News presentation

News presentation

The institution, its representative and its representation

Before we begin

• A reminder about what we are doing and why• Back in February we started the course• We looked at course aims

Aims of course

• By the end of the course you will have gained• Awareness of text features• Knowledge of metalanguage• Experience of text analysis • Analytical skills

• Greater English language competence

Media language

• English language media discourse is an important resource for political scientists

• To be able to use this resource is an asset • English language newspapers and television

news provide language practice and political content

• Data collection from these sources can be an important research tool

English media discourse: the language of evaluation and attribution

• This course aims to introduce students to the English language resources of evaluation and attribution in media texts (broadsheets and TV news).

• Students will be introduced to examples of media discourse research and will practice and develop descriptive and analytical skills using media texts.

• You need to be exposed to English to learn it• The more you are exposed the more you

assimilate• Exposure means reading and listening• You are students of politics and need to

understand a variety of text types

• This course aims to give you experience of media texts in English, news discourse: TV and press.

• It aims to raise your awareness of two particular text types

• But also provide a metalanguage to describe aspects of the discourse and a methodology for analysis

• It aims also to introduce you to English language research which is of some relevance to political scientists.

• You will also practice data gathering and data analysis

• And improve your language skills.

Politics is nearly all done by language

• There are two things non-native speakers find very difficult:

• to understand stance, that is to say subjective attitudes expressed in discourse

• and to understand who is taking responsibility for any one particular statement

• this why we will be concentrating on evaluation and attribution

TV news discourse

• We will now be looking at tv news discourse in more detail

• In much the same way as we looked closely and newspaper discourse

• We will examine structure• And learn to recognise how attribution and

evaluation are typically performed• And get practice in transcription for analysis

News presentation• two levels/phases of presentation:– the programme itself : the product of the

institution• semiotic, visual aspects in opening sequence of

signature graphics, logo, images of NPs, studio• verbal: headlines

– the item (kernel) of the NP, the representative of the institution

From transmission to communication• Evolution of the news bulletin from a concern with

the transmission of news/a message to a concern with the communication of news/a message– newsreader - previous formats– reads with no distractions from the message, thus:

• lack of background• head and shoulders frame • only one person at a time• no extraneous or spontaneous comments• no personalisation

• Also consistent with this conception of the news :– Irregular nomination of reporter in the field and

his/her location– Lack of an obvious studio space/place

Space of the studio

• Visual and verbal references to geographical position

• Signalled iconically• Newsroom as background• Proximal and distal deixis• Site of enunciation• Discourse of headlines

Mode of address

• Autocue, teleprompter allowed direct relationship with audience with eye contact

• Qualitatively different from direct address• Not grounded in reciprocity• Parasocial interaction• Establishment of the frame through direct

greetings

The turn to communication

• Developments in technology • Recognition of potential, self-awareness• Shifting of focus from transmission to communication

of message

– PR firms engaged to re-vamp institutional images– Communicative skills and personal qualities of NPs and

studio, which represent the institution– More relaxed and informal presentation, personalisation,

consistent with growing self-referentiality

BBC logo 1987

ITV Studio 1992-99

ITV studio 2005

ITV studio Trevor and Julie 2008

ITV studio 2010