Codes and conventions of TV news

What are the codes and conventions of TV news bulletins ?

• A main anchorman / woman that presents directly to the camera.
• Typically the presenter will sit behind a desk.
• A side screen or something to display stories so that the presenter may reference to them. 
• many varied shots : cutaways, pans and establishing shots 
• All portraited subjectively

Mise-en-scene 

The miss-en-scene typically translates to keen "placed in the picture or scene" this generally include the following and how they make up what we see in a typical news broadcast. 

Set, location, set design : The normal set consists of a large desk or sofa often paced within a theme of colours. The set often contains a green screen, screen or some sort of presentation device that outside footage could be showed upon. The main location for new studios tend to be within the heart of the country for example ITV is set within the capital London, this is where most stories are heard first. 

Studio : Most TV shows are filmed within a studio this will be set in a appropriate area for the news being broadcast. 

Colour : The colours that are typically used during TV news broadcasts will be dark and serious often connected to the channel broadcasting they can't be vibrant . These colours need to help the set look professional. 

Costume : The main anchorman/ women will wear formal clothing this is typically a suit or formal dress. This again relates to professionalism. 

Lighting/ Sound: The lighting tyoically depends on the time of day of the broadcast the moring news is usuallly brighter then the evening news this is most likely because of the backdrops that also change as they are supposed to look like they are live behind the hosts.

Positioning : The typical display of a TV news broadcast is to see the main presenters behind a desk in the middle of the screen and sometimes typically with anouther screen eaither to the left or the right of the main presenter.

Props/Furniture : The typical props that you expect to see include a desk, screen and possibly even notes or laptop in front of the presenters.

Actor/Acting:  There are typical one to two main presenters and others including reporters or specialists that are included in a TV news broadcast.

The mise-en-scene is usually what we think of first when we are picturing any programme this is used to create an overall look that fits the programme perfectly letting of the messages that you want heard for example a TV news bulletin should look proffesional this makes the programme seem more realiable and credible.

 Presenter

Every news bulletin will have a main presenter/presenters they will typically be dressed in a smart manner most likely with a blazer or even a tie that make the individual look professional like they suit the job perfectly. These are the visual codes that on a male presenter would be a neat haircut, being clean shaven and most important of all a professional suit. The main presenter will be a trained journalist that carries out many jobs within their role these jobs include:

• Doing extensive research into every story they are presenting. 
• To read and portrait the news accurately.
• To edit and evolve the script so it suits there style.
• To Interview many guests and experts.
• To abide by all laws and regulations.
• To possibly provide briefings to the crew and contributors.

To carry out these  jobs you will need many different skills/attributes these include :

• Communication skills 
• Confidence 
• Fast thinker
• Clear voice 
• Editorial knowledge
• focused
• Professional
• To understand legal and ethical issues which effect journalism.
• Interpersonal skills 

Field Reporter

The second most important people in a news bulletin are the field reporters who are exactly like the main presenter except they typically report from outside of the studio. They commonly present live from the scene although they also do pre recorded stories. They can be also know as correspondents and are typically used more because they know more about a certain field for example a sports reporter. They are also known as off scene reporters that broadcast from locations such as war zones, live events and sporting matches.

Technical elements 

To create a news bulletin you need to use many technical elements these are the many shots that come together to form the show these are used to keep the programme entertaining it also adds depth to the stories they are telling these shots are the basic form of the show. The technical elements include :

Direct address to camera : The most privileged shot in Film and TV it includes looking straight at the camera  in turn looking straight at the audience and addressing them directly. This opens up a connection to the audience. This is mainly used in the main desk scenes of news broadcasts where it is mainly them alone looking straight into the camera and welcoming you to the show.

Cutaway : A cutaway shot this is usually a shot of something that is usually something other that the current action. The cutaway is used as a buffer between shot this is typically used on BBC news and is typically a photo of people on the streets of London or a location shot.

Establishing shot :An establishing a shot is a wide shot that flows into a closer shot of the subject matter this is typically done with locations as they can start with a shot of the genreal area and then close in on one particular location.

Actuality Footage : This is footage with a relevance to the story that is being reported it helps us see whats truly going on for example war footage from Iraq that is currently being showed on many news broadcast.