Factual programme production for television
A range of issues are used in factual programming in order to produce an effective programme. Factual programmes, as it says in the name, use true facts and statistics that the audience will believe, they are aware of what they are watching. This is known as 'contract with the viewer'. Ofcom is the regulating organisation for everything that is broadcast to the general public through TV and Radio. What this organisation does is it protects the public watching from any scams or harms that could be possible. It also stops the audience being mislead.
Issues
Accuracy is when something is close to being true value. This means the quality of something is as precise as possible. All factual programmes have to be precise to prevent the audience from being mislead. The audience should always know and believe that what they are being told are facts and not opinions. Viewings will be lowered if the audiences do not believe what they are watching is true. Being a news provider, accuracy is vitally important. If you constantly make mistakes and provide wrong information, your audience will become less and less as they do not trust you to give them the correct information. Audiences would much prefer to read facts rather than information that may or may not be true. As well as this, accuracy is far more important than the speed in which you present your story. This is because the audience would much rather listen to a story full of true facts and learn a lot than watching a quick story that they do not understand or trust to be true. When news readers exaggerate stories, the story is then not entirely true, meaning they would lose viewings. When making a story as accurate as possible, there is a lot of planning and preparation that goes into it to ensure the audience are being told the correct information. An example of a TV programme that has to be accurate is the news. The news has to be trustworthy. The news covers facts meaning the audience believe what is being said.
The news today- BBC
Balance in factual programming is when you make the story fair to both sides. There may be two sides to the story therefore both side of the story need to be true. It is important for you to collect data from both sides of the story you are talking about in order to make the story equal to both sides. Having information from both sides of the story also prevents an opinion being hinted to the audience. Providing you have two sides to the story and an equal amount of true information, the viewers are going to believe more.You do not want your programme to come across as biased and unfair to the audience because they will not watch it. Even if you do have an opinion on one side of the story, your best not showing it so then the audience believe there is a fair amount of information being told about each side of the argument. At the end of the programme, is the only time you could become biased towards one side of the story. This could be you saying that from the information you found, you believe to be for one side of the story, and against the other, simply because of the information you found. This is only providing that you found out enough information about that side of the story. The end part of your factual programme can be biased, because it is a conclusion about the programme and the information that you found. You would need to use some of the facts that you used in your factual programme to support your conclusion. An example of a balance programme would be the 'big benefit debate'. This is a good example because both sides included experts and opinions from both perspectives.
Impartiality in factual programming is when the news reporter doesn't stay on either side of the story. You cant be biased or prejudice when filming a documentary. This means you cannot take sides. You make the story equal to both sides, similar to balance. It is important that you are impartial so that you do not cause any controversy among your audience. Another word that you could use would be neutral. You keep a neutral position when filming so that you do not provide the audience with your opinion causing them to believe something that may not be right. Your audience will most probably be watching your factual programme to gain facts that they did not know. Whilst watching, they do not want to be pulled to one side of an argument due to your opinion. The audience prefer to make their own decision rather than being forced into one side of an argument. If you express you opinion to the audience and they do not want you to, your programme could lose views as the audience do not want to watch it any more. Impartiality is when the producers of a programme stay neutral and make their decisions with an objective perspective. (kaylee golding, 2014) Ofcome states that its principles are to 'ensure that new in whatever form is reported with due accuracy and presented with impartiality'. An example of a tv show could be 'Supersize VS Superskinny as this has two sides of a story shown with information from both equally.
Objectivity in factual programming is when you make a judgement based on what you have seen or found. You must not show any emotions in your programme as audiences make a judgement based on the footage they are watching. You are being objective when you are able to put all information across from an argument without being biased or impartial, but including enough information for the audience to make a decision themselves.
Subjectivity in factual programming is when you make a judgement based on a feeling or opinion of your own. This s not a decision made from seeing some footage or finding information, it is your own personal opinion. When making a documentary, to pull the audience to one side of an argument, you have to present the opposite side in a bad way in order for you audience to make an opinion on that side of the argument. The news is a bad example of subjectivity because they have to have a balance to prevent any controversy. Being subjective means you would provide a more one sided view.
