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Issues Relating to Factual Programming for Television

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS..........................................................................................................................1

U27 L01 factual programming issues faced by producers.....................................................................3

Accuracy.................................................................................................................................................3

Balance and Impartiality......................................................................................................................4

Objectivity and Subjectivity.................................................................................................................5

Opinion and Bias....................................................................................................................................6

Representation.......................................................................................................................................7

Access and Privacy................................................................................................................................8

Contract with Viewer............................................................................................................................9

U27 L02 codes and conventions of factual TV......................................................................................10

Codes and conventions related to news.............................................................................................10

Studio News Readers...........................................................................................................................10

Field Reporters.....................................................................................................................................11
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Links to Studio.....................................................................................................................................11

Modes of address to the viewer...........................................................................................................12

Interviewing, experts and witnesses...................................................................................................13

Report structure...................................................................................................................................13

Actuality footage..................................................................................................................................14

Codes and conventions relating to documentary..............................................................................14

Documentary formats......................................................................................................................14

Realism..............................................................................................................................................14

Dramatization..................................................................................................................................14

Creating a narrative or story..........................................................................................................15

U27 L01 factual programming issues faced by producers

This paper explains the matters about factual television programmes and the rules and

norms of factual programmes. Factual programmes, which have circulated since TV started, are

focused on current incidents and individuals in real life but have only lately been recognized as a

category[ CITATION Gra13 \l 1033 ]. The purpose of a documentary is to expose some reason

or oppression with the expectation that the film will make a difference. They can be broadcast on

TV, film, DVD, or website like YouTube and BBC IPlayer in various ways.

Accuracy

The word accuracy implies preciseness; however, accuracy is a big concern for

documentary production, so one needs to include the details provided or obtained correctly

during the study. It is particularly relevant for news programmes, as these services must ensure

they have reliable statistics to enable audiences to access the right data. It is, therefore, necessary

to assess the various views to guarantee that you get the same thing from all sides of the debate,

to ensure that the software is not partial. To make it obvious, one must also ensure that the

material is specifically represented to fit the genre[ CITATION Hil05 \l 1033 ]. One way to

ensure knowledge is right is by doing good analysis directly from the source.

A simple example of accuracy is a war news story which must ensure that the details they

collect are entirely truthful to reveal to the viewer since audiences do not like false or compiled

information. There's a need to provide trustworthy information so that one realizes what is going

on. To do this, a researcher will be sent out to get the truth and details on what the news story is

about[ CITATION Hil05 \l 1033 ]. Below is a link to a clip from a recent BBC show, which is a

clear illustration of authenticity since they provide the exact origins of their news article because
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they know exactly what facts they get to provide the audience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=LG8rdpoF7DQ

Balance and Impartiality

Balance in a factual programme is crucial since the point must be fair to both sides, not to

lose the viewers in the programme. In particular, young people ought to strive to maintain the

history of politics as far as possible. This allows visionaries to see both perspectives and to

decide on the argument. If you favor another side, one could expose the other side badly so that

the crowd might get offended[ CITATION Kil94 \l 1033 ]. One will start losing audiences as a

result. A show to function properly requires evidence, reliable statistics, and confidence,

particularly from the viewers. It is the point of balancing because if a factual program exists

about a single group, for example, in a political documentary, they will have to balance the facts

with the opinions of other political parties.

Impartiality merely gives opposite opinions rather than partiality. You ought to be sure all

views are considered, and one is allowed to judge or drive in his view. But it is vital that you

make a reasonable judgment and should not make it personal. It is important to remain neutral in

factual programmes. Everyone must hear significant and important voices in time, and the course

of some of the stories about wars or election campaigns grows over weeks or
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months[ CITATION Gra13 \l 1033 ]. Impartiality requires such aspects as harm and bigotry,

particularly in the field of factual programmes.

Objectivity and Subjectivity

Objectivity is where only observations are focused on the curriculum and nothing

subjective involves. The audience's reactions come from their views and not from what they are

taught, so there is no choice or strong opinion. An analytical type of a factual programme,

emotional or impersonal, may be separate. The objective point of factual programmes is to back

up the subject of your source, be open-minded, and get things right quickly. Factual programmes

such as documentaries must display certain data, such as venue, and provide evidence and back-

up to be accurate in supporting the topic of the documentary[ CITATION Pip06 \l 1033 ]. If a

documentary was to be filmed but with subtitles in another language, you could ensure that what

is being said is well understood, since other people will better realize and one may lose your

viewers.

Man On Wire was a documentary about Philippe Petit, who made an extensive journey

through the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York in 1974. This documentary

shows re-enactments of Phillipe Petit and rare images that prepare him for tight cords across

World Trade Centers and tight cords[ CITATION Hil05 \l 1033 ]. It has interviews with friends

of Phillipe, but the operator or writer never gives us an opinion to tell his tale when it is seen. So
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you see it as objective, and it does not include strong views of others.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cz6oddi0mts

Subjectivity means anything, without being biased, will reveal the tale. It is necessary to

have an open mind when it comes to the topic. Subjectivity is characterized not as the object of

thought but as belonging