Research & Planning

In this section of the course, I will be undertaking some research on the news values that affect what events are presented to us, through the media. There are many factors that contribute to the newsworthiness of each story and event that is presented to the public for us to receive, including human interest, proximity, timeliness and so on (codes & conventions). Here I will introduce the concepts of the news which impact the stories we perceive on a daily basis. I was also given the task to provide three different radio news broadcasts then summarise, analyse and point out their codes & conventions. By doing this with three broadcasts, it validates and provides proof that these codes & conventions are consistent throughout local radio news.

Where Do News Stories Come From?

Journalists face the challenge of digging out whatever newsworthy content they can find, within a limited amount of time. They can either go out searching for the news themselves, by reporting to the right place, at an appropriate time, or members of the public can come forward to the journalists, with potential newsworthy content. Journalists quite often find great news content from places like community groups, police stations, places of worship (churches, mosques, etc), universities, fire departments, emergency services and hospitals. Places like these are ideal areas for journalists due to the frequent number of events that occur and are reported there. People also come forward with a number of claims, witnesses and accusations for the media to consider presenting, so are able to fill out forms for this, for the news to determine if their newsworthiness is interesting or important enough to be looked into in further detail.

Journalists carry around a notebook and a contact book which are one of their most prized possessions when it comes to their job. It ensures that they can note down highly important information on certain matters and establish a relationship with those involved in the events they are looking into. This means they have many connections, who can provide an input for the news to consider. Also, it's beneficial for journalists to establish a strong relationship with people, like the police, as they can be a great source of newsworthy content. Through these many methods, news stories get delved into further until they seem worthy enough of being presented through the media.

Radio News Broadcasts: Codes & Conventions

The radio news broadcasts below are the news stories of radio stations which I had recorded using Audacity. They had been obtained from BBC iPlayer radio, but from varying local radio stations. They present the news by following a reoccurring pattern, which are known as the codes & conventions of radio. The codes & conventions of radio are factors of the broadcast which are consistent throughout the majority of radio news broadcasts. They can include certain factors such as: intro/outro music, the presenter declares their name at the start of the broadcast, the whole broadcast lasts about 4-8 minutes long, each news story lasts about 00:10 to 1:00 minute long, etc. By using more than one  radio station and broadcast, demonstrates my understanding that the codes & conventions consistently occur, no matter what the broadcast is. From what I have shown, all radio news broadcasts follow this same pattern in order to give the audience the daily news.

Examples of Codes & Conventions of a radio broadcast

• The presenter declares their name at the start of the broadcast to ensure that the organisation of which the presenter works for is claiming responsibility for the truthfulness of the news items.

• The broadcast commences with title music to indicate the start. This makes the listeners 

• The broadcast also ends with outro music to signify that the broadcast has come to an end.

• A full news broadcast is composed of about 6-10 individual news items.

• There is a specialist reporter, introduced by the presenter, at a required outside location based on where the news has taken place and if this key location is significant to the news story. The role of the specialist reporter is to retrieve further information about reported news or retrieve first hand accounts from people who are involved with the reported event e.g. a witness.

• Each individual news item ranges from about 10-40 seconds. By keeping them short makes it easier for the listener to stay tuned to the station because it does not seem to drag on for very long, which could easily lose their interest. As a result, the station gets straight to the point while including all relevant information to give the listener a sense of being informed but not exhausted into boredom. 

1) Duration: 20 seconds

Story: A man has been sentenced for the double murders in Bradford.

Analysis: This introduces the daily news on a more tragic note by presenting the listeners with the worse news first, in order to get it out of the way as soon as possible. It is a quick reminder of the dangers around us and this frightening issue keeps us aware of how real it all is. However, by notifying the audience that the killer has been sentenced leaves them feeling reassured and safer after the quick scare.

2) Duration: 31 seconds

Story: Police are questioning a man over a motorway pile up near Bradford, on the M606, which resulted in the death of a woman.

Analysis: This second news story has been presented because it provokes human interest which means that the listeners are more grasped by it. It aims to make the listeners sympathise for such a devastating regular occurrence as well as act as a warning for people to understand the possible consequences of driving on motorways.

3) Duration: 23 seconds

Story: A man convicted of shooting dead a British businessman’s wife on their honeymoon, in South Africa, has told the court that the husband wanted his own wife to be killed.

Analysis: This has made the news because of its irregularity and confusion as to why a man would wish such tragedy upon his own wife. It leaves the listeners wanting to know more about this case which is a great way to grab their attention. It is very unusual as to what makes a husband hope for his wife’s murder, during their honeymoon, and makes you question why the convicted man has made this claim. This story leaves you wanting more answers on the issue.

4) Duration: 44 seconds

Story: The Deputy Prime minister, Nick Clegg, will use his speech to the Liberal Democrat conference in Glasgow, to set the first NHS waiting time targets for mental health patients.

