Media

MEDIA ESSAY

News. It is defined, as information about important or interesting recent events usually published or broadcast. Of all television genres, news appears as the most realistic. It should be neutral, objective, balanced and authoritative. The news on television relies on footage. Television is a visual medium and everywhere there are people competing for vision so they are able to capture people's attention. The purpose of the news is to inform others of important and relevant events. Truth is not necessarily the priority in the news. Competition is a big factor. Channel 9, ABC and SBS are three of five channels in competition with each other. Their news needs ratings, so these networks need to attract and keep viewers. To do this they need to build loyalty from viewers towards their particular network. They build loyalty by making the viewer familiar with the presenters in a personal way, differentiating their structure and range of items covered from other networks to make there news seem more interesting and also projecting an image of authority and reliability via billboards, advertisements and slogans. Channel 9, ABC and SBS are three channels which demonstrate a vast diversity in the presentation, content and nature of audience of the news broadcasted.

The set, the newsreaders, their personalities and their clothes and also the interaction between newsreaders is what builds viewer loyalty for the networks and puts their ratings up. Channel 9, ABC and SBS all vary in the manner in which they achieve this purpose. Channel 9 uses the very familiar city of Sydney at night with its illuminating lights as its background. What the viewer observes on the screen is a medium shot of the news reader who is among the background of the city of Sydney along with the headline of the news item being currently presented. The channel 9 network uses three news readers to communicate its news items to the audience. The trio of news readers includes Mark Ferguson as the main news reader, Ken Sutcliffe as the sports reporter and Jaynie Seal as the weather reporter. Mark Ferguson is a male in his mid thirties who does most of the news readings on channel 9. His appearance is characterized by a dark grey suit, a navy blue tie and light brown hair which is perfectly combed back. He has a presentable look upon him but at the same time a facial expression which shows decisiveness. This combination gives channel 9 the perfect lead man for their news bulletin every night at six. Ken Sutcliffe the sports reader is a male in his late forties. He is shown wearing a grey suit. However he has no tie and his top button is undone thus implying a casual look. He has a cheery, easy going personality exhibited by the fact that he laughs up a situation a great deal. The last and final member of the trio of news readers is Jaynie Seal, a woman in her early thirties who presents the weather. The weather is the part of the news where most viewers' attention span begins wading. Channel nine has countered this by using sex appeal. By bringing in an attractive blonde woman with her hair tied back, to present the weather they can be certain to keep the viewers for this part of the news. The good hearted interaction between news readers is what causes the viewers to believe that they are like family thus promoting an image of friendliness and reliability. There is interaction when there is a switch from the sports reader Ken at Parramatta back to the studio. Ken is amused by the budgerigar featured in a sports item thus stating, "That will get me every time Mark". Mark replies with a whole hearted laugh and a, "I'll see you tonight, Ken". Further interaction is found on switching back from weather to the studio. Jaynie states, "It has been a great week for me and hope I have many more". Mark replies back with a "Good to see that". These interactions cause viewers to believe the news readers are "chummy" thus being reliable. SBS has quite a different style compared with those of channel 9. Its background is not as lavish and spectacular as those of channel 9 being plain and simple... a dark blue background. What the viewer observes for most of the news is a medium shot of the news reader whose background is half blue and the other half being used to show a graphic display of the item about to be presented. Unlike channel 9, SBS does not use a team of news readers but a news reader. Mary Costeceta is a female in her early forties who does all of the presenting of news for SBS. SBS does not use sex appeal nor personality of the news reader to attract its audience. All it's concerned with is getting cold hard news from around the world out into the public. Mary is characterized by a black jacket and skirt, light red lipstick and neatly combed back light grey hair. Mary's personality combined with her image communicates to a viewer that the SBS is network is both professional and competent. The ABC network uses a team of four news readers to present its nightly news. Throughout the news bulletin, unlike in channel 9 and SBS, a wide shot is used to not only show the viewer the news reader but also the studio. The viewer is able to see the desk, the laptop upon it which implies professionalism, the blue/white background, the plasma screen which is used to show displays of the news item currently being announced and most importantly the news reader herself. Wyetta Phillips, Allan Coleman, Peter Wilkins