COMM 2350

Student Number
200704190
Word Count 2841

News Analysis Dossier

The broadcast journalism industry continues to be at the very forefront of news,

with research from Ofcom showing that television was the most important source
for news (68 percent) amongst British citizens, with 72 per cent saying it was also
their main source for international news (Thussu, 2007). Since the inception of the
BBC 24 hour news channel, British viewers have had a viable alternative to break
the monopoly that Sky News had held since 1989. When BBC News came into being,
BSkyB challenged their usage of state funding in an effort to maintain a stronghold
on the 24 hour medium. Their stance was that the BBC shouldnt be using the
license fee to offer a service duplicate of one that a commercial station had already
been running for nearly a decade. The appeal was rejected, and commercial news
was from then on in competition with public broadcasting in the 24 hour format
(Meade, 1999). My research will show how, despite Sky pressing it is as part of their
doctrine, the much heralded breaking news is only a small aspect of the
broadcasting. I will also present the argument that both Sky and BBC, despite their
differing codes and conventions, offer only subtly different versions of the news,
with the demand for viewership pushing both closer together in balancing the power
between audience friendly infotainment and the desire to frame the debate
through highbrow news acting as watchdogs and fulfilling their role as the fourth
estate by serving democracy through informing the electorate (Thussu, 2007). Did

the creation of a 24 hour BBC news station advance a budding new feature of
broadcast journalism, or does it merely serve as a replica of its commercial
counterpart?

Breaking News
In sum, during fairly routine news periods, our study found that breaking news is a
fairly insignificant part of a news channels output. In many cases, a channel will be
first to a breaking story simply because no other channel has shown any interest in
covering it. Breaking news stories are also, in many cases, predictable, routine and
repetitive. In this context, the question of who gets to breaking news stories first is
not a matter of great consequence, and will make very little difference to most
viewers most of the time. Indeed, the only people to whom this rivalry will make any
difference at all are other journalists. (Lewis et al., 2005)
Lewis et al. (2005) describe the breaking news environment of 24/7 news as a
misnomer of sorts. Where the trivial and routine are disguised as impactful breaking
news - whether this is in the form of an update from a reporter standing on any halfpertinent location during a live two-way with the anchor, or the dressing up of a
staged event. For example, on the first day of news I studied, Sky News labelled a
speech by David Cameron as a news alert even though it was planned, and they
had already promoted the speech as coming up in an attempt to persuade the
viewer to keep watching as they went to an advert break. If you discount these such

instances, and focus on the more accurate representation of breaking news as a

metric, that of a story being alerted to the audience as close to live as possible, the
results show that despite the boastful definitions of 24/7 stations (Skys website
describes itself as first for breaking news), they are the deviations from the norm
(Sky, 2014).
Over the course of the 5 days, only 3 stories were broken live. BBC reported 1 first,
as did Sky, the other was reported by the BBC but was apparently not deemed
newsworthy by Sky and wasnt picked up. Of the two which were conveyed by both,
the average time between the two stations reporting was only 5 minutes and 31
seconds, the difference on both counts being one managed to break the news whilst
the other was broadcasting a pre-recorded package. Lewis et al (2005) allude to
audience viewing habits as part of their academic findings, highlighting the decline
in appointment to view news, with the nature of 24 hour news appealing to
channel switchers who want to consumer news in smaller, convenient packages.
This is reflected by the composition of the hourly long segments I studied. In 6 out
of the 10 programmes, the top story at the hour was revisited around halfway
through, in two cases for Sky, showing a repeat of a previously broadcasted report
of the same story. The editorial justification for such behavior is presumably built on
the idea that the audience are more likely to watch according to their schedule,
rather than sitting through an hour of TV news every night. This is reinforced by the
BARB viewing figures through the week, which show that the average minutes
watched per viewer for Sky was 9 minutes, and 15 for BBC. To put this narrow slice
of viewership into perspective, over the course of the 5 days, Sky aired on averaged
13.11 minutes and BBC 14.32 minutes on their respective top stories (BARB, 2013).

On Screen Sources
One important part of my study was the calculation of on screen sources that were
used, as these can give an indication of what sort of audience the channel is aiming
to cater for, and what emphasis they place on different news values. For this data
analysis I chose to compare how each covered the developing story of the
Philippines typhoon disaster. For both, it was their top story on day 1 and 2 (Monday
and Tuesday), and then continued to feature heavily for the rest of the week, but
further down the running order. As the graph below shows, during this period BBC
showed a greater percentage of what I have labelled as Real Life Stories - these
would be eye witness accounts, and personal narratives from survivors or bereaved
relatives of those who were involved in the disaster. What these on screen sources
provided was a social and cultural context, as well as a more impactful message as
opposed to the parachute journalism of sending a British reporter out to tell a small
segment of the story from a script.

