Introduction to the news

News stories

The news broadcast I watched aired on BBC 1 on the 8th of march at 5:30pm. The title sequence starts with the sound of a drum sound which gains the audience's attention. We see the presenter who tells us the main stories giving us a brief outline of what to expect in the programme this gives us the audience an idea of whats happened during the day letting us know what to expect in the programme.  The first  story listed was that British defense secretary Philip Hammond refused to comment on whether military spending would remain at the same rate if the conservatives were to be re-elected after the general election. The second story was about the death of four people in Wales following a car accident which also mentioned that three of the deceased were aged just seventeen. The third story was about a call for students as young as eleven to be taught difference between consensual sex and rape. And the last of the main stories was the news that Andy Murray had qualified to reach the quarter finals of the Davis cup. We can see here the ordering of the stories already showing a pattern. The story considered to effect the most of us and therefore the most important is listed first because it will resonate with the majority of the audience. The second story is one that is considered to be the most emotional, the tragic death of four people in an accident, this connects the audience more with the programme and they are intrigued to find out how this accident took place.The third story is one that could create discussion among viewers and again generate more interest. And lastly a more light hearted story. Ending on a more positive not has the effect of balancing out the more serious stories as well as counter acting the view point that all news is doom and gloom.

We then go into more detail into each of the stories with the presenter again repeating the outline of the events before introducing a more in depth report on each story.The first report introduce was about Philip Hammond refusing to confirm whether or not Military spending would remain at the current rate of just above 2% of the national GDP. This was the first story as this has relevance to everyone in the country, We as a nation are all interested in our safety and the capability of our military. The story had extra relevance because of the upcoming general election and this information could effect how some people vote. The second story of the fatal car crash in Wales was then introduced after the report of the first had finished. This involved cutting to a live feed of a reporter outside the school where some of the deceased went before cutting to a pre recorded report. The report showed the location of the attack as well as gave details about the victims of the crash giving context to the events that took place, as well as enabling the audience to gain empathy for the victims. This story would have been placed second because of the emotional response it produced from the audience. It may not be relevant or of any use to the majority of the audience, but this ability to induce a emotional response from the audience makes it a main, and therefore important story. Again after this report we cut back to the presenter who introduced the next story about there being a call for students as young as eleven to be taught the difference between consensual sex and rape. This story is third in the running order because of its relevance to parents who will be a large portion of the audience as well as its ability to generate debate in society. And last of all was the report that detailed the events of the tennis match that saw Andy Murray qualify to the quarter finals of the Davis cup. Often in the running order of a news programme will be a more light hearted story that is supposed to appease any negative feelings brought about by the more serious previous stories that it has followed and this is why this story was placed at the end.


Presenters
News presenters are usually between the ages of 35-55 with male presenters usually being older. In the example we saw there was male and female presenter with the man being the older of the two. The role of a presenter is a very difficult one as they have to remain composed whilst presenting while all the while taking direction from the director and maintaining the correct timing so everything in the running order can be covered. Their role is to engage the audience and relay the information of stories in a away that retains audience interest. They do this by speaking clearly in a way that makes us the audience feel they are talking to us instead of reading off of a script which would result in loss of interest and attention. The tone and flow of there voice will often alter in regards to what story is being focused on. A more serious story will often be matched with a more serious perhaps monotone voice as this hits us as an audience harder as it emphasises the story. A less serious story such as the recent solar eclipse will be covered in a more relaxed way with perhaps more flowing pace and even the odd smile chucked in which welcomes the audience giving a friendly feel, this will be especially evident in local news programmes which are often more relaxed than national news programmes. In the world of news new stories can emerge and develop while on air requiring last minute changes to the running order. Presenters will have and eat piece on in which the producer and director of the programme will communicate with them throughout the broadcast informing them of any changes that have occurred to the running order, whether they need to edit their timing slightly or if any breaking news need to be reported. Even if none of these things occur the producers/director will be in constant communication with them requiring them to be able to focus on presenting the programme and being able to follow instructions seamlessly as to not ruin the pacing of the programme.



Ordering the news.

