Analysis of a News Package
“Analysis of a News Package with a clear explanation of the contextual influence it has had on the rationale for your own news package”
My chosen news package comes from ABC News Australia (2022)
“People are finding themselves homeless for the first time due to the rental squeeze” May 2022
I felt that this news piece is relevant to the group coverage that we intend to film, as it deals with similar themes. It also has some artistic merit in the filming style and breaks some of the usual expectations of factual news programming. This relevance to bearing similar themes is important, as, with our channel, we want it to feel as though there's a link between stories and an overall cohesion to the channel, meaning that we will cover news that feels as though they are relevant to one another. (Stewart et al., 2016)
SUMMARY :
The story is 9 minutes long, much longer than that of our brief…however, I believe that it has the potential to be more concise by shifting the focus to just one aspect of the story* or elongating by studying some of these issues further. Because of this, this story works well across a variety of mediums spanning from a condensed segment in local and national news; to a more extensive documentary format.
That this piece has the depth within the story to create an entire documentary from this, means that it appears to be more of a mini-doc as opposed to a standard news piece. This is something that our channel is aiming to do, which is why it bares a lot of relevance to our own prospective package. The story contains a minimal amount of on-screen GFX, instead migrating the story to different places in order to establish a more holistic perspective of the story and with that, a broader look at how extensive the human cost is in regards to the 'bigger picture'.
- The news package opens with a simple text graphic establishing where the news is being reported from “Bundaberg, QLD, Taribelang County”. Drone footage plays underneath the text of Bundaberg.
- The report then introduces the subjects of the story- A man places belongings on the roof rack of a car, and a Mother feeds her baby inside a home; a gentle strings score plays to set the tone of the piece and then the reporter V.O. begins to play “Moving house is a stressful task at the best of times, but for Tailah Dippel today is particularly hard.”
- Cut to: Tailah speaks to the camera providing a small sound bite.
- The Reporter then continues the V.O., providing further story context, “Six months ago Tailah was told that her rental house was being sold and that she’d need to find a new home for her family of five.” During this V.O, we see shots of the outside of the house, providing further context that aligns with the V.O.
- Sound bites from Tailah play as V.O., she speaks about her Partner. We see him packing more belongings into the car.
The story follows on much like this, until we end up where the family will be staying. This ‘first act’ acts as a foundational springboard from which the rest of the story is constructed (*Re: My opening paragraph, the story could end here.) After this, we go on to see how others in Bundaberg are responding to the crisis and investigating local groups that have formed in response to the issue. The story then goes on to explore the same issue in other Australian states, as well as the country as a whole and also shines a light on the political landscape and the ‘bigger picture’. The archival footage of the Prime Minister speaking on the issue helps to elevate it beyond just a ‘Human’ piece and into the political and economic landscape, which acts as one of the formal sources that the story can be measured against for further context and validity.
On screen graphics are minimal, with only the channel logo permanently present in the top right. With the exception of this and the opening graphic, VFX are only employed when introducing somebody with an on-screen name on a simple banner.
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| On-screen graphics introducing the contributor. |
CONTENT:
The story follows expectant mother Tailah Dippel and her family (Husband, two young children), who are residents of Bundaberg, QLD, who, due to rising prices in the cost of rent, are having to move out of their rented property and into a tent. This story appealed to me not only because of the themes covered, but because I have been to Bundaberg myself; a small town known mostly for its production and distribution of “Bundaberg” brand drinks. Bundaberg is a good place for this story to take place, as it is a typical suburban town that other Australians will be aware of and can relate to.
The content is newsworthy because it speaks to both a local; and a global issue that everybody has some awareness of. The subject of the story is enduring a ‘Worst possible scenario’ and you view the story from the lens of them being at the extremity of the issue. Although this is a story from the other side of the world, we can empathise with it through our own existential understanding.
The style of the filming is also more interesting when compared to usual news programming and it has a considered approach to telling the story with a sense of conviction. It meets a lot of the same expectations that you would see in traditional news but builds an additional layer of nuance. For example, the shots of storms help to further emphasise the feeling of turmoil, effectively executing pathetic fallacy to enhance the narrative. The subtle score in parts of the report helps to lift and guide the viewers’ emotions. A shallow depth of field was also used in parts, with off-tripod shooting bringing a cinema verité style which felt appropriate to the story. All of these qualities are things that I have considered adopting in regard to our own news reports.
The tone of the piece varies throughout, initially, there’s a sombre tone that sets the scene of the story well. As the piece meanders into other parts of the story, it becomes more upbeat, offering a positive perspective and highlighting the help that’s available, for instance, the ‘Angels Community Group’. The report doesn’t feel as though it has a clear bias, rather it investigates different avenues to provide a holistic story. In its entirety, it offers a well-rounded view of the issue; the Human cost, the response to the issue and a brief overview of the political climate.
The angle of the story moves beyond the ordinary soft-touch of news and into the peripherals of a more challenging journalistic style. The story is initially established from a Humanistic perspective and it feels as though one of the key driving forces of this piece is the reliance on emotion, with as previously mentioned, a score helps to emphasise that narrative and bring the viewer to empathise with the 'contributor. It's not in the realms of hard-hitting, cinema-verité style war content, but for me personally, anything that details the human cost of a situation is immediately more resonant that stats and figures- something that this news piece doesn't use. I think that the few interspersals of GFX are used only as introductions to contextualise new contributors and their roles within the story.
MY THOUGHTS:
What I like about this piece is that it doesn’t feel like throwaway journalism, it speaks to a bigger problem and allows the story room to breathe. During my research of ABC News, I found that they have another online news channel called “ABC News In-Depth” which offers a more comprehensive overview of the stories that have to be condensed for ABC News to fit their standard news format. This appealed to me, as our aim was to provide something similar for our channel, Muse, as we believe that the news that we’re telling is important and deserves time to be explored.
A larger documentary on the issue can be viewed above, courtesy of ABC News In-Depth: (2022)
There is also an additional online article with more information about Tailah’s story here (Archibald-Binge, 2022):
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-26/bundaberg-rents-record-highs-family-moves-into-tent/101098910
Bibliography:
(2022) People are finding themselves homeless for the first time due to the rental squeeze. ABC News Australia. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZU2aPzABpA4 (Accessed: October 9, 2022).
(2022) The new face of homelessness in Australia | Four Corners. ABC News In-Depth Australia. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yk4eWjYVNYg&t=564s (Accessed: October 9, 2022).
Archibald-Binge, E. (2022) 'if I don't laugh, I'll cry': Pregnant and terrified, Tailah is about to move into a tent, ABC News Australia. ABC News Australia. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-26/bundaberg-rents-record-highs-family-moves-into-tent/101098910 (Accessed: October 9, 2022).
Stewart, P., Alexander, R. and Boyd, A. (2016) “12,” in Broadcast journalism: Techniques of radio and television news. New York: Routledge, p. 199.
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