CBBC Newsround Case Study

2) How does Newsround use the key conventions of TV news?
One of the key conventions Newsround uses is graphics in their opening sequence. They use it to present the headline in front of a piece of footage from the story, and in the screen behind the presenter. After 3 headlines have been presented, there are 10 seconds of moving colourful graphics in the main opening.
3) Who are the presenters for BBC Newsround? Why do Newsround have a variety of presenters?
The main presenter for this edition is Martin Dougan, and the reporter is Ayshah Tull. I think they have a variety of presenters to make it more diverse, especially since there will be a highly diverse audience watching. This decreases the chance of anyone complaining to the BBC about any lack of diversity in the programme.

4) What does the studio look like? How is technology used in programme?
The main colour scheme in the studio is pink, purple, blue and white, colours that connote positivity and enthusiasm, which are both things that Newsround tries to create in their broadcasts.
5) What is the opening sequence to Newsround? Does it fit the key conventions of TV news?
The opening sequence consists of the headlines of 3 different stories being presented to the audience. This takes around 25 seconds. It does fit the key conventions because it is made quite dramatic especially with the 'news music' which started right at the beginning and was constant throughout the whole sequence.
6) How does Newsround typically present a news story? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.) The stories are usually presented with the presenter telling us the story, but not necessarily on camera; it will mostly be footage of the story with the presenter's voice over the top, with a short headline at the bottom of the screen.

7) Who is the target audience for Newsround? You may want to research this online.
The target audience for Newsround is 6-12 year olds.
8) Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme? Do young people feature in the news programme at all? Yes, after almost each story, the presenter makes it known to the audience that to find out more, they can go to the Newsround website. Also, with some stories, it's the young people themselves who are involved with presenting the story, or sending in their opinions/questions on the issues, and having them read out for people involved in the issue to respond to/answer.

9) What news stories are covered in the broadcasts you have watched? List ALL the stories that are covered AND the order that they appear in. How long does each story appear for?
The main story covered is the unveiling of the name of the new princess. This story lasts for just under 2 minutes.
The next story is about the thousands of Migrants in the Mediterranean. This lasts for 27 seconds.
The next story is about the upcoming election in 2 days time and mainly focused on the SNP and young people's views on the recent referendum. This story lasts for 5 and a half minutes.

Case Study 3 - Different TV News Programmes

Testing what you've learned...

1) What is the angle of a news story? Give an example to explain your answer. 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 presented. For example, the STV coverage of the election story was presented from a Scottish angle.

2) What is the difference between tabloid and broadsheet news coverage? Tabloids are less serious, focusing instead on celebrities, sports and crime stories. Broadsheet newspapers tend to cover serious news e.g. politics, economics and international stories.

3) What would be an example of a tabloid-style TV news programme? Sky News

4) What would be an example of a broadsheet-style TV news programme? BBC News at 10

5) What is the difference between international, national, regional and local news coverage? International is world news, national is UK based news, regional (for us) would be stories mainly concerning London, and local would be mainly concerning West London.

Answer the questions on the election coverage clips...

BBC News election story

1) Is this international, national, regional or local news? How can you tell? This is National because as well as referring to the candidates in England, it equally refers to Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP candidate.

2) What angle does the report take on the story? A national/UK angle.

3) Is this more tabloid or broadsheet-style coverage? It's more broadsheet style because its way of presenting the story is very formal.

4) What kind of audience would you expect to watch this type of TV news programme? Why? I would expect a more educated audience to watch this type because of the way they present it. It gives information that mainly educated, older people will understand, information and langauge that less young people will understand.


Sky News election story not available online - use your notes

1) Is this international, national, regional or local news? How can you tell? Again, because it talks about the SNP as well as the other parties, this makes it National News.

2) What angle does the report take on the story? A government angle because it gives an unbiased report of all the parties.

3) Is this more tabloid or broadsheet-style coverage? This is more tabloid style because it makes a few jokes regarding Larry the Cat which is something people don't need to know because they're interested in the candidates.

4) What kind of audience would you expect to watch this type of TV news programme? Why? I would expect a slightly younger audience to watch this because it gives a more interesting, simpler report on the story.


STV coverage of the election story

1) Is this international, national, regional or local news? How can you tell? This is regional story because its main focus is the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon, with less focus on other parties.

2) What angle does the report take on the story? Its angle is 100% Scottish.

3) Is this more tabloid or broadsheet-style coverage? It has a mix of both tabloid and broadsheet because it includes graphics in the report which could be accused of being 'dumbed down' for younger audiences to understand.

