BBC 1 News at 6 Case Study

Basic details

1. What do the letters BBC stand for? British Broadcasting Corporation
2. How is the BBC funded? Licence Fee
3. What is the BBC's famous mission statement? (Clue: it's three words) Inform, Educate, Entertain
4. What is BBC1's programme remit? BBC One's remit is to be the BBC's most popular mixed-genre television service across the UK, offering a wide range of high quality programmes.

Presenters

1. Who are the presenters of BBC News at Six? Huw Edwards, Sophie Raworth, and Fiona Bruce are currently the main presenters.
2. What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience? Sophie Raworth is wearing a blue blazer and black trousers. A generally smart outfit, this communicates that the news is very important to them and taken seriously by them and is expected to be taken seriously by its audience.
3. Why might a TV News programme use a variety of presenters? Some people may prefer the way some presenters present the news more than others, so in order to keep the viewing figures up, they need to alternate between presenters.
4. How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV news programme? Other reporters are used to go to the location of the story being reported and present the story from there.
5. Is there a balance between male and female presenters? What about race/ethnicity? What effect might these aspects have on an audience?

Opening sequence
Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme. (29/04/15)

1. What is the very first shot? A medium zooming in shot of Sophie Raworth immediately starting to read the news.
2. How does the opening sequence use graphics or images to grab the attention of the audience? Its usual 15 second intro with graphics and 'news music' is so famous that it immediately tells the audience within the first few seconds what show it is so people who enjoy it will be instantly hooked.
3. How are news stories introduced in the opening two minutes? Is there just one story or are the audience told what will be coming up later? There are four stories introduced, each one lasting about 10-40 seconds and then the graphics begin.

Studio mise-en-scene

1. What aspects of the studio can be seen by the audience? After the graphics sequence, you can see the newsroom and then the cameras and lights in the studio along with a back view of Sophie Raworth's desk and the presenter herself standing in front of a screen.
2. Are the presenters standing or behind desks? Why do you think this is? Sophie is standing in front of a screen to show that she is confident and ready to present the news without a desk to sit behind; the desk could be a symbol of safety for some presenters so to stand up by herself shows her confidence.
3. How does the studio use colour? The main colour scheme is red, white and black and this is used in the graphics, studio equipment, studio furniture etc. I think red is a good colour because it symbolises seriousness which is how this show intends to come across.

How news stories are presented

1. How does the news programme typically present a story? It usually presents the headline at the beginning of the show, then comes back to it later to present it in more detail e.g. more reports from journalists, interviews with people involved etc.
2. What different techniques does the programme use to present the news? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.) There are many different times the news is presented with the reporter on location and although them being there isn't vital, it still adds to the serious feel the news tries to put forward to the audience. Also, interviews with members of the public means that normal people are able to put their opinion across to the country and there will be people watching with the same opinion so that reassures them that their opinion is valid and reasonable because another member of the public shares it.
3. What types of news does the TV News programme typically cover? Give five examples (e.g. politics, international, sport etc.) This programme usually covers politics, e.g. daily updates on all the parties concerning the election. It also tends to cover sports stories towards the end of the programme, with very little about celebrities. It also covers international stories, e.g. survivors still being pulled out of the rubble after the Nepalese earthquake.
4. Give two real examples of how news stories are presented to keep the interest of the audience. "The air we breathe is not nearly clean enough: the supreme court orders the government to take urgent action". By presenting this story's headline before giving a detailed explanation, it leaves the audience wondering what effect the UK's air is going to have on our health. As most people care very much about their health, they'll be desperate to know the consequences so will keep watching until they find out.                                                                                                                       The story about the Nepalese earthquake will hold many people's attention because there will be a number of people in this country from Nepal or with relatives in Nepal and so will want to know what areas have been affected by it, especially if they have relatives living in those areas.

Running order

1. Watch the first 15 minutes of the programme – as recent as you can find.
2. What is the top story? Family finances take center stage as the Conservatives and Labour trade blows over taxation.
3. How long does the top story last for? The headline lasts 41 seconds, the main story lasts 8 minutes exactly.
4. What are the other stories the programme does or will cover? List them in the order they are presented in (the ‘running order’). A teenager has been found guilty of preparing acts of terrorism, these included planning to make a pipe bomb and the grooming of a young man with learning difficulties to murder British soldiers. (2 and a half mins)                                                                                  The air we breathe is not nearly clean enough: the supreme court orders the government to take urgent action. (2 and a half mins) 
5. Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was? I think the top story was 4 times as long as the other two stories because it's based around the election which is in a week's time and so any last minute information the parties might be giving out will want to be heard by the public in case it changes their view on who to vote for.

Audience

1. What is the target audience for this BBC News at Six? Research online – you should be able to find plenty of suggestions to the target audience if not the official target audience of the programme. The average weekly reach of all BBC to an audience of people aged 16+ in January - March 2013 was 96.8%.
2. What are the viewing figures for BBC News at Six? On average it gets 4 million views daily.
3. Why might someone choose to watch this TV news programme over others? It presents its stories in a formal way, but also in a way that helps people of all ages to relate and understand what the stories are about.

Institution

1. What other news programmes and services does the BBC offer in addition to the BBC News at Six? They also have BBC Breakfast, BBC News at 10, BBC3 60 second news and Newsnight on BBC 2.
2. What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate? Section 5 of the Broadcasting Code: Due Impartiality and Due Accuracy and Undue Prominence of Views and Opinions.
3. The BBC has been accused of 'dumbing down' the News at Six. What does this mean? Do you agree with the accusation that the news is 'dumbed down'? This means that the BBC have made their reports simple in order for younger audiences to understand them. I don't agree with this accusation because I think its important for all members of the audience to understand the news they're listening to/watching, so I think it's essential for it to be made simpler.

TV News and New/Digital Media

1. Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website? Yes it does, as well as the BBC News website, there is a separate one for BBC News at 6.
2. What does the website offer viewers? It offers news, sport, weather, BBC iPlayer, TV, and Radio, and a search engine so people can search for something specific.
3. Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed? There isn't a specific one for the News at 6 but there is one for BBC News in general.