Australian News Media

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NEWS LITE - Light on Substance, Light on Value

Are Television News Bulletins a Shallow Reflection of the Real World?

Commercial interests dominate 1st century news agendas (ABA 001, Hartigan 001). To remain viable, news bulletins must attract audiences and advertisers; and they cannot do this, without delivering consumer-tailored news. The average commercial news bulletin offers between 14 and 15 minutes of news - that is without commercials, sport and weather. Within this mere quarter of an hour, the stations must squeeze in what they perceive to be the day's most important and valuable events. This essay attempts to prove that television news bulletins are indeed a shallow and unrepresentative reflection of the real world. When comparing the content of evening news bulletins with that of daily newspapers, the substance gap between television and print becomes obvious. The commercial channel's treatment of the war on Iraq is also indicative of the detrimental effects that commercial pressures have on the quality of news. Many television news stories are shallow and inconsequential and those that are not are treated with high-speed, dirty coverage (Seib 000 ).

Television news in Australia has experienced many dramatic changes in the last three decades, most of these resulting in the down grading in the quality of service and time devoted to serious and credible news (Turner 0005). There are a number of reasons to explain this phenomenon. Mayer (1 1) suggests the inherent conformity or pack tendencies in journalism result in the news becoming clichd, because the most predictable events are treated as news, use of syndicated material is on the rise (due to budget restrictions) and mainstream news outlets all have the same idea of what news is.

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However, many more academics propose the 'dumbing-down' of the news most likely stems from the commercial interests that dictate not only media owners, but journalists. Franklin (17 5) suggests that many news stations are adopting a 'tabloid agenda' because of pressures to attract audiences and advertisers. In Australia, this process began in the mid-180s, when competition between stations produced a distinctive group of news programs, which, to a large extent, blurred the lines between news, information and entertainment (Turner 16). It has been argued (McNair 16 108) that since news programmes have adopted this new tabloid approach, there is no longer any room for lengthy political discourse and in-depth reporting. Altheide (174 15) believes that economic pressures have created 'happy talk' formats, involving newsreaders lightly conversing with weather reporters and each other to entertain viewers. This program philosophy also extends to the excessive use of video graphics and a general emphasis on the attractive packaging of news.

Commercialisation has also affected current affairs programs, which have since moved away from what was once their primary objective - providing background to and analysis of the day's news stories. They have instead become devoted to the infotainment end of the news spectrum. This has meant news audiences have been limited to the superficial news provided by news bulletins, missing out on the deeper analysis of serious issues (Turner 000 4).

A study commissioned by the Australian Broadcasting Authority (ABA) in 001 supports the notion that commercial interests have had an impact on what news Australian audiences receive. Many journalists involved in the study saw several factors other than the newsworthiness of an item, influencing them in their work. These included the pressure of audiences, ratings and circulation; commercial interests such as advertising and owners. The pressure of ratings and circulation reflected the commercial imperative of modern news production, to the extent that the eagerness of news producers in giving audiences what market research told them was wanted was criticised by some journalists as having an impact on news quality. The study found many journalists agreed that the value of news had been compromised by commercial interests (ABA 001).

The extent to which news stations will go to attract audiences and thus profits, can be seen in the following example. In early 000, Scottish Television launched its re-vamped news broadcast complete with former lingerie model Sarah Heaney as newsreader. The new-look Scotland Today also included new introductory titles, studio set and graphics but it was the hiring of the blonde Sarah Heaney that prompted the most controversy due to the fact that she had no formal journalistic training. It was obvious that the network was willing to compromise the quality of their broadcast in their quest for boosted ratings. However, in defense of television news audiences, the introduction of the former model resulted in a fall in viewing figures, suggesting people understood and were opposed to the networks tabloidisation methods (McVeigh 000 1). The ABA study reinforced this fact, when it found that sensational reporting in news and current affairs topped Australian audience's list of media concerns, ahead of intrusive reporting and inaccuracy. It was also identified as being a significant problem in television news by journalists, who admitted that it occurred routinely and this concerned them (ABA 001).

Modern television news bulletins now offer what Seib (000 ) describes as 'easily consumable bites'. They are intellectual snacks, not meals - satisfying briefly but leaving a hunger for more. The average news bulletin on the two leading Australian news channels - Nine and Seven, is, without commercials, 1 minutes long. Included in that, is between five and six minutes of sport and two minutes of weather. On most nights, this leaves 14 minutes and thirty seconds to cover the day's news. A long story, presumably covering an important issue, is on average, one minute and 0 seconds long, with shorter stories generally only lasting 0 to 0 seconds. Brief stories generally consist of visually or aurally exciting issues such as the May 5, Channel story on 'Killer Twisters in Kansas' for which the station had obtained amateur video of the tornado and professional footage of the destruction it left behind. This story, which lasted seconds, was most likely included in the bulletin because of the spectacular recording of the natural disaster in the peak of its course. Alternatively, shorter stories can be issues that have to be included in the bulletin due to their importance (such as the May 8, Channel story on the state of Iraq after the end of the war). The visuals for this story were not as spectacular as previous footage of the war-torn country, there was no gunfire or bodies, which is perhaps why it only secured 45 seconds. In this case, the visuals (or lack of) did not warrant a longer story. Both of these types of stories are easy to digest for audiences but do not have enough substance to be truly filling; and unfortunately, there is no longer the substantial meal waiting at the end of news bulletins in the form of current affairs programs, leaving many audiences unsatisfied.

