News ProgramingCodes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions of A News Program1. Studio News Reader2. Field Reporters3. Links to Studio4. Mode of Address to Viewers5. Interviewing6. Experts and Witnesses7. Report Structure8. Actuality Footage

Newsreader

Farlex (2003) Newsreader. Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/newsreader (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

Newsreaders are a necessity in any regular news program, explaining and defining the article to the audience for the sake of clarity and presenting the story as clearly and informatively as possible, and that clarity is integral for any good news story, making them an integral part of any decent news program.

NewsreaderTo the right here is an example of a Newsreader, giving a formal explanation of the story in a direct and informative form.

Source: Hall, M. (2013) Margaret Thatcher: Viewers criticise BBC over presenters not wearing black ties. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/margaret-thatcher/9980125/Margaret-Thatcher-viewers-criticise-BBC-over-presenters-not-wearing-black-ties.html (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

Field Reporter

Farlex (2003) Reporter. Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/reporter (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

Field Reporters are on-location presenters who take questions, footage, and present all at the location in question; Field Reporters offer accuracy and engagement in the story, by showing and presenting direct visuals of the story, helping to engage viewers with the story.

Field ReporterTo the right here is an example of a Field Reporter, giving a formal explanation on location, often with live interviews with local people.

Source: Moir, J. (2013) Jan Moir: Breaking news? They hadn’t a clue what was going on. Available at: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2374390/Royal-baby-Breaking-news-They-hadnt-clue-going-says-Jan-Moir.html (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

Links to Studio

(Reference unavailable, enjoy more Bananya.) (Source: Bananya 2: Electric Boogaloo)

Links to studio are transitions to other studios of the same news program, this appears often during local news events - where they’ll transition to a local studio to discuss local news. Links to studio help to explain news from a more local aspect, creating more specific stories through closer ties with the story’s location and quicker access to witness reports and local interview.

Links to StudioTo the right here is an example of a ‘Link to Studio’, where one news presenter is talking to another studio’s informant to inform on the situation locally.

Source: Sky News (no date) Available at: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/41/Sky_News_New_Colourscheme.jpg (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Mode of Address

Semiotics for beginners: Modes of address (1972) Available at: http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem08b.html (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

‘Mode of Address’ is the form of monologue which a news presenter takes for the program; often very formal and informative for the sake of clarity and exact definition when presenting stories - though some programs may lean towards a certain opinion that shapes the story itself.

Mode of AddressMode of Address is seen often in news programs, as it is a practical way of speaking to a larger audience.

Source: Express.com (no date) Available at: http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/1/590x/3959233-high_res-bbc-news-470962.jpg (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Interview

Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of INTERVIEW. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interview (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

An ‘Interview’ is where a person of interest is asked questions pertaining to the subject at hand, and answers questions to give a new take or view on the situation, and inform the audience of new information.

InterviewHere we see a formal interview taking place on live news, where the presenter is asking questions to the person of interest.

Source: Insignia - Crisis Management Specialists (2014) Jonathan Hemus on Branson’s crisis management response: BBC news interview. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekhaZpd9-UQ (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Experts and Witnesses

Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of WITNESS. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witness (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

A ‘Witness’ is someone who has seen an event, and often ties into ‘Interview’, speaking from primary evidence.‘Experts’ on the other hand are people - usually - without first-hand knowledge of an event, but instead are interviewed on their secondary knowledge and expertise on a subject.

Experts and WitnessesIn this report, a witness is being interviewed on their first hand information on the events; citing their perspective of the event.

Source: Channel 7 (2015) Witness: Prayed during bank robbery, live interview - CBS 7 news. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54PRTPyLbE8 (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Report Structure

Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of STRUCTURE. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/structure (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

‘Report Structure’ is the format and presentation of a news story, often working with multiple presenters, computer graphics, interviews, and formal presentation.

Actuality Footage

Actuality film (2015) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuality_film (Accessed: 26 April 2016).

‘Actuality Footage’ is video from the sight of the incident being covered, whether that be from the same time, or taken of the aftermath. This type of footage is often used as a supplement to the story, though can sometimes be an integral part of the coverage, providing real life footage of the story.

Actuality FootageThe footage to the side here shows live camera footage of the incident, following the story on location with exact accuracy.

Source: NBC News (2014) Car Chase in local Chicago area, police in pursuit. (Accessed: 20 April 2016)

ExamplesHere can be seen a rough example of the type of format, as made quickly by myself, here you can see similarities - at least in presentation - to the traditional format.