Channel 4 case study

Channel 4 case study

·         Channel 4 news is on Monday to Friday and is shown at 7pm and lasts for 55 minutes.

·         The first broadcast of channel 4 news was in 1982.

·         The institution that produces Channel 4 news is Channel 4.

·         Channel 4 news is presented by Jon Snow, Matt Frei, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Cathy Newman.

·         The presenters are dressed in smart, formal clothing (for example Jon Snow usually wears a full suit).

·         Channel 4 uses a wider range of presenters to try and create a balance between male and female presenters. Channel 4 news has tried to create a balance in the sense of what presenters are used by including a female presenter and a British Asian in their news team. However, I think that there isn’t a balance because there are three male presenters and only one female presenter. Two of the three male presenters are white British presenters, only one presenter is British Asian for the female presenter she is white British and middle aged.

·         A TV news channel will use different presenters to accommodate for their audience and to avoid criticism for gender bias.

·         Other reporters are used by telling the news story from different locations to present the news

·         No there isn’t a balance between the presenters because there is 3 male presenters and only on female presenter

·         The very first shot is a text shot of the four logo for the channel

·         Simple graphics are used to give smooth transitions between shots.

·         Dramatic music is being played from the very start of the programme to grab the audience’s attention very quickly.

·         The stories are introduced in order because Jon Snow tells us what they will cover and in what order.

·         The audience can see a small table in the back and two huge screens with the channel 4 logo on them. The studio is designed according to their colour scheme.

·         In the beginning of the programme both presenters are standing up rather than sitting down behind the desk which is what traditional news tends to do.

·         The only technology that can be seen by the audience is the two big tv screens on either side of the studio.

·         The studio is designed to channel 4’s main colour: purple.

·         Jon Snow will begin to give information whilst holding a stack of paper in his hands. The story will develop from here.

·         Images are placed on the two big screens to give hints to the audience what this report is about.

·         Channel 4 news will cover national, international, political, sport and London stories. To accommodate for their target audience.

·         One technique to keep the news interesting is the use of short bursts of information to avoid a cognitive overload on the audience. Another is the use of other reporters at different locations reporting on the story.

·         The top story was the fact that too many immigrants have been coming into Britain and how the home secutary had no idea

·         The top sotry report lasts for about 6 minutes.

·         There is also a report on an M5 disaster that happened in the UK, followed by a family that thought one member was dead.

·         These other stories are shown for about 4 minutes

·         They end on a slightly happier tone than what they began with.

·         The primary target audience for Channel 4 currently is young adults aged between 18-30 year olds which can be identified through the programs and characters which are shown on the channel.

·         Channel four has been described as being more controversial than the other news programmes.

·         The uses and gratifications, theorised by Blumler and Katz, for the institution are escapism and surveillance. Their channels can be used as escapism as it allows people to take a break from everyday life and enjoy a transparent or social realist representation of reality in a fantasy world.  Surveillance is also significant as on many of their channels, such as Channel 4 and Channel 4 News, audiences are able to access news coverage on current events and, in terms of Channel 4, view documentaries surrounding real life.

·         The audience can get involved on twitter via hashtags.

·         Channel 4 is a publicly owned corporation

·         Ofcom has produced a broadcasting code to show what is acceptable for TV news

·         Yes its called ww.channel4/news.co.uk

·         It offers previous episodes and updated breaking stories.

·         Yes it does have a twitter feed #c4