News Programing

Codes and Conventions

Codes and Conventions of A News Program

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Studio News Reader

Field Reporters
Links to Studio
Mode of Address to Viewers
Interviewing
Experts and Witnesses
Report Structure
Actuality Footage

Newsreader

Farlex (2003) Newsreader. Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/newsreader (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

Newsreaders are a necessity in any regular news program, explaining and

defining the article to the audience for the sake of clarity and presenting the story
as clearly and informatively as possible, and that clarity is integral for any good
news story, making them an integral part of any decent news program.

Newsreader
To the right here is an
example of a Newsreader,
giving a formal
explanation of the story in
a direct and informative
form.
Source: Hall, M. (2013) Margaret Thatcher: Viewers
criticise BBC over presenters not wearing black ties.
Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.
uk/news/politics/margaretthatcher/9980125/Margaret-Thatcher-viewerscriticise-BBC-over-presenters-not-wearing-black-ties.
html (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

Field Reporter

Farlex (2003) Reporter. Available at: http://www.thefreedictionary.com/reporter (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

Field Reporters are on-location presenters who take questions, footage, and
present all at the location in question; Field Reporters offer accuracy and
engagement in the story, by showing and presenting direct visuals of the story,
helping to engage viewers with the story.

Field Reporter
To the right here is an
example of a Field
Reporter, giving a formal
explanation on location,
often with live interviews
with local people.
Source: Moir, J. (2013) Jan Moir: Breaking news?
They hadnt a clue what was going on. Available at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article2374390/Royal-baby-Breaking-news-They-hadntclue-going-says-Jan-Moir.html (Accessed: 15 April
2016).

Links to Studio

(Reference unavailable, enjoy more Bananya.)

Boogaloo)

(Source: Bananya 2: Electric

Links to studio are transitions to other studios of the same news program, this
appears often during local news events - where theyll transition to a local studio to
discuss local news. Links to studio help to explain news from a more local aspect,
creating more specific stories through closer ties with the storys location and
quicker access to witness reports and local interview.

Links to Studio
To the right here is an
example of a Link to
Studio, where one news
presenter is talking to
another studios informant
to inform on the situation
locally.
Source: Sky News (no date) Available at: https:
//upload.wikimedia.
org/wikipedia/en/4/41/Sky_News_New_Colourschem
e.jpg (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Mode of Address

Semiotics for beginners: Modes of address (1972) Available at: http://visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem08b.html (Accessed: 15 April 2016).

Mode of Address is the form of monologue which a news presenter takes for the
program; often very formal and informative for the sake of clarity and exact
definition when presenting stories - though some programs may lean towards a
certain opinion that shapes the story itself.

Mode of Address
Mode of Address is seen
often in news programs,
as it is a practical way of
speaking to a larger
audience.
Source: Express.com (no date) Available at: http:
//cdn.images.express.co.
uk/img/dynamic/1/590x/3959233-high_res-bbc-news470962.jpg (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Interview

Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of INTERVIEW. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interview (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

An Interview is where a person of interest is asked questions pertaining to the

subject at hand, and answers questions to give a new take or view on the
situation, and inform the audience of new information.

Interview
Here we see a formal
interview taking place on
live news, where the
presenter is asking
questions to the person of
interest.
Source: Insignia - Crisis Management Specialists
(2014) Jonathan Hemus on Bransons crisis
management response: BBC news interview.
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=ekhaZpd9-UQ (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Experts and Witnesses

Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of WITNESS. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witness (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

A Witness is someone who has seen an event, and often ties into Interview,
speaking from primary evidence.
Experts on the other hand are people - usually - without first-hand knowledge of
an event, but instead are interviewed on their secondary knowledge and expertise
on a subject.

Experts and Witnesses

In this report, a witness is
being interviewed on their
first hand information on
the events; citing their
perspective of the event.
Source: Channel 7 (2015) Witness: Prayed during
bank robbery, live interview - CBS 7 news. Available
at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=54PRTPyLbE8 (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Report Structure

Merriam-Webster (2015) Definition of STRUCTURE. Available at: http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/structure (Accessed: 20 April 2016).

Report Structure is the format and presentation of a news story, often working
with multiple presenters, computer graphics, interviews, and formal presentation.

Actuality Footage

Actuality film (2015) in Wikipedia. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actuality_film (Accessed: 26 April 2016).

Actuality Footage is video from the sight of the incident being covered, whether
that be from the same time, or taken of the aftermath. This type of footage is often
used as a supplement to the story, though can sometimes be an integral part of
the coverage, providing real life footage of the story.

Actuality Footage
The footage to the side
here shows live camera
footage of the incident,
following the story on
location with exact
accuracy.
Source: NBC News (2014) Car Chase in local
Chicago area, police in pursuit. (Accessed: 20 April
2016)

Examples
Here can be seen a rough
example of the type of
format, as made quickly by
myself, here you can see
similarities - at least in
presentation - to the
traditional format.