Philippines Coverage: On Screen Sources day 1 + 2

Experts

Real Life Stories

Sky; 16
16
14

BBC; 12

12
10

BBC; 9

Sky; 9

8
6
4
2
0

BBC

Sky

However, as the second graph illustrates, the attitude towards reporting takes a
significant shift from day 3 (Wednesday), when both Sky News and BBC News move
the story down the headline order.

Philippines Coverage: On Screen Sources days 3-5

Experts

Real Life Stories

Sky; 8
8
7

BBC; 6

BBC; 5

5
4

Sky; 3

3
2
1
0

BBC

Sky

Perhaps due to its mandate in the editorial guidelines to inform, educate and
entertain, BBC reduced the amount of personal stories it airs, instead shifting the
dialogue towards the experts for updates and for informational context (BBC, 2011).
Sky however continued, and boosted, its strong usage of these Real Life Stories,
mirroring a tabloid take on events by placing further emphasis on human interest
angles, creating a stronger emotional investment from the audience to keep them
watching for the rest of the week as the story develops. As evident above, the
amount of Real Life Stories jumps significantly, from 45.45% of total on screen
sources in the first 2 days of Skys Philippines coverage, to a large majority 72.73%.
Thussu (2007, 69) refers to this process as a visually arresting, emotionally

charged infotainment which sustains ratings. Granted, the results suffer from a
limited sample size, but such is the nature of 24-hour rolling news, that it is rare to
see a story covered for 5 repeated days in any case. Molotoch and Lester (1974, 54,
cited in Schudson 2000m p.183) criticized media outlets for their construction of a
reality that is the political work by which events are constituted by those who
happen to be in power, that the media broadcasts not a world out there, rather
the practices of those who have the power to determine the experiences of
others. From the breakdown of the weeks on screen sources, it is not immediately
obvious that this has any basis in Sky News and BBC News. Taking into account the
whole range of stories from both channels throughout the week, Real Life Stories
(expanded to include members of the general public and celebrities that offer
personal points of view and little to no authoritative voice) accounted for 41.38% of
on screen contributions for Sky, and almost identically, 41.8% for the BBC. This
means that almost half of the external voices the audience heard were more
personalized, abiding by the news values of Galtung and Ruge (Palmer, 2000), of
making news unambiguous, and voicing the generally more proletarian human,
giving a fairer and accurate vision of social context rather than corporations or a
politician funneling PR. Of course, the remaining 60% or so of on-screen sources are
there to give expert opinion, people who offer an informed interpretation of events.
An almost identical 60/40 split for both shows that each are trying to pander to a
larger scope of an audience, indulging in the emotional human interests, but also
making a conceited effort to expose viewers to informed opinions and analysis from
experts. This seems to be the actualization of the conclusion Lewis et al (2005, 469)
arrived at from their study, Analysis and context, we would argue, could have as

much to do with making the news seem interesting and relevant as with providing
news junkies with an extra fix..
Where there is a significant shift in dynamic between the two is in the amount of
contextual analysis each channel offers. Over the 5 days, BBC revisited a story
further on in the hour-long broadcast, in order to bring in an expert view, on 11
occasions, totaling nearly 50 minutes overall (nearly a quarter of overall output of
news). Sky, on the other hand, did so only 7 times, with an accumulation of 30
minutes (just over 15% news output). The data showed in the graph below isnt just
a case of airing an interview with an expert in the required field, analysis also
included the anchor placing the story in context through statistics and a broader
timeline of events. A caveat that should be noted before going further depth into
my analysis is that all reports and package times include the anchor cue.

Expert Analysis: % of Output

25

20

15

10

23.26
BBC

16.29
Sky

This is more reflective of Skys position as a broadcaster. Their 2009 The Bigger
Picture review reads Weve built a reputation for being first for breaking news and
leading the way with innovation in news coverage (Sky, 2009). BBC placed more
focus on reflecting on news, breaking it down to educate the viewer, whereas Sky
seemingly pursued a more immediate approach in getting stories out quicker. This
could help explain why Sky (37) nearly matched BBCs (41) amount of different
stories covered over the week, despite having less air time to do so due to advert
breaks.

