In order to do this I thought I had better do some research into TV news to make sure that what I created would qualify as actual news. How do stories get chosen? Other than a hunch would the news package ever make it to air in the real world? I also wanted to make sure it looked correct and followed the codes, conventions, stylistics and formula of the genre so it really worked as a news piece and was authentic.
News Agencies
News comes from a lot of different sources in-house but also form external agencies. These organisations sell their stories to news producers worldwide. Each agency has their own reporters, photographers and broadcast crews. The Press Association transmits an average of 1500 stories and 100 pictures every day. They sell both footage and edited packages ready for transmission. Associated Press (International organisation) Reuters (International organisation) United Press International (International organisation) Press Association (Main British News Agency).
I have decided that I wanted my piece to have a regional news feel and to tie one of the characters to a region in this case Anglia or the East. I want the package to be created by the station themselves so no news agencies are likely to be needed unless archive footage is needed.
News Agenda
This is how news producers construct and prioritise their stories and decide which stories will run on their news programmes. The producers act as gatekeepers and filter hundreds of potential stories down to the 5-6 that are actually covered in the programme. These are divided into two main catagories, hard and soft news. Hard news is the more serious side to the news and such issues as politics, economy, foriegn affairs, home affairs and disasters and generally makes up the first stories and large proportion of the news. Soft news is the human interest, entertainment and sport.
I feel by news story would not make the national news hence the regional news slant. It does incorporate a bit of politics and home affairs but really it is a human interest story of someone from our region and a mystery. As such it would come towards the end of the programme possible as an "and finally" news report. I do want to make sure the issue of global warming is not lost in the piece though.
News Values
This is really a way of deciding what makes the news agenda and eventually makes it into the news programme. Johan Galtung and Marie Ruge were researchers and media commentators and developed these catagories for defining the newsworthiness of stories in a 1973 paper.
- Immediacy: Has it happened recently?
- Familiarity: Is it culturally close to us in Britain?
- Amplitude: Is it a big event that affects large numbers?
- Frequency: Does the event happen often?
- Unambiguity: Is it clear and definite?
- Predictability: Did we expect it to happen?
- Surprise: Is it rare or unexpected event?
- Continuity: Has it previously been defined as news?
- Elite Nations/People: Big countries or celebrities?
- Personalisation: Is it a human interest story?
- Negativity: Is it bad news?
- Balance: ”and finally” fun story to balance bad news…
As far as my piece goes whilst certainly not being national news regionally it does tick a lot of these boxes. I need to make it immediate so I could possibly tie the news piece into Ben Wrights re-appearance. I will build a familiarity of the story and refresher to the audience. The global warming issue effects us all and the events of his appearance is new. The story itself is definite and clear but the event of his possible re-appearance is was unpredicted. There is ambiguity to if he is back or not and his disappearance 40 years before but this is the enigma and hook of the piece. It was news previously and whilst not a celebrity now 40 years ago he was supposedly in the public consciousness. The story can be personalised, and it is good news possibly and is a fun story to run against the bad news.
Other media commentators, researchers and academics expanded their own ideas and built on Galtung and Ruges work. Jeremy Tunstall adapted their model to TV News. He argued that in TV News:
Other media commentators, researchers and academics expanded their own ideas and built on Galtung and Ruges work. Jeremy Tunstall adapted their model to TV News. He argued that in TV News:
- The visual is given more pre-eminence. If footage is available the story may be given more prominence – the visual imperative.
- News stories with ‘our own reporters’ conducting interviews or commentating on a story are preferred.
- TV News covers far fewer stories than newspapers. Even the top stories are short in comparison with newspaper coverage .
- Hard news or actuality is preferred.
This again gives me something of a blueprint for my TV news package. I can certainly create the our reporters aspect and whilst not hard news as such it would sit well as I have mentioned in a local news package. One thing I will have to consider is the visuals. A lot of the story will be in dealing with the past so I will need to find or manufacture stills, moving image footage to bring the news piece to life.
Dennis McShane (1979) again expanded on the study of TV news identifying five criteria used by journalists in their selection of news stories.
- Conflict
- Hardship and danger to community
- The unusual
- Scandal
- Individualism
McShanes list is interesting because I feel the narrative I am creating ticks all of his boxes or is flexible enough that I can make it. It does cover the conflict between the movement and the owers that be. There is hardship (what did happen to Ben?) and obvious danger murder, possible suicide etc. A 40 year disappearance is unusual, there is certainly individualism and possible scandal in who did kill Joseph and what dirt did they have on the oil industry.
The process of investigating news really helped me to solidify and crystallise my idea and show me the way forward giving some excellent ideas of how to spice up the narrative It has also given me lots of guidance as to how I can make my TV News package more authentic and newsworthy.
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