Introduction to the News

Introduction to the news

The broadcast I watched was ITV weekday broadcast for the 5th of June, they talk about expansions to heathrow, rise in petrol and one of the main topics was that the people who repaired Grenfell tower regarding their silence. The news presenter was Mary nightingale and there was also reports from Angus Walker. The way the news is presented is that normally the darker topics are mentioned first, and then throughout the broadcast they moved on to more happier events. They used dramatic shots and sounds when they show images or videos of this broadcast that regard topics that are controversial, an example of this is when the prices of petrol were shown during the broadcast, a loud noise played and a dramatic shot of the prices appeared. The camera was at a low angle and zoomed in to make the prices seem as big as possible.

When the plans to expand Heathrow airport was discussed, the broadcast used graphics to show the viewers the pros of the expansion, this is to give viewers a good impression of the plans, some politicians were shown to disagree, such as Boris Johnson, but this was only slightly talked about. There was interviews and shots of conversations happening between people who disliked the idea of adding another runway because of the noise pollution.

During the talks about Grenfell Tower, its clear to see that it was made to look gloomy, and create a dark atmosphere while it was being spoken about. All interviews were in dark rooms, and there was also a lot of black clothing. Its clear to see how News teams can manipulate a story by setting the mood in the audio and Mis En Scene. The News readers jobs are to create debate amongst viewers, this is why they give all of the information and try their best to include both viewpoints. The skills needed to be a newsreader is that you would have to be comfortable in front of a very large audience and it would also help to be well informed on the situation they are presenting about, this is so they can plan any questions or answers if they are doing an interview. News ordering is when news channels air sad stories that are controversial or relatable, this is because it will entice viewers and they will want to hear about the outcome, the broadcast usually ends with a nice story that will make viewers happy, News channels often do this so the viewers finish the program not worried about the events this is hard to do now a days because the large majority of news stories that are put in are about tragic events or bad news. For example the broadcast i watched included a story about a charity walk for American Veterans, the story talks about the veterans coming together for a walk across america to raise money and support for veterans returning home, this is a noble deed hence why this was included near the end of the broadcast, otherwise known as the “and finally story”.

Unfortunately, if there is what is known as a “slow news day” the stories usually include things such as allegations, and celebrity news, any controversial topic that they know will bring in viewers.

Immediacy- This is when the most important stories are spoken about first, which reels viewers in to watch more, and also hear about the most controversial events without having to watch ones they are not interested in or have no care for.

Amplitude - News Stories are broadcasted on how much attention and views it will receive, sometimes news channels will cover a topic more than others, this is because they know its a popular story, so there will be a lot of viewers who watch the broadcast to see information about the event.

Frequency- The news also tends to cover stories and subjects that don't often occur, for example in sport, if a team wins a game this will probably not be spoken about, but for example if England won the world cup(don't get your hopes up) it will be all over the news because it is a very rare occasion which people will want to hear about.

Predictability/ Surprise - This is when only stories that are seen as exciting or out of the ordinary are used, this is to keep viewers interested and will want them to view the news again the next day to see what is happening, if a boring story is aired then eventually viewers will become bored and lose interest.

Balance- This is why the started and kicker is used, this helps viewers come away from the program and give the program more of a happy feeling despite the dark topics they may have covered.

Unambiguity - There are many accents around britain, this is why the presenters often sound like they are speaking very formally, this is just so people who are viewing are able to understand the speaker.

There is Bias located all over media, for example in the media bad pictures can be posted to make someone out to be perceived as bad, for example, people who commit crimes often are showed in the news by using unflattering pictures. It also affects other types of media, newspapers can sometimes be perceived as bias, especially in the headline, this is where bias is most prominent because it can be done it a short phrase and its also the writing people will see the most as it is in big text on the front page. Overall it can be used to manipulate the general public into seeing a situation how the writers want them to see it.

During the intro to the broadcast, there was animations that highlighted the key events that were going to be happening, this is to give the viewers a understanding of what's to come in the broadcast. Dramatic shots are used before the animations are played, these are used as sort of highlights, but when the reporter mentions them for the first time, they only mention it vaguely and try to make it seem intriguing to the viewer so they stay and watch more.