Hard/Soft News

Looking at the pattern of topics selected for broadcast also gives an indication of
the different news values of BBC and Sky. Below are two pie charts outlining the
occurrence and frequency of the major themes which were presented in the weeks
news I studied, the categories of which I have adapted from the Cushions study of
news from 2004 and 2007 (2012). On top of his specifications, I decided to include a
section for Health stories, which I concluded needed its own metric as its content
was never a completely a social issue, nor a political one. A further caveat for my
data is that decided to exclude the weather, snow reports and sports rounds up
from my findings.

Overall Percentage BBC

Other (sport/human interest); 2%
Health; 4%

International/Foreign Policy; 24%

Phillippines; 34%

Social Issues/Policy; 12%

Politics; 0%
Celebrity + Entertainment; 5%
Business + Economics; 12%

Crime; 7%

Phillippines

Celebrity + Entertainment

Crime

Business + Economics

Social Issues/Policy

Politics

International/Foreign Policy

Other (sport/human interest)

Health

Overall Percentage Sky

Other (sport/human interest); 2%

Health; 7%
Phillippines; 32%

International/Foreign Policy; 20%

Celebrity + Entertainment; 4%

Politics; 9%

Crime; 5%
Social Issues/Policy; 14%

Business + Economics; 8%

Phillippines

Celebrity + Entertainment

Crime

Business + Economics

Social Issues/Policy

Politics

International/Foreign Policy

Other (sport/human interest)

Health

The immediate information to be extracted from the data is that both channels
spent significantly more time covering the Philippines disaster than any other genre
of study. This lends voice to Galtung and Ruges news value of continuity, giving
sufficient editorial justification for a story of such magnitude to garner such
attention over 5 days of broadcasting (Palmer, 2000). Both channels devoted their
headline story on Monday and Tuesday to the Philippines, and then Thursday and

Friday to David Camerons visit to Sri Lanka, highlighting the countrys human rights
issues. Shoemaker and Reeses Hierarchy of Influence Model can also explain the
reason behind the large amount of minutes devoted to the typhoon. For Sky, it
might be at organization level, where ratings drive content in order to stay ahead
in a competitive market place. Likewise, the BBC, whilst publically funded, still has
to justify its licence fee, and their 24 hour news channel may face similar external
pressures to stay with the news that has captured the audiences attention.
Investigative journalist Carl Bernstein wrote an essay in The New Republic, in which
he bemoaned the culture of infotainment, We do not serve our readers and
viewers, we pander to them. And we conceded to them, giving them what we think
they want and what we calculate will sell and boost ratings (Bernstein, 1992, cited
in Thussu, 2007, p,4). Whilst this may be an unfairly strong critique when
juxtaposed with my analysis, it does provoke the thought over how editorial
justification is reached.
As evident, the results of trying to be more specific means that BBCs average time
spent on what I thought to be definitively politics is smaller than one might
originally expect, but the categorization is very useful in comparing hard vs soft
news. Lewis et al (2005) identify these two forms of news as broadsheet and
tabloid, which they define as economy, politics and international and crime,
celebrity news and entertainment respectively. They concluded that the BBC rolling
news channel, then known as News 24, had a more broadsheet news agenda than
Sky, which is, at first, seemingly at odds with my findings. In terms of hard and
soft news, or broadsheet and tabloid, there wasnt a large separation between
Sky and BBC in how each provides the two. Despite its stronger ethical code and
dedication to a more highbrow form of news, BBC News actually provided more

crime, celebrity and entertainment news as a percentage of overall output than Sky.
The corporation can seek validation from John OLoan, former head of News at Sky,
who put it, theres nothing wrong with providing news in a different way to a
different audience. The Sun provides a service to people who might otherwise not
read a newspaper. If they didnt read a newspaper they would know less about what
is happening...I think the greater the diversity of news dissemination the better
(McNair, 2009, p.133). OLoan speaks for the importance of being able to inform a
wide audience, to contribute to the public sphere and sustain an informed
electorate, even if it is through a process of infotainment.

