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Television News (1)

Social Purpose

Presents the main events of the day

Informative and entertaining (divided into short, dramatic stories)

Subect !atter

Politics " government, parliament, politicians and policies#

The economy " stoc$ mar$et, trade, unemployment, interest rates, inflation#

%oreign affairs " news on international relations (treaties etc) and events in overseas countries#

National affairs & concerns maor crime, industrial relations, the environment, the law etc# 'onflict is an essential

ingredient for audience interest#

uman interest stories " concentrates on entertainment rather than information# 'elebrities ma$e regular

appearances along with etraordinary animals and ama*ing +believe it or not stories#

-isasters & appear regularly & if the pictures are dramatic, the story could go to the top of the bulletin#

Sport & almost always at the end of the bulletin# 'onflict is the essential ingredient and competitive sport the main

focus#

ard News versus Soft News

ard News.

Soft News.

/lements of a news program

The following features impact on how the news is received by you.

Signature music, which plays over the opening of the program & is distinctive and recognisable, often stirring or

dramatic, conveying a sense of the importance of the programs content

0 logo& designed to be instantly recognisable

0 distinctive set, usually featuring a des$ at which the newsreader(s) sit & the des$ is uncluttered with a sheaf

of papers that they might refer to occasionally# There is also a laptop computer that the newsreader can useto chec$ for updates or ma$e corrections to an upcoming script while pre"recorded stories are going to air#The effect is to instil confidence in the viewer that the newsreader is professional and well"informed#

Backdrops& placed behind the newsreader to provide a visual contet & tend to be single"colour and

unobtrusive, so that the viewers focus remains on the newsreader# This reinforces the serious nature of thenews program# 0uthenticity is very important and many techniues are used to achieve this. on"locationreporting, for instance, will show a news correspondent in front of a bac$drop that signifies their location, suchas the front of the 2hite ouse to signal +2ashington for the viewer# Such iconic images act as visualshorthand because everyone understands their significance and they allow the reporter to focus on the newsitem without having to establish the bac$ground#

Light, colour and sound which help create particular moods & sombre colours and low"$ey lighting will tend toaccompany a story about a tragedy# 3righter colours and sometimes upbeat music are used with humaninterest of +feel"good stories as well as reports about a sporting teams victory#

A newsreader(s) or news anchoris ideally li$ed and trusted by the audience# 4nce this was achieved by

employing father"figures (older, +respectable men) to read the news, but this practice is changing to includeyounger newsreaders & both mean and women# Their appearances follow very specific conventions withdistinctly different preferred styles for male and female presenters#

!ale newsreaders usually %emale newsreaders usually

2ear dar$ business suits

and sil$ ties

2ear business suits and

blouses, often with lownec$lines

ave neat conservative

haircuts and no facial hair

2ear natural"loo$ing ma$e"up

and little or no ewellery

0re older 0re younger

5oo$ respectable 5oo$ attractive

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Studio lightingis usually bright, eliminating shadows on the newsreaders face# 3ecause this can be

very harsh on older faces, younger presenters are often used# The latter also promote a youthfulinformed image for the networ$#

The newsreaders delivery of the newsestablishes a sense of authority and reliability through tone,

clearly articulated speech and a calm and controlled voice and manner# Their epression is usuallyserious, signalling the importance of their role as the transmitters of $ey information to the public# 0switch to a +brighter facial epression when reading more light"hearted news adds variety and relief#

The use of socalled !standard "nglish& grammatically correct language & establishes the

realiability and authority of the newsreader

#lips and footagethat visually represent the story & give authenticity to the news report because they appear to

present the +truth of what actually happened#" Stories with interesting or dramatic footage are often prioritised#" %ootage is edited to highlight a particular angle on a story and to remove less interesting elements or

viewpoints "because news stories are brief, there is usually no space to eamine multiple viewpoints on an event or issueThe lighting and sound used to accompany moving images affect the way in which the audience interprests them#

Location footage& designed to give authenticity to a news report, a sense that reporters are on the spot to

transmit information directly to the viewer# 4verseas correspondents provide a powerful sense of truthfulness& even if the reporter gets their information from press releases (information that is pre"pac$aged by officialsources) rather than first"hand# 'lothing can also give a sense of legitimacy to the reporting#

!Talking headsor eperts are used to give news stories credibility, suggesting that the story is well"researchedand endorsed by informed commentators# Sometimes this is accompanied by still images showing $eyplayers, locations and evidence (a bombed site for instance) to hold viewer attention#

"yewitness accountssimilarly persuade viewers that the events in the story happened in the way described#

They imply independent corroboration of events, though they may not be accurate#

Advertisements& the program is supported by advertisers and there is a powerful pressure therefore to $eep

ratings figures high by attracting as many viewers as possible#

Techniues used in news reports

%act vs opinion (news vs commentary)

6se of emotive language (subectivity vs obectivity)

'onflict

News item Type of conflict 7isual images usedto depict conflict

5anguage used todepict conflict

Sound effect /yewitness ortal$ing head

0 doc$ersstri$e

men againstauthorities

0ngry crowd8 close"up of peoples facesyelling abuse andobscenities, policeusing crowd controltactics & batons,police dogs

+angry+tension+mob+said theyd hadenough+restrain

3ar$ing dogs,yelling people

Interview withunion boss

/gypt " 0l9a*eeraournalistssentenced toail

(on 0ustralianside)0ustralianindividual vs/gypt

!ilitary (tan$,soldiers)People behind bars'ourt

/vidence (socialmedia statistics)

-evastatingTerrorist0ccused-eeply dismayed0nguishedImposedseverity

'ar horns %oreign minister !ultiple reportsfrom differentreporters'orrespondence

6nlawfuluarrying

!arginalisedfarmers againstminers

!ining euipment,eroding riverban$uarry

Special treatment

03' bac$ground." -istinct set " moving news screens" 2ell dressed woman" as tablet,