Slides used for Level 3 undergrad media ethics class

1. 1

Rolling with the punches
The impact of 24-hour news channels
11:00 BREAKING NEWS #med312 #mac373 @rob_jewitt robert.jewitt@sunderland.ac.uk

2. 2
Overview
1. Changing news
environment
2. Role of 24 hour news
3. Breaking news
11:01 BREAKING NEWS #med312 #mac373 @rob_jewitt robert.jewitt@sunderland.ac.uk

3. 3
Key reading

4. LIVE Sunderland 4
BREAKING NEWS
COURSEWORK 2
Essay questions placed in SunSpace by Module Leader
11:06 claims • Unconfirmed reports of recommended readings • Students “doubtful” a

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Changing news environment
Since 1989 Since 1788

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Changing news environment
 the scoop  live blogging
 the exclusive  scrolling tickertapes
 the thirst to be first  social media

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Tickertape
Live updates
Reader responses
Live updates

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Changing news environment
 ‘‘The approach to the delivery and packaging of
news has altered with the passage of time, and the
shape of the media in the 21st century is quite
different from how it was 40 years ago . . . [news]
values will vary from medium to medium, and from
each individual package to the next’’
 Brighton & Foy, 2007: p. 29

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Changing news environment

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Changing news environment
 When the news of an outrage comes through,
information about it will inevitably be incomplete.
Some of it will be inaccurate. Communication
systems will be overloaded. Decision-makers use
every available source of information – including
the rolling news programmes, which do a
remarkable job in these circumstances
 Jack Straw, 2010

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Changing news environment

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Role of 24-hour news channels
 ‘an apparently endless flow, always available and
never pausing’
 (Marriott, 2007: 51)

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Role of 24-hour news channels
 If the latest FTSE figures are down or NASDAQ’s
numbers are up, if a football ... transfer has just
gone through, or if a court case has been decided …
a steady stream of on-screen headlines will keep
viewers up to speed. And while these may be just
the merest snippets of information, what 24-hour
news channels are promoting is the instant and
continuous news update
 (Cushion, 2012: 63-64)

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Role of 24-hour news channels
Share of total viewing (%)
Dec 2011 Jan 2012 Feb 2012
BBC News 1 1 1
Sky News 0.6 0.6 0.6
Al-Jazeera English <0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Sky Sports News 0.6 0.7 0.7
Source: BARB

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Role of 24-hour news channels
Share of total viewing (%)
Jan 2013 Feb 2013 Mar 2013
BBC News 1.1 1.1 1.1
Sky News 0.6 0.7 0.7
Al-Jazeera English 0.1 <0.1 <0.1
Sky Sports News 0.8 0.6 0.5
Source: BARB

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Role of 24-hour news channels

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Role of 24-hour news channels

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Role of 24-hour news channels
 The criticisms most frequently levelled at rolling
news are that it is repetitive, that it is too
speculative, that it relies too much on the two-way
between presenter and reporter, and that it puts
more emphasis on speed than accuracy
 Brighton & Fey, 2007: 94

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Role of 24-hour news channels

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Bulletins vs rolling news: the live two-way
Time allocated to news types as %
BBC News 24 Sky News ITV 24 Hour 10 O’Clock
News News
Live reporting 25.4 19.5 11.3 7.3
Anchor 24.7 25 32.4 6.5

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Bulletins vs rolling news: the live two-way

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Speed and spectacle

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Speed and spectacle
 A shift in resources and priorities towards the
provision of every and any live picture to feed the
rolling news channels, and away from video
journalism about otherwise poorly covered topics,
which once might have contributed to a more
contextualised, deeper, and broader reporting by
broadcasters
 Patterson, 2010: 111

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Speed and spectacle

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Breaking news

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Breaking news

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Breaking news
 BBC News Channel should aim to deliver breaking
news first and, wherever possible, immediately but
not to the detriment of accuracy.
 BBC News Channel licence conditions (Feb, 2012)

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Breaking news
 It should offer a service of regular updates on
breaking stories and there should be significant live
coverage. But the distinctiveness of BBC News
Channel should lie in its ambition to offer a broad,
varied, serious and analytical news agenda with
strong coverage of the UK, from across the UK and
from the rest of the world.
 BBC News Channel licence conditions (Feb, 2012)

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Symbolic[s]
 More than 80% of breaking news stories are studio-
based with stories coming from the news wires
 Cushion and Lewis, 2009

