TV News case study 2: BBC News at Six

Basic details

1. What do the letters BBC stand for? British broadcasting channel.
2. How is the BBC funded? The BBC is funded by TV licenses across the UK.
3. What is the BBC's famous mission statement? (Clue: it's three words) Informing, Educating and Entertain.
4. What is BBC1's programme remit? BBC 1 has a remit to be the BBC most popular channel and attract high viewing figures.
5. How does the BBC News at Six fit into BBC's remit? The BBC news at 6 fit into the BBC at 6 they high viewers.             

Presenters

1. Who are the presenters of BBC News at Six? George Alagiah, Sophie Raworth. 
2. What are the presenters wearing? What does this communicate to the audience? The presenters are wearing every smart clothes.
3. Why might a TV News programme use a variety of presenters? They have variety of presenter because one presenter present at ten and 6 or 5. 
4. How are other reporters or presenters used in the TV news programme? The other presenters are used to tell the news another time. 
5. Is there a balance between male and female presenters? What about race/ethnicity? What effect might these aspects have on an audience? While at the 6 o'clock news they are actually balanced and they are 1 male and 1 female. 

Opening sequence

Analyse the opening 2 minutes of the programme.

1. What is the very first shot? The very first shot is the BBC news logo and on the logo it has a 6 to show that it is on at 6.
2. How does the opening sequence use graphics or images to grab the attention of the audience? They use graphic and camera movement to grab the audience attention.
3. How is music used in the opening sequence? As the news comes on so does the music so the audience know that they are watching the news. 
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? 

Studio mise-en-scene

1. What aspects of the studio can be seen by the audience? You could see the whole studio and you could also the the camera in the studio to show that the news the audience are getting is live.
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 news is recent.
4. How does the studio use colour? The studio has a colour scheme uses red and blue.

How news stories are presented

1. How does the news programme typically present a story? Represented and voice  over.
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.) politics and sports.

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 was Tesco,
3. How long does the top story last for? Scottish international party
4. How long is each story shown for? It is about 5-10 min
5. Why do you think each story was shown for the time it was?  It was shown for the time it was because it goes from most important to least important.

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.

2. What are the viewing figures for BBC News at Six?  4 million.

3. Why might someone choose to watch this TV news programme over others? It is at a time that everyone gets back home or have done something and want to watch the news.

4. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or comment? showing the hash tags or the links for their page.

5. What audience pleasures (Uses and Gratifications theory - Blumler and Katz) does the programme offer? The Gratification theory would be Blumler because the audience are watching it to get some information.

Institution

1. What other news programmes and services does the BBC offer in addition to the BBC News at Six? They have the Breakfast news and news at 10.
2. What role does OFCOM have in making sure TV News is fair and accurate?  OFCOM see if BBC news are showing news stories fairly or if they are not going against the rules. Rules such as showing anything that is violent after a certain time.
3. The BBC has been accused of 'dumbing down' the News at Six. What does this mean? Do you agree with the accusation that the news is 'dumbed down'? I agree, they are using a lot graphics. BBC has defended themselves by saying that it would help the audience understand what the news is about.

TV News and New/Digital Media

1. Does the TV News programme have a dedicated website? Yes
2. What does the website offer viewers? BBC's website offers many thing on their website such as the news stories that had be on at 6.
3. Does the TV News programme have a Twitter feed? BBC News at six do have a twitter feed.
4. How does the Twitter feed promote the programme? hash tags or the links for their page.
5. Is there an opportunity for the audience to get involved in the programme or submit news stories? no there is not