THE NEWS IS A JOKE: Reflecting and Goodbye to the Studio

All too quickly my second semester of university and my first ever studio has come to an end. I really was not expecting such an amazing experience from my first studio class, but my expectations have been happily exceeded, and I’m genuinely sad that it’s now over.

To think that 3 months ago, I was petrified of beginning The News is a Joke, dreading the initial class as I feared what was in store for me, yet here we are 12 weeks later and it’s safe to say that I will truly miss The News is a Joke. Spending 4 hours each week (and up to 6 hours in the later weeks), allowed me to create strong bonds with my peers and not only learn to work well with others in a studio environment, but also to make friendships I hope to carry with me throughout university and my media career.

The News is a Joke is one hell of a studio. From the early weeks, you get right into understanding comedy news. Throughout the semester we have continuously come back to the questions of ‘what is comedy news?’ and ‘what makes comedy news?’. Asking these questions has allowed us to continue to develop understandings of what comedy news is, through further research, class discussion and personal experience. Right from the beginning of the studio, we were given the task of researching and developing a news story in groups, alongside class discussion and informative and insightful readings. I’d never usually been a huge fan of readings, but each week I found that I was genuinely being intrigued by the content. I found I was enjoying the content because it was new to me, and I was able to apply the information to class discussion and my work. Understanding the theory, history and development of comedy news has been crucial in developing my love for the studio and comedy news itself. I used to think comedy news was basic and well done, but I didn’t quite understand how much goes into the production of comedic news programs and how influential comedy news has been on me. The readings were great in guiding my assignments, allowing me to have a greater understanding of how to go about research, script structure and how satire works and doesn’t work.

I’ll admit, when I first allocated the studio as my first preference, I was worried. No one I knew in the course was even considering The News is a Joke, but to me, the studio really stood out and when choosing my preferences, I kept coming back to it. I knew I liked comedy because I’d say I’m a funny person myself, and I guess that was how I felt the studio would be relevant to me, but the academic and news aspect had me worried. Going into the studio, I was genuinely really concerned. Yeah, I watched a bit of comedy news here and there, but I wasn’t an avid watcher, and I had concerns that maybe the studio wasn’t for me because of this. Despite these worries, I was definitely proven wrong. The studio didn’t require me to have a wide and deep knowledge of satire and news, because the focus of the studio was developing that understanding of satire and learning and developing skills in news production. Open thinking and reflecting was consistent throughout the weeks of this class, and over the 12 weeks, I’ve certainly learned a lot. Almost instantly we were already working on an unmarked project, each of us having allocated roles and being designated researches, which was beneficial to my approach to the research aspect of Assignments 2 & 3. Having the experience within the first few weeks of the semester, and without the stress of recorded marks, allowed us to experience the studios, become familiar with roles and the development process of a news program. These skills we had learned and began developing were only further deepened when it came to Assignment 4. Yes it was a hectic, complicated and sometimes messy experience, but in the end it came together well. In the first half of the semester, we’d only worked in our groups of 10-12 people, but now there was at least 20 of us all working together. We each took our own abilities, skills and knowledge and collaborated together to produce our news show ‘Early Afternoon’. Over 5 weeks, each team member made a contribution (some more than others), whether it be script writing, producing or graphic preparing, each person had some level of involvement in the process. I won’t lie, communication and misunderstanding was often an issue for us. Lack of preparation for rehearsals and misunderstandings of script structure potentially could have been prevented if more communication had been made between producers, writers, directors and the entire crew. If we were to do things again, I’d definitely hope we’d be aware that communication really is key. In the end though, ‘Early Afternoon’ came together well and the positives and negatives of the experience have definitely taught me many things about how to go about a production with a large crew.

Alongside the practical work, throughout the semester, we spent many hours analysing satire, how it can be differently presented and the effect it has on the transmission and reception of the news. We often evaluated people such as John Oliver, Jon Stewart, Samantha Bee and more, comparing and contrasting the similarities and difference in their use of satire. To summarise the impact of satire, the quote “satire is flourishing in the post-network era…satire is no longer simply an occasional style (though at times it is that, too). It is its own genre, and a thriving one at that“ (Gray, Jones and Thompson, 2009) summarises the widespread growth and prominence of satire in news today. Satire thrives and only continues to increase its impact with its inclusion of a wide audience through simplifying and making news more accessible.  Each of these presenters (and any comedy news host), encourages audiences to actively engage with and think about what they are consuming, and I think this is one of the most important things I’ve learnt when examining comedy news.

Overall, The News is a Joke has taught me a great amount. I’ve learned that many people have a contribution to the execution of a news show and that each role is significant in executing the ideal news show.  Being immersed in the TV studios in my first year of uni has also been extremely gratifying and exciting, as I now have an understanding of operating a camera, directing, assistant directing and the lengthy process of creating a news show. This class has allowed me to take on major roles both in the control room and studio, and I am extremely grateful for everything it has taught me. To only be a first-year student and already have experience working in a television studio, is something Year 12 me never could’ve imagined. A year ago I hadn’t even graduated high school, and now I’ve had an extremely beneficial, educational and useful experience in a different environment to what I was used to. It’s safe to say, my expectations have certainly been met. The News is a Joke is going to be an unforgettable experience for me, everything it has taught me I know I will carry throughout my time in the course and in the years of my media career.

Thank you to Ruth, Ed and my peers for allowing me to have such a great experience, The News is a Joke exceeded my expectations and without such a cooperative and fun class, I doubt I would have felt this way.

Here are some photos I collected over the weeks! 🙂