To what extent does TV news show reality, and to what extent is that reality constructed?
News programmes have many different tricks to both knowingly and subconsciously connote truth, reality and un-biased delivery to their audiences, especially through their opening sequences. A combination of transparent graphics and visuals of the newsroom studios are favoured concepts many popular news programmes adopt to enforce this. For a more in depth analysis of this, see my previous blog post dedicated to the connotations of truth during opening sequences - http://rebeccabarnardbtecmedia.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/connotations-of-news-starting-sequences.html
Apart from attempting to enforce a feeling of neutrality to their audiences, it is actually required by law and ensured by OFCOM that television news is impartial. Here is a link to the official OFCOM website outlining section 2: Accuracy and Impartiality - https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/legacy/text_srvcs/part_a/89248
Here is what the OFCOM Accuracy and Impartiality requirements entail -
Apart from attempting to enforce a feeling of neutrality to their audiences, it is actually required by law and ensured by OFCOM that television news is impartial. Here is a link to the official OFCOM website outlining section 2: Accuracy and Impartiality - https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/legacy/text_srvcs/part_a/89248
Here is what the OFCOM Accuracy and Impartiality requirements entail -
2 Accuracy and Impartiality
24 February 2005
This document was originally published by the ITC, one of the organisations replaced by Ofcom at the end of 2003. It represents Ofcom's current policy.
- All news in any part of the service should be presented with due accuracy and impartiality.
- Due impartiality should be preserved on the part of persons providing the service as respects matters of political or industrial controversy or relating to current public policy.
- The Act places the additional duty on the ITC to do all that it can to secure the exclusion of all expressions of licensees' views and opinions on matters (other than the provision of programme services) which are of political or industrial controversy or relate to current public policy. If a director or officer of a licensee does express an opinion on such controversial matters, in a broadcast by the licensee, it must be in a context which makes clear that the opinion expressed is not that of the licensee. Speeches in Parliament are exempt.
- Licensees should adhere to the rules on impartiality drawn up in accordance with Section 6(3) of the Act, contained in Section 3 of the ITC Programme Code.
Although it is compulsory by law that news is broadcasted truthfully, news values are applied to suit the target audience and craft their perception of 'reality'.
These particular news values consist of 12 factors and were devised by Johan Gultang and Mari Holmboe Ruge. These specific steps determine how important a story is and also the value of the story to the audience, as often particular news stories are not universally important. Below is a detailed explanation of each step of Galtung and Ruge's theory.
These particular news values consist of 12 factors and were devised by Johan Gultang and Mari Holmboe Ruge. These specific steps determine how important a story is and also the value of the story to the audience, as often particular news stories are not universally important. Below is a detailed explanation of each step of Galtung and Ruge's theory.
Galtung and Ruge (1973)
1 - Frequency
The span of an event heavily influences it's value. Short term events are peferred over long-term, for example, a murder such as the one shown below from NBC News is very likely to be featured on the programme, whereas a widespread famine will only be broadcasted when it begins and ends, unless developments occur such as a UNICEF statement as these are ''breaking news'' stories (events that have recently taken place that news companies feel as though the public should be told about).
2 - Threshold
The scale of the event is a deciding factor upon whether a story appears on the news or not. For example, a news story about the death of a person of high class, status or celebrity, such as that of pop star Michael Jackson in 2009, is very likely to be included in the programme, whereas an ordinary citizen will not, unless their death is unusual circumstances.
3 - Unambiguity
News reports do not contain much complicated information as there is only a certain amount of allotted time that it can fill before the programme must move on. Thus, details and circumstances are often cut down or sometimes completely missed out as the programmes assume the audiences knowledge of the situation. This is common in reports about war developments, as there is not enough time to explain every detail as to how and why the war is happening. This news report below shows developments between Iraq's war on IS, but as a previously mentioned, the assumption is made that the audience knows about what is happening, as not much explanation is given about the events that are being shown.
4 - Meaningfulness
Audiences unknowingly have some influence over which stories are broadcasted. The target audience for most news programmes is usually the same as the demographic of the people that create it. This is to do with 'cultural proximity', meaning the relvance to the audience watching it. Western news programmes often contain pieces about certain issues that affect Western culture or Western celebrities, and these stories are usually culture specific and of no interest to other cultures. For example, most news stories about the British government such as the one below, are only broadcasted in the UK as these issues are usually of no particular interest to other countries as it doesn't affect them.
5 - Consonance
This refers to the familiarity of the structure of the news programme. Viewers are used to the order and the type of stories that are shown, for instance expected stories such as politics, sport and the weather create the familiar structure of the programme.