4) What kind of audience would you expect to watch this type of TV news programme? Why? I would expect the audience to be predominantly Scottish because it's Scottish TV, and I think the ages will differ, depending on the ages of people interested in the story, but I would expect the audience to be quite young because how the graphics make the dates concerning the election easier to understand.


Channel 4 News coverage of the election story

1) Is this international, national, regional or local news? How can you tell? This is a national story for the same reason that BBC News and Sky News are national.

2) What angle does the report take on the story? It takes a balanced angle on the story because the coverage of each party/party leader lasts for the same amount of time.

3) Is this more tabloid or broadsheet-style coverage? Although there are some elements of it that could make it tabloid style, it is outnumbered by the many broadsheet elements, e.g. formal language, dress, way of presenting the story.

4) What kind of audience would you expect to watch this type of TV news programme? Why?

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.

Channel 4 News Case Study

Basic details

1. When is Channel 4 News on? Monday-Friday 7pm - 7.55pm
2. When was the programme first broadcast? November 1982
3. What awards has the programme won? Royal Television Society Television Awards, News Coverage British Academy Television Awards, 2004 International Emmy for the best news programme produced and aired outside the United States.
4. What is the media institution that produces Channel 4 News? Channel 4

Presenters

1. Who are the presenters? Jon Snow, Matt Frei, Krishnan Guru Mathy, Cathy Newman
2. What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience? The two main presenters are wearing clothes that are generally for a formal occasion, e.g. a suit for the male presenter, and a plain black dress and tights for the female presenter. This communicates to the audience that the news is of high importance and is to be taken seriously as they themselves take it seriously.
3. Why might a TV News programme use a variety of presenters? There may be one presenter that some people really like, but some people may dislike, and the presenters that they like, the other people will dislike, so by regularly changing the presenter, you are pleasing different people on different days, but either way, you're pleasing someone every day.
4. How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV News programme? Other presenters are used to report live from the locations involved in the stories being broadcast. 
5. Is there a balance between male and female presenters? What about race/ethnicity? What effect might these aspects have on an audience? I think the majority of presenters are white British, and I think there is a even spread of male and female presenters, but the reporters are predominantly male. The fact that most of the presenters are white British will make people of other ethnicities feel disinclined to watch the news cause they could feel unable to relate to them or engage in the broadcast.

Opening sequence

Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme.

1. What is the very first shot? A busy airport
2. How does the opening sequence use graphics or images to grab the attention of the audience? They show a brief clip from a few of the stories that are going to be broadcast, which are surrounded by colourful moving graphics, grabbing the audience's attention, which could then make them wonder what the stories are about, subsequently encouraging them to continue watching.
3. How is music used in the opening sequence? It's not used until after the first brief summary of the first story is announced, and then it starts as the clips of other stories are playing. The music is clearly 'news music' and this could have the same effect on the audience as the graphics. 

Studio mise-en-scene

1. What aspects of the studio can be seen by the audience? (Desk, cameras etc.) At first, you can see the two presenters standing in front of their desk, but only for about a second, and then you can see a medium long shot of Jon Snow standing in front of a screen which slowly zooms in and stops so you can see just above his hips. 
2. Are the presenters standing or behind desks? Why do you think this is? I think they're standing to show the audience that they're confident to report to a large audience live, whereas reporting from behind a desk, gives them the desk to sit and hide behind, the desk being a symbol of protection so by presenting standing up out in the open they show their bravery and confidence.
3. Are journalists or technology visible? What might these things suggest to the audience? During this broadcast, no, no technology or journalists are visible.
4. How does the studio use colour? There is a fixed colour scheme which is blue, pink and white and they use those colours in graphics and some parts of the studio e.g. furniture and walls.

How news stories are presented

1. How does the news programme typically present a story? They usually start with the graphics, then transferring to the presenter/s and then start by with one of the presenters starting on the first story.
2. What difference techniques does the programme use to present the news? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.) Firstly, the camera is almost always moving, a technique that can keep the audience engaged/interested. Also, there is always something on the screen that we can see giving us information, whether it be the presenter/reporter or graphics.
3. What types of news does the TV News programme typically cover? Give five examples (e.g. politics, international, sport etc.) This news programme is known for covering international news, political news, national news and local news.
4. Give two real examples of how news stories presented to keep the interest of the audience. 

Running order
Watch the first 15 minutes of the programme – as recent as you can find.

