The document summarizes readership information and provides analyses of the codes and conventions used on the newspaper websites of The Guardian, Daily Mail/Mail Online, and The i. The Guardian has a readership that is on average 44 years old, and it is the second most read online newspaper in the UK. It aims to be objective but leans slightly left. It uses simple colors and separates topics into clear tabs. The Daily Mail sells over 2 million copies daily and has a readership that is on average 58 years old. It is owned by a controlling shareholder and strives for objectivity but uses sensationalist headlines. It appeals to patriotism and a sense of familiarity. The i has a

1. Investigation into
Codes and
Conventions of
Newspaper Websites

2. The Guardian’s Readership and Information
• Owned by The Guardian Media Group, with its only shareholder
being The Scott Trust which serves to secure the financial and editorial independence.
• PAMCo released data specifying that around 35.6 million adults across the UK access
the Guardian per month in both digital and print formats.
• Also according to these statistics it is the most-read ‘quality news brand’ among groups
including men, women, ABC1, under 35s and families.
• The average reader age is 44.
• Their audiences’ age range is fairly split (14% 15-24, 17% 25-34, 13% 35-44, 19% 45-54,
20% 65+)
• It is the second most-read online newspaper in the UK currently, and more importantly,
the most trusted news publisher by its regular readers and reputation.
• In 2020, 1.5 million readers supported the paper financially.

3. The Guardian Assessment and Analysis
• Masthead- The typeface used for the masthead is a serif, old-fashioned font.
The classic look is likely to appeal to the mature readers (average age 44) that
would be purchasing the newspaper.
• Colour- The colour used on the front page of the website is almost entirely in
primary colours and shades (white, black, grey). The darker blue is visually
pleasing, the red for the live news stories help separate the urgent stories from
the rest, the minimal use of yellow is enough to stand out, but not enough to
make it overbearing. The white completes the ensemble, by making all the
individual tabs and articles look neat and accessible.
• ‘Live’ button- The visual movement, or flashing, of the ‘live’ button makes it
easier for the reader to be drawn to newer, active stories. They will likely be
more relevant, and keep the reader on the site for longer, than some of the
lengthy, heavily researched articles
• ‘Search Jobs’ tab- Appeals to the consistent ‘under 35s’ audience The Guardian
comments on in their About Us section. They clearly want a consistent flow of
newer employees to diversify their writing board and reporters. It also helps
create a brand-consumer relationship, as the reader considers that they are
extending opportunities to their loyal supporters.
• Tabs- The separation of topics creates accessibility to those looking for specific
information than general browsing. This could tie into the fact that The
Guardian is seen as the ‘most trusted news reporter’, since it infers the fact
that people are confident to go directly to the newspaper/website to gather
direct, reliable information for their desired topic of research.

4. • Layout, Sponsorships and Charity- The Guardian, as a company
not driven by profit, has no adverts on their homepage and only a
small space dedicated to asking loyal readers to financially
support it. However, it does dedicate a comparatively large
amount of space to encouraging readers to donate to local
charities.
• Image- The Guardian tend to use a mix of candid and posed
images, though almost all are flattering or neutral of the subject.
If they are of world events, they tend to be full-frame, and each
articles include multiple shots/infographics of what they're
reporting.
• Ideology (objective)- The Guardian prides itself as being one of the
most unbiased news sources in the UK, however we can still
assess that they tend to lean towards promoting left wing values
in their articles.
• Opinion section- Unlike many other papers, The Guardian has a
dedicated section to articles written from one perspective.
Therefore, they can keep their main articles unbiased (to a certain
extent).
The Guardian (continued)

5. Daily Mail/Mail Online Readership and
Information
• Owned by the DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust), who also own the Metro, I news, New
Scientist.
• The 4th Viscount Rothermere is the chairman and controlling shareholder of the company. In an
article it was revealed that ‘the DMGT chairman is respectful of the boundary between his role
and that of his editor’ and believed it was ‘Unfair to put my [political] views into the public
arena.’
• Daily readership of 2 million
• The Daily Mail sells more copies than any other national newspaper
• The Saturday edition of the Daily Mail sells an additional 600,000 copies, with 1,569,000 copies
being sold that are read by 2.9 million adults, making the Saturday edition of the Daily Mail the
most read newspaper in the country.
• The Daily Mail claims they have a ‘predominately cash rich, time rich audience’.
• 63% ABC1 adults, 27% AB adults, 54% women, 46% men, 83% are homeowners
• A survey in 2014 found the average age of its readers was 58, and it had the lowest demographic
for 15- to 44-year-olds among the major British dailies

6. The Guardian
• Masthead
• categories contained however, some flashing and quite a lot on screen, some movement
• Asks for funding through donations (independent trust)
• Pretty objective
Daily Mail
• Masthead font juxtaposition (main part- ‘mail’ – is very traditional which aligns with their
very traditional ideas, new slim font (doesn’t stand out, probably don’t want you to only think
of mail online rather than daily mail) ‘online’ as they enter a new age
• Very subjective
inews
• Simplistic, concise, organised (everything is contained, nothing moving or
flashing)
• Very objective
Audio-visual pieces- are they effective?

7. Daily Mail (MailOnline)
Analysis
• Sensationalist headlines
• advertising

8. Daily Mail Analysis
• Patriotism/elitism
• Familiarity (using celebrities’ first names i.e. ‘Katie’ Katie Price)

9. The i Readership and Information
• They are also owned by the DMGT (Daily Mail and General Trust)
• 72% ABC1 Readership, 34% AB, 52% women, 48% men
• 42% of readers are aged 18-44
• 734,000 Daily Print readers
• The i has stated previously that their political alignment is liberal
• Founded in October 2010

10. The I Analysis
• .

11. The I Analysis
• .