6 - Unexpectedness
The part sparks the audiences interest and draws them in to what is being shown. The rarity of an event deems the story as newsworthy, for example if someone is bitten by a dog, that would not be broadcasted as it's a minor event and doesn't affect enough people, whereas if the person that had been bitten was savaged to death by the said dog, it is more likely to be deemed as 'newsworthy' as it's a shocking and unexpected event. Unusual or funny news stories like the one below are also featured so as to contrast the often negative ones that dominate the programme.
Here is a link to a website that outlines the other 6 new values - http://heworthmediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/galtung-and-ruge-news-values-theory.html
Another method that news companies construct the reality that we see/the stories that are broadcasted to the public is the 'Gatekeeping Process', and the steps are shown below via a diagram I created (click to expand);
Many different variables can affect an events journey to broadcast. An excellent example of this is the September 11th attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. Before this event took place, an entire news programme had been created and was ready to be broadcasted, but when Western news companies were informed of the events all previously prepared stories would have been completely scrapped and the primary focus of the programme would have been the attacks.
Another variable that may affect the broadcasting of certain stories would be technical difficulties. A story with a segment that includes a live broadcast from a certain location linked to that story may have interference or the signal may not be transmitting meaning that the live broadcast section of the story would have to be abandoned, leaving roughly 3-4 minutes worth of spare time during the programme that would need to be filled.
2 - Threshold
The scale of the event is a deciding factor upon whether a story appears on the news or not. For example, a news story about the death of a person of high class, status or celebrity, such as that of pop star Michael Jackson in 2009, is very likely to be included in the programme, whereas an ordinary citizen will not, unless their death is unusual circumstances.
3 - Unambiguity
News reports do not contain much complicated information as there is only a certain amount of allotted time that it can fill before the programme must move on. Thus, details and circumstances are often cut down or sometimes completely missed out as the programmes assume the audiences knowledge of the situation. This is common in reports about war developments, as there is not enough time to explain every detail as to how and why the war is happening. This news report below shows developments between Iraq's war on IS, but as a previously mentioned, the assumption is made that the audience knows about what is happening, as not much explanation is given about the events that are being shown.
4 - Meaningfulness
Audiences unknowingly have some influence over which stories are broadcasted. The target audience for most news programmes is usually the same as the demographic of the people that create it. This is to do with 'cultural proximity', meaning the relvance to the audience watching it. Western news programmes often contain pieces about certain issues that affect Western culture or Western celebrities, and these stories are usually culture specific and of no interest to other cultures. For example, most news stories about the British government such as the one below, are only broadcasted in the UK as these issues are usually of no particular interest to other countries as it doesn't affect them.
5 - Consonance
This refers to the familiarity of the structure of the news programme. Viewers are used to the order and the type of stories that are shown, for instance expected stories such as politics, sport and the weather create the familiar structure of the programme.
6 - Unexpectedness
The part sparks the audiences interest and draws them in to what is being shown. The rarity of an event deems the story as newsworthy, for example if someone is bitten by a dog, that would not be broadcasted as it's a minor event and doesn't affect enough people, whereas if the person that had been bitten was savaged to death by the said dog, it is more likely to be deemed as 'newsworthy' as it's a shocking and unexpected event. Unusual or funny news stories like the one below are also featured so as to contrast the often negative ones that dominate the programme.
Here is a link to a website that outlines the other 6 new values - http://heworthmediastudies.blogspot.co.uk/2010/04/galtung-and-ruge-news-values-theory.html
Another method that news companies construct the reality that we see/the stories that are broadcasted to the public is the 'Gatekeeping Process', and the steps are shown below via a diagram I created (click to expand);
Many different variables can affect an events journey to broadcast. An excellent example of this is the September 11th attacks on the Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre. Before this event took place, an entire news programme had been created and was ready to be broadcasted, but when Western news companies were informed of the events all previously prepared stories would have been completely scrapped and the primary focus of the programme would have been the attacks.
Another variable that may affect the broadcasting of certain stories would be technical difficulties. A story with a segment that includes a live broadcast from a certain location linked to that story may have interference or the signal may not be transmitting meaning that the live broadcast section of the story would have to be abandoned, leaving roughly 3-4 minutes worth of spare time during the programme that would need to be filled.
The media uses certain elements of fictional storytelling to shape news stories and adjust reality for the viewers. A narrative structure is used to explain what/who the story is about and when/where it took place, and although news programmes certainly claim to portray their stories and neutral and unbiased, the way they are delivered, from the choice of news readers to the order in which they are told, is a very carefully selected and constructed process which unconsciously shapes the audiences opinions and views upon reality.
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