Content of the news programme

Over recent years the younger generation have increasingly received a bad perception in the media. With Knife crime on the increase and the terrible stories such as Rhys Jones covered in the news, we felt that a story on ASBO would be an interesting topic to cover. To give us more of an idea of what our story could be about that we would cover in our news programme we did some research into the area.

Knife and Gun Crime

According to a report covered by the Telegraph 'Knife crime has more than doubled in the past two years across England and Wales...' The number of muggings involving Knives soared from 25,500 to 64,000 according to the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies of King's College London. This is an increase of over 35,000 which is an incredible amount. According to research, knives are now used in one in five muggings twice the amount of two years ago.

BBC covered a report which showed from figures released by the police, a 48% rise in gun crime in the past year. 2224 firearm offences were made in 2008 to the 3306 in 2009. These offences include whether a real or fake firearm has been seen or used. The figures provided in these reports show the seriousness of knife and gun crime. Most people feel that this does not concern them but with all of the younger generation being given a bad name.

Anti-social Behaviour

In the UK an ASBO is seen as an offence 'which caused or was likely to cause harm, harassment, alarm or distress to one or more persons not of the same household as him or herself and where an ASBO is seen as necessary to protect relevant persons from further anti-social acts by the Defendant'. The Government introduced ASBOs by the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 and are issued by Magistrates' Courts. They can also only be given to a person over the age of 10.

Anti-social behaviour includes a range of problems:

• Noise Pollution


• Busking


• Drinking behaviour from excessive consumption of alcohol


• Abandoning cars


• Stealing/Mugging/Shoplifting


• Begging


• Vandalism/Criminal damage


• Loitering


• Littering/Fly tipping/Dog fouling


• Dealing/consumption of controlled recreational drugs


• Intimidation


• Fare dodging


• Spitting

From the list above we decided to focus our news report on vandalism and criminal damage. Nearly everywhere you go now there is some sort of vandalism whether it be graffiti or destruction of property. A report written for the Telegraph showed that one crime was committed every 2 minutes by British Youths. The report stated that "youngsters aged 10 to 17 carried out 277,986 offences in the past 12 months". The seriousness of this issue was highlighted by a 20% rise in the number of youths convicted for violent offences in the last 3 years. So we decided that we would do a feature on graffiti and whether it was art or vandalism?

Covered topics

Although there are hundreds of different news programme the topics which they cover are similar. Some focus on international news, others on national news, some on regional news, while others may combine them together. To begin planning what shots we would need to film we needed to decide on the topics which we would cover. Here is a list of topics covered by all news programmes:





1) The weather - Whether it is regional or national, it is covered in every news programme.

2) The economy - With the current economic climate and the high unemployment rates this is covered in most news programmes on a daily basis.

3) Travel - Those who work in the travel sector regularly feature in the news with the high tendency for striking due to pay or other issues.

4) Top stories - In every news programme there is a top story which is featured. It is the main focus of that particular news report.

5) The Government - With the current General Election this is widely covered in news programmes especially those London based reports.

6) Sport - Whether it be football or Cricket, this is normally always covered in news reports.

7) Celebrity culture - With the growing need to be updated on the latest celebrity gossip this topic is widely covered in news reports.



As our news programme will only be 5 minutes long we will not have enough time to cover all these topics. In the title sequence we will cover these topics through a series of different shots but only focus on a top story in the main content.

Chosen channel

Looking at the four different programmes gave us a clear insight into what would be needed in our news programme. The detailed analysis allowed me to see which features worked well and which ones I personally did not think worked well. Out of the four channels the one that inspired us the most was ITV News. Everything about the news programme we liked and wanted to use in our programme.

Analysis of Features

After looking at the background information of ITV News, Sky News, Channel 4 News and BBC News I will analyse which features I like and do not like that each of the programmes have used. This will provide us with a sound basis for beginning to think what we will include in our news programme.

After looking at the four different clips of the news programmes here is a list of features that we are going to use in our news programme.

1) We are going to place the logo throughout the three products trying to great a brand identity. I will produce a backdrop to place the logo on for the news programme as has been used in the clips I looked at. Placing the logo on the backdrops used in filming the programme will give it a professional look and appeal to the target audience.

2) We are going to set a colour scheme to use throughout the three products again trying to create that brand identity and a professional look. This will hopefully give the products an interesting edge and make them recognisable in the media. I will look at colour schemes later on in the coursework.

3)I like the use of ITV's title sequence combined with a quick shot of the news presenter explaining the top story before it starts. This draws the user in as they are given an idea of what is going to be covered in tonight's show. This feature looked very professional in ITV's title sequence and we want to create a similar look.

