RESEARCH 10 - VOX POP

VOX POP

Vox pop is the short version for ‘vox populi’ which also means the voice of the people. This is an interview with members of the public that are canvassed for their opinion, this usually happens on the street also random subjects are asked to give their views on a particular topic and their responses are presented to the viewer/reader as a reflection of popular opinion.  It is also cut and mixed very carefully to fit in all different views, because the talk should only last for 20-40 seconds maximum, also this represents the current views of the public and is not scientific information but 6 people who are willing to take part. While doing these interviews they get information from people’s opinion which could be based by their age, ethnicity, gender etc. Also when doing a vox pop it is better to have noises such as cars going past or the craziness from the city to make it sound more real and show that you have actually been out there. The best responses are usually the ones that are fast this is because it doesn’t give the interviewee the time to think and that way they haven’t got a chance to think of what other people may believe but their honest opinion about the issue. It is also best to say why you have come to hear their opinion and what broadcast they are with so that they feel comfortable enough to talk and don’t feel it’s for any other use.  Those that have the weirdest and outrageous responses allows the listeners to be entertained by the answers and enjoy listening and lastly whenever doing a vox pop the reporters voice should never appear because of the short time, this is why the questions get edited out and should always avoid complex questions otherwise it would be time consuming, but they should still be brief with their questions so that the interviewee’s know what to talk about.

Here is a video about some of the tips of a vox pop in action and is the link to a source used for this blog:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/clips/radio-vox-pops/12696.html

RESEARCH 9 - The use of hard news and soft news

HARD NEWS & SOFT NEWS

Hard news and soft news are types of news stories that we hear. Hard news are stories that deal with serious topics or events, and are reported immediately. Whereas soft news is background information or human-interest stories. Some examples of hard news are things such as politics, war, economics and crime, while some samples of soft news are things like arts, entertainments and lifestyles. We need the two different types of stories otherwise it wouldn’t balance the stories out because we couldn’t have everything in news being about peoples lifestyles and about celebrity gossips, but we couldn’t handle everything being serious too, because it would always make us feel under pressure with everything going on. So having them both allow people to have a break from one another and still keep them updated on current affairs around the world and in the showbiz world too.

 

Although most of us complain about the negativity of the hard news, we always want to know about the outcomes and whether it has been resolved or not, because of how harsh the news can be sometimes. Though some people believe that this could be a cause of depression because they could work themselves up emotionally from always looking at these critical situations and then start making unwise decisions themselves. Does this mean that the media is negative? Some people may argue that this is right because as humans we are always seeking the threat of bad things rather than focusing on the good so we can confront the bad and get that over and done with. Also, many studies have shown that our negative brain tripwires are far more sensitive than our positive triggers, and we tend to get more fearful than happy this just shows why we are focus on the hard news, because this way we see how other people are being affected and how to help them because with soft news you can only be happy or excited but you can’t do anything about it to help.

Moving on to the soft news, this allows people to take a break from listening to upsetting things in the news and just be able to relax and listen to stories that make them laugh or excite them, in general soft news entertains its audience. The use of soft news lets the audience be able to see how other people cope with their own lives especially if their lives aren’t that exciting. Some people could also argue that soft news sometimes causes people to gossip about others because there will always be different views and although gossiping is wrong it can have its positives. For instance it allows people to have their own special bonds with one another due to their like and dislikes and almost puts them into their own social groups because of what they specifically think about a certain topic.
 

Overall, knowing the difference between hard and soft news helps you develop a sense of how news is covered, and what sorts of stories different news media tend to publish or broadcast. This can be important when you want to write articles or influence the media yourself. There is no choosing which one is more important because they are both needed to even out stories and appeals to so many different people.

  

RESEARCH 8 - Research Plan

Research Plan

Primary research – To get data by yourself.

Secondary research – To get data from something else.

Broadcast Industry, Regulation & Practices:

Aima Begum:	Rohima Begum (Me):	Thahmina Akthar:
Journalism Ethics (08/10/2013) – Secondary	Hard News VS Soft News (08/10/2013) – Secondary	Microphone Techniques (08/10/2013) – Secondary
Ofcom (09/10/2013) - Secondary	Defamation (09/10/2013) – Secondary	Institution Case study - Radio Analysis (17/10/2013) – Primary/ Secondary
A good journalist (09/10/2013) – Primary/ Secondary	Interview Techniques (10/10/2013) – Primary/ Secondary	Sound Codes (18/10/2013) – Secondary
News Values (10/10/2013) – Secondary	Vox Pop (10/10/2013) – Secondary	Lead Sentence (19/10/2013) – Secondary
Institution Case study - Radio Analysis (10/10/2013) – Primary/ Secondary	How radio gets attention from audience (11/10/2013) – Secondary	Libel (20/10/3013) – Secondary
Slander (14/10/2013) - Secondary	Lead Story (15/10/2013) – Secondary	Rajar.co.uk (21/10/2013) – Secondary

