Just after Boris Johnson declared a nation wide Lockdown, the Daily Mirror published this newspaper which has the words "national lockdown" plastered on both the top and bottom of the front page. The words are big and bold which represents that the news being issued by the DM is serious and should be taken seriously by anyone who reads it. Boris Johnson‘s face being centred in the middle also represents the seriousness of the news, as at the time Boris Johnson held the most serious job in the country (even though he didn’t take it seriously). One other key factor that represents the seriousness of the article is the fact that this is the only piece of news that is on the front page. Even the little blurbs at the side are related to the top and bottom text; giving us extra information on what is going to happen as a result of this. The final key factor on how the lockdown is serious is the font that is used. It is basic, it is straight forward and most importantly, promotes a feeling of seriousness that is needed for a new story like this.
Another massive news company that shared the news of the first lockdown was the BBC (specifically their YouTube Channel). The one thing that this video does that well is that there is no music whatsoever. This represents the importance of the news being delivered to you. It is that important in fact that it doesn’t want to distract you by adding any background music. Another way the video doesn’t distract you is by not cutting away from Boris Johnson. We shouldn’t be given a break because what Boris Johnson is telling us could literally save our lives at that point in time. The thumbnail is also similar to the front page of the Daily Mirror, except the only difference is that words are not plastered all over the thumbnail like they are in the front page of the newspaper. This may be considered a misrepresentation by some people a they may say it is not promoting its subject matter enough when this was easily the biggest talking point in the UK in 2020. The final thing I want to mention is the text I the thumbnail. It is a quote that Boris Johnson says in the video instead of a lockdown announcement by a newspaper. This represents that the BBC clearly doesn’t see the idea of a lockdown as a big deal compared to the DM.
One final piece of media that spread the news of lockdown was social media; specifically Twitter. What immediately makes this different is that the opinions on lockdown can be said by everyone except from being excluded to media companies. Instead of giving us a representation of how lockdown was announced, it allows people to represent themselves on what they think of the situation as a whole. In the tweet above, it shows someone making a little joke about the idea of a lockdown, this represents a majority/minority of people who thought the idea of a lockdown was going to be unusual but fun. This specific tweet as well isn’t by a famous individual or the account of a well known news company, it’s by one individual who is lives an average life like us. This perfectly shows that Twitter are more interested in representing individuals and letting them share their opinions on the matter.
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