4)We want to create an effective title sequence like all of the news programmes have done. They all have different title sequences and different theme tunes which all build up tension and create a serious tone for what is about to be discussed. We will try to adapt this feature into our designs.

5)Also some of the clips from the previous posts show the presenter either sitting or standing by a desk. This business format looks like they 'mean business' and a serious nature is created through this. I prefer the presenter sitting behind a desk as they appear to be more relaxed and professional. We will try to adapt this feature to our news programme as well.

Sky News - title sequence

Sky News is a 24 hour international news broadcaster reporting on UK and international news stories. The channel focuses on the latest breaking news and broadcasts from a news centre in London. The broadcaster also provides an hourly news radio service to various radio networks in the UK and Ireland.

The news programme has a focus of breaking news furthermore when major breaking news reaches the channel there tends to be two presenters, one in the sky news centre and the other reporting from the incident. It has started to use the old 'double-headed style' to get instant information from the incident. This draws the audience in as the technique allows the audience to get information straight from the scene and at the same have two peoples views.

Sky has an interactive channel which can be accessed by sky viewers. By pressing the red button viewers can choose specific areas of the news they want to find out about. The different options which can be chosen are; Headlines, Weather, Sport and many more relating to the top stories. The news channel also has a website which is regularly updated containing a huge content of news stories. I will look at the website in more detail when I begin the planning of our website.

'Theme Tune'

I regularly watch Sky news and would recognise the 'theme tune' anywhere like BBC. Out of all the news channels I prefer to watch this one as I like the format they use. The tune they use is very effective as the fast beat of the music grabs your attention making the issues serious. The rushing noises and different pitches create an effective tone which draws the viewer in.

Here is the theme tune Sky News uses

I think Sky's title sequence is very effective as it makes a clear link with all three of its products. The title sequence displays the top story from the news programme and also shows some stories from the website. This is very effective in creating brand identity which we will try and do for our programme. We will try and make direct links between our products maybe taking on board what Sky have done in the title sequence as it looks very effective.

ITV News

ITV News has been provided and produced by ITN since September 1955 to the present day. The channel has the second largest TV news audience in the UK, second only to BBC News. The programme has regularly been praised for its heavy news coverage from institutions such as BAFTA, Emmy Awards and the Royal Television Society. ITV news has also been praised for its familiar team of reporters and newscasters including Trevor McDonald and Alastair Stewart.


The channel has a news website which is part of the ITV website. There is a seperate news network off of the main ITV site. The website is regularly updated and displays all the latest stories and videos. I will go in to more detail on ITVs news website when I begin to plan for our website.


'Theme Tune'

I regularly watch ITV News and would recognise the 'theme tune' anywhere. The tune is very effective as it captures the viewers attention and draws them in with the high and low tones. The switch between the tones catches the viewers attention as it gradually builds up tension ready for the topics to be discussed.

Here is ITV News' theme tune that they use

I really like ITV's overall look in general and the way the sequence has been put together. The tones are very effective in building up tension ready for addressing the serious issues. I like how the logo has been used to draw in the viewer and add to that brand identity. I also like the colour scheme which has been used. It is simple but eye catching with the cross fade to the presenter giving the programme an interesting look. I really like this sequence and shall use all the discussed features in my designs.

BBC News - Title Sequence

BBC News gathers and produces news stories for BBC television, radio and for its website. It is the largest broadcasting news gatherer in the world with a daily output of 120 hours. Its key objective is to "collect news and information in any part of the world and in any manner that may be thought fit". The main BBC news department is located within the BBC Television Centre. BBC's ability of having a global reach is the largest and deepest in the world: with correspondents in almost all 240 countries worldwide. Having this huge number of correspondents allows BBC news to get the latest news as soon as it arouses in any country.

The channel has a website which displays the different issues discussed during the News. The website is regularly updated to ensure the users are continuously informed. I will look at BBC's website in more detail later on in the project when I begin to plan for our News website.

'Theme Tune'

I regularly watch BBC news and would recognise the 'theme tune' anywhere. The tune BBC uses is very effective as the background beat creates a sense of urgency and seriousness. It grabs the audiences attention straight away and adds to trying to create a serious tone. The crashing noise and the beeping work really well together introducing a programme containing serious issues.















Here is the theme tune BBC news uses

Although the title sequence is simple the theme tune does all the talking. The beeps sound like what you would hear in a hospital where the doctors and nurses become very serious when someones heart rate falls, making a beeping noise on the machine. It makes the stories which are to be addressed appear serious as tension is created during the sequence. However we want our title sequence to be eye catching and have images/videos of the stories to be addressed, giving the user extra information before the programme begins. I like how the title sequence stands out against a white background, with the bright red producing an alarming look grabbing the viewers attention.