1. What is the top story? How many illegal immigrants entered Britain after border controls were relaxed?
2. How long does the top story last for? 26 seconds
3. What are the other stories the programme does or will cover? List them in the order they are presented in (the ‘running order’). The Eurozone Crisis shifts focus here to Rome. (11 seconds)                                                              The details of who died in the M5 disaster are clarified. (11 seconds)                                              United in shock, the family of a man left in a mortuary for 13 years and the                                     Nigerians who were told it was a woman. (8 seconds)
4. Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was? I think the last one was shown for a shorter amount of time because it's not a story that everyone will be affected by, whereas loads of people drive down the M5 every day so more people will be interested in stories they will potentially be affected by.

Audience

What is the target audience for this TV News programme? Research online – you should be able to find plenty of suggestions to the target audience if not the official target audience of the programme. Statistics show that the majority of people that watch the news on Channel 4 are females under 35.

Why might someone choose to watch this TV News programme over others? It's less formal than others and it covers a wider variety of issues than others.


Institution

1. Who owns, runs or produces this TV News programme? ITN
2. Does the institution own, run or produce any other TV News programmes, channels or newspapers? Yes, it produces ITV news, and channel 5 news.
3. How does the programme fit the TV channel it is on? It's very informative but quite informal, like the other shows the channel consists of.
4. What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate? By making sure that the stories covered are balanced and show more than one opinion in certain circumstances, e.g. the election.

TV News and New/Digital Media

1. Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website? http://www.channel4.com/news/
2. What does the website offer viewers? Weather, TV catch up, and Snowmail
3. Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed? Yes
4. How does the Twitter feed promote the programme? It's one of the main aspects of the website and people can tweet in whatever they think about issues raised in the news.

Todorov, Propp and Barthes Theories

Todorov - Equilibrium

The equilibrium of this film is probably when Charlie, the main character is simply writing in a diary about being the new kid at his new High School, getting on with life like a normal student. The disequilibrium is when he finds friends who, as it says in the trailer, let him in. After this, his life changes and he experiences new things e.g. getting into fights and going to parties. The new equilibrium is not shown in the trailer but this is a good thing because if it was, no one would watch the film because they know how it's going to end so really there's no point.

Propp - Characters

I think the protagonist is Charlie because he is on a quest to find himself and as he says 'turn things around this year'.
I think the antagonist is Brad, a football player, who Charlie beats up after Brad trips Charlie's friend Patrick up.
I think the heroine is Sam, who Charlie is in love with. She and Patrick welcome Charlie into their friendship group and they are seen hugging towards the end of the trailer.
I think the father, donor and the mentor is Charlie's English teacher, who we see befriending Charlie at the beginning of the trailer and giving him friendship advice.
I think the helpers are Sam and Patrick because they accept him in their friendship group, are with him at most points during the film and they seem to help him in situations throughout.

Darthes - Codes

At one point in the trailer, we briefly see Charlie looking very upset and clutching his neck. An example of an enigma code, and a question that may be asked is 'what is making him upset and distressed?'. Another key moment in the trailer shows Charlie having a fight with another, older looking boy. Questions asked might be 'what caused the fight?', 'does he get hurt?' , 'who wins the fight?' , ' what happens after the fight?' and probably more. At another point in the trailer, we see Patrick joining in with the cheerleaders at the football game. Due to his demeanour and the way he moves, the obvious question that most people would ask is 'is he gay?' and 'does his being gay cause problems in the film?'. 

Word Count: 378

Representation

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming-of-age comedy drama film starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller.

Charlie, played by Logan Lerman is just starting high school and many stereotypes given to new kids are reinforced in the film. For example, his character appears shy, anti-social and friendless; everything you would expect a new student to be like, because this is how they are always portrayed in films and TV. He also seems vulnerable and an easy target for bullies and peer pressure, a demeanour he shows when he is standing at the back of the hall at the homecoming by himself, not really fitting in, which is again another way we would expect new people without friends to act.

We can tell that Patrick, an older boy who befriends Charlie shortly after he joins the school, is gay. We can tell this because at 0:56 when Charlie asks if he likes football, he says “love it,” and then joins in with the cheer leading, making us realise that he loves the cheer leading rather than the football. This is a typical stereotype of gay people; that they like 'girly' activities rather than 'manly' activities, and this is how the filmmakers have portrayed him.

Sam, a girl, also older, and already friends with Patrick is given a nickname at 1:25 by Patrick which is 'slut'. This is a derogatory term for a girl who has casual sex with more than one man. Although here it’s a joke between two friends, it's a common name given to many girls. However, there is not a common name given to men who do the same thing. This shows that males feel they can call girls that name frequently because girls are seemingly too weak to tell them to stop which is how they are portrayed, especially later in the trailer at 1:44 when it looks like a man is leading Sam into another room, apparently controlling her.

Assignment 2 - Film Promotion Poster

This is my poster for my film 'Sleep Tight'.