Case study: BBC News

Basic details

1. What do the letters BBC stand for? The BBC is commonly known as the British Broadcasting Corporation and so this is what 'BBC' stands for.
2. How is the BBC funded?  Its work is funded principally by an annual television licence fee which is charged to all British households, companies, and organisations.
3. What is the BBC's famous mission statement? (Clue: it's three words) Inform, educate and entertain 
4. What is BBC1's programme remit? The BBC's remit is be the most popular tv service across the uk with high quality programmes.
5. How does the BBC News at Six fit into BBC1's remit? They share the views of the whole UK rather than their own views only.

Presenters

1. Who are the presenters of BBC News at Six? The presenters are Fiona Bruce, Sophie Raworth and Huw Edwards
2. What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience? The presenters are wearing formal clothing such as suits and ties.
3. Why might a TV News programme use a variety of presenters? They would use a variety so that they can have a variety of people watching who are from different backgrounds also and this would help make them feel more engaged.
4. How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV news programme? There are many presenters entitled to different jobs so one who presents the headlines and the reporters and those who talk on the show.
5. Is there a balance between male and female presenters? What about race/ethnicity? What effect might these aspects have on an audience? There has to be a balance and there is because if not this would affect the consumers as they may feel offended by the fact that males for example have more attention.

Opening sequence
Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme.

1. What is the very first shot? Different and quick clips showing a globe and the news that will come up
2. How does the opening sequence use graphics or images to grab the attention of the audience? It a globe type of shape to show that it covers stories from around the world.
3. How is music used in the opening sequence? There's music but then fades out as the reporter goes on to speak.
4. How are news stories introduced in the opening two minutes? Is there just one story or are the audience told what will be coming up later? Information is given about the stories and the audience already know what is coming up but not everything which is probably what tempts them to stay.

Studio mise-en-scene

1. What aspects of the studio can be seen by the audience? Some cameras are shown as the reporter is being filmed.
2. Are the presenters standing or behind desks? Why do you think this is? The reporter is standing up with the background of nature and this may be to keep the audiences attention on.
3. Are journalists or technology visible? What might these things suggest to the audience? Technology is only visible when it's purposely being shown possibly to emphasis the fact the the news is recent.
4. How does the studio use colour? It uses red and blue at all times.

How news stories are presented

1. How does the news programme typically present a story?  It uses presenters and voice overs but also images.
2. What difference techniques does the programme use to present the news? (E.g. presenter to camera, reporter on location, interviews, graphics, images, video etc.) Presents are more formal than usual but they are at real locations which is different. Images and graphics were typical like every other news story.
3. What types of news does the TV News programme typically cover? Give five examples (e.g. politics, international, sport etc.) They usually cover politics and sports.
4. Give two real examples of how news stories are presented to keep the interest of the audience.
5. The Scottish international party and female football.

Running order

1. Watch the first 15 minutes of the programme – as recent as you can find.
2. What is the top story? The top story is the Scottish international party
3. How long does the top story last for? About 10 mins
4. What are the other stories the programme does or will cover? List them in the order they are presented in (the ‘running order’). They also cover sports. Female football.
5. How long is each story shown for? Usually about 5-10 minutes depending on how important they are.
6. Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was? I think the most important stories are usually shown for the longest.

Audience

1. What is the target audience for this BBC News at Six? Research online – you should be able to find plenty of suggestions to the target audience if not the official target audience of the programme. Around 35 year olds.  
2. What are the viewing figures for BBC News at Six?   9.6 million on average per week.
3. Why might someone choose to watch this TV news programme over others? It has a great amount of different news stories about the world we live in and many will find that useful to engage in.
4. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or comment? They can get involved on social network such as twitter.
5. What audience pleasures (Uses and Gratifications theory – Blumler and Katz) does the programme offer? People get to know what is happening around the world.

Institution

1. What other news programmes and services does the BBC offer in addition to the BBC News at Six? Sports news and radio news but also entertainment.
2. What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate? It makes sure that news, in whatever form, is reported with due accuracy and presented with due impartially.

TV News and New/Digital Media

1. Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website? It does.
2. What does the website offer viewers? It gives them a detailed version of their stories online incase they missed it.
3. Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed? It does
4. How does the Twitter feed promote the programme? Yes
5. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or submit news stories? They do.