Opinion in factual programming is when the producer wants to use opinions to get information across to the audience. When making a documentary they will use as many people as they can to get a wide spread of opinions and answers. When using opinions, it is important to keep a balance. This is important because it is making sure that the argument is fair because if you do not make it fair then the audience may believe that you are trying to push forward one side of the argument across more than the other. Presenters should never mention their opinions because the audience will believe they are biased.
Bias in factual programming is when the presenter is all for one side of an argument. This means they are preventing the audience from making their own decisions of what side of the argument they want to be on and putting their opinion across. It can be easy for the presenter to become biased, especially when there isn't enough information to back up the opposing side of the argument. Presenters of a factual programme have to be careful not to make a biased judgment or statement as it could offend certain audiences. When being biased, you present one side of an argument more than the other and is presented unfairly. (kaylee golding, 2014) When being biased, the presenters may ignore information that has been found about the side they are against. The news is not a biased as it follows the rules of Ofcom.
Documentary conventions
Here are the conventions included in factual programming.
News- This is what informs viewers of what is happening around the world and updating them with important information. Usually our local news and newspapers tell us important information about in and around where we live. Whereas certain news channels tell us what is happening internationally 24/7.
Studio newsreader- These people open up a news programme. They introduce themselves and the news broadcast and read out the stories that they are talking about on that day. These people will always be seen reading the stories behind a desk with a pile of paper. They are always studio based and you will usually see other people working on computers behind a glass wall behind them. This is what a studio newsreader would look like. Behind a desk reading the stories out.
Anchor- The anchor is what the person reading the story is called. Usually they start the show of with a line such as 'Welcome to BBC news' etc. These are the people you see sat at a desk or in front of the camera reading out the news headlines for that day. Here is a picture of an anchor, this is what they would look like.
Field reporters- Field reporters are found at the scene of the story they are talking about. They will be found stood directly in front of the camera talking directly to the audience. Usually you will see an incident or the place where something has happened behind them. These people usually start a story with an answer as a studio newsreader often asks them a question that they answer to begin their story. Sometimes they can be seen on a split screen with the newsreader on one side of the screen and the field reporter on the other. Often there will be an eye witness at the scene and the field reporter will ask them a few questions to give more evidence to the story. Here is an example of a field report and what it would look like if you seen it on TV.
Links to studio- This is when a certain TV station will go to another studio for a more precise description of the story as they may not have the correct information and they do not to be presenting the incorrect information to the audience/public. Sometimes on studio will have an eye witness at their studio so the other studio moves to the other station for more information. There isnt a picture example for this convention but i have explained in detail.
Interviewing- This is when someone is being asked questions about the story that is being talked about on the news at that certain time. This will be relevant to the story in the way that the interviewee has information about. Anyone can be interviewed as long as they have correct information and especially if it is about a topic that the audience is interested in. They do this to make it more informal to the public. This normally happens when something has happened that has caused a lot of interest to the public therefore they interview someone who has more information abut the topic to give as much relevant information to the public as possible. This could also include an eye witness at a field report who has seen something to do with the story being told therefore is interviewed about the story. In a documentary this would be the people who are answering the questions you have asked. (Rumer Cooper, 2013) Underneath is an example of a n interview on the news.
