Online Critical Analysis

DIGITAL NEWS CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Introduction

This critical analysis will discuss the online news channel Face Value and it’s relation to News as a whole genre. Topics such as brand development and audience research will be discussed in order to explore the news genre. The reasons and implications of our decision making process for Face value will be explored whilst analysing and comparing with the conventions and methodology in television news production.

Concept/ Brand Development

When creating a brand or new concept, there are a variety of factors to take into consideration. “The style, structure and very look of the programmes are needed to underpin their reliability and impartiality” (Chapman, 2009: 219) as Chapman states, it is important to consider all elements as they have an equal part to play in order to have the desired effect when creating a news piece. One of the reasons branding must be carefully considered is that it must be appropriate to the target audience.

When considering branding, other than the news content itself, the branding which is associated with the presentation of that news must also be carefully considered. Factors such as colour schemes are important as they represent a different demographic and connote different emotions according to this colour chart;

Figure 1, Branding colours, Colour Wheel Pro (2016)

Figure 2, BBC Logo (2016)

When looking at BBC as an example, it is clear that visual branding plays a big part in the tone of their programme. It features red motifs that run through the various advertising platforms and intros. This further highlights and illustrates their serious, trustworthy tone as red (according to the colour chart) usually indicates seriousness as well as strength and power.

Furthermore, When looking at E news, an online website dedicated to entertainment, popular culture and celebrity news, it is clear their logo which also sets the tone for their programme as it conveys both serious and unserious tones. With the use of the red motif displayed in a fun, illustrated way, it indicates the boldness they may want to achieve whilst keeping a youthful feel to it.

Figure 3, E News now logo, (2016)

Branding is everywhere to the point where we are almost unaware it. When thinking about the most dominant brands in the world such as McDonald’s, Coca Cola and Cadbury’s who have actually trademarked their colour purple (The Independent, 2012) We automatically know what their logo looks like.  So it is clear branding and colours is important as well as powerful and also something that should be carefully considered when creating a brand. Hence when creating the logo for Face Value, we included a red motif within our logo to indicate both the boldness of fashion and the seriousness as well as strength of the topics that would be discussed.  

  

Figure 4, face value logo (2016)

Audience Research

When looking at target audiences for news, Chapman states “The first test for your idea is to be able to define the market for it. Ask yourself: ‘Who is this programme for? Who might watch or listen to it?” (Chapman, 2009: 198). In order for us to have a greater understanding of who to aim our news programme at, we looked at E! News’ conventions and how they targeted their audiences.

According to Adweek.com, the median age of E!’s audience is 35 and reaches an affluent and professional audience. Ranking it the number 6^th show for people aged between 18-34 earning over $125k and number 7 with people aged 18-49 earning $125k (Adweek, 2013). From this it is understood that stories, which include insights to celebrity lifestyles and glorified celebrity culture would in fact reach a range of target audience, those who may also relate to the lavish lifestyle portrayed and those who aspire to have that lifestyle and like to indulge in the topics. So from this, we knew that if we mentioned topics that were new and also included big celebrity names in the manor that E did, it would gather similar crowds. However, we did not want to glorify celebrities in the same manner but we did want to target the similar audience. In order to do that, instead of having headlines such as “Rihanna wears a quirky cape!” – (Daily Mail, 2016) We wanted a thought provoking title that challenged the thoughts of the audience by asking them “Is Rihanna’s £10’000 cape worth it?” By having a large figure in the title as well as the celebrity’s name, we aimed to add a shock factor for the audience as well as capturing the attention by anyone who is interested in celebrity culture or familiar with who Rihanna is.

Platform Research – The changing Media landscape

To create an online news channel that appeals to your target audience, the method of transmission must be carefully considered. In recent years, there has been a noticeable decline in printed media and a rise of new, televised media. (Pew Research Center, 2016). Each of those forms have inherent differences in terms of audience appeal, experience and story telling conventions which influence what consumers may be targeted.

