OCR A Level Newspaper Economics

A complete OCR A-Level Media Studies lesson looking at how economic factors influence The Guardian and The Daily Mail.

This fully editable PowerPoint (.pptx) lesson focuses on economic factors in the newspaper industry, specifically comparing how the funding models of The Guardian and The Daily Mail shape content, presentation, political bias and editorial priorities.

Designed for OCR A-Level Media Studies Paper 1 Section A: News & Online, the lesson supports students in understanding how media industries and economic pressures influence the construction of newspaper content. It explores the differences between reader-funded journalism and advertising-funded journalism, linking these models to audience appeal, sensationalism, editorial independence and public-interest reporting.

Students compare the economic models of The Guardian and The Daily Mail, complete a newspaper budgeting scenario, evaluate headline choices and plan an exam-style response.

The lesson includes structured discussion tasks, model answers, planning prompts, exam-style scaffolding and full model paragraphs for both The Guardian and The Daily Mail.

This lesson covers:

OCR A-Level Media Studies
Paper 1 Section A: News & Online
Newspapers
Economic factors
Newspaper funding models
The Guardian
The Daily Mail
Reader-funded journalism
Advertising revenue
Newspaper sales
Digital strategies
Click-driven journalism
Editorial independence
Political bias
Sensationalism
Public-interest journalism
Media industries
Audience targeting
Newspaper presentation
Exam-style 10-mark response practice

What is included:

Fully editable PowerPoint (.pptx) lesson
Do Now debate task on economic pressures and newspaper influence
Teacher feedback/model answer slide
Learning objectives
Comparison of The Guardian and The Daily Mail funding models
Key information table on funding differences
Newspaper editor budgeting scenario
Guardian-style reader-funded model facts
Daily Mail-style advertising-funded model facts
Model budget allocations for both newspaper models
Headline sorting task linked to funding models and economic pressures
Teacher feedback/model answers for headline analysis
Exam-style planning task comparing The Guardian and The Daily Mail
Planning prompts for Daily Mail front cover analysis
Planning prompts for Guardian front cover analysis
Model evidence and analysis for both newspapers
PEEL/PEE-style paragraph structure
Full model paragraph for The Guardian
Full model paragraph for The Daily Mail
Mini plenary true/false economic check with answers