Roughly two weeks of news bulletins were watched between April 1 and 5 and May 1 and 6 on Channel and 7. When selecting the bulletins to tape, the assumption was made that any bulletin on any station at any time was representative of every bulletin on every station at every time. Although the stories on these news bulletins differed daily the nature of the stories remained the same. Kerbel (000 56) suggests the 'sameness' of the stories is intentional and that audiences learn to expect this from news bulletins and thus become comfortable with them. He believes audiences are dependent on this continuity and producers perpetuate this by delivering news stories in the same format with the same personalities every day.

The following table compares Channel 's coverage of May 5 to that of the Courier Mail. It makes obvious the fact that newspapers provide greater analysis of important issues, such as the controversy surrounding former Governor-General Peter Hollingworth. The Courier Mail dedicated three mid to large sized stories to the situation, along with a large-sized story on a similar sex abuse case. Channel however (most likely due to time restrictions) gave only 0144 to the case.

May 5 according to Channel and the Courier Mail

Channel story Time allotted Courier Mail story Size & placement of story

Labor Day celebrations 0156 Results of football all codes Pg 1, LS

John Howard continues support of Peter Hollingworth 0144 Howard meets with Bush about free trade for Iraq Pg 1, LS

Howard's visit to New York 0146 State Government plans to build $800 million paper mill Pg 1, SS

Howard at baseball game 008 More sex abuse claims that Hollingworth knew about Pg 1, MS

AMP slipping on the ASX 0146 SARS Suspects in Australia Pg 1, SS

General Financials 00 Gilbert Case Sex Abuse Scandal Pg , LS

John Elliot found guilty for bad business dealings 00 Sex abuse victim calls for Hollingworth's resignation Pg , LS

'Killer Twisters' in Kansas 000 Peter Costello says Hollingworth should resign Pg , MS

Failed space landing in Russia 017 Anti-smoking laws overhaul Pg , MS

Domestic SARS stories 001 Asthma rates soar in Australia Pg , SS

Friends of Natural Birth laundry hangout in King George Square 001 Green Bridge gets council OK Pg , MS

page number and BS large story, MS mid-sized story, SS small story

It can be seen by comparing the coverage of Channel to the Courier Mail on May 5 in particular, that television news bulletins are shallow and simply do not provide the analysis that some issues require. Television audiences are not gaining real insight into the day's events. On the contrary, they are being fooled into believing in a reality constructed by television stations.

Channel 7 and 's reportage of the war on Iraq in April strengthens the argument that commercial pressures often affect the quality of news bulletins. In the rush to beat their competitors to headlines and breaking news, the stations on at least one occasion failed to check their facts. This hastiness also meant that issues relating to the war requiring deeper analysis, such as whether Australia should have been involved or not, were sketchily reported.

During the coverage of the war on Iraq, television viewers experienced what Seib (000) calls 'the illusion of news'. We were bombarded by images of missiles lighting up Baghdad's night sky and embedded American journalists wearing army camouflages. By providing a view of surface events, the cameras on the scene and live satellite feeds served to mask reality rather than shed light on what was happening. According to Seib, There are many problems associated with premature reporting, such as that which occurred earlier this year on Channel and 7, because often rumors, gossip, speculation, hearsay and unchecked claims are televised live, without verification and without sources. For example, when Private Jessica Lynch was originally 'rescued' by American soldiers, headlines on Channel 7 on April claimed that while the 1-year-old had been held as a prisoner of war by Iraqis she was viciously tortured and beaten. It was the lead story and earned one minute and 46 seconds of air-time. Later it was revealed however, that it was the story that was beaten up by the US military. No time was taken to check the facts of the situation the information, sketchy at best, was rushed to screens without a thought for the truth. In these situations, stations assume speed will compensate for superficiality (Seib 000).

The reduction in the quality of the news is such a concerning occurrence because of its affect on audiences. Television news is one of the most powerful perpetuators of the mass mediated account of what constitutes the real world (Turner 000 8). With this incredible power, the news media should be aiming to achieve the traditional goals of journalism - to provide, fairly and accurately, the information the public wants and needs to know. The speed and impact of television news should compliment, not dominate, that mission.

Unfortunately, it seems quite obvious that due to journalistic conformity and the pressure of commercial interests leading to sensationalism and consumer-tailored news, television news bulletins are as the heading of this essay suggests a serving of news lite light on substance and definitely light on value. Please note that this sample paper on Australian News Media is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Australian News Media, we are here to assist you. Your cheap custom college paper on Australian News Media will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

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