Analysis of a live News item
I'm going to be covering a topical live news item; How did Liz Truss get here – and where does she go now? – Channel 4 News (2022)
The opening of the News item starts with our presenter, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, live outside of Downing Street, establishing this as a political story.
The narrative then develops a further context by cutting to Liz Truss at a conference, and some key moments from the event. This gives the viewer a visual cue that allows a more comprehensive overview and drives the narrative forward.
Now that the story has been established and contextualised, the viewer is up to date; allowing the next part of the segment to develop further. Guru-Murthy introduces two contributors, both of whom are valid political commentators, helping to further cement a sense of legitimacy to the story. Having the ability to reach out to a huge pool of contributors is also hugely beneficial, and helps to meet the time-sensitive needs of live news; furthering the sense of immediacy and allowing the dissemination of information to the viewer as soon as it comes, which, in itself, is an appealing prospect for a viewer.
You see that although the presenter and the contributors are at two different locations, the camera shot and the way the GFX are displayed on screen help to minimise the physical space between them and create the illusion of them occupying the same space.
Before the piece, the reporter would have adequately researched the topic and had specific questions to ask to drive the piece forward. As a recurrent, experienced presenter and journalist, Guru-Murthy is well-versed in the expectations of live interviewing. Having a team of experienced crew is crucial to the quality of live news and ensures that the chance of errors or disruptions is minimised. Each person communicating is also key, as the presenter will likely be working within a tight timeframe to get the story wrapped and the sound, visuals and gallery need to be communicated to ensure that each component is working appropriately so that the presenter can focus on their role. The short timeframe of a news story can often lead to stories feeling unresolved from a viewer's standpoint, as live news- as well as the format, works- doesn't have the benefit of creating a natural beginning, middle and end and is often abruptly truncated, as in my referenced example. However, this more abstract approach to a story can be alleviated by having appropriate pre-production, including research and identifying key questions and the angle of the story you're hoping to achieve, as well as a presenter who has a clear objective and a sense of creating a narrative.
Live news differs from a pre-recorded news package in many ways, the most compelling of which seems to be that there's a degree of uncertainty when live interviewing. This can often lead to monumental moments being captured, especially when important figures are on the receiving end of questioning. When people in these positions occupy the screen, we walk a tightrope of jeopardy, and (for me, at least) there's a palpable feeling of schadenfreude when watching a politician squirm in their seat when confronted with difficult questions. These situations can be the making or undoing of politicians and make for high-stakes viewing. This isn't always the case though and sometimes, as in this example from BBC in 2006, a simple case of mistaken identity can make for confusing, but entertaining viewing:
This is a big draw to watching live TV, the uncertainty and spontaneity of the platform (Inclusive of other live entertainment, not strictly news) adds a layer of depth that isn't present in pre-recorded television. Long-established shows have recognised the appeal of this and know that viewers engage in live entertainment for these reasons. Eastenders, Emmerdale and Coronation Street have all ventured into the realms of live performance, although not often, due to painstaking pre-production and the risks associated with live filming.
It's also important to acknowledge the impact of technology on live media, with many mainstream social media platforms now adopting their own live-streaming options (Stewart et al., 2016). This has enabled news and entertainment to be broadcast en-masse to huge audiences that defy the usual parameters of television broadcast i.e. Videos are not locked to being localised, allowing access from anywhere in the world at any given time to any users of the platform. Citizen journalism is now commonplace within mainstream media, often when areas are subject to censorship, extreme disruption, or where larger news platforms are not quick enough to respond to fast-developing stories. This advent of social streaming hasn't so much been a competitor to mainstream media, but more an ally on which it can depend in order to stay in touch with every corner of the world, an omnipresent resource that can be tapped into at immediate notice. This shift of control into the public space is simultaneously as valuable as it is problematic and this access to live-stream events of your choosing, regardless of motive, has proven at times to be catastrophic, see: Christchurch shooting. However, for now, it remains a valuable resource that offers enough positive aspects to justify its existence, an existence for which we now likely, will have to get used to.
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| (Newman & Fletcher, 2017) |
"Although citizens have always had the opportunity – and taken it – to contribute to local news, by submitting letters to the editor, for example, the scale at which online and wireless technologies are enabling most people in the westernised world to have their say in public is unprecedented." Blaagaard, B. B. (2013)
We considered and shot a live piece as part of our project in order to represent an important part of the framework of news, but when it came to editing, decided that it didn't seem to fit the style of our programme. Due to the nature of the shoot and the timeframe in which people showed up/were otherwise engaged, it proved impossible to get a 'live' piece that felt functional and realistic. We filmed a live intro that was intended to be a precursor to the interview but the piece did not present any new information, and essentially reiterated what our presenter had already said in the studio (The script had already been written at this time), making it unnecessary and potentially confusing for the audience. I also believe that in hindsight, producing a live set-up would have meant diluting the questions, leaving fewer options to edit the specifics of the story; something that was important for us to be able to do in order to craft the most potent narrative we could. Overall, it was decided that to try and shoehorn this into the edit would have been to the detriment of the entire package.
You can watch my short 'live segment' below.
In 'Broadcast Journalism: A Critical Introduction' (Chapman et al., 2008) discusses the qualities incumbent of a good reporter;
"Reporters must speak to camera in ways that call for confidence and fluency, with or without notes and to the exact duration required by the studio."
For me, at my level of experience, this proved difficult and I'd rehearsed many times in my head- as well as in our interviewing workshop to develop questions and potential outcomes. However, doing this with fluency and with the deliberate intention to form and drive a narrative is something that requires much practice and I'm not quite there yet; I'm confident, though, that with experience these are attributes that I'll be able to develop. It also felt slightly unnatural for me to pretend to be 'live', as somebody who would (more often) prefer to be behind the camera, it felt slightly unnatural to be in front, especially when meeting with other people at a formal event.
The allure of live media is one that will continue to endure and the ways in which this media created will continue to evolve. As the world gets 'smaller', the necessity to continue to facilitate information in a timely manner will grow ever more important. That being said, live pieces cannot offer some things that a prior recorded news package can, such as a more refined story and the safety net of allowing mistakes to happen. It's also important to recognise that live pieces are not always appropriate, as we felt is the case with our own project, where handling sensitive subjects in a live format might be unnecessarily stressful for the contributor while bringing little value to the piece.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
How did Liz Truss get here - and where does she go now? (2022) How did Liz Truss get here – and where does she go now? . Channel 4 News. Available at: https://www.channel4.com/news/how-did-liz-truss-get-here-and-where-does-she-go-now (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
Chapman, J. and Kinsey, M. (2008) “Writing and presenting for Broadcast,” in Broadcast journalism: A critical introduction. Taylor & Francis group, pp. 145–145.
Blaagaard, B. B. (2013). Shifting boundaries: Objectivity, citizen journalism and tomorrow’s journalists. Journalism, 14(8), 1076–1090. https://doi-org.ucreative.idm.oclc.org/10.1177/1464884912469081
(2006) Cab Driver mistaken for Music industry expert on Live TV. BBC. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhv9HJaA67c (Accessed: October 26, 2022).
Stewart, P., Alexander, R. and Boyd, A. (2016) “Putting the show together - 12,” in Broadcast journalism: Techniques of radio and television news. New York: Routledge, pp. 195–195.
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