Vox pops- This is when an interview is happening lets say outside as part of the field report for instance. Vox pops is when the person who is talking is stood in front of the camera, and the person they are talking to is stood next to the camera either on the left or right. This means the interviewee is talking to one side of the camera and not directly to it. They do this with a number of the interviews and then when they present them, they put them in an order where the first interviewee will be facing the left side of the camera and the next person will be talking to the right. This means it changes direction each time an interview is shown. This is good because it changes focus each time so the audience don't get bored of watching the same side of the screen each time a new interview is shown. As well as this, it makes the people who are being interviewed feel more comfortable and less nervous as someone coming up to you in the street and asking you a random question could make the person feel quite intimidated and nervous. This is what it looks like. (Mediacollege.com, 2016)
Realism: The web definition of realism is an inclination towards literal truth and pragmatism. Realism impacts the audience of the programme because it is believable and true so all of the facts are real not made up therefore more people will watch it. If your documentary is not believable, then the audience will find it hard to follow what is being said and what is being talked about. When interviewing the public for a documentary, your documentary has to be real. This is because the public will be giving answers which are true, therefore you cannot change what is being said or argue with it because then it wouldn't be real and the audience may not believe what is being said. (Jean, 2012)
Dramatisation: This means a prose or verse composition, especially when a serious story is being talked about or mentioned. Actors would be representing the people involved as an 'acting' of the actual event that happened. An example of this would be police interceptors. This is a good example, because the people that are on the show and being arrested etc, they are not the real people but actors performing as them. However, everything they say and do is true. They have to make the show truthful to what actually happened that the event. This affects the audience because with it being a serious story, the audience would listen and understand what is going on, however as it is represented by actors, it is more interesting for the audience. (Jean, 2012)
Narrativisation: The web definition of narrativisation is to make into a narrated account or story; to make into the form of a narrative. Narrativisation affects the audience because it would make it more interesting for the viewers as they can imagine what is going on themselves. They can also make their own characters rather than watching actors on dramatisation. Instead of narratives, you could use voice overs in your programme to help the audience as well. (Jean, 2012)
Bibliography
kaylee golding. (2014). Task 1- the issues facing the producers of factual programming. [online] Available at: https://kayleeelliegolding.wordpress.com/boa-core/boa-radio-units-2/unit-27-factual-programming/official-work-for-unit-27/task-1-the-issues-facing-the-producers-of-factual-programming/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2016].
Rumer Cooper. (2013). 2) Codes and Conventions of Factual Prog. [online] Available at: https://rumercooper.wordpress.com/boa-college/factual-programming-content-pg/codes-and-conventions-of-factual-prog/ [Accessed 27 Apr. 2016].
Mediacollege.com. (2016). Vox Pops. [online] Available at: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/interviews/voxpops.html [Accessed 27 Apr. 2016].
Jean, C. (2012). Factual programming doctumentary task 2. [online] Slideshare.net. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/charlottejean/factual-programming-doctumentary-task-2-11504127 [Accessed 7 Jun. 2016].
The news today- BBC
Balance in factual programming is when you make the story fair to both sides. There may be two sides to the story therefore both side of the story need to be true. It is important for you to collect data from both sides of the story you are talking about in order to make the story equal to both sides. Having information from both sides of the story also prevents an opinion being hinted to the audience. Providing you have two sides to the story and an equal amount of true information, the viewers are going to believe more.You do not want your programme to come across as biased and unfair to the audience because they will not watch it. Even if you do have an opinion on one side of the story, your best not showing it so then the audience believe there is a fair amount of information being told about each side of the argument. At the end of the programme, is the only time you could become biased towards one side of the story. This could be you saying that from the information you found, you believe to be for one side of the story, and against the other, simply because of the information you found. This is only providing that you found out enough information about that side of the story. The end part of your factual programme can be biased, because it is a conclusion about the programme and the information that you found. You would need to use some of the facts that you used in your factual programme to support your conclusion. An example of a balance programme would be the 'big benefit debate'. This is a good example because both sides included experts and opinions from both perspectives.
Impartiality in factual programming is when the news reporter doesn't stay on either side of the story. You cant be biased or prejudice when filming a documentary. This means you cannot take sides. You make the story equal to both sides, similar to balance. It is important that you are impartial so that you do not cause any controversy among your audience. Another word that you could use would be neutral. You keep a neutral position when filming so that you do not provide the audience with your opinion causing them to believe something that may not be right. Your audience will most probably be watching your factual programme to gain facts that they did not know. Whilst watching, they do not want to be pulled to one side of an argument due to your opinion. The audience prefer to make their own decision rather than being forced into one side of an argument. If you express you opinion to the audience and they do not want you to, your programme could lose views as the audience do not want to watch it any more. Impartiality is when the producers of a programme stay neutral and make their decisions with an objective perspective. (kaylee golding, 2014) Ofcome states that its principles are to 'ensure that new in whatever form is reported with due accuracy and presented with impartiality'. An example of a tv show could be 'Supersize VS Superskinny as this has two sides of a story shown with information from both equally.
