The TV news programme on which I am going to write a detailed analysis of is the six o'clock edition of London Tonight on ITV.
As soon as the program starts the viewers are able to get some first impressions from the ident and the opening sequence. The ident is a style of topography and graphic design used to identify a company, programme or product.At the start the presenter announces the news he has planned to report in this edition. While doing this he uses complex words, such as awash, this is accompanied with dynamic and attention grabbing tune with drums which mimic a heart beat.
After he announces the summary there are images of people at work, double-decker buses moving, and pigeons eating. These are all familial scenes of London and these are known around the world. Also there are colours of blue and red which represent Great Britain's Flag. This is there to show that this bulletin is of news that concerns people who live in Britain.In this news bulletin there are two presenters. One is a male and the other a female.
The choice of presenters are in their mid forties to fifties and are wearing suits and have respectable hair styles to make the show look rather professional. During handovers and links their names are repeatedly used so that regular viewers become accustomed to the presenter. To accompany this there is a desk at which the presenters sit at. This gives the idea that they are hard at work bringing the viewer a news bulletin in a professional manner. In the background there is a window of London, this again shows that this program is related to London.
Within many programs there are selection and prioritisation and it is no different with this program the running order is as follows:1. Treatment of flood story: focus on family: package: MP, Thames Water rep: voice over and pre-recorded tape.2. Review of policing of Docklands arms fair: package: video of tourists: film 1 month old of arms fair: presenter, pre-recorded tape, solicitor from Liberty3. Latest deterrent for speeding motorists4.
Arrest of mother of two boys who died in arson attack on Stoke Newington5. Largest mosque complex in surrey6. Special report: identity theft7. Tony Blair interview: livelink and pre-recorded interview about London issues.8.
Headlines for second halfBreak(ads for Saturday Times (rugby), Lloyds TSB, trailer for ITV programme regarding parents at 7:30 p.m.)9. Radical hip replacement procedure10. Premiere of Kill Bill in London, Pre-recorded tape from press conference that afternoon11. Sport: football ( Arsenal, Fulham, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, West Ham) cricket (first cap for Nicky Clarke, Surrey)12.
Church in Rotherhithe as flock of worshippers.During this bulletin the viewer may notice that all these stories are human interest as they regard Londoners in some way or another. For example the floods have occurred to people all over London and so many would like to know about it.Also, during the second part of the programme the presenters become more relaxed and less serious as articles become a bit softer on the audience. As you are able to see I have highlighted some hard news and soft news to highlight the huge difference in news value.
The articles highlighted in red show the hard news. By this I mean those that affect the public seriously by costing them money or changing their way of life. While the articles highlighted in blue are the soft news as they are unusual stories that many do not hear about every day. Also in most cases they leave the viewer in a joyful mood ready to watch other programs.The treatment and packaging of the articles are obvious as the water burst headline contains ''good visual'' as it shows a part of London that has been flooded and then it has both views, one from the MP of that constituency talking about how this should have never happened and then you have a Thames Water rep promising that something like this will never happen again. Also to add a bit of variety to the show, after this news story has been announced there is a live link with Tony Blair the Prime Minister of England.
Also in that article there is some pre-recorded visuals of an interview with the Prime Minister from earlier.During the second part of the programme there is a lot of informal language used between the presenters regarding articles that are softer. This is a way of making the story more appealing. For example article 11 regarding the new England cricket star shows him packing his bags for the trip. While packing he includes some men's magazines.
Then after the link back to the studio the male presenter makes a comment, '' be careful, too much will damage your eyesight.'' This is supposed to be some humour from the presenter to liven up the story.
