From Broadcast to Post-Broadcast (Week 2)
For so long, television has been a part of our culture and a part of our daily rituals. Whilst whatever and whoever behind the screen is someone we may or may not have met, it is very easy for news presenters, sportspeople or actors to become household names. According to Raymond Williams, there are a number of different interpretations as to how and why television has come to be such an invaluable part of todays society; however, one statement he believes to be true in all, is that “television has altered our world”. This idea is related to social change and technological determinism – where technology drives the development of social structure.
At present, we are obsessed with receiving information as soon as it happens. We want to be up to date and informed. The news is an example of television broadcasting which acts as a social glue. It provides the same information in the same manner to all people in the public sphere. It reinforces that everyones view is equal.
Channel 7 News
The news still remains to be one of the traditional ideas of what broadcast television is. Originally, information would be reported over the radio, but with the technology break through, a new medium of visuals added an extra element to receiving news. The news is deliberately scheduled to coincide with maximum viewing times (and when the average Australian worker comes home from work).
There are many features of broadcast news which, when looking at the television screen, communicates that we are watching a news program. We have come to respect and appreciate the news anchor and his/her formality. They have a sense of authority, intimacy and professionalism, communicating the idea that the information relayed carries equal importance. The background behind the anchor is the main CBD buildings of the state where the news is broadcasted from. In the segment we watched in the screening, the anchor was in front of the Sydney Harbour bridge, a landmark thought to be the heart of Australia and hence is another signifier of the community around the news broadcast.
The segments and stories throughout the news hour are smoothly transitioned between one another. Whilst 1 hour can contain an incredibly complex amount of information, the regular commercial breaks (marked by the anchor and hence contributing the the sense of liveness) work to promote a sense of planned flow. There are no obvious breaks when introducing new material, but rather, the anchor does an excellent job of bringing the stories together. The camera work, mode of address and narrative framing all contribute to the feel of broadcast news.
What is being offered is not, in older terms, a programme of discrete units with particular insertions, but a planned flow, in which the true series is not the published sequence of programme items but this sequence transformed by the inclusion of another kind of sequence, so that these sequences together compose the real flow, the real ‘broadcasting’. – Williams
A show which does an excellent job at satirising the news is The Daily Show.
The Daily Show
Whilst the Daily Show is excellent at running through many different topics and stitching them together in an an almost perfect flow, it is not exactly like the formal news programs. In fact, the show describes itself as a ‘fake news’ program. It takes a different spin on the news, but employs a lot of the same techniques: news anchor, city backdrop, formal headings at the bottom of the screen, music etc.
This show came about due to America’s love of freedom of speech and independence. Jon Stewart is unlike a professional news anchor, but rather, more of a stand up comedian who is fearless enough to criticise and single out other news programs and their stories. Whilst the formal, 6pm nightly news is popular with mature and more informed members of the public, The Daily Show targets an audience between 18 to 49. 43% of viewers have been recorded as watching the show purely for entertainment purposes. The same could not be said about a serious news show.
Whilst the nightly news communicates understandable and useful information, in order to enjoy The Daily Show, audiences must have a greater understanding of American humour and satire. The live audience encourages viewers to understand when jokes are being made, and in turn, that these jokes are actually funny. Live broadcast news does not have this live audience nor lack of journalistic responsibility. In a way, The Daily Show tears down the somewhat professional barrier that lies between broadcast news and the viewers, and instead channels into the audiences social desire for honest, intimate relationships (a journalists personalised blog will provide a different relay of events than a news program due to political alignments).
Whilst the argument can be made that there is an expiration date on broadcast television, we will always need it. There will always be events which will require mass communication i.e. The National Indigenous Apology, live sports coverage etc. Additionally, broadcast television allows social rituals to be upheld, such as watching television as a family. But, despite this, we have as a society developed something called a post-broadcast era. This will be discussed more in Blog Post 3.
Sources:
Williams, R. (1974). Television, Technology and Cultural Form. 1st ed. [ebook] London: Schocken Books. Available at: http://www.qiu.ir/Files/110/Document/General/1391/7/29/1abd3be96e794ffbbabe5734a985994e.pdf [Accessed 24 Aug. 2014].