Analysis: This political issue is newsworthy because it sparks the interest of those who like to be updated on important political conflict and decisions. It acts an update of what the different parties are up to on a daily basis and any outstanding things they may have done or said. Also, with politics come issues which may have a direct effect on those listening to the broadcast, within the local area. Additionally, conflict intrigues many people into listening to the news, so by showing one side of the conflict could leave people swaying towards that side’s views and promises.

5) Duration: 52 seconds

Story: A Spanish nurse infected with the Ebola virus claims to have followed the correct procedures when treating patients with the disease and is unsure as to how she had caught it.

Analysis: The Ebola virus has been a very serious global problem at the current moment and it would be necessary to keep the public informed on its whereabouts and the impact it is having. The timeliness of this makes it very newsworthy. By informing the listeners of this one case in Spain, gives a sense of urgency. It acts as a reminder of how quickly the virus is spreading and the chances that it could make its way nearby the people listening to the broadcast. It has been presented due to its impact and its scarily close proximity.

6) Duration: 13 seconds

Story: Bradford is now the youngest city in Europe, with 21.6% of its population being below the age of 15

Analysis: This has been presented in the news broadcast as a way to turn it away from such negativity and more on light hearted matters. It states a statistic to confirm the fact they have presented. It gets the audience to think about these sorts of facts which go unnoticed and may benefit them to know about. This story is more about entertaining the listeners with quick, fun pieces of information.

7) Duration: 14 seconds

Story: Announced that the new Dad’s Army film will be filmed in Yorkshire, directed by BAFTA nominated Oliver Parker.

Analysis: By concluding the news story with this, leaves the whole news broadcast on a lighter note to leave the listeners feeling hopeful after a number of more serious or tragic matters. It was made newsworthy because of its proximity, due to it happening so close to the majority of the radio listeners, living in Leeds. It is an event announced to happen in the future, which aims to excite the audience. Whether the radio broadcast listeners are those who are fans of the Dad’s Army films or those who are just excited that it is happening so nearby can take this into account to spread the news around to whomever.

1) Duration: 1.12 seconds

Story: Actress and presenter Lynda Bellingham has passed away from cancer at the age of 66.

Analysis: This has made the news due to its timeliness and the strong impact it may have on many people. Hearing of death on the news, triggers feelings of sadness which would really grasp the attention of many listeners, especially those who are familiar with the person whose death has been announced. It also relates to prominence because of how well known this woman was to a lot of people.
2) Duration: 21 seconds

Story: Trial of the Bristol businessman who has been accused of plotting the murder of his new bride, has resumed in South Africa.

Analysis: This is newsworthy because it focuses on more serious matters which people may be interested in hearing of. It provides knowledge of the current events which are happening around the world as well as present an intriguing story. Also, this resumes back to a story which has been mentioned before, to fill in the details of what has happened more recently.

3) Duration: 46 seconds

Story: Thousands of students in Bristol will be among those used to test whether a vaccine for Meningitis B would be effective for teenagers.

Analysis: This news content has been presented in the broadcast because it shows that progress is being made in the country against certain problems. It is quite an unusual occurrence for something like this to be happening, let alone with so many people and by mentioning Bristol students, specifically, it relates the broadcast to those in the area that are listening. This reveals the proximity of the event to the listeners. 

4) Duration: 44 seconds

Story: The Turkish government says that it is allowing Kurdish fighters from Iraq, to cross its border into Syria, to fight Islamic State militants.

Analysis: This global matter is something that would be presented on most of the radio news broadcasts and not just this one because it can affect people from all over the country who are interested in hearing such events. It updates people on what is happening in other parts of the world. Furthermore, it presents an ongoing conflict, which is a source of entertainment and interest to many individuals.

5) Duration: 19 seconds

Story: The head of the National Crime Agency says that some paedophiles that have downloaded images of child abuse cannot face prosecution as police must focus on the worst offenders.

Analysis: The shocking news above has been displayed due to it being such a big issue that people would want the police to track down. As well as this, it reassures the radio listeners that the police are taking action into tackling this, giving them a sense of security. However, it could outrage the audience that so many people are able to get away with the crime of downloading the content.
6) Duration: 11 seconds

Story: Kensington Palace has confirmed that the Duchess of Cambridge’s second baby is due in April next year.

Analysis: This uplifting news concludes the radio news broadcast with a more cheerful story. This provokes human interest as it is news of something big happening to someone prominent. It leaves the audience with a sense of surprise, happiness and pride that this great news has been confirmed.

News Values Slideshow Presentation

Below is the slideshow presentation on news values, created by my partner (Jason Mendonca) and I. It provides an explanation of a number of news values that determine whether an event is newsworthy or not. Each slide presents a news value, their definition and why that specific value would impact what content the news puts out.