Objectivity in factual programming is when you make a judgement based on what you have seen or found. You must not show any emotions in your programme as audiences make a judgement based on the footage they are watching. You are being objective when you are able to put all information across from an argument without being biased or impartial, but including enough information for the audience to make a decision themselves.
Subjectivity in factual programming is when you make a judgement based on a feeling or opinion of your own. This s not a decision made from seeing some footage or finding information, it is your own personal opinion. When making a documentary, to pull the audience to one side of an argument, you have to present the opposite side in a bad way in order for you audience to make an opinion on that side of the argument. The news is a bad example of subjectivity because they have to have a balance to prevent any controversy. Being subjective means you would provide a more one sided view.
Opinion in factual programming is when the producer wants to use opinions to get information across to the audience. When making a documentary they will use as many people as they can to get a wide spread of opinions and answers. When using opinions, it is important to keep a balance. This is important because it is making sure that the argument is fair because if you do not make it fair then the audience may believe that you are trying to push forward one side of the argument across more than the other. Presenters should never mention their opinions because the audience will believe they are biased.
Bias in factual programming is when the presenter is all for one side of an argument. This means they are preventing the audience from making their own decisions of what side of the argument they want to be on and putting their opinion across. It can be easy for the presenter to become biased, especially when there isn't enough information to back up the opposing side of the argument. Presenters of a factual programme have to be careful not to make a biased judgment or statement as it could offend certain audiences. When being biased, you present one side of an argument more than the other and is presented unfairly. (kaylee golding, 2014) When being biased, the presenters may ignore information that has been found about the side they are against. The news is not a biased as it follows the rules of Ofcom.
Documentary conventions
Here are the conventions included in factual programming.
News- This is what informs viewers of what is happening around the world and updating them with important information. Usually our local news and newspapers tell us important information about in and around where we live. Whereas certain news channels tell us what is happening internationally 24/7.
Studio newsreader- These people open up a news programme. They introduce themselves and the news broadcast and read out the stories that they are talking about on that day. These people will always be seen reading the stories behind a desk with a pile of paper. They are always studio based and you will usually see other people working on computers behind a glass wall behind them. This is what a studio newsreader would look like. Behind a desk reading the stories out.
Anchor- The anchor is what the person reading the story is called. Usually they start the show of with a line such as 'Welcome to BBC news' etc. These are the people you see sat at a desk or in front of the camera reading out the news headlines for that day. Here is a picture of an anchor, this is what they would look like.
Field reporters- Field reporters are found at the scene of the story they are talking about. They will be found stood directly in front of the camera talking directly to the audience. Usually you will see an incident or the place where something has happened behind them. These people usually start a story with an answer as a studio newsreader often asks them a question that they answer to begin their story. Sometimes they can be seen on a split screen with the newsreader on one side of the screen and the field reporter on the other. Often there will be an eye witness at the scene and the field reporter will ask them a few questions to give more evidence to the story. Here is an example of a field report and what it would look like if you seen it on TV.
Links to studio- This is when a certain TV station will go to another studio for a more precise description of the story as they may not have the correct information and they do not to be presenting the incorrect information to the audience/public. Sometimes on studio will have an eye witness at their studio so the other studio moves to the other station for more information. There isnt a picture example for this convention but i have explained in detail.
Interviewing- This is when someone is being asked questions about the story that is being talked about on the news at that certain time. This will be relevant to the story in the way that the interviewee has information about. Anyone can be interviewed as long as they have correct information and especially if it is about a topic that the audience is interested in. They do this to make it more informal to the public. This normally happens when something has happened that has caused a lot of interest to the public therefore they interview someone who has more information abut the topic to give as much relevant information to the public as possible. This could also include an eye witness at a field report who has seen something to do with the story being told therefore is interviewed about the story. In a documentary this would be the people who are answering the questions you have asked. (Rumer Cooper, 2013) Underneath is an example of a n interview on the news.
