Unit 27

UNIT 27.1

Accuracy and Balance in Reporting.

The term accuracy and balance within reporting means that the views which get put across within the media need to be as correct as possible, if they aren’t this could lead to false information being broadcasted. When reporting there needs to be a balance between both sides, balance means where the two sides are as equal as possible. One isn’t more detailed than the other. This then means that when an individual is expressing their opinions on topics they need to contain exactness and precision in order to have a valid point and for them to be a credit to others.

Impartiality within the written press. 

Impartiality within the written press is of high significance as they compromise with their own views and then the other side to their views. The definition for impartiality is that the individual cannot be more biased towards or against any side in which would lead them to be fair and balanced towards a particular side. Things in which are Impartial tend to have a midpoint between the two views, this then broadcasts both sides so the media piece can be targeted at a wider audience.  “It applies to all our output and services - television, radio, online, and in our international services and commercial magazines.  We must be inclusive, considering the broad perspective and ensuring the existence of a range of views is appropriately reflected.”

This particular quote shows how presenters mainly have to ensure that a range of views are being broadcasted. An example of this is Kirsty Wark Newsnight, as she is the presenter she has to ensure that all the sides of the argument is being broadcasted and it is not biased. She does this by questioning all the individuals and not being lenient towards one individual.

Impartiality can also be shown in newspapers. This consists of being fair and balanced towards a certain topic, specific Newspapers such as The Independent don’t tend to just publish one side of an argument. They are not more lenient to one side of the argument they show both sides. If two sides are being shown this would then widen their audience as not everyone has the same views and tastes.

Keywords

KeywordsSubjectivity  

Newspapers such as The Daily Mail show a subjective approach due to the content they use. The term subjectivity means their judgement is based on individual personal impressions rather than external facts. The Daily Mail is a mid-market tabloid with is right winged, this means they are very towards capitalists. By being subjective this means that you only see one side of a debate, you only broadcast your opinion and do not take note about the other side of the debate.

An example of this is Katie Hopkins on This morning, within the first few minutes of this clip she provides a subjective opinion as she broadcasts her opinion widely and doesn’t let anyone interfere or anyone’s opinion change her values. She bases her judgement on her own personal impressions rather than other people’s opinions and external facts. She states her own opinions in order to provoke an argument to provide entertainment rather than political facts.

Objectivity

The term objectivity means where you take into account both sides of a debate, you don’t take sides one over another. You can’t express or insinuate your feelings/opinion’s towards the topics as you need to take into account both sides not just one. In order to be objective this means that you are not biased, you take into consideration other peoples views and opinions. This is important for people within the media so they are not coming across as biased towards someone or something.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fKkMlPpjSA

Opinion and Bias

The definition of the term opinion is a view or judgement which is formed about something, not necessarily based on a fact or knowledge. It is usually your own belief which isn’t usually influenced by any strong knowledge. Within the media it is key to have your own opinion especially if you’re a journalist, your own opinion can define you and make you be well known in either a bad or good way.

An example of being objective is again Katie Hopkins, within this clip she states her own opinion clearly as she provides her own beliefs widely which aren’t necessarily influenced by any strong correct knowledge. She also provides a biased side as she may just be mainly against large people, within a different clip she clearly states how she wouldn’t hire anyone who could be redeemed as ‘fat’. This shows how she provides a biased side as she unfairly prejudices her views against someone.

The definition of the term biased is unfairly basing a decision for or against someone or something, this could be something in which you dislike within the media or someone in which you strongly dislike which would then lead you to be biased towards them if they are giving a valid view but you still disagree due to your personal opinion on them. But then also the opposite, favouring someone’s view even if it is not what you believe simply because you like them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLvrZBdHXXQ

Identifying and explaining codes and conventions of News Programming

The clip above is from the BBC News which shows how they report their news. They report their News with great efficiency, they address themselves as very smart and formal. This is shown throughout their speech and also their choice of clothing. They wear adequate suitable clothing such as suites and other formal wear to entice their intended audience, as the News is targeted at a mass audience the look and style of the show is at high importance so they wear clothing which looks formal and smart enough for live broadcasted TV News. Their posture is also at high importance, they sit up straight without being slouched, this shows their formality and professionalism. This also attracts their targeted audience if they look efficient and experienced.

The speech is also a vital piece to the news in order to communicate with the audience properly, if their speech is clear, which it usually is, the individuals watching will be able to understand it to the highest ability which then makes this particular news more successful. When hard news is being broadcasted the speech of the presenter is very monotone, they tend to not show any emotions through their speech due to the topics which they are discussing. They use a suitable approach as the topics which would be discussed could be delicate.

When discussing topics they use a discourse manner, this term means its not the way we speak its the way we pronounce the words. The presenter in this particular clip punctuates his last words at the end of his sentences, this makes his tone much more interesting to their audience and his tone isn't all the same through out it all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HPYNuMNlwkNews Readers

BBC News Field Reporters

An example of field reporters is shown in this BBC News clip, there is a reporter on the plane which shows how he is a field reporter as he is reporting about a current event live from a search which is taking place to find the missing plane. As he is not in the studio this also shows how he is a field reporter. Most News shows have field reporters, this is where they have reporters further away from the studio itself.

They have reporters at the scene of what they are reporting about, it is live so the effect is better. Within the background you can usually see what is going on, such as the scene in which is being reported on. This then gives you a further insight into the topic which is being reported so then you are further educated about it. Field reporters are live on scene so if there was something currently hot topic in the media they could get an interview with them, an example of this is if someone famous has been in court.

