To begin with, I was attracted to NIAJ studio, because I loved watching comedy news. I found the manner sad news get changed to a series of jokes that stimulate the viewers’ minds to further think about them to be just amazing. Also, more and more people (around me) stopped watching traditional TV news mainly because it depresses them, but with comedy news…you don’t have to be depressed anymore! So, that was my initial take on satire and comedy news.

Later on, I understood satire with more depth. From the third week, I examined the way satire has changed journalism practices, while mocking them. It stupefied me how comedy news uses ‘satire to interrogate power, parody to critique contemporary news, and dialogue to enact a model of deliberative democracy’ (Geoffrey 2005, p.261). Coming from the middle east, democracy isn’t considered hip to say the least. So, the way comedy news is so opinionated and, consequently, protecting people from being enslaved to what the government wants them to think is inspiring to me. The way it does it is amazing too – by using humor to confront political misinformation and demanding accountability (Geoffrey, 2005).

Moreover, I got to define comedy news better now. I now realize that satire is simultaneously an old form of comedy and a new kind of journalism (Geoffrey, 2005). Also, I’m privileged to know that satire isn’t soft news that aim to only entertain, nor is it hard news that aim to only inform, but rather it’s a hybrid of the two – by which it enlightens its audience via entertainment (Littau & Stewart, 2015). This was especially helpful by laying the foundation of how to tackle our class project and assignment 4.

Aside from studying about comedy news in theory, this studio gave me the chance to put all that theoretical knowledge into practice. I’ve never been to a television studio before, so it was scary at first, but I’ve come to realize that once you know how to get around it..it can be the most fun experience! Furthermore, I’ve always known that I wanted to work in a studio-like place, but I never really knew how. However, I got to discover what I’m good at within the realms of a TV studio via this class project and assignment 4.

In conclusion, I’ve come to learn of the everlasting effect satire has on populations through the manner it addresses political discourse. Moreover, I got more acquainted with studio equipment and television production by putting research and develop the segments we’ve done. Overall, working with my fellow classmates, Ruth, and Ed made this learning experience a memorable one.

Reference:

Baym, Geoffrey. “The Daily Show: Discursive Integration and the Reinvention of Political Journalism” Political Communication, vol.22, no.3, 2005, pp.259-276.

Littau, J. & Stewart, D. R. C., 2015. ‘‘Truthiness’’ and Second-Level Agenda Setting: Satire News and Its Influence on Perceptions of Television News Credibility. Electronic News, 9(2), pp. 122-136.

For the purpose of this assignment, I practiced the role of a producer and a presenter (and assistant director and autocue prompter). Fortunately, these were my first two preferences making this assignment all the more enjoyable.

Rehearsal Set

Taping Day Set

I wanted to tackle the role of a producer just because I knew nothing about it. Moreover, we didn’t have producers in the crew of our class project, so I thought it would be interesting to experiment with the role. Ideally, a producer would plan and coordinate various aspects of film production, such as selecting the script; coordinating writing, directing, and editing; and arranging financing. However, these tasks weren’t solely handled by myself or the other producers, but rather came about with the help of the rest of the crew – specifically writers, directors and Chloe…? Yet, my personal priority as a producer was to make sure everything goes as planned (with respect to time for example) and if it didn’t then I’ll make sure everyone adapts quickly. For example, when a crew member is absent – I’ll fill in and try do the job as best as I could.

Ryan mentally preparing himself

Unfortunately, that happened on taping day and I had to step in as assistant director – which is a very stressful job might I add, but like I said I adapted and just did it. Furthermore, I had to sometimes be the middleman between the crew members when they couldn’t directly communicate. In other words, I was the general supervisor of the crew. Also, I noticed that producers could “boss” around other crew members like directors, but simultaneously be their equal rather than being their superiors unlike directors. I found that “in between” zone to be interesting. In addition, producers should be in constant contact, so that everyone could be on the same page when it comes to making decisions – which is something that we practiced on this assignment. And, I learned that it’s very important to meet other people halfway when it comes to decision-making. A skill that I happen to have and was able to put to practice on the studio. Overall, I found myself, as a producer, involved in every little part of the production – from carrying props to the set all the way to helping the control room’s crew. In conclusion, being a producer was an enlightening experience that I would love to do again!!

Unfortunately, that happened on taping day and I had to step in as assistant director – which is a very stressful job might I add, but like I said I adapted and just did it. Furthermore, I had to sometimes be the middleman between the crew members when they couldn’t directly communicate. In other words, I was the general supervisor of the crew. Also, I noticed that producers could “boss” around other crew members like directors, but simultaneously be their equal rather than being their superiors unlike directors. I found that “in between” zone to be interesting. In addition, producers should be in constant contact, so that everyone could be on the same page when it comes to making decisions – which is something that we practiced on this assignment. And, I learned that it’s very important to meet other people halfway when it comes to decision-making. A skill that I happen to have and was able to put to practice on the studio. Overall, I found myself, as a producer, involved in every little part of the production – from carrying props to the set all the way to helping the control room’s crew. In conclusion, being a producer was an enlightening experience that I would love to do again!!