The order of the news is very important, if ordered in a way that isn't interesting it could result in a loss of viewer-ship. The order of stories in the news is called the running order and one way of ordering the news as to keep the audience interested and engaged is to start with what is called a "lead story". This is the main story of the day and will be the main story because it has the most relevance to the viewers. An example of such a story would be an recent story about the U.K defense secretary not commenting of whether the UK's military spending would be cut if the conservatives were re-elected in the upcoming general. This lead the international news on the BBC on the 8th of march 2015. This was the lead story because it applies to everyone in the UK making it very relevant to viewers. Following the lead story will be several other stories being placed in order of relevance. The story that followed the lead on the 8th of march was the story of a fatal car crash that killed four people in Wales. As we make our way through the stories they will become less dramatic and more specific applying to less people. Lastly we have something that round the news off call an "and finally". This is usually a more light hearted and more entertaining story.

The ability to think and act quickly is vital within news broadcasting because different stories can occur and develop as reporting takes place. For example what is considered to be the running order for a news broadcast could change at the last minute meaning the programme has to be re-arranged and presenters will have to adjust what they are going to say as well as the speed at which they say it on the fly. Another example of this could be breaking news stories that interfere with scheduled broadcasts. A famous example of this would be the 9/11 news story interrupting news broadcasts in America.
.
The term slow news day is allocated to a day in which news broadcasters publish trivial stories of the lack of substantial or actual "newsworthy" stories. This often displays the skill of a presenter as they try to engage the audience in stories that aren't interesting. Here is an example of a slow news day.

The term "News values" refers to properties of a story that make it a valuable and interesting one. In basic terms it's what makes a story news worthy, a set of un-written rules . Many people have their own interpretations and opinions on what news is, what is news worthy. Charles Anderson Dana, editor and proprietor of the New York Sun in 1882 said "When a dog bites a man that is not news, but when a man bites a dog, that is news". In the news we see many news stories that are similar and feel as if they are being recycled. This is because we have preset ideas of what is considered news worthy, an example of this is any military conflict that occurs will usually feature. When asking what is news worthy to different people of different demographics and psycho-graphs you will find their ideas of what is news worthy will change. For example this picture lays out some possible differences between audience and news.

Galtung and Ruge (1973) had a set of ideas focusing on what people considered newsworthy:

• Frequency- This is the idea that short term events like murders are preferred to long term events like a famine. An example of this is the recent announcement from the UN that More than a quarter of a million people died in the famine in Somalia between October 2010 and April 2012, in part because the international community did not act quickly enough. This announcement has not featured at all in national or local news nor did it feature heavily at the time of the crisis.
  

         Contrast this with the recent story of Jed Allen who murdered members of his family who was            even given the nickname the "Wolverine killer" saw national coverage and featured on several            front pages.

• Thresh hold- This is the idea that the bigger an event is the more important it is. An example of such an event would be the recent FIFA fraud allegations an arrests which have an effect on every football association in the world. 
  

• Unambiguity- This is the idea that stories must be accessible to the public. An example of a story that was considered ambiguous would be the financial crash in 2008. Reports on the subject often contain heavy amounts of jargon which wasn't accessible to the audience. This resulted in many of the stories being simplified and certain information being left out due to its complexity so that the stories were accessible to the majority. Here we can see a short film taken from Charlie Brooker's Weekly Wipe explaining some ambiguous stories starting at 1:03.
• And also another here explaining the effect that simplifying complex stories has on the news and by affiliation the audience.

• Meaningfulness- This has two parts the first being Cultural proximity. The requirement that the news story fits in with the ideology or outlook of a specific culture. The video above also includes segments on this and the effects of what happens when a story does and doesn't fit in with the ideology of a culture such as the story of the Rwandan civil war. The second part is is relevance, this is the requirement that the story must have an effect on the home culture for example a threat. An example of this would be the recent story involving RAF jets being scrambled to warn of a Russian bomber flying off of the coast of Cornwall.
  

Consonance/uniqueness- This is the idea that odd and weird things are considered to be relevant because of their uniqueness. An example of such a story would be the "Harlem Shake" epidemic, and in particular the one seen below.

Unexpectedness- This is the belief that if a story is unexpected or rare that people will want to know about it. An example of this would be the recent story covering the first female bishop in England. 

• Continuity- This is when a story that has already achieved importance in continually covered over a long time. These are often larger on going stories that develop over time such ad the financial crisis that started in 2008 nick named the credit crunch, and a more recent example would be the recent FIFA allegations.

