A Framework for Deconstructing News:Recognizing its components and the process of assembling it
The Stories: Create an itemized list of each story covered on a broadcast or in an issue of a newspaper. This is fascinating when compared to a paper or broadcast from the same day. If it is news, why do they not all cover the same stories, or cover them the same way?
The Sequence: List the stories in the order in which they appear. This could be according to the front page, the lead or opening story etc. You should intuitively know that the most important story is up front. Comparing lead stories in newspapers and news programs again reveals the subjective nature of this priority.
The Scope: Concentrate on the running time, the space or column inches devoted to a story. You will begin to note that some stories that do not rank as high in sequence, actually rank quite high on the scope scale, especially if there is graphic footage with entertainment values or high levels of conflict.
The Structure: How is the story structured? What does it consist of? This includes aspects such as a lead-in by the anchor, live interview in studio with a key figure in the story; analysis from a reporter or commentator; news box or graphics behind the anchor's head; on the scene report from place with high recognition, e.g. Congress, or the Supreme Court.
The Style: Related to the structure, this now deals with the look and feel of the piece. This can be described as the aesthetics or mise en scene (see Visual Messages, Considine and Haley 1992). It can include posture and body language of the reporters and anchor as well as consideration of the camera angle. You can begin to look at the framing process and ask not just what is shown but what is left out, what the camera is not showing. This helps you to recognize that the camera can lie by showing only a partial picture. The set in which the anchor is located also is part of the style. Tom Brokaw's newsroom, with its monitors and computer banks, seems like the control tower at Cape Kennedy or some government war room. The overall style conveys power upon the anchor or network and encourages the viewer to surrender to their authority and point of view.
The Statement and Slant: This can be presented on a simple scale of bias running from neutral in the center to positive or negative. Students need to evaluate each story in terms of its objectivity. When bias is detected, students have to agree upon the bias, locating it in terms of visual or verbal cues. We have described this elsewhere in terms of "weighted words," "loaded language," and "prejudiced pictures."
The Sponsor: Since the news exists because of advertising revenue, it should not be isolated from those who bring it to us. The advertisements enable us to read the news in terms of who brings it to us – and more importantly, what assumptions they have about us. By reading the commercials we are in fact reading ourselves. We intuitively know that Saturday morning cartoons are often presented by the makers of fast food, action toys and high-sugar cereals that are based on toy or cartoon characters. Those sponsors are targeting what they see as the nature and needs of young viewers. If television news is heavily sponsored by insurance companies, alcohol manufacturer's, headache relief remedies, hemorrhoidal suppositories and ocean cruises, what do we learn about audience demographics? What age group, what income bracket and what fears and fantasies does the news and its sponsors target? How might the content of the news shape the products that it promotes and vice versa?
From © 2002 Media Awareness Network