In-Depth Case Study (News coverage of social class- Madeleine McCann and Shannon Matthews)

In-Depth Case Study

News coverage of social class- Madeleine McCann and Shannon Matthews

1. Find examples of language used in each of the pieces to describe the parents of both children. How does this language differ? What are the messages and values on social class? (10 marks)

-The language which is both used in the Madeleine McCann's kidnap and Shannon Matthews' kidnap clearly differentiate to a certain extent. For example in the Madeleine McCann's news story, affectionate and tender language has been consistently used to highlight the close connection and bond which the parents share with Madeleine McCann. This is evident through the phrase 'As she sat on a park bench clutching Madeleine's favourite Cuddle Cat toy, she added'. The idea that the mother evidently emphasised on the noun ‘Cuddle Cat toy’ creates a feeling of sympathy and personal lost as, she is recollecting possessions which she clearly misses from her lost daughter. The mother is visibly seen vulnerably desperate to find her daughter as; she is seen ‘clutching’ which is a powerful adjective. The use of the adjective can interpret the mother as an overprotective and domineering person after the kidnap as, she might have this fear that her other children can potentially be abducted. The audience would grab a perception that Madeleine McCann's parents might be caring and attentive towards her children as; her own fund has been set up where the public can donate money so private detectives and teams can be hired. The idea that the McCann family wanted to publicise the news of their daughter’s kidnap can show how the family is fully dedicated and devoted to find Madeleine. The phrase ‘the visits are intended to keep up the high-profile of their daughter in the media’. The journalists who wrote this news story of Madeleine McCann tries to use language which provokes the reader to feel sympathetic and understand the extent to what the parents can do to find their lost daughter. The parents are visibly being ambitious by flying across to numerous foreign countries which can show how rich and affluent the parents are. Being 'consultant parents' can also be a reason why Madeleine McCann got much greater news coverage and is worth much more money if anyone finds her e.g. Madeleine McCann is worth '£1.5 million' while Shannon Matthews is worth '£50,000'. These statistics evidently show that Madeleine McCann is worth much more due to her higher position and authority in society as, her parents can push the boundaries in order to find her daughter e.g. flying to different countries to find her daughter, hiring a psychologist so the twins can know the situation of Madeleine McCann disappearance, hiring private detectives and teams to handle the case etc. The phrase 'consultant parents' can also connote the idea that the parents are knowledgeable and hardworking as, they are both specialised in the careers that they work in. 

On the other hand, the language which is used in the Shannon's Matthews' news story features adverse and dysfunctional language to create an opposing and negative character of Karen Matthews. This is clearly evident through the statement 'Shannon's family asked for donations from the fund set up to find Madeleine McCann'. As an audience, we can interpret that Karen Matthew has a materialistic nature as she explicitly told Madeleine McCann's parents to donate them money. From this quote, the audience would say that Karen Matthews lack sympathy as she doesn’t realise that Madeleine McCann’s parents are deeply traumatised after her kidnap. The encouragement which Karen Matthews taken to kidnap her own daughter can repeatedly go back to her social class as, she would do almost anything just to get her hand on a huge sum of money. The quote ‘similarities between Shannon’s disappearance and a storyline from the Channel 4 drama series Shameless’ can be seen shocking as, she thought that copying the show would give her the same results, instead she had to bear the huge consequences of serving 8 years in jail and changing her identity. Being from the working class definitely left her with limited options as, she couldn’t see the fastest route of earning money instead of plotting a fake kidnap of her daughter. 

2. Analyse the choice of pictures used in terms of framing, shot type and mise en scene. Compare the representations of the social class of the two families (10 marks)

-In both news stories a variation of different pictures were used to imply a different feeling and emotions towards these pictures. For example in the Madeleine McCann’s news story, a long shot was used to capture the strong, imitate bond of the mother-daughter relationship. The picture is seen to fill up the whole composition of the frame which features Kate McCann and her daughter Amelie. In the frame we can clearly see the mother embracing and encouraging her child to play and have fun. This is evidently seen through the mother’s facial expressions which can connote the idea of encouragement and reassurance so she doesn’t fall down while playing outside. The mother also clutches Amelie’s hand to ensure that she is safe and protected, from these connotations we can say that the mother might have altered into a cautious and protective parent as; she is being next to Amelie while she is playing. The mise en scene of the picture looked like it was taken in an outside area where young people are more prone to getting hurt and injured. The fact that the mother is being supportive and reassuring her safety, the audience would depict Madeleine McCann’s mother as a person who is filled with good intentions with the best interest of her children in heart due to her overprotective imagery which can be clearly seen by her facial expressions and gestures. Since Madeleine’s family come from a higher social class, this news story gained more coverage over the UK than Shannon Matthews’ story. This is because, Madeleine McCann’s parents are ‘consultant’ which means they have more money to pay for private detectives and fly to foreign countries. However, Shannon Matthews who is from a lower social class was highly dependent on the local community to donate some money so they can find her daughter. 

