Newspaper Semiotic Analysis: The Mirror

This front page of The Mirror from 2023 is about the nurse's strike for a higher pay. The headline being in bold, capital letter suggests ‘breaking news’ and urgency, but also importance of what the message is. It’s relevancy to the time of the newspapers publish is very significant as this was released (as mentioned) during a nurse's strike. The words ‘rich tory’ are instantly thrown at us to show how the person in question is clearly not suffering with anything and actually quite privileged. The words ‘skint nurses’ is clearly aimed towards a British audience by using British slang to stress the fact that these nurses aren’t earning as much as they should be and are previously referenced as heroes just above the headline. The alliteration used to summarise the quote from the ‘rich tory’ stating: ‘budget better’ shows how the person is looking down on these nurses, and possibly seeing the strike as a joke/ something to mock. The image next to the headline is of two healthcare staff looking distressed and uneased. Both the image and the copy converge to create a stressful feel for the newspaper, showing us how nurses/ healthcare staff are feeling and that the comment made by the rich tory is insensitive and offensive. The newspaper also includes a smaller image of the MP who said to the nurses to ‘budget better’, showing even further how ignorant he is being. Him smiling in the photo is also significant to showing how careless he is to the struggles of people who he would consider ‘below him’. The copy above the headline is in red and states: ‘as heroes strike for fair pay...’. The use of ‘heroes’ already tells us which side the newspaper is on, who they are supporting. This report is clearly for the nurses and possibly mocking the MP for being so insensitive and oblivious to the struggle. Saying ‘fair pay’ is also another way of showing that they are in support, as they could’ve said ‘for higher wages’ or ‘for more money’ which would indicate that they are either against the strike or on the fence. However, they are still leaning to the right slightly by including the ‘Kate’s class’ story on the top left, just below the masthead. It is also quite ironic as the front page has an advertisement at the bottom of the page which is appealing to working class readers as it promotes their ‘low prices’; this ties in to the main story, nurse’s strikes as it discusses the unfair wages of the nurses, but directly beneath it is an advertisement promoting cheaper products. The layout is quite chaotic and not very satisfying to look at due to the contrasted colours. However, it is eye-catching. The main headline is centred the page and the largest text on this front page. It signifies the importance of its context and that this is what the reader should be reading first/ paying most attention to. The advertisement takes up more space on the page than the story about ‘Kate’s class’. This interesting as it would be unexpected for a newspaper to prioritise the advertisers more than news on the Royal Family. This could either be a comment on the importance of knowing what the Royal Family are getting up to, or simply just for layout reasons as it takes up the whole bottom half of the page. The masthead is taking up the top left corner of the page. The actual name ‘The Mirror’ signifies reflection on social events/ world affairs. But just above the name, they have written and announced that they were ‘Newspaper of the Year’, perhaps to strengthen the value of the newspaper, but also to show reliability and trust in the readers. The headlines are short and snappy, like the ‘Alex Scott: My kidnap hell’, it is an enigma code that leaves us questioning what happened? Given the lack of information and context, it is an intelligent way of hooking the reader and making us want to know more. The headline/ anchorage to the image of the healthcare staff is in black and white which expresses the seriousness and sensitivity of the subject matter. It is also interesting to see that the colours at the top of the page are red and blue, and next to each other they look like police lights. Directly underneath it is black and white text. This could be a signifier that the topic is almost ‘criminal’.