When looking at the development of new media, State Of The Media claims that;

“…only newspapers suffered continued revenue declines last year—an unmistakable sign that the structural economic problems facing newspapers are more severe than those of other media.” They also estimate 1,000 to 1,500 more newsroom jobs will have been lost—meaning newspaper newsrooms are 30% smaller than in 2000.” – (State of the media.org, 2011) The fact that newspapers are becoming less popular shows that this may be due to the developing technologies as well as developing audiences. There seems to be a need for everything to be fast paced and digestible in order to engage new audiences. 

New studies from Pew Research Center show that 62% of people are receiving their news via social media (Pew Research Center, 2016). It also states that “Overall, 73% of all online users say they come across news online when they have been on the web for another purpose.” (Pew Research Center, 2016) This further illustrates the idea that news stories are becoming much more accessible to a variety of audiences as they are being fired through social media without people noticing as such. Although the method of obtaining news in that manner is prevalent across most age groups, it is the younger audience who inadvertently come across news as “84% of 18 to 24 year old online users get news in this way” (Pew Research Center, 2016) Thus showing how the younger audience may be susceptible to “snappier”, eye catching stories and also highlighting the importance of knowing who your target audience is as well as knowing which transmission device will they receive it as this drastically makes the difference between what content you should have and how you present it.

The devices that the news programme is viewed on also makes a difference to the experience the viewer has. Pictured below is a study carried out by Pew research center who found that many Americans own more than one device. But it is stated that the behaviours of those who use mainly laptops for news would mainly acquire their news stories from the main news sites themselves whereas within that 52% of people who own both smart phones and laptops, 37% of them come across news within social media. (Pew Research Centre, 2016)

Figure 5, device usage, 2016

This further illustrates the necessity of having news content that will appeal to users within the online field since the majority of users are of younger ages. With knowledge of this, it is clear that in order for your online news programme to be successful and retrieve a good amount of views by the target audience, your news programme must be fast paced, relatively short and have the ability to entice the audience from the very start.

All factors mentioned above were taking into consideration and shaped the creation of Face Value as we already established that it would be shown on an online platform, therefore aimed at users between18 to 24. Therefore our content would need to be fast paced and entertaining in order to reach the target audience effectively. For Face Value, we wanted to portray serious topics in an entertaining way without the need for sharing graphic imagery to get our points across so it was essential that we embedded our facts and figures effectively and efficiently. It is understandable how necessary it is to know who your target audience is as well as knowing what platform it will be displayed on as this will determine the experience the viewer has as well as what kind of content you would need to have for a successful online news programme.

Scripting and story telling methodology and approach

The story lines and scripting for Face Value was based on the ethical sides of fashion and celebrity culture. In order for us to come to this conclusion instead of creating a news programme that somewhat glorified the sides of celebrities that are usually overlooked, we first had to consider what would be the peg.

-       “A news peg is what makes the story timely or newsworthy now” It gives your reader/viewer/listener more reason to pay attention and how it connects to the here and now” – (Journalism 101,2009)

Since a peg is used as an anchor for “why now”, when applied to our story and script, our peg was the fashion shows that took place within London fashion week which spurred an up rise in “trendy” outfits by celebrities. In traditional news programmes, since it would be live, very often things are pegged to events such as charity fundraisers for Children In Need. In our case it was London fashion week which we used to explore the ethics in fashion. Although for news a peg is usually to an event, it could be discussed that when A peg is used for online programmes which exists in perpetuity, it doesn’t usually function the same way a peg would if it was a newspaper for example. Once a news story is branched off into a different convention (such as online) it is there for a long time and almost becomes timeless because you can actively come across it again as once something is posted online it is there forever. Newspapers are printed everyday so in order for new stories to make it onto the paper, there has to be a “why now” to keep it current or else there would be no developments throughout the papers. Stories may be forgotten whereas once a news programme has been placed online it will always be available for others to find and refer to. We took this into consideration whilst thinking about the content of our news programme because we wanted our show to have depth, substance as well as the ability to open the eyes of viewers as well as being timeless. Although our peg was the fashion show, the topic of fur is something that has always been controversial and the idea of mistreating animals has been a developing slope with varieties of new doors opening for discussion. We chose to not base our channel on the glamourisation that E! News portrays as they consist of a lot of pegs that may get forgotten as celebrity culture is ever-changing and new topics happen every day. An example of this would be one of their recent headlines; “Who should win The Voice?” – (E! Online, 2016) A title such as this already has an expiration date as the voice may be finishing soon. Therefore, we decided to create stories that can last as we could afford to create something where the peg will go but story will stay.