The field reporters could then get an exclusive live interview with them. The main mode of address for BBC News would be very formal and direct, as the studio news reporters look directly down the camera this shows they provide a direct address. The way they speak and dress suggests their formality as they need to look and sound professional in order to engage with the audience so they then further watch this particular News.  

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26569553

Interviews- Experts and Witnesseshttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-26511234

This clip above shows how interviews are used within the News. Within The News there is a wide range of interviews which get broadcasted, they are usually in the category of experts and witnesses. This usually takes place when an event has happened which needs other peoples opinions in order to get perspectives of a family or experts. In terms of this clip, it is based on the Malaysia Missing Plane, they show short interviews with experts in this case which is a member from an Air Accident team, this then gives their perspective and further information. This provides the audience with wider detailed information than they already know. There is also an interview with a former pilot of the Boeing 777 plane. By doing this it provides his view on the events so the audience then know his possible verdict on what has happened. 

BBC News- Actuality Footage

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxsCNux6-W8

Actuality Footage is footage which is used within things such as documentaries, News Reports or Films. They show footage of a live event which has happened, it captures the footage which is then broadcasted through the media in many ways. An example of this is a clip from the BBC News, it shows the collapsing of a building in New York. It shows the real life footage of the building itself collapsing which then provides the audience with information about what actually happened. It shows the aerial view of the building collapsing with then emergency teams helping. By using actuality footage is lets the audience into a more detailed visual description.

Documentary types and formats- Expository

An expository documentary looks behind the scenes into current affairs, it provides a wider insight into the affairs with further detail. The intentions of an expository documentary is to explain/describe the topic further or in-depth. An example of this is the BBC TV programme ‘Panorama’. Within this clip of the TV show there is a range of codes and conventions being used. Within the introduction voice overs are used widely, they show images of things relating to the topics with voice overs which summarizes what will be included within the show. They also use interviews within the show, both experts and witnesses. They use both these interviews in order to provide both perspectives from two sides, an experts point of view would be more educationally based whereas the witnesses view would be based on their own opinions. They use cut away’s to show a transition between one scene to another such as graphics going onto archive footage.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdr6HdAdvlU

Documentary types and formats-Observational

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkgwqfjZf38

An observational documentary either observes people, places or events in order to portray their documentary. It is usually contains mainly images with a voice over, it is usually just one main voice over not a various amount. They use a wide range of images related to the documentary which have been taken by that specific company. They then usually use cut away’s to show the transition from one image to another. An observational documentary can be like a “fly on the wall” due to the camera being there following them around.

An example of this is BBC Observational Documentary with David Attenborough. The camera has followed him around in order to observe the places and events. They have a wide range of codes and conventions which they use within their documentary to engage their target audience. Some of this codes and conventions are graphics, within observational documentaries they use more graphics rather than things such as interviews. They add voice overs on the top to give a summary of what is happening within the images, this then makes the audience more interested as there is images being shown not just interviews.

They also use cut away’s to show the transition between one picture onto another, this then provides the audience that the scene has changed. Near the end of the documentary there is a short part where there is actually people shown within the scene not just voice overs, this is then actuality footage.

Documentary types and formats-Narrativisation

Narrativisation is very similar to dramatization, they are usually half scripted and real and are not necessarily actors which get used. Voice overs are never normally used as there is just constant conversation between the individuals.

An example of narrativisation is The Only Way is Essex, they use individuals to create a semi reality show for their audience. They don’t necessarily use actors to create it, they just use random people who would fit the part. It is mostly scripted so this is what makes it a narrativisation show. They use a wide range of codes and conventions, a title sequence is used which includes all the main characters in the series with a theme tune that is although very old still gives a modern affect. The style of the characters in the opening sequence is very smart and sophisticated due to their clothing and houses. The most common camera shots used include close up or medium shots, the close ups show the facial expressions and the key props. They used many shot reverse shots which get used when a conversation is taking place. Another code and convention is cliff hangers, the director uses this to create suspense and to keep the audience interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e17_OSYALGg

Documentary types and formats-Dramatization

Dramatization within a documentary is the acting out of a real life event which has happened, the use of different actors portrays the events which have taken place. It is in some way a sort of re-enactment of a certain event as actors are chosen to represent a certain person within an event which has happened, it is usually things such as crimes which have happened which get dramatized.

An example of this is Crime Watch, within Crime Watch they use real events put re-enact them with other individuals in order to portray the event. Within this clip a wide range of codes and conventions are used, cut away’s are mainly used to show the transition from one scene to another. This then provides the audience that there has been a scene change or story change. Voice overs are also used in the introduction to show what stories will be told within this programme. They also show a vast range of images one after another which link to the events. They also include interviews with Police Investigation Officers which are in this case experts, this gives a the perspective of someone investigating the crime. Re-enactments are also broadcasted, this is how it makes it a dramatization. It lets the audience know what has happened.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyJwns_MTok

Bibliography

Macmillan Dictionary (online)http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/biased [Accessed 27th February 2014]

Fox (2011) The Foxification of News (online) http://www.economist.com/node/18904112 [Accessed 24th February 2014] 

Accuracy | Define Accuracy at Dictionary.com . 2014. Accuracy | Define Accuracy at Dictionary.com . [ONLINE] Available at: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/accuracy. [Accessed 24 February 2014].

BBC(online) BBC Guidelines http://www.bbc.co.uk/editorialguidelines/page/guidelines-impartiality-introduction/ [Accessed 7th March 2014]