 

If you have a platform that has the unique selling point of "we will allow you to promote hate speech, we will allow you to deceive and manipulate people", I do not think that business model should be allowed in its current form. Platforms that monetise user engagement have a duty to their users to make at least a minimum effort to prevent clearly identified harms. 

However in some forms it is quite evident if celebrities are being paid or not since being a celebrities comes with a lot of sponsorships and being bran ambassadors.