News has recently been is accused of dumbing down stories as well as focusing too much on celebrity scandals. When looking at how E! News and how they approach their storylines, it is clear that they fit the bracket of infotainment as it is a very celebrity dominated programme. However, recent studies show that “87% of the public says that celebrity scandals receive too much coverage” (Pew Research Center,2016) It can be said that they are “dumbing down” the impact of news and the ability to have tough pieces of news with substantial information. Hence why we believed that the only way to combat this would be to show the adverse effects of celebrity trends in hopes this would spark new thought for celebrity enthusiasts.

When looking at the elements used to tell the news stories by E!, we gathered information as well as inspiration on how to create news in a less serious way. We noticed their use of;

-       interviews between reporter and field enthusiasts.

We knew this would be a good idea as it builds the reliability of the programme since relevant voices are deemed as more important. However, that also raises ethical question as to whether the opinions of someone who does not fit into that category is unfit to speak. This is why we chose to have a student blogger which we thought fit the perfect medium. Enthusiastic enough to know about fashion but also relatable as she was a student. Meaning that the target audiences would be able to relate to her more.  

-       Two hosts to tell the news stories;

figure 6, E! News Presenters, (2016)

Figure 7, Face Value Presenters (2016)

Following a quote by Chapman who states “The figures of reporters and newsreaders are central to news iconography. As its mediators they anchor its reliability.” As well as, “Reporters and newsreaders have a double presence on the broadcast media. Their physical presence on screen will draw attention to their individuality; (Chapman, J, 2008) It was clear to us the importance of our presentation so we knew should also include two presenters in order to contribute to the unserious tone as well as provide an increase the entertainment side.

Critical Reflections and Conclusions

To conclude my findings, the main point I have learnt is the importance to regard all elements needed to create a news programme as equal. That includes both physical content as well as fact based content. The importance of research has also been apparent to me as you need to know who your target audience is as well as the platform it will be broadcasted on as that determines what content you include and also how it is presented.  You must equally understand the changing audiences and news media which all demand new knowledge and new way of enticing the audience. So if you want a successful news programme, you must keep up to date with what each target audience requires as it changes all the time. 

Bibliography

Chapman, J., & Kinsey, M. (Eds.). (2008). Broadcast journalism: a critical introduction. Routledge.

Online news data, 2011 [online]  http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2011/overview-2/

(Accessed 12.12.2016)

News Peg Definition, 2009 [online] https://journ101.wordpress.com/2009/10/29/what-is-a-news-peg-again/ (Accessed on 12.12.2016)

Cadbury’s win legal battle, 2011 [online] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/cadbury-wins-legal-battle-over-purple-packaging-8193220.html (accessed 12.12.2016)

E! News audience research, 2013 [online]  http://www.adweek.com/sa-article/e-148692 , (accessed 12.12.2016)

Rihanna cape quote, [online] http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-3774356/She-love-quirky-cape-Leggy-Rihanna-dresses-gigantic-heart-bizarre-fox-fur-wrap-confirming-Drake-romance.html (accessed 12.12.2016) 

Device usage, [online] http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2016/how-reach-and-advertising-impact-are-related-in-total-audience.html (accessed 12.12.2016)

Illustration List

Figure 1, Colour Chart and the meanings,2016  http://www.color-wheel-pro.com/color-meaning.html (accessed 12.12.2016)

Figure 2, BBC logo, 2016 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20188068 (accessed 12.12.2016)

Figure 3, E! News Logo, 2016 http://stevenward.tv/steven-ward-on-e-news (accessed 12.12.2016)

Figure 4, Face Value logo, 2016

Figure 5, Device usage, 2016 http://www.stateofthemedia.org/2012/mobile-devices-and-news-consumption-some-good-signs-for-journalism/?src=prc-number (accessed 12.12.2016) 

Figure 6, E! News Presenters , 2016 [online]  http://www.eonline.com/uk/shows/e_news

(accessed 12.12.2016)

Figure 7, Face value presenters, 2016