• Composition- This is regards to how the news is balanced, for example good news mixed with bad news, foreign news mixed with domestic. This provides a sense of balanced and makes sure there isn't any over or under representation. An example of this balancing can be seen in most daily news programmes which often en with an "and finally" story which is less serious and normally a positive or quirky story taking some of the sting out of the more serious often depressing news.  

• Reference to elite nations- This is the idea that elite nations such as the USA, UK and Russia are considered more newsworthy than that of 2nd and 3rd world countries of which are usually only mentioned if a catastrophic disaster has taken place. A great example of this would be concerning politics. For the US presidential election the BBC dedicates an entire special broadcast following the election with weeks of build up reports. Compare this to countries considered less relevant that we either don't their politics or we see a five minute broadcast giving us a disinterested outlook. Here we see just one part of a detailed analysis of the 2012 US election in comparison with that of an African nation. 

• Reference to elite persons-  This is the idea that news concerning people with prominent status is considered more newsworthy that the average person. An example of this would be the annual reports on the Oscars which takes up a large portion of main news in the weeks leading up the event and the event its self. 

• Personification- This is the technique of turning events into the actions of individuals such as an institution being referenced by naming an important individual belonging to that institution. And example of this would be. Here in this example we see "David Cameron" mentioned several times without much mention of the conservative party as a whole.

Negativity- Lastly but perhaps one of the more prominent ideas is that of negativity within news stories. This is the belief that bad news makes good news. An example of this from this year would be the charlie hebdo attacks in January which dominated the news for weeks.

Using an old broadcast

The news report we watched focused on the fact that the number of people who were having there homes repossessed due to falling behind of mortgage repayments had doubled since the last year. This had lead to the government proposing a cut in interest rates. The report showed a video of a family who were about to have their house repossessed due to falling £6000 behind on their mortgage payments. The Chowles family, comprised of Pierre and Christina, and their baby, had purchased a 1 bedroom house for £57,000. The report opened with a shot of Pierre walking across some snow towards his house. During this shot Pierre slips slightly, this makes him appear vulnerable and therefore makes the audience feel sympathy for him and we perhaps see him as an under dog that we want to root for. We also learn that Pierre has also lost his job due to ill health. Because we learn that due to know fault of his own as well as the fact the house is being repossessed we develop more sympathy for him because we feel he has been given an unfair deal and bombarded with bad luck which obviously has connotations of it not being his fault. We also see an interview in which Pierre and Christina are sat on a sofa in there living room while their child plays below them on the floor. This positioning depicts a happy close nit family. This again increases the sympathy we feel for them and resonates with the cultural myth of young love which again makes us as an audience want well for the young family, emphasizing the sympathy we feel for the couple as they are going through hard times. Many shots of the child are also shown. In our society we value the lives of children more so than adults due to there vulnerability and innocence. Showing the child who will obviously be effected by the repossession is probably the biggest factor that pulls at the heart strings of the audience, inducing a real sense off unfairness upon the audience making them feel compassion for the child and family. We also hear from both Pierre and Christina who tell the reporter of there worries and how they got into the situation. Christina tell us how everyone encouraged them to buy their first home and how much she regretted it now everything has turned out. Again as we hear from Christina that she was told and actively encouraged to purchase a property, this again removes responsibility away from her and the family thus negating any blame that could be placed upon them regarding the situation they find them selves in, generating more sympathy. It also makes us aware that in society at the time people in general were encourage to buy as a social norm. We as the audience could also infer from this that the pressures and expectation of these social norms at the time could be responsible for families like the Chowles, buying property when they aren't financially stable enough to do so. Christina also tells us she is expecting another baby, again this appeals to paternal and maternal instinct of most viewers generating more sympathy and perhaps among parents empathy for the Chowels' situation. The story was narrated as the reporter explained the situation the Chowles were facing giving context to the images we saw. This also helped provoke feelings of sympathy for the Chowles as the reporter gave us a back story in to how they ended up in the situation they find them selves in and also diverted the blame away from them.


