The Sun semiotic analysis

This is the front page of the newspaper The Sun on the day Donald Trump was re-elected as President of the United States. The Sun is the most popular newspaper in the UK, it is known as a red top tabloid which is reflected in its masthead. The name of the news paper "The Sun" can be metaphorical of enlightenment, hope and the truth which is ironic for a paper known for publishing false stories. In the masthead there is also the quote "Newspaper of the Year" which it was crowned in October, whilst simultaneously being the most popular in statistics too. The name of the newspaper and the quote combined make the newspaper appear reliable and trustworthy, the paper offers good knowledge to the reader. Additionally, there is a poppy in the corner of the masthead which are traditionally worn in November in the run up to Remembrance Day. This demonstrates how the newspaper values the British Army and patriotism. Lastly, there is a sign on the masthead unique to this edition which says "Trump's back for Season 2" which is a humorous comment, referencing how Trump used to be the face of Reality TV.

The headline reads "You're Rehired" an intertextual reference and play on words of the Apprentice, which Donald Trump used to front on the American version. In the show, if you win the catch phrase is "you're hired" or if you lost "you're fired", if you have knowledge of this and read the headline you will infer he has run the election campaign. This headline is interesting as it doesn't reveal the newspapers political bias which is really unusual from the sun as they have gained a reputation as an outspoken newspaper. There are two subhead lines in this cover, the first being "shot, sued, tried, insulted and written off, but ordinary Americans say...." The use of an asyndetic list emphasis the amount of scandals and controversies Trump has faced throughout his campaign and reminds the reader why he is an unusual choice for president, this coincides with the semantic field of television, it could be inferred the paper believe it is quite comical a reality TV star is running the most powerful country in the world. The other sub headline is "ex apprentice star is prez again : 13 pages of unrivalled coverage"

The main image of this article is a picture of Trump pointing at the camera, a very vivid resemblance to uncle Sam propaganda from ww2.

This is emphasised by the headline using the direct address "You're", same as we want "you". The visual imagery of Uncle Sam also addresses how Trump believes he embodies America, supported my his campaign catchphrase "Make America Great Again". This is further emphasised by the blur of multiple American flags in the background.