Introduction to the News

Behind TV News-

Within all of the conventions of TV News, there are key jobs to ensure that it runs as smoothly as possible but also to schedule. The main job roles include;

The Reporter-
A reporter is the person who presents a news story while on location, they travel with the camera operator and stay in contact with the editors and producers while on location and ensure that the story stays on schedule. If something changes, they must inform the studio in case they need a 'plan B' story to fill their slot.

The Presenter-
A presenter is the person who reports the news from the studio, typically a male and a female. While presenting the news, live on national television, they must also change their speeds and sometimes even a story part way through the half an hour slot they have to present the show. As they are presenting, they have the auto cue to read from, the director and producer talking through an ear piece instructing them to talk slower/faster, cut the story, add a story, skip a part or add parts to a story, all while presenting the news to the public.

Director-
A director does not only direct the program, they also have a vital job of instructing and communicating with the presenters, editors and camera operators to ensure that the program goes according to plan.  they have the power to change the whole report if they need to. They also have some remote control of the cameras, they can tilt and pan but must communicate with the operators if the camera needs to be moved across the studio floor.

Producer

Camera Operator-
A camera operator is the person behind the camera, they compile images to make it visually appealing for the viewer and capture things that the eye may not see or not see as so interesting. they have to take into account the framing and focus of the shots as well as capturing the reporter and presenters in a way that makes them look good.

Editor-
There are two different types of editors working in the TV news, those are craft editor who work on the post production, putting together clips for the news stories, configuring sound and voice overs and more advanced editing of which the presenters and reporters can not do themselves, such as tracking people in video clips for a news story. The other type of job that editors have to do is the prospects list, they must write and schedule the news stories, in addition to this, they must have 'backup plans' in case the story changes or does not go ahead as planned, for example a court case gets postponed or cancelled.

All of these roles work together to make the program run, after the show has finished, they all get together and hear a review of the show, the good points and bad points are fed back to them to help them ensure that every show is as perfect as possible in order to keep the viewings up and ahead of the competition.

Watching an episode of the News- 

1) what happens in the opening/Title sequence?

In the opening sequence, there is a large spinning red globe with a white background, all of the country names featured in it are all interlinked with lines, symbolizing that all of us are linked to each other with global and local news. It then cuts to an areal shot of the news studio, panning across until it cuts to the presenters who introduce themselves and summarize the top stories of the day. 

2) What are the top news stories? 

In the news broadcast I watched, the top stories were;

• British Bomb maker case- An american soldier was killed after a British citizen helped aided a jihad bomb making group in Iraq, the bomb maker was to appear in court to determine a sentence for the murder of a soldier.  
• Attack on Palmyra- Isis invade Palmyra, forcing the residents to be evacuate after a week of resistance by the Palmyra  government. The nation fear for loss and destruction of priceless artifacts and preserved monuments. Also the militants are only 70 miles from the border, a strategic place that could be used for launching missiles or for a base camp.
• Tainted drugs- Tainted drugs have put five university students in hospital in Lancaster, Two of whom are still in critical condition. The cannabis substitute 'Spice', which used to be sold in shops was banned over six years ago.
• The prince of wales and the duchess of Cornwall visit St Patrick's Catholic Church in Belfast after a long period of retribution.
• National treasure, David Letterman announced his retirement with the help of some old friends, including former President of the United States of America, George W Bush and Current president, Barrack Obama.  

4) What order are the stories in?
The stories follow an order, they have the most important stories first and always ed on a lighter note to try and lighten the mood at the end of the episode.

Describe the presenters-
The presenters start by introducing themselves in a very serious manor, they continue this for all of the serious stories and lighten the mood, start smiling and have a different tone of voice for the lighter stories to end on.
The presenters are Simon McCoy and Jane Hill. They are both middle class and middle aged. Both well educated and well spoken, probably bought up with money and a strong family presence.

News readers must be capable of multi tasking, they have to be talking, reading the auto cue and also listening to the producers behind the scenes all at the same time. If they are asked to read faster/slower by the producers they must do it as quickly as possible.

The order means the order of how important or urgent the stories are, the most important stories will go first.

The term given to the list of stories chosen is 'Running order' but the ones at the start of the day before they are chosen is called The Prospects List.

The most important story id likely to be shown first, such as a terror attack, murder, death of a national treasure etc.. it is likely to be chosen to go first as it will be breaking news and whoever airs it first will get a higher viewing rating.

The stories then appear in order of most import and and end on a lighter story.

The ability to act and think Ability is needed as you have to communicate to the producers, Read from an auto cue and present at the same time. If they are a field presenter, they must be prepared to scrap their story and find another quickly.

The term 'Slow News Day' means a day where there is no breaking news, on days like these, the news will be more local. Things like local artists, Pets and people in the community.

The final story is often called 'And Finally' its function is to lighten the mood at the end of the episode and leave the audience in a good mood.