Audio Technology:

Aima Begum:	Rohima Begum (Me):	Thahmina Akthar:
DAB Radio (20/10/2013) – Secondary	Podcasting  (19/10/2013) – Secondary	Convergence (22/10/2013) - Secondary
Omnidirectional Microphone (22/10/2013) – Secondary	Unidirectional Microphones (23/10/2013) – Secondary	Digital (23/10/2013) – Secondary
Analogue (23/10/2013) – Secondary	MP3 vs. WAV (24/10/2013) – Secondary	Minimisation (24/10/2013) – Secondary
Future of the radio(24/10/2013) – Secondary	Radio on the internet(25/10/2013) – Secondary	Portability (25/20/2013) – Secondary

ALL: Aima Begum, Rohima Begum (Me) & Thahmina Akthar

·         What Is News? (14/10/2013) – Secondary

·         What Is Local News? (14/10/2013) – Secondary

·         Audience Survey and Research findings. (15/10/2013) – Primary

·         Storage types. (16/10/2013) – Secondary

·         The conventions of Radio News. (17/10/2013) – Secondary  

·         A log of your radio news listening habits. (28/10/2013) – Primary

·         Outside Broadcast (28/10/2013) – Primary

RESEARCH 7- Useful interview tips

Useful interview tips for the presenter from rohimab

RESEARCH 6 - News Values

NEWS VALUES

 News values, or sometimes called the news criteria determine how much importance a news story is given by a media outlet, and the attention it is given by the audience. Among the many lists of news values that have been drawn up by scholars and journalists, some, like Galtung and Ruge's, attempt to describe news practices across cultures, while others have become remarkably specific to the press of certain (often Western) nations. By having these values it makes the journalists think about what stories will be heard and what isn’t, sometimes the pressure of living up to these values could lead to biased or unethical stories. This has made news organizations more open to audience input and feedback, and forced them to adopt and apply news values that attract and keep audiences. Here are some examples of news values and the definitions of what they are.

1.      Threshold - These are the facts and events that have the greatest impacts on the audience and is usually more news worthy. The more bigly the news the better outcome it will have on the audience.

2.      Negativity – This is when the bad news is always rated better than the good news.

3.      Timelessness – These are the events that have happened recently or people who are current, generally are more newsworthy.

4.      Proximity – These are stories that involve people from their own county, and is locally, emotionally and physically close the audience.

5.      Prominence – This is when people in the public eye tend to be more newsworthy than those that are not.

6.      Conflict – These are events and people that have featured in a conflict. These people/events are usually more newsworthy.

7.      Currency/Continuity – These are stories that have been going on for a certain amount of time and have created a continuing impact on the audience to find out more about the story for example the Madeleine McCann case.

8.      Oddity – This is news about weird or unusual people in different places. This allows the audience to be interested in the story because it is about things you don’t hear about every day.

9.      Human Interest – These are stories that play with the human emotions and make the audience sympathise with the stories. These stories can be very newsworthy, and are usually ordinary people.

10.  Elite nations or people – This is a story about a powerful country or person.

11.  Exclusivity – This is when a story is the first to publish a particular story, this way they will be very highly rated by the audience.

12.  Expectedness/Predictability – This a story that was expected to happen or something predictable for the target audience or newspaper.

 

 

     I believe that all these values are important because this is what we as the audience expect from the news and without having these guidelines it would be hard for the journalists that find these stories to choose what to write about because it has to be suitable enough for the audience. I also believe that all these values are important because it narrows down the stories that we enjoy for a certain type of audience, for example people that are interested in the politics side of news will look more on about the elite nations and people, and people that enjoy reading/listening about issues that are happening locally will look at stories that are generalised by proximity. Overall, I believe that without these news values it would be hard for us an audience to understand everything, and it would be hard for all the journalists and editors too because it allows them to have a sense of what to put out on air, and makes things a lot more easier.

Source: Class notes/ A presentation from ( http://www.slideshare.net/MrRichards/news-values-3299801 )

RESEARCH 5 - How do radio stations appeal to their audience?

HOW DO RADIO STATIONS GET THE AUDIENCE'S ATTENTION?

There are many ways of radio stations getting their audience to listen. This is because there are so many ways to appeal to the audience because everyone is different and enjoy listening to different things, which is why it can sometimes be hard for the radio to get it right and suitable for the range of audiences that they are aiming too. It is important to get the attention of the audience because without engaging and being persuasive it doesn't allow the audience to soak in the information that the station is giving and doesn't let them remember about the serious stories. Also without the audience being interested, it doesn't allow the presenter to share and show the enthusiasm and importance of the topic the presenter it trying to point out so that the audience can act upon it.