With regards to my second role, I thought it would be the easiest of the two – but boy was I wrong!! Apparently, standing in front of a camera and reading from a screen is super stressful and complicated.

I did many shoots for my segment, because of random unanticipated things like for clapping too loud, or my inability of wearing a raincoat like a normal person, or for talking too quickly. In short, I’m very sorry to whoever was part of the crew that day. But, Darcy, the director, shared my level of perfectionism and didn’t mind taking as many takes as it required to get it right – which I’m very grateful for. Also, being on camera gave me a better understanding of hosting and how to work with hosts when I’m off camera. Moreover, I learned that it’s better to keep calm and hydrated before going on camera as it will minimize the chance of unnecessary mistakes.

me @ shoot

Another struggle was the fact that I couldn’t see myself and the graphics, which limited my presenting somehow. Yet, direct communication with the director and DA (and Chloe…?) made it easier for me to coordinate myself within the frame. One thing I liked, is that I got to present my original idea, which is a very satisfying experience. Maybe because I was initially invested in the political issues presented, my performance was over dramatic and emotional. That’s also thanks to Ryan, the writer of the segment. Overall, I overcame my hatred for being the centre of attention and on camera, just so I can do the task as perfectly as I could. That made me realize how much of a perfectionist I am and that I could never stop trying till I get it right. Lastly, I chose this role to challenge myself, and now that I succeeded in overcoming this challenge – I became able to believe in myself and that I could do anything I set my mind to.

In conclusion, for an amateur crew we produced a good show. Obviously, more rehearsals and practice would’ve been better, but I believe our rehearsals were sufficient enough. In addition, unexpected tech issues sort of hurdled the production process, but again we managed to overcome that problem. We had a consistent amount of good communication and collaboration – everyone kept busy. Also, the fact that the crew members were hard workers made the turnout all the more professional! So, I’m quite proud of this segment and the way it came together.

1. How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I recorded this video using my 12 megapixell rear camera of my Galaxy Note 8. The video is 6 seconds long and its resolution is 1920×1080. The video was recorded at night, so a flash was used. I didn’t like the final look of the colors, so I edited it into black and white using an Instagram filter. I stood upright and tried to have a steady grip on the phone to limit shakiness. It took one attempt to get it right and no editing was done outside Instagram.

2. How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to
Instagram?

Upon publishing, I had to crop the video to Instagram’s proportions. I used a filter and a caption. I also muted the video, because there was nothing to be heard.

3. How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other
social media services?

I used the instant sharing to Facebook and Twitter. The upload to Facebook wasn’t as immediate as it was for Twitter. That’s probably because videos take longer to upload.

1. How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I captured the picture using the 12 megapixell rear camera of my Galaxy Note 8:

• The camera’s aperture was F1.7.
• The camera’s focal length was 4.30mm.
• The white balance was automatic.
• The ISO was 40
• The exposure time for the photo to be taken: 1/156s

As for the picture, the resolution is 4032×3024 and no flash was used. It took one attempt to get it right. I had to put quite a distance to capture the whole image. I didn’t tilt or angel my camera in any way. I took the photo upright in a standing position. Furthermore, I haven’t done any exterior editing with other applications.

2. How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

Upon publishing, I made use of Instagram’s square grid to crop the ‘tips’ of the image and zoom in proportionately. I, also, used Instagram’s filter, location, and caption. I made use of the hashtags for better distribution.

3. How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other
social media services?

With Instagram’s linking affordance, I linked my account to Facebook and Twitter. Aside from hashtags, my image was immediately distributed and published in these accounts.

1. How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I recorded this video using my 12 megapixell rear camera of my Galaxy Note 8. The video’s resolution is 1920×1080. The video displays the struggles I face when opening doors in a comedic way. It’s not static –  I was recording with one hand and opening the door with the other. I took the video one time (there aren’t many ways you can open a door repeatedly  and not be judged by surrounding people). The video wasn’t meant to be aesthetically pleasing or cinematic, so I didn’t put much thought into authoring/editing it. Also, the ‘amateur’ look helped serve the purpose of the video.

2. How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to
Instagram?

Upon publishing, I didn’t use any Instagram filters, but I did use the location feature as well as the caption. I put in hashtags to facilitate distribution (that got me likes in seconds, wow!). Also, I kept the audio as it is, because I want the frantic pressing of the door button and the sighs to be heard to emphasize comedy.

3. How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other
social media services?

I used the instant sharing to Facebook and Twitter. The sharing was immediate in contrast to legacy video and the pre-Instagram age.

1. How did you author (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

I captured the picture using the 12 megapixell rear camera of my Galaxy Note 8:

• The camera’s aperture was F1.7.
• The camera’s focal length was 4.30mm.
• The white balance was automatic.
• The ISO was 40
• The exposure time for the photo to be taken: 1/1076s

As for the picture, the resolution is 4032×3024 and no flash was used. It two attempts for me to get it right. Also, I had to step back a sufficient amount to put the whole gate/door into a frame and didn’t angel my camera in any way as I hate tilted images. Moreover, I haven’t done any exterior editing with other applications.