Conclusions
It is difficult to predict where 24-hour news broadcasting will be in 10 years. Paul
Mason, journalist for the BBC, wrote in 2006 Rolling news and here I mean the
concept of a separate channel and its traditional front-end studio format is the
genre of television least suited to survive the transition to the digital age (Mason,
2011). 8.47 million people follow the BBC Breaking News page on Twitter. To put that
into perspective, thats nearly two million more than the amount of people who
tuned in to watch the BBCs flagship news programme, Ten OClock news, on the
Friday night of the week I studied. Whilst the two mediums arent mutually
exclusive, it speaks for the ever increasing demand for not only instantaneous
news, but news that can be consumed at the audiences convenience. Sky News has
to justify its output to advertisers and shareholders, whilst the BBC has to justify
spending part of the licence fee on its 24 hour news service. As previously noted,
the average audience member will only view 9 minutes and 15 minutes per hour

respectively for both channels. Despite the latters strong editorial guidelines, both
have a duty to reach as broad an audience as possible, whilst keeping costs down,
albeit Sky more so. As Lewis and Cushion concede, there is little academic,
empirical study that focuses on the modern digital age of news, and the effect of
social networks, so it is difficult to assume what role it will play over the long term
future. But if Paul Mason is to be believed, it could serve as a strong challenger to
24-hour rolling news, especially considering that appointment to view news still has
a stronghold on broadcast journalism. Hargreaves and Thomas describe rolling news
as an important feature of the emerging phenomenon of ambient news: news
which is free at the point of consumption, available on demand and very often
available in the background to peoples lives without them even looking
(Hargreaves and Thomas, 2002, p. 51, cited in Lewis et al, p.474)). As one of their
focus- group respondents put it Waiting for the evening TV news would seem like
going back to the dark ages. News fits around you now (2002, p. 51). Whatever the
challenge digital media represents, many are predicted a massive change in the
landscape of broadcast journalism, it remains to be see how secure the long term
future is for both Sky and BBC in 24 hour rolling news.

Bibliography

BBC News. 2013. BBC. 11/11/13 8-9pm 15/11/13 8-9pm

BBC. 21/10/2011. Mission and Values. [Online]. [Accessed January 2014]. Available
from:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/whoweare/mission_and_values/

Bernstein, Carl (1992) The Idiot Culture, The New Republic, June 9, 22-28. Cited in
Thussu, D.K. 2007. News as Entertainment: The Rise of Global Infotainment.
London: Sage.

Broadcasters Audience Research Board. 2013. Total Viewing Summary.

[Online]. [January 2014]. Available from:
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%5B%5D=2013&period_month%5B%5D=11&period_week%5B
%5D=17&button_submit=View+figures&period%5B%5D=201311060117

Cushion, S. 2012. The Democratic Value of News: Why Public Service Media Matter.
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Engagement? An analysis of 24-hour news channels in the UK. Journalism
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/Jan/16/mondaymediasection, accessed 22
June 2011, cited in McNair, B. 2009. News and Journalism in the UK. London:
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Palmer, Jerry. (2000) Spinning into Control: News Values and Source Strategies. London:
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Sky. 2009. The Bigger Picture Review. [Online]. [January 2013]. Available from:
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London: Sage.

Appendix

BBC News Day 1 (Monday)

Story
Philippines Report 1
Philippines Report 2
Philippines Report 3
Armistice Day
Irans Nuclear Weapons
Walk in Health Closures
Britains Military in Afghanistan
Drug Testing Jamaican Athletes
Philippines Report 4
Philippines Report 5
Philippines Report 6
Bryan Adams Legacy of War Interview
First Person to Swim the Length of
Britain Interview
David Cameron Speech

Running Time
4.15
3.50
2.55
4.06
1.21
2.01
1.39
3.47
2.16
2.45
3.41
7.28
2.51
0.48

Sky News Day 1 (Monday)

Story

Running Time

Philippines Report 1
Philippines Report 2
Philippines Report 3
Philippines Report 4
Philippines Report 5
Government Premium Rate Numbers
Armistice Day/Dam Buster Funeral
Philippines Report 1 (Repeat)
Armistice Day
Bryan Adams Legacy of War Interview
John Major Elitism in Politics
Brazil Drug Gangs Threaten World Cup
David Cameron Speech

3.58
3.12
1.20
1.40
2.40
2.37
4.55
3.45
2.20
3.56
3.10
2.54
4.30

BBC News Day 2 (Tuesday)

Story
Philippines Report 1
Philippines Report 2
Philippines Report 3
Philippines Report 4
EDF Energy Costs
Inflation Drop Economics Report
Breastfeeding Mums Coupons
State of Emergency Expired in Egypt
John Tavener (Composer) Death
Philippines Report 5
Philippines Report 6
Philippines Report 7
Philippines Report 8
Young People in Care
Andy Warhol + Francis Bacon Auctions
Breaking News Queens Donation
Philippines
Breaking News Police Pursuit Death