One way of radio stations engaging the audience is by repeating points. Although some audience may find this annoying, it is something which is very important when presenting because it allows the stories to stick in to the audiences head. A skillful presenter would find ways of revisiting these stories in a more creative way so that it wouldn't be seen as annoying, and simply play a trick on the audience so that they don't realise it is happen. This is why we always hear stories on radios being repeated many times, yet don't realise the importance of why the presenters do it.

Another way that radio stations try to engage the audience's attention is by talking to the audience about their own personal experiences. This makes the audience feel as if they can relate to the presenter, understanding the situation which leads them into wanting to know what they think about the subject. One example of a radio station that does this is LBC (London's Biggest Conversation), they do this to talk to the audience about their own personal experiences and lead them on into knowing more about the radio station, which almost lures them in, into having more viewers because they all want to know about each other’s sticky situations.



One of the most important ways of getting the audience's attention is by using humour; this can be the most effective attention-getting way techniques when used naturally and appropriately. The use of humour lightens the mood of all the seriousness from the rest of the news and keeps the audience alert and awake. Laughter triggers the release of adrenaline and increases long-term retention of information, this allows them to feel more relaxed and almost comforted by the station because of calming and cool environment, which makes them feel as if the jokes are targeted to them in the conversation, but in a good way. Although, it is important that the jokes aren't offending, and should stay away from issues such as ethnicity, religions, racism and politics, the only person that should be made fun of is the presenter because this allows the presenter to be in a safer position and doesn't offend anyone else, so the station isn't affected.

Overall, there are more ways to capture the audience’s attention, for example by using games and activities to interact with the audience, by using statistics to make sure the audience feel that the information is correct because it will be backed with evidence and by being brief so that the audience do not get bored of the station and will hear all the relevant information. These all show how important it is to be able to connect with your audience, because a radio station is all about the audience because they are the listeners! From this research I will be able to look at these important factors and include them when doing my own radio cast, so that my audience feel comfortable and are able to relate to the station. 

RESEARCH 4 - 12 Ethical Standards

ETHICAL STANDARDS

 

1. Act honourably – Never put your own gain above the welfare of your clients or others to whom you have a professional responsibility. Always consider the wider interests of society in your judgement.

2. Act with integrity – Be trustworthy in all that you do – never deliberately mislead, whether by withholding or distorting information.

3. Be open and transparent in your dealings– Share the full facts with your clients, making things as plain and intelligible as possible.

4. Be accountable for all your actions –Take full responsibility for your actions and don’t blame others if things go wrong.

5. Know and act within your limitations –Be aware of the limits of your competence and don’t be tempted to work beyond these. Never commit to more than you can deliver.

6. Be objective at all times – Give clear and appropriate advice. Never let sentiments or your own interests cloud your judgement.

7. Always treat others with respect –Never discriminate against others.

8. Set a good example – Remember that both your public and private behavior could affect your own, RICS’ and other members’ reputations.

9. Have the courage to make a stand –Be prepared to act if you suspect a risk to safety or malpractice of any sort.

10. Comply with relevant laws and regulations – Avoid any action, illegal or litigious, that may bring the profession into disrepute.

11. Avoid conflicts of interest –Declare any potential conflicts of interest, personal or professional, to all relevant parties.

12. Respect confidentiality – Maintain the confidentiality of your clients’ affairs. Never divulge information to others unless it is necessary.

 Although all the factors above are equally important, one of the most important ones in my view is the one about being accountable for all your actions and taking full responsibility of the problems you have caused. I believe this one is the most important because of how it links to all the other ones about knowing your limitations and following the law and its regulations both within the law and out for safety and precaution reasons, this is because if you do any of these things it all leads back to the journalist being responsible for all these things, and them having to face the consequences of their decisions.

 Another factor that seems to be one of the most important is about setting a good example, and being professional about the job that you are doing, because people are looking up to that person and they need to be setting an example to show how it’s done and not being misled by others because it is not only the journalist reputation that would go down but the station also.

Lastly one other factor that I believe is important is to act honorable This is because by being honourable and fair it allows the journalist to be thoughtful of others and to understand that the audience and helping the station are the most important thing and that they need to be put first and not the personal desires of the journalist, especially if they’re are putting their own personal gain before the needs of the clients. Overall,  by looking at all these ethical standards it act as guidelines for when doing my own newscast because I will know what rules to follow to ensure that I can report to the best of quality and so that I can avoid any problems that occur.

Sources: Class notes.