TV NEWS - Analysis of a relevant Live News item

 Analysis of relevant Live News Item

Cineworld CEO on reopening Movie Theatres (CNN, 2020)

I wanted to ensure that throughout this process of creating our own News Channel, I am learning and being influenced by successful News Channels to learn the formats and branding of how other channels work. To do this today, I will be looking at a relevant Live News Item that relates to our Live OB which is the story of Cineworld Closing again due to Coronavirus. 

As this is the second time Cineworld have had to close due to Coronavirus, I chose to analyze a news package from the previous lockdown, which saw Cineworld close for the first time due to the pandemic. However, this news package is from the ending of the first lockdown, which allowed cinemas to repopen. Here is the news package below. 

After watching and reviewing this news package, I felt this was extremely relevant to my Live OB package, especially as due to circumstances we are having to shoot our interview over zoom which comes with many challenges you may not necessarily have to face in regular circumstances. This can include technical issues of overtalking etc, relevant backgrounds to ensure that the news is known visually also. 

Introduction

The news Presenter for CNN begins by introducing the story which made me aware exactly what the next few minutes will entail as a watcher. This backs up the research I have done previously in regards to news formats, it shows that a short tag line is normally used to explain the brief concept of the news story, before the journalist, or live interview etc, then goes into a lot more detail to explain and give more in depth knowledge in regards to the story. This is something I plan to adapt into our news story, It's important that the script is clear and concise which allows the watcher to be aware of what is upcoming within the news, which I feel follows the mainstream news format. I feel this is a way of being informative while also enticing the watcher into being engaged because they're now aware of what is coming up within the news. I will incorporate this into the script by using similar wording and scripting, that allows the viewers to be aware of what we're about to go into detailing about. 'With Coronavirus causing further financial losses to businesses, Cineworld decide to shut their doors for the second time'. I wish to add something like that to our script because as I've mentioned, its enticing for the watchers and hopefully like the CNN scripting in the video above, it follows the correct format to engage the viewers and also deliver factual information. 

Fig 1. CNN News Anchor (2020)

Questioning

The Presenter then goes on to introduce the CEO of Cineworld, who he is about to interview. He dives straight into a direct question in regards to their new circumstances. The CNN presenter asks if the CEO thinks they will be able to make enough money while the cinema is only allowed to have a 50% capacity. I have mixed opinions on this as our news channel isn't going to follow the same structure as CNN. I feel CNN as a channel is extremely direct and serious, which is why asking direct questions works. My news channel however is in regards to business and technical stories, with a target audience of 18-30 year olds due to our youtube platform. So although, the news channel will be factual and unbiased, I feel the serious tone of CNN wouldn't appeal to our audience and nor would such direct and almost harsh questioning. Our interview is also based on how Cineworld closing directly affects the consumers, so we want questioning that allows the consumer to speak directly on how they have been affected that can relate to other people. The way that the CNN presenter directly asks the CEO if he thinks he will make enough money, especially in which money is normally seen as an invasive subject to talk about, I feel could cause animosity within an interview, which is something we do not want as we interview Consumers. If we were asking invasive questions to consumers that are trying to give their experiences, it could cause them to not answer the best they can, which would be detrimental for our interview. 

Graphics and Live Mixing

The graphics and live mixing I found were very interesting throughout the piece. Although, due to circumstances the interview is being done at their homes, they are still live mixing to give you different perspectives and cut aways while the interview is still live. This was really beneficial for me to see at his has given me inspiration for my own news channel.

When asking the questions both the News Anchor and CEO being interviewed are in shot, however once the question has been asked and the CEO begins to answer, the shot moves from a two shot onto a direct shot of him. As you can see below. I actually really liked this and feel it made the interview more interesting instead of being able to see the news anchor when he isn't speaking, it kept the whole screen completely relevant on who was speaking at which time. This is something I will be feeding back to Stanley who is editing our Live OB. Although, our Live OB will be completely one shot to ensure it is 'As Live'. Mixing up who is on the screen is definitely something we can do in post production as we're not able to actually mix live with a mixing desk or in a gallery. The benefits in our news piece using this tool will mean that whatever on screen is completely relevant for our watchers which hopefully will mean they are more engaged with what the interviewee is saying. By having both the interviewer and the interviewee on screen all the time, it allows a lot of dead space and no reaction from the news anchor who is listening to the interviewee answer. 

Fig 2. CNN Two shot, Presenter and CEO (2020)

Fig 3. CNN One Shot CEO (2020)

The graphics also show on screen the whole time, this includes graphics showing the name of the interviewee, job role and news headline and another part of the screen also shows the location, time and software used for the interview. I like this aspect of the format of the CNN live OB. It gives us as the watcher answers to any questions we may have while also giving us more information in regards to the interviewee in a formal format. The time and location, allows us to know that he is in a different country and the name and job title explains exactly who he is without needing to go into too much details. It also backs up his answers in regards to the questions and why we should be interested in what he is saying. It allows us as the watchers to know exactly why he is answering these questions, well because he is the CEO. This is definitely a news tool we will be transferring into our news channel, it's important as an audience you can see, if joining the news at any point who is speaking and why them being on the news is relevant and justifies hearing their opinion. 

Fig 4. CNN News Graphics (2020)

Fig 5. CNN News Graphics Bulletin (2020)

Later in the news piece, similar to the two shot and then one shot onto who is speaking as i mentioned above. They also have a section in which as the CEO is speaking, they bring up pre-prepared cutaways live. This is extremely effective, as I said above, although its important as always news is factual and unbiased, the way CNN make the interview more clear, transparent and interesting in our current circumstances, by live mixing different shots and also introducing relevant cutaways, I feel is really influential to me. As I have mentioned in regards to our news channels target audience also, by mixing up the live interview to feature relevant cutaways to our news story, I feel keeps the interview interesting and also helps to explain the story visually. 

Fig 6. CNN News Graphics Cut Away (2020)

List of Illustrations 

 Fig 1. CNN News Anchor (2020) [Youtube, Screenshot] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dde9QQemjTk (Accessed on 31/10/2020)

Fig 2. CNN Two shot, Presenter and CEO (2020) [Youtube, Screenshot] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dde9QQemjTk (Accessed on 31/10/2020)

Fig 3. CNN One Shot CEO (2020) [Youtube, Screenshot] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dde9QQemjTk (Accessed on 31/10/2020)

Fig 4. CNN News Graphics (2020) [Youtube, Screenshot] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dde9QQemjTk (Accessed on 31/10/2020)

Fig 5. CNN News Graphics Bulletin (2020) [Youtube, Screenshot] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dde9QQemjTk (Accessed on 31/10/2020)

Fig 6. CNN News Graphics Cut Away (2020) [Youtube, Screenshot] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dde9QQemjTk (Accessed on 31/10/2020)

Bibliography 

 Trump might Ban Fortnite # DramaAlert After TikTok Ban - KSI & The Rock (PS5 Giveaway) (2020) [Drama Alert Youtube Channel] At: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUELXBBeIYA (Accessed 05/11/2020)