However in the Shannon Matthews’ news story, a close up image was used which showed Karen Matthews (Shannon’s mum) and Shannon Matthews herself. In both news stories a fairly distinctive difference can be seen as, in the Shannon Matthews’ story the image looks fairly large while, in the Madeleine McCann’s story the image looks miniature but, the article gained more news coverage and popularity over Shannon Matthews’ story. The editors of the news story decided to place each image by merging them side by side to correlate Karen Matthews as an immoral and wicked person which is clearly seen through her body expressions and gestures. This is clearly seen by her eye contact as, she doesn’t face the camera instead she conceals herself away in disgust also she is facing downwards which can mark the end of her shameless kidnap plot. Her face can also disclose frustration and desperation as, she desperately wanted the money instead she is spending 8 years in prison. The depth of field shot was used to mainly focus on Karen Matthews’ face as; the background has been blurred out in order to place the picture of Karen Matthews into focus. The editors of this news story also kept both pictures at eye level, which can make it easier for the public to see the reactions in both of the mother and daughter faces. 

On the other hand, for Shannon Matthews, a positive, optimistic picture was used to highlight the happiness that Shannon once had. The audience can easily sympathise with Shannon Matthews as, she is too young to grasp the harsh reality of her mother’s nature and the world around her. I believe the close up was used to emphasise on her smiley, happy face which is evidently seen by her smile and her body posture as she is facing directly at the camera and sitting in an upright position. The fact that the journalists decided to place two opposing pictures can really make Karen Matthews’ personality being attacked by the public as, she clearly couldn’t display any good parenting skills. This is because; she has 7 children which are clearly dependent and reliant on her for survival. 

3. Hall notes that representation is 'consented', in particular the representation of those with less power in society. He argues that the news coverage can be hierarchical. To what extent is this evident from the two readings? Make reference to Hall's theory of representation in your answer. (10 marks)

-Stuart Hall theory argues that representation is seen differently and can be either encoded or decoded in a different ways due to the audience who is reading the media texts. He also believed that many factors like class, religion, and race are put into consideration when people make their judgment on media texts e.g. a white person’s perspective might differ from a non-white person. ‘The other’ also forms part of his theory as, non-white people and working class people are majorly seen negatively in society when being referred to the media, this definitely degrades non-white people and working class people which ranks them lower in society than white people.

In both news stories, the representation of both families definitely vary to a certain extent due to the social classes the families come from. For example in the Madeleine McCann news story, the family comes from a higher social class who are perceived to be wealthy and full of authority the statistics ’11 million’ is a huge amount which can’t be generated quickly by the working class people. I believe the news coverage can be hierarchical as, the parents try to keep their daughter’s disappearance in the public eye by setting up her own fund where high paid celebrities and the public donate money which summed up to ‘£300,000’. The fact that the parents did interviews and constantly kept the public involved in every move which definitely made this news story gained popularity and recognition by the members of the public. Since Madeleine McCann’s kidnap was taken place in a foreign country, many people who frequently go on holidays with their children might want to be aware of this news. However for Shannon Matthews she was lost around her local area, many people might see this as typical since many kids get lost around their own local area. Since Shannon Matthews was lost around her local area, this news story got majorly got covered around their local area and not so much in other parts of the UK.