2. How did you publish (the photo or video) you recorded for upload to Instagram?

Upon publishing, I made use of Instagram’s square grid to crop the ‘tips’ of the image and make it symmetrical. I didn’t use any filters as I loved the original appearance of the colors! Yet again, I noted that Instagram decreased the quality of the photo for bandwidth reasons. Moreover, I used Instagram’s location and caption features to increase viewers’ engagement.

3. How did you distribute (the photo or video) you published on Instagram to other
social media services?

Fortunately, Instagram affords instant distribution through other applications and I used this feature by linking my Instagram to Facebook and Twitter. Yet, I found that Twitter doesn’t the display the image as is, but it shares the image through a direct link to instagram. That’s probably because Twitter has different affordances in comparison to Instagram *wink*.

Satire, Punch Lines, and the Nightly News: Untangling Media Effects on Political Participation

This study differentiates the effects of satire from late-night comedy on political participation.  I found this intriguing as research often considers satire and late-night comedy shows the same.

Traditional TV news is often labeled as “hard news”, whereas late-night comedy is labeled as “soft news”. Yet, these labels are one-dimensional and political entertainment in actuality isn’t (Hoffman & Young, 2011). According to Holbert, there is one in which the audience can expect the content to be primarily political (as in a political drama) or politics is secondary (as in reality TV), and the explicit (e.g., interview shows) or implicit (e.g., a sitcom) nature of the messages. It is in the ‘‘implied’’ and ‘‘political as primary’’ category where traditional satire, such as The Daily Show can be found (Holbert, 2005; see also Feldman & Young, 2008) (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011). Moreover, The Daily Showand The Colbert Reportutilize satire and parody ‘‘to invite its audience to examine, evaluate, and re-situate the genre and its practices’’ (Baym, 2005, p. 269; see also Young, 2007) (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011). Furthermore, viewers of The Daily Showare distinct from viewers of the network late-night shows, particularly in news viewing and political knowledge (Pew Research Center, 2008; Young & Tisinger, 2006) (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011). Also, the jokes on late-night shows cannot be too complicated and that the host cannot appear to know more than the audience as opposed to the jokes on comedy news, which require more effortful processing (as cited in Niven, Lichter, & Amundson, 2003, p. 121) (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011).In traditional late-night comedy, the jokes tend to be focused on the personal traits of public officials, and are remarkably consistent with each other (Niven et al., 2003; Young, 2004) (as cited in Hoffman & Young). According to Cao and Brewer (2008), viewing late-night comedy was not associated with participation, although viewing other types of political comedy was (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011). In addition, research has found that exposure to The Daily Show can increase viewers’ perceived internal political efficacy – that is the belief in one’s own competency and the feeling that political and social change is possible (Campbell, Gurin, & Miller, 1954) (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011). Hence, political efficacy has been found to determine a myriad of political behaviors because it provides incentive to participate in politics (Abramson & Aldrich, 1982) (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011). There is evidence that political entertainment is more successful in increasing viewers’ efficacy in comparison to traditional TV news. This is due to the inclusion of humor, which requires more effortful processing and the ability to integrate information from long-term memory into working memory (Young, 2008) (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011).

Drawing upon previous research and data, the study ended up with three hypotheses and used university students for testing them. Firstly, the link between political satire or parody and political participation (H1). Secondly, the link between traditional TV news and political participation (H2). Lastly, the link between late-night comedy and political participation (H3) (Hoffman & Young, 2011).

The writers found a significant and positive indirect effect for both satire or parody and traditional TV news on participation through the mediator of efficacy . However, this was not the case for traditional late-night comedy. The results suggest that consuming satire or parody and traditional TV news affect political participation, at least in part through political efficacy. As such, H1 and H2 were supported, but H3 was not (Hoffman & Young, 2011). Late-night comedy isn’t as effective in increasing political participation as TV news and satirical news, because of priming – which increases the association between a belief and the intention toward performing a behavior (Fishbein & Yzer, 2003) and occurs when heightened salience influences subsequent evaluations of a particular issue (Scheufele, 2000; Tversky & Kahneman, 1973) (as cited in Hoffman & Young, 2011). Late-night TV relies on punchline jokes and caricatures of public figures instead of the issue. Thus, limiting the individuals understanding of politics and political participation. Moreover, traditional TV news and satire require background knowledge and a cognitive effort in order to get the information (TV news) and “the joke” (satire), whereas late-night comedy require minimal effort as their jokes are superficial (Hoffman & Young, 2011).

Overall, these results suggest that late-night comedy and satire or parody programming cannot simply be lumped together as ‘‘soft news’’ or even as ‘‘political entertainment.’’ At the very least, we can conclude that satire or parody might be more similar to traditional television news not only in format (Fox et al., 2007), but perhaps also in effects (Hoffman & Young, 2011).

Bibliography

Hoffman, . L. H. & Young, D. G., 2011. Satire, Punch Lines, and the Nightly News: Untangling Media Effects on Political Participation. Communication Research Reports, vol.28(no.2), pp. 159 – 168.