Apply representation theory

Representation Theory in Newspapers

Stuart Hall: A leading figure in cultural studies who also made major contributions to the field of media studies. His theory of representation argues that media representations are not reflections of reality, but rather constructions of it.
The newspaper is not simply a mirror to the world – what it chooses to show, and how it shows it, can shape our understanding of the world.
This theory suggests that reading a newspaper is an active, rather than a passive, process.

Dominant Reading: This is when the reader fully understands and accepts the intended message of a media text, such as a news article. In newspapers, dominant readings often align with the editorial line or political bias of the publication.
Negotiated Reading: Here, the reader partially agrees with the intended message but modifies it in a way that better fits their own experiences and beliefs. Negotiated readings are commonplace in a newspaper’s audience due to the diversity of reader perspectives.
Oppositional Reading: In this case, the message is understood but rejected. The reader may actively resist the viewpoint being promoted by the newspaper, usually due to a fundamental ideological disagreement.

Hall’s Encoding/Decoding Model of communication is particularly relevant to newspapers. It suggests that meanings are not simply fixed or determined by the sender. Instead, the audience ‘decodes’ or interprets the message in various ways.
Newspapers ‘encode’ their messages within articles, editorials, and features. However, how readers ‘decode’ these messages can differ greatly, as evidenced by the dominant, negotiated, and oppositional readings.

Newspapers often represent social groups in stereotypical ways, which contributes to the construction of social reality. This can include race, gender, class, age, or other social identifiers.
Stereotypical representation can reinforce existing social prejudices, biases, and inequalities, whereas more nuanced and diverse representations can challenge these.
Newspapers’ representation of social events, groups or issues can also serve to promote a particular agenda or ideology.

Representation in newspapers is also a question of power. Those who control the production of a newspaper have the ability to shape its representation of the world. This, in turn, can influence how its readership perceives and understands societal issues.
Power may also influence who gets represented in a newspaper, how frequently, and in what light.
Critiquing the representation in newspapers, thus, is a way of analysing and challenging existing power dynamics in society.