Using a Broadcast I have found 

I watched a broadcast that focused on the British defense secretary refusing to comment on whether Military spending would remain at the same level. The report opened with footage of a recent incident that occurred off of the Cornish cost involving two Russian bomber jets flying just off of the cost which were tailed by RAF fighter jets. The reporter commentated over this footage saying that there was a "cold war chill in the". Using this footage makes the story of military spending more relevant and also manipulates the public into believing it is perhaps more relevant than it has been in recent years. The report then cut to footage of Philip Hammond working his way round answering the questions of whether the military spending would remain at the same level before beginning to again commentate and analyse his response saying that it would produce doubt from potential voters who would now be concerned about the conservatives ideas about military. The report then cut to footage of soldiers training while the reporter gave us facts and figures relating to military spending saying that the current level met promises we had made to  NATO with spending being around just over 2% of GDP. The only real person we get a sense of character from in this report is Phillip Hammond. He comes across as quite sly

BIAS

 Bias by omission – This is when someone leaves out a side or argument out of a story, or even many broadcasts over a time, purposely leaving out facts and points that go against liberal or conservative claims or that endorse liberal or conservative beliefs. Bias by omission occurs within a story and or over a long time as a news broadcaster reports one set of events, while disregarding others.  Stories where bias by omission may be present can be easily detected by looking at the liberal media broadcasters compared to the more right wing conservative ones.

Bias by selection of sources – This is when a story includes more sources that support one view over another.  This bias type is also present when a reporter uses such phrases as “experts believe,” “observers say,” or “most people believe.”  Experts in stories are much alike expert witnesses in a trials. knowing if the defense or the prosecution call  particular experts to give evidence, you know that the evidence given will support the side whose witness it is.  So when a story gives just one side, it is clear it is the side the reporter supports.  (Reporters will often select quotes that support the agenda they are supporting.)  Bias by use of experts is evident and can be seen in the political perspective of the people or exerts chosen to comment on a particular news story.  However not all stories will have , but those that do, if non bias, should have experts from both liberal and conservative backgrounds. Also if those that are interviewed or asked for an opinion are not experts, equal interviewees supporting both sides should be featured.

Bias by story  selection –  This is when a pattern of choosing certain stories that are related or fit together are used, having the same agenda, supporting either Left wing or right wing views, while disregarding stories and facts that support the opposing side. Running a story published by a liberal or conservative organisation and leaving out stories that focus on similar subjects released by the alternate organisation. Identifying this type of bias is easier and more evident if you know what beliefs and opinions liberals and conservatives have on the issues being focused on within stories. Identifying what side the broadcaster favours can be done by comparing how much coverage the liberal view gets compared to the conservative view and vice versa. An example of this would be if  charges of corruption were placed upon two politicians from similar positions, one liberal and the other conservative, compare how much different broadcasters feature of each story.

Bias by placement – Story placement is a measure of how relevant and important an editor considers a story and therefore in what order to run certain stories.  Bias by placement can be seen in newspapers as well as on line. Putting certain news stories in more obscure sections of a paper or online as to make the information harder to find would be an example of this bias type.  For example where media outlets place certain political stories. A story that supports their view would go on the front page where as news that supports the opposing ideology would be placed somewhere where people are not as likely to see it.

Bias by labelling –  There are two forms of bias by labelling. Firstly there is the extreme labelling of certain groups in a negative or positive way contrasted with more mild or completely missing labelling of opposite groups, take the conservative and labour parties for example.  The second kind is when labelling occurs when a reporter doesn't identify for example a liberal as a liberal or a conservative as a conservative, but instead labels the person/group with positive labels, like “an expert” or “independent consumer group.”  By using these labels the reporter gives the source false authority over the subject in question. Failing to label the expert as either liberal or conservative negates the readers ability to ascertain whether the expert's information is bias or has an agenda, making the report its self bias.  

  Bias through language- This is the use of loaded and emotive language to paint a manipulated picture of reality. The main example of this is the us of collocations by the media. Examples of these can include "helpless victim", "Islamist extremest" and "mindless youth". Continuously using these phrases has the effect of making them seem unbiased as it is considered the norm even tho in most cases this isn't true.

Bias through shot selection-  Ed Miliband has famously suffered perhaps the most overt use of photo bias with multiple photos being published that make him look rather strange demeaning him.

Bias through headline- A headline is the first thing a reader looks at and sums up a story. Because of this it is very important and thus can indicate whether or not there is any bias.

Bias through names- This is the bias used when referring to a particular person or group. For example one person enemy may be an others friend. For example we the liberal western news networks report the treatment of gay people in Russia as an abhorrence and report the gay community as the oppressed where as Russian news supportive of the Russian government would report in a way that sees the gay community as the abhorrence and the government in a positive light.