News Analysis and Discussion

You can choose a period of time to analyse e.g. A week in February, March or April 2020 back until the beginning of the academic year in September. (although there is some negotiation of an alternative week – please discuss this with Matt and Steph beforehand). To access television news, you need to go to BOB (http://bobnational.net/) – log in via Cardiff University username and password. Then go to programme guide, then select the 10 bulletins you want to examine by finding the date and the news programme. You can also add these to your playlist. It may/will take 24-hours for the programme to be available and you can only request a certain amount each day (so you may need to do this over a few days).

This assignment should carry out an empirical study of 5 days of UK national television news coverage. It MUST include a comparative analysis of two different news organisations (between BBC, ITV, Channel Four or Channel Five) and MUST justify your sample selection. The analysis can be both quantitative and qualitative but you are not required to carry out a detailed content or discourse analysis. You must, however, provide a basic analysis of the volume of stories (i.e. crime, health and politics etc.) and you can quantify the type of sources used to inform stories (etc. politicians, academics, doctors etc). In addition, you must examine the language, style and format of the news, and critically examine the use of news conventions and practices identified in the bulletins.

In comparing and contrasting different news organisations, you must draw on a range of scholarly material to inform your discussion and consider (where relevant) how the democratic quality of news is influenced by media ownership, regulation, journalism cultures, audiences and competition from other media platforms. These are all subjects addressed in the lectures, the readings and seminar discussion.

Consider the following questions when making comparisons between channels

Selection

Placement of a story

Headline/framing of a story

How a story is concluded

Tone, or mode of address of anchor/reporter

The sources used in the story

The language, style and format of the news

Democratic value/informational quality of news produced

Consider wider questions when making comparisons

Omission of stories (what is not reported by certain channels): look beyond the news you are examining)

Ownership

Regulatory framework

Suggested structure

Introduction – explain to the reader what news programmes you will examine and justify your sample selection. Introduce how you will examine the news programmes, what themes you will explore and some very brief context to the period under analysis (was it an ‘ordinary’ period of time, or was dominated by a particular story such as the budget or a terrorist attack etc.).

Thematic framework – this is the most substantive part of your project. It is up to you to decide how you organise, structure, present and develop an argument based on the findings you produce. Of course, much of this will be decided by the news you encounter – whether about a terrorist attack, a political controversy, health reforms, an international conflict, or the state of the economy. You can split the findings/discussion into subheading to illustrate the themes you will explore. To make sense of data you can provide lists, tables, figures and graphs which you think could graphically inform the comparative analysis. More qualitatively, you can also draw on quotes from news bulletins to illustrate points you are making.

It is important, however, to not simply describe the findings. You need to ensure you provide critical analysis of them, comparing and contrasting the different agendas, the style of journalism and evaluating the overall quality of news supplied. In developing the comparative analysis, you also need to generate a wider discussion drawing on relevant academic and industry sources to help you explain why television journalism is produced in particular ways.

Conclusion – while this section should very briefly summarise the main empirical findings of the study, you should also use the conclusion as an opportunity to provide a ‘big picture’ perspective of your analysis. In other words, explain why news is made and shaped in certain ways, and consider what this tells us about the current and future state of television journalism in the UK.

In carrying out an empirical news study, there is always a temptation to overload the reader with data – whether in pie charts, tables or other colourful illustrations. Make sure you keep these at a minimum and do not provide too much description at the expense of critical analysis. Overall this assessment should not only demonstrate an ability to provide a critical comparative analysis of television news programming, it should demonstrate an understanding/appreciation of debates in journalism studies, and the ability to assess and critically interpret scholarship concisely and clearly.

Finally, do not start watching the programmes right before the deadline. Give yourself time to watch, digest and reflect upon the programming and to then develop your analysis in the context of wider debates in journalism studies and in recent changes to the television news industry.