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Symbolic[s]
 ‘Sky News customers know that we are only a
heartbeat away from breaking news’
 head of Sky News, John Ryley (2006)

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Topic 2004 2007
Business/consumer news 8 8
Crime 14 27
Celebrity/sport/human interest 6 10
Politics 9 8
Accidents/disasters 6 20
Terrorism 27 9
Socio-economic issues 8 4
Iraq 12 3
Other war/conflict 8 10
International law/diplomacy 2 1
Per cent of breaking news topics covered by Sky news and the BBC News channel
(Source: Cushion, 2012)

32. 32
Topic 2004 2007
Business/consumer news 8 8
Crime 14 27
Celebrity/sport/human interest 6 10
Politics 9 8
Accidents/disasters 6 20
Terrorism 27 9
Socio-economic issues 8 4
Iraq 12 3
Other war/conflict 8 10
International law/diplomacy 2 1
Per cent of breaking news topics covered by Sky news and the BBC News channel
(Source: Cushion, 2012)

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Symbolic[s]

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Contradiction?
 The BBC is committed to achieving due
accuracy. This commitment is fundamental to our
reputation and the trust of audiences, which is the
foundation of the BBC. It is also a requirement
under the Agreement accompanying the BBC
Charter
 In news and current affairs content, achieving due
accuracy is more important than speed
 BBC editorial guidelines

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Contradiction?
 … go back to basics. Report on the news … The term
reporter is the noblest in the language, not this
term ‘correspondent’. Increasingly, reporters are
being invited by reporters to give their opinion. Far
too much opinion is creeping into news reporters …
to steer the viewer into what to think. Let them
make up their own minds on the facts
 Peter Sissons cited in Cushion, 2012: 82

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Summary
 the need for speed has resulted in the softening of
news reporting
 the strive to be live has resulted in conjecture
replacing fact
 mix the role social media plays?
11:50 BREAKING NEWS #med312 #mac373 @rob_jewitt robert.jewitt@sunderland.ac.uk

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Tickertape
Live updates
Reader responses
Live updates

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Following the Boston marathon
explosions:
 Do you think it’s appropriate to cover the London
marathon event live?
 How would you plan for live coverage?
 What would you take into account?
 How would you frame it?
 How might you utilize social media and what
lessons can be learned from Boston?

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Questions?
 To what extent does ‘going live’ assist viewers understandings of news
events and what are the implications of an emphasis on spectacle over
substance?
 Does it matter who is first with breaking news? What are the potential
pitfalls of an increased emphasis on immediacy?
 How might the type of journalism fêted by the rolling news networks
impact on the broader culture on news delivery (eg print, radio, online,
etc)?
 Should rolling news providers be subject to more stringent safeguards (eg
health warnings for news, increased statuary regulation?) in relation to
the coverage of breaking news stories?

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Work cited and further reading
 Paul Brighton and Dennis Foy (2007) News Values, London: Sage.
 Stephen Cushion (2012) Television Journalism, London: Sage
 Stephen Cushion & Justin Lewis (2010) The Rise of 24 Hour News Television, New York: Peter Lang
 Justin Lewis & Stephen Cushion (2009) ‘The Thirst To Be First’, Journalism Practice, 3:3, 304-318
 Justin Lewis, Stephen Cushion and James Thomas (2005) ‘Immediacy, Convenience or Engagement? An
analysis of 24-hour news channels in the UK’, Journalism Studies 6 (4), pp. 461-77.
 Stephanie Mariott (2007) Live Television: Time, Space and the Broadcast Event, London: Sage
 Media Guardian (2005) ‘“We Had 50 Images Within an Hour’’’
www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2005/jul/11/mondaymediasection.attackonlondon
 Chris Patterson (2010) ‘The Hidden Role of Television Agencies: “Going Live” on 24-Hour News
Channels’ in Stephen Cushion & Justin Lewis (2010) The Rise of 24 Hour News Television, New York:
Peter Lang
 Jack Straw (2010) ‘The public must be kept informed of terror threats’, Guardian.co.uk
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/nov/01/jack-straw-public-terror-threat
 John Ryley (2006) ‘Never been a better time to be in TV news’, The Independent,
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/never-been-a-better-time-to-be-in-tv-news-414538.html
 Charlie Tuggle and Suzanne Huffman (2001), ‘Live reporting in televisions news: breaking news or
blackholes?’, Journal of Broadcasting and Electronic Media, 45: 335-344