Index

1) TV News case study 1: Channel 4 News
2) TV News case study 2: BBC News at Six
3) TV News case study 3: coverage of the General Election across different news programmes
4)  TV News case study 4: independent case studies (BBC3 60 Second News and Newsround)
5) News Values blog task
6)
7)  TV News representation - analysing Sky News coverage of the 2011 riots

TV News: representation and bias

1. Sky News has decided to broadcast the events from the police officer's perspective.
2. In this broadcast, the police are represented as the victims of violence and outrage. They are shown as being very helpless and to be maintaining their respected reputation. It also show the police to be peacemakers not instigators.
3. In this broadcast, young people are presented as rowdy and reckless people who are reeking havoc on innocent officers and members of the public and destroying the streets of London for no apparent reason. Young people are shown to be the instigators, and are shown to be using the death of Mark Dougan as an excuse to steal and behave anti-socially.
4. Images and pictures of burning buses and police cars have been selected to accompany the story also videos of people stealing from shops and throwing stones and other objects at the police officers however there is no footage of the officers retaliating or causing any harm to the rioters. This paints young people in a negative way and gives the audience the idea that the rioters are at fault.
5. The reporter explains how the police "struggled to take control" which tells the audience that the situation got out of hand and that the police were trying their best to calm the rioters but to no avail.
6. The aspect that has been chosen as the most important and appears at the very start of the story is that 8 police officers have been injured which indicates that Sky News has decided that the most important piece of information was that the police officers got hurt, they made no references to the safety or injuries to the young people.
7. The narrative of the story is the police are the heroes who are trying to stop the villains, the rioters, there is a disequilibrium where the streets of Tottenham gets wrecked. This narrative is interesting and captivating as it involves real life heroes and villains which will engage audiences.
8. Todorov's theory of equilibrium can be applied to this news story because there is a state of equilibrium when everything is calm and in order then the rioters cause a disruption of the equilibrium by looting and setting things on fire. The police's arrival shows a recognition of the disequilibrium however there is no new equilibrium shown in the report as the problem does not seem resolved.
9. The police are the heroes who are trying to stop the villains, the rioters.
10. Citizen journalism could be used to show the police fighting back or instigating the stand off which would change the entire story.

News Values Blog Task

Negativity

The Nepal Earthquake was a tragedy that fits many of the values but most importantly negativity. Any major international tragedy where a large number of people lose their lives is likely to become a huge news story. This is because this particular broadcast consists of natural disasters, death, tragedy which intrigues audiences and therefore is rated above 'positive news' (royal weddings etc.)


Closeness to Home

The London Riots was a story very close to the residents of the UK. As the violence and rioting continued to spread and rain havoc on the city day after day, audiences were intrigued to find out what was happening. News stories such as this that hit close to home because they affect the country that it is broadcasted in.


Immediacy

9/11 was a tragedy that was caught on camera the moment it happened as during the actual broadcast another plane had hit the tower allowing the news crew to capture it all on tape. This is an excellent example of breaking news and immediacy as this broadcast was live and audiences could witness the event unfold. Reporters were able to report on the situation in depth and immediately having witnessed the event.

Simplicity

A plane crash is simple and easy to understand as there are no two ways about the story, the plane has crashed and that is a fact. This topic still contains other conventions such as negativity and tragedy but is very easy to understand as the story line is quite blunt therefore it is best suited to simplicity.

Uniqueness

Ebola was an unforgettable story purely because of how quickly it spread. The current generation had never experienced anything like it making it an extremely unique story as with all the medical precautions and new medicines, outbreaks such as this were rare.

Elite nations or people

The protests and riots in Baltimore quickly gained media coverage as Baltimore is a city in America which is a very well-known country and the protests and riots were linked to recent news stories which were also well known. America is an elite country so any important news over there would be  broadcasted and would be quick to pick up viewings.

