Is TV news a 'window on the world'?

 

The first inference too TV news being a ‘window on the world’ is the TV news starting sequence and the presenters. The main points of the starting sequence are, the use of iconography and connotations to show the news as a window on the world. The iconography used is the use of the globe which is used to infer that the news covers the whole globe, a window of the globe..? Next is the use of opaque overlays, whether if this is shapes or even a overlay of objects transitioning into other things (maybe or maybe not graphic match) connoting a ‘window on the world’ as if you was looking through one out on the world. This is why the opaque properties are used, as to mirror the effects of an opaque window! TV news sets are often shot with people casually working in the background of the newsroom, this is used to infer the honesty and realist values behind the stories and how the news doesn’t hide anything, hence why the studio is openly laid out. Tv news presenters are even used to connote certain values. Firstly the big desk and suit which implies importance of the news stories and makes it seem more legitimate. But.. before all this when a news show starts the reporter is  sitting at the desk which represents urgency of the news and how its presents from BBC the first source.

The legal and regulatory framework for TV news has been set up to create impartiality within news programmes and make more of the window on the world theme. It is in place to set guidelines for when producing news – for the BBC its called the BBC charter and for every other news show – Ofcom is the regulatory body.  By having these in place it infers honesty to the audience and makes the stories more believable if regulations are in place, however in the next paragraph I will show you how it is not so ‘impartial’.

News selection processes are the ingredient which ruins the pudding metaphorically speaking... it is the problem which means that TV news can never be impartial. Firstly news has to be selected by someone, so how can you decide which news stories carry more importance than others? OK now you have decide what news stories are the most important right..? wrong! There most important according to the person that selected them!! If you worked for the BBC news where over 40% of there news workforce were Oxford or Cambridge educated white British middle class, then that’s probably who selects the news you watch. So these guys have selected ‘what’s important’ but they may not carry the same values as a man recently moved to Britain from Niger and who would like to see how the famine which he has just been in has affected the rest of country but instead this other guy from the BBC decides that the 2% increase in fishing rod tax has gone up is a more important story, now you tell me what’s impartial. This does not agree with the opening question is TV news a window on the world? As how can the news show everything important from around the world when half of things that occur go into the dustbin of history because some middle class oxford educated guy has decided that they’re not important enough!   

When something happens or experienced then this is called reality, like its nice weather outside but the reality is I’m stuck inside doing this essay. If a news reporter decides this is news the re-create the reality using all editing techniques, this is called realism. So realism is not the same as reality is it? Unless actuality footage is being used in story then it’s going to consist of a other shots used to try explain the event. A news story consists of report structure which is used to try engage the viewer.  In fact news stories closely resemble the features of a movie which clearly aren’t real, so , how is it done?  The first is the narrativisation of the text using the shots to connote something to the audience; this is done through a series of movie style techniques. Firstly Cut-always, I.E. Johns just lost his house because of the recession, how can we make the viewer feel sorry for him? We’ll insert a shot of his little baby, although this has nothing to do with story it is used to make the audience sympathise with John! Also used in news stories is continuity editing, this is used so the viewer has a flow to the story again, like in the movies. John walks up to his house and as he looks through the window there’s a CUT to show his face peering through it. Basically what I’m trying to show here is that news reports are like films in the way they are constructing the text  to try indulge the viewer into the report  and by doing this its isn’t depicting reality, its creating an piece of realism but no matter what these are still different things.

Unless News Channels just have live cameras all over the place broadcasting 24/7 and hoping that something will happen, then there will never be an un bias pure slice of reality. News stories can never be too careful when trying to depict reality and cater for everyone in just a few stories, if a war broke out and the UK was divided with half for and half against the war then how would the news report on this? Where would you send the field reporters? And even getting interviewees and experts in, they must have a viewpoint? If the reporter said OUR troops half of the UK would not be happy and if the reporter says BRITISH troops then the other half wouldn’t be happy as the report is in Britain and it should be our troops. Its so controversial they way in which the news depicts reality and I don’t think everybody will be happy fully unless they are making the news their selves, which leads me nicely onto my next point..

With the introduction of technology news will never be subjective ever again as news can be created by the masses giving a broader spectrum of events. Only last week through the power of twitter a social networking site Beyonce’s sister, Solange,  organised a rally for Trayvon Martin the murdered teen who’s killer has been found not guilty. Only yesterday I found out that one of the stars of hit US show Glee, Cory Moneith, had died from a suspected drugs overdose, not through a news report, not on a news website, not on the radio but through people on Twitter. This goes to show what a powerful tool people are getting turned into through the use of technology, everyone and any given time has the ability to produce news, from on a smalls scale I.E. what they are doing, to giving live updates/photos/videos on events that may interest the world which can be broadcast from the palm of your hand to millions instantly. However with this I think I could cause some other problems especially with celebrities simply ‘using the power of one’. This is a bit like Hitler, sounds extreme but here me out, If a Celebrity gives their views on a particular event then fans of that person may follow their views and before you know it lots of people are preaching just because a figure has broadcast something which may influence them, this all sounds farfetched but if everyone is different just through one person creating news it could influence others beliefs, ill insert a picture to show you what I mean, but think of it more media like.

Throughout my opinionative essay I think I’ve shown that TV news is clearly not a window on the world and in fact it’s a TV screen on the world with the channels controlled by the media. TV doesn’t give you a slice of reality its more like a teaspoonful.