Introduction to news

I watched the news broadcast which was broadcasted by Look East.

The opening story for this news story talks about a man who went missing suddenly, in 2015. They talk about how no-one has came forwards about what happened to him, and all they found on CCTV is his car abandoned. Police confirmed that he was murdered after getting to in an extreme drug problem. I think that they start of the news with this story, because stories that include serious incidents are the stories that catch the most attention. A story like this will also keep the audience entertained and may also keep them watching till the end, as they may hope more information about the opening story will be announced then. The second story on Look East was about a man (Named Andy Wood) who's negotiating over the East Anglian Devolution, who's expected to attend a meeting with the Government Secretary. This was placed in the second news story, as the meeting which is going to take place effects education, transport and other topics which people rely on, and will be affected by. As well as being the second most important story, The third story which was talked about, was about Rural railway crossings, this topic isn't as interesting as the others, which may be the reason for why it's placed third on the story list. The reason they decided to use this story is because alot of the public are interested and use railways to travel, so this information is relevant to them.

The news stories included visual and audios so that the stories would have more effect on the viewers. For example, a disaster story is sad, but including graphical photos would make people even more distraught.

The newsreaders that were shown are as followed:

Emily Maitlis - 45 - Female

Fiona Bruce - 52 - Female

Nicholas Owen - 69 - Male


The role of a news reader/ presenter is to broadcast/read the news to the viewers in a specific time frame. To become a successful news reader/presenter you must have certain skills. For example, you have to have good grammar and speak clearly, you have to be confident and not show any sign of nerves, and you have to be prone to showing emotion.


News ordering is when news stories are presented in the order of importance.

The story that is most likely to be shown first, is the most important story of the whole roundup. This is known as the ''cover story''. All of the other stories in the news roundup will appear in order, so that the more interesting stories are shown at the end of the news roundup. This is done so that people watch keep watching the news till the end. If they left all the boring news stories to the end, no-one would watch them, since they'd only watch the news for the important stories.

The ability to think and act quickly is very important in the news. It's important because news readers read the news from a screen, and if you're not a fast thinker, you won't be able to read all of the words before they go of the screen. Also, if you do miss the words, you need to be able to improvise.

A ''slow news day'' is when less important stories are broadcasted, due to the lack of substantial topics.

News ordering is when you make a series of text based reports. You should put them i the order that appeals to the audience and keeps them entertained so they keep watching.

The term that's given to stories is the running order. The running order is a sequence which determines which stories are shown at the start of the news (normally the most important stories) and which stories are shown near to the end of the news (The less important stories)

The story most likely to be shown first is the most important one. This is the one that should be at the top of the page. This is also known as the lead story. This story will also have the most time spent on it.

The other stories will appear after the lead story, in the sequence of most interesting to least interesting.

The final story is also known as the ''lighter story''. This is the stories that closes the news, and will normally have the least information in it.

Bias in the news:

Bias through selection and omission: The author/creator of a news story can use bias, when choosing what stories to use in the news, and what stories to not use in the news.

Bias through placement/order of the news stories: When someone decides what order to place news stories, they choose out of their own opinion on what they personally think is the most and least important story. This is an example of bias that is used.

Bias through headlines: Headlines are the most important piece of a news paper and news story. This is because the headline is what catches the readers/viewers attention, and from this headline they can make a quick decision on whether or not they want to listen or read the story. Sometimes the editors can exaggerate these headlines so that most people read or see the story in a more serious way, even though the story isn't serious at all. This can also be known as ''baiting'', and is a form of bias.

Bias through camera angles: The way that a photo is taken controls how the person in the viewer looks. For example depending on the angle, the photo can make someone look odd, goodlooking or even make them look like they're doing something they're not. This is a trick that photographers can do, so that more people seem interested in the story (Since the photo will grab their attention, especially if they think a famous celebrity is involved). Also, alot of these bias taken photos are purposely used to match the bias headlines.

Bias through names and captions: Labels and title are a big part of news stories, and can be used to present someone in a negative way to gain more media attention. For example, describing someone as a ''thief'' if they have a criminal record of stealing, even if it happened 40 years ago is enough to gain attention to that particular person.

Bias through language: Words that are used during news stories (especially when used to describe someone) can change peoples views and opinions on someone. This is bias because the writer is the one who chooses to use these specific word, therefore the words that are used are what the writer things of the person. These words can be used to encourage hate towards the person that the editor is writing about.