On the other hand, Shannon Matthews’ new story was perceived to be full of pure negativity as, the journalists preferred to highlight her differences within society e.g. her social class, promiscuous nature of being married to 5 different men and had 7 children altogether, and where she got the inspiration of planning the fake kidnap of her daughter Shannon. The fact that the family is from a working class can show how vulnerable and helpless Karen Matthews is as, she didn’t have the same advantage as Kate McCann had. This is because; Kate McCann being from the upper is already wealthy as, she has a lot of money which is seen by her holiday in Portugal also her news coverage reached more to the public than Shannon Matthews’ news story. Since Karen Matthews fake kidnap plot was inspired by the show ‘Shameless’ on Channel 4, the audience perceived her to be an idiotic and senseless mother as she is sacrificing her own child in order to survive. From this belief, we can clearly see the deep frustration in which Karen Matthews has as; she is able to neglect her own family life for money. ‘The other’ can also be seen in the Shannon Matthews’ news story as, the working class people are portrayed differently as, Karen Matthews’ actions differ from what a mainstream middle/upper class mother would do to earn money. This is because; the middle/upper class people would have jobs in order to earn a living while, Karen Matthews committed a malicious act to earn a large sum of money

4. What is the dominant (intended) meaning of the Daily Telegraph? How is the audience supposed to feel about the two families? Do you take a negotiated or oppositional reading and if so, how/ why? Make reference to reception theory in your answer?

-Forming part of the reception theory, Stuart Hall also recognised that not everyone read media texts in the same way therefore; their beliefs will differ to another person’s belief. The way the audience decode media texts can be polysemic (a text which have more than one interpretation). Stuart Hall also realised that the audience can take the 3 types of readings which include dominant, negotiated, and preferred.

The dominant reading which is seen in the Daily Telegraph newspaper is, portraying how each parents cared for their children during the stage of the kidnap and how their social class effect their actions. For example in the beginning of the news story, the journalists opened up by stating the amount that was wasted on the search of Madeleine McCann and Shannon Matthews e.g. ’£11 millions’ for Madeleine McCann while, ‘£3.2 million’ for Shannon. These statistics imply a huge difference in social class as; the journalists are trying to show a distinctive difference between the two families. We are also made aware that Madeleine McCann parents are ‘consultant’ while Shannon Matthews was just a ‘fake kidnap’. The fact the journalists emphasised on the noun ‘consultant’ it brings positive connotations of their working life as, they are specialised in the careers that the parents work in. While for Shannon Matthews, the journalists of the newspaper doesn’t mention about the jobs in which the parents do as an alternative, the journalists emphasised on the cruel act which has been done towards her daughter Shannon. Instantly, the audience is meant to see Madeleine McCann’s parents as ‘hardworking’ and ‘supportive’ parents while, for Shannon Matthews’ parents ‘malicious’ and ‘wicked’. This is because, throughout the whole news story, the journalists kept on degrading the morals in which Karen Matthews have e.g. ‘seven children to five fathers’, ‘similarities between Shannon’s disappearance and a storyline from the Channel 4 drama series Shameless’ and, ‘Shannon’s family asked for donations from the fund set up to find Madeleine McCann’. The journalists intended purpose is to view Shannon’s family as a heartless and miserly parents as, Karen Matthews didn’t have the decency to think about the future of her 7 children. However for Madeleine McCann, the phrase ‘protective parents’, triple checked, and ‘the McCann’s reportedly threatened legal actions to ensure the details were made public’ made the audience sees the positive attributes which are seen in typical parenting.

After reading the news stories of both Madeleine McCann and Shannon Matthews, I take a negotiated reading for the Madeleine McCann’s text and an oppositional reading for the Shannon Matthews’ text. This is because for the Madeleine McCann’s news story, I believe it is the parents fault for not being extra cautious of the children’s well-being as, she left her children all by themselves in the room with the door unlocked. Since the parents travelled to a foreign country, I believe that the parents should have been more overprotective and controlling as, the children can get lost easily in an unknown country. Reading from the text, I can clearly see a change in the parent’s character as, they have now become overprotective parents e.g. ‘Sean and Amelie sleep with us now, we have become totally protective parents’. This can show how the parents have changed after the kidnap as, the parents fear if the twins get kidnapped as well. For the Shannon Matthews’ news story, I take an oppositional reading as; Karen Matthews’ motive is clearly seen wrong and immoral. After Karen Matthews was proved guilty, she didn’t seem to feel infuriated for her actions, even the members of the community felt she was involved in the kidnap e.g. ‘One of the friends allegedly claimed that Miss Matthews had known where Shannon was throughout the 24-day search’. From this quote, I feel that if her friends can tell that Karen Matthews knew where Shannon was, then we know that Karen Matthews was not intelligent when planning the whole plot of the kidnap.