Case Study 4: Independant Research

1. NEWSROUND
2. Newsround uses the key conventions of TV news to present the news in an exciting but entertaining way. For example the graphics used in the historic scroll story helped to illustrate the findings that the scientists made and made the news story more intriguing and interesting to watch. Also it helped to break down the story.
3. The presenter for this episode was Liyah, Newsround does this to promote diversity and to make the audience feel more connected to the programme as they would want to see their race represented.
4. Aisha is a reporter that has been used to cover the fundraising news story.
5. The studio is extremely colourful with bright colours such as purple and white which gives off a vibrant and relaxed but still serious feel. Technology is used throughout the news programme for example an Apple Ipad is consistently present during the studio reports.
6. The opening sequence of Newsround firstly gives the headlines which is a key convention of a news programme as it lets the viewers know what is coming up later in the show.
7. Newsround typically presents news stories as presenter, piece to camera, the presenter briefly explains the news story to the audience before switching to the reporter on scene who will then go into depth about the story. If a reporter is not used then a voiceover alongside pre-recorded footage of the news story, the voiceover then explains the situation.
8. The target audience for Newsround is 6-12 year olds
9. There are many opportunities for the audience to get involved as social media links are displayed during the broadcasts and there are multiple references to their website. Newsround used children to give their opinions on the Scottish Referendum.
10. Fundraiser, Journalist Freed, Scrolls. The first story is 2 minutes long, the second story is given 43 seconds, the final story is shown for almost 2 minutes.

1. 60 SECOND NEWS
2. The presenter still speaks formally even though he does speak fast, although there are no headlines there are graphics such as the technology background and the two graphic screens that display the news.
3. The presenters name is never revealed as the presenter never introduces himself however the presenter is a young white male who is dressed quite casually, not in the traditional suit and tie,
4. There is no other presenter or reporter during the broadcast
5. The studio has no chairs so the presenter is standing at all times also graphics of tablets and phones are constantly on the screen.
6. The opening sequence follows the key conventions of a news programme as it gives the headlines straight away.
7. 60 second news normally presents the news by  presenter piece to camera with video and graphics.
8. Target audience: 18-34
9. There is no opportunity to get involved
10. Young people are featured in this broadcast, the stories were, Egyptian Court, Andy murray, Actor, Ted Robin's recovery, School and learning times tables,  Celtic win football match against Rangers.

News Stories Covering Start of General Election Campaign 2015

Testing what you've learned...

• The news angle is the perspective that the news provider takes on a certain event. Changing the angle can significantly alter the way a news story is reported. An example of this would be the way the general election is being reported, if for example more positive coverage was given to a certain party, this could encourage people to vote for that particular party which can be viewed as bias.
• The difference between a tabloid and broadsheet news coverage is that Tabloid's contain less serious content focusing instead on celebrities and news stories whereas Broadsheet's contain more serious news such as politics, economics and international news.
• An example of a Tabloid-style news programme would be Sky News.
• An example of a Broadsheet-style news programme would be BBC News.
• The difference between international, national and local news coverage is that local news is news that has happened locally e.g. West London, national news is that is a bit more important then local news and that has happened and is being shown in a certain country e.g. London/Scotland and international news is news that is shown worldwide despite the country the event has taken place in, this is normally the most important type of news and also the story that gets the most coverage e.g. war, terrorism etc.

Answer the questions on the election coverage clips...

• We can tell that this is national news as the general election discussed in the news clip affects only residents in the UK, the people in America will not be affected by the British general election. Also because it is a British story being broadcasted in Britain so for us this news is 100% national.
• The angle shown is from a government angle also from a British angle and perspective.
• This is more broadsheet-style coverage.
• I would expect an older audience to watch this type of news programme because it depicts topics that involve the adult generation for example the general election probably wouldn't appeal to teenagers because they are not old enough to vote yet.

Sky news election story 

• We can tell that this is national news as the general election discussed in the news clip affects only residents in the UK, the people in America will not be affected by the British general election. Also because it is a British story being broadcasted in Britain so for us this news is 100% national.
• British angle
• Mostly broadsheet a little tabloid
• I would still expect an adult audience to watch this TV news programme but the age range would be a bit younger as the programme isn't as broadsheet as BBC News.

STV (Scottish) 

• STV is more regional because it is a Scottish based programme and takes the Scottish people's perspective.
• This programme takes a Scottish angle 
• I would say that STV is more tabloid than broadsheet
• An Scottish adult audience

Channel 4 News coverage

• We can tell that this is national news as the general election discussed in the news clip affects only residents in the UK, the people in America will not be affected by the British general election. Also because it is a British story being broadcasted in Britain so for us this news is 100% national.
• This programme takes a British voters angle
• Channel 4 is more broadsheet but still a little tabloid
• A younger audience as they present the news in a more relaxed way that appeals to younger audiences