Running Time
3.22
2.22
2.46
4.21
2.40
1.08
3.29
2.05
0.58
2.04
2.015
3.16
2.40
1.37
4.45
1.03
0.59

Sky News Day 2 (Tuesday)

Story
Philippines
Philippines
Philippines
Philippines

Report
Report
Report
Report

1
2
3
4

Running Time
4.15
4.08
3.01
1.48

Philippines Report 5
Chines Businessman Murder Trial Report
1
EDF Energy Costs
Breastfeeding Mums
Philippines Report 6
Philippines Report 7
Philippines Report 8
Chinese Businessman Murder Trial
Report 2
Phone Hacking Trial
Energy Costs Report 2
Government Review into Gas Industry
Breaking News Queens Donation
Philippines

2.52
0.41
2.59
0.17
2.40
2.25
3.59
1.43
2.12
2.53
5.23
0.47

BBC News Day 3 (Wednesday)

Story
Governor of Bank of England
Economic Recovery Report 1
Governor of Bank of England
Economic Recovery Report 2
Philippines Report 1
Philippines Report 2
Hamzah Khan Child Death Review
Report 1
Hamzah Khan Child Death Review
Report 2
Energy Cost Rising
Two Tier A + E
Philippines Report 3
Hamzah Khan Child Death Report 3
Cyclists Deaths in London
Francis Bacon Painting Auction
Breaking News Pink Star Diamond
Auction

Running Time
4.07
7.11
3.20
3.13
2.25
4.07
2.37
2.49
4.42
6.57
3.27
2.16
0.29

Sky News Day 3 (Wednesday)

Story

Running Time

Hamzah Khan Child Death Review

Report
Philippines Report 1
Philippines Report 2
Governor of Bank of England
Economic Recovery Report
Two Tier A + E Report 1
British Spy Death Review
Two Tier A + E Report 2
Easyjet Artificial Ash Cloud Test
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
Farmers Being Forced Out By
Supermarkets
Breaking News Pink Star Diamond
Auction Report 1
Breaking News Pink Star Diamond
Auction Report 2

2.56
3.10
2.51
3.41
3.19
2.57
7.05
3.05
2.47
2.18
0.27
2.37

BBC News Day 4 (Thursday)

Story
Sri Lanka Human Rights Report 1
Philippines Report 1
Philippines Report 2
Birmingham Troubled Childrens
Department
Nick Clegg Roma Immigrants
Integration
Cyclists Deaths in London
ObamaCare
Sri Lanka Human Rights Report 2
Philippines Report 3
UK Space Programme
Cyclists Deaths Report 2
Prince Harry/Injured Servicemen Race
to South Pole
Sachin Tendulkar Retirement

Sky News Day 4 (Thursday)

Running Order
6.11
3.25
4.18
2.56
3.14
3.47
2.14
2.19
5.24
5.03
3.54
2.31
3.57

Story
Sri Lanka Human Rights Report 1
Pedophile Arrests in Toronto
Philippines Report 1
Philippines Report 2
Cyclists Deaths in London
Prince Harry/Injured Servicemen Race
to South Pole
Sri Lanka Human Rights Report 2
Sri Lanka Human Rights Report 3
Pedophile Arrests in Toronto (Repeat)
Philippines Report 3
Sachine Tendulkar Retirement
Phone Hacking Trial

Running Time
4.05
3.39
3.39
1.47
2.57
2.40
2.59
7.10
1.21
2.02
2.36
2.02

BBC News Day 5 (Friday)

Story
Sri Lanka Human Rights Report 1
Sri Lanka Human Rights Report 2
GP Contract Changes
Philippines
UK Oil Field Project
Lord Coe Criticises World Anti-Doping
Agency
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford
Children in Need

Running Time
4.19
4.42
2.59
3.05
1.57
4.39
6.08
2.21

Sky News Day 5 (Friday)

Story
Sri Lanka Human Rights
National Crime Agency Spamming
Alert Report 1
Philippines
GP Contract Changes
National Crime Agency Spamming
Alert Report 2

Running Time
3.27
2.45
3.33
2.45
2.55

EU Commission on Spanish Gibraltar

Border Checks
Princess Anne Horsemeat Report 1
Princess Anne Horsemeat Report 2
Education Secretary Criticises Simon
Cowell
Anti-Doping Agency Double Ban
Length

1.13
3.06
6.13
2.07
3.00