Vox pops- This is when an interview is happening lets say outside as part of the field report for instance. Vox pops is when the person who is talking is stood in front of the camera, and the person they are talking to is stood next to the camera either on the left or right. This means the interviewee is talking to one side of the camera and not directly to it. They do this with a number of the interviews and then when they present them, they put them in an order where the first interviewee will be facing the left side of the camera and the next person will be talking to the right. This means it changes direction each time an interview is shown. This is good because it changes focus each time so the audience don't get bored of watching the same side of the screen each time a new interview is shown. As well as this, it makes the people who are being interviewed feel more comfortable and less nervous as someone coming up to you in the street and asking you a random question could make the person feel quite intimidated and nervous. This is what it looks like. (Mediacollege.com, 2016)
As you can see the man is not facing the camera but to one side of it. The interviewer is this side of the camera.
Experts and witnesses: This is particularly important for the news or similar broadcasts, often a witness will only share there side of the story which can sometimes make it biased. whereas an expert will often be used to balance the story so it doesn't appear biased. They also can backup a certain case, or giving professional observations, for example if a robbery had taken place, there would be a witness who last seen the robber, then an expert explaining what had actually happened and if anyone was hurt ect. (Rumer Cooper, 2013)
Report structure: A report structure is where the report would be 'prioritised', meaning that the most important updates/stories would be talked about first. Take for instance the news, not so long ago, when a plane crash had happened near Egypt. Although they already had a number of stories that they had planned to talk about. The first part of the news had been dedicated to the plane crash story. This was because it was a very important story, and people were needing answers and wondering what had happened. Therefore the less important stories would be left at end the news report. This is a good idea if people only wanted to know about that big important story, they know that they don't have to watch the whole of the news to wait and find out, once they had found out the information they needed then they can stop watching it. (Rumer Cooper, 2013)
Realism: The web definition of realism is an inclination towards literal truth and pragmatism. Realism impacts the audience of the programme because it is believable and true so all of the facts are real not made up therefore more people will watch it. If your documentary is not believable, then the audience will find it hard to follow what is being said and what is being talked about. When interviewing the public for a documentary, your documentary has to be real. This is because the public will be giving answers which are true, therefore you cannot change what is being said or argue with it because then it wouldn't be real and the audience may not believe what is being said. (Jean, 2012)
Dramatisation: This means a prose or verse composition, especially when a serious story is being talked about or mentioned. Actors would be representing the people involved as an 'acting' of the actual event that happened. An example of this would be police interceptors. This is a good example, because the people that are on the show and being arrested etc, they are not the real people but actors performing as them. However, everything they say and do is true. They have to make the show truthful to what actually happened that the event. This affects the audience because with it being a serious story, the audience would listen and understand what is going on, however as it is represented by actors, it is more interesting for the audience. (Jean, 2012)
Narrativisation: The web definition of narrativisation is to make into a narrated account or story; to make into the form of a narrative. Narrativisation affects the audience because it would make it more interesting for the viewers as they can imagine what is going on themselves. They can also make their own characters rather than watching actors on dramatisation. Instead of narratives, you could use voice overs in your programme to help the audience as well. (Jean, 2012)
Bibliography
kaylee golding. (2014). Task 1- the issues facing the producers of factual programming. [online] Available at: https://kayleeelliegolding.wordpress.com/boa-core/boa-radio-units-2/unit-27-factual-programming/official-work-for-unit-27/task-1-the-issues-facing-the-producers-of-factual-programming/ [Accessed 21 Apr. 2016].
Rumer Cooper. (2013). 2) Codes and Conventions of Factual Prog. [online] Available at: https://rumercooper.wordpress.com/boa-college/factual-programming-content-pg/codes-and-conventions-of-factual-prog/ [Accessed 27 Apr. 2016].
Mediacollege.com. (2016). Vox Pops. [online] Available at: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/interviews/voxpops.html [Accessed 27 Apr. 2016].
Jean, C. (2012). Factual programming doctumentary task 2. [online] Slideshare.net. Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/charlottejean/factual-programming-doctumentary-task-2-11504127 [Accessed 7 Jun. 2016].
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