Research 9 - By Ben Jones - CNN

This news broadcast is from the American broadcaster CNN, it will be good to see if they use largely the same conventions as the British TV news or if they do anything we like and we could use any of their conventions in our own TV News.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sy7cVav5HMw

The news broadcast starts with this breaking news, this straight away attracts the attention of the audience as it takes up the whole of the screen. The colour red connotes danger and it shows the audience that the story is clearly a pressing issue. This notion is supported by the dramatic sound effect in the background. We can also see a house style emerging as there as black and red breaking news bar along with the CNN logo. This makes the news clearly identifiable to CNN.  

This news places a large emphasis on the use of graphics to keep the audience informed, the bar at the side contains short summary points of the key details of the news story. It is to the left of the close up of the presenter, this shows that he is the most important person in shot, this makes it clear that he will perhaps tell people some more breaking news. It should also be said that the presenter is sitting in a purpose designed newsroom. This shows a level of professionalism that the news broadcast is surely striving for.

From this two shot we can see a common convention of TV News, often a news story is bought up and then reaction is often given. More often than not this is given from at least two different angles. This is to cover up any accusations of the news being biased. An interview such as this is also good as it allows expert analysis and opinion to be given that the news presenter or a member of the production team may not be able to give. This will reflect positively back on the news program as it will gain favour with the audience for going the extra mile to give the audience the best quality of news they can. 

 

These two screen shots show how CNN use graphics to illustrate their points, this will ensure that all types of people are thought about. People that digest information through simply listening and people that like to visualise things will both be able to gain the same level of understanding. The split screen is another convention that I have noticed, this can be seen in the top screenshot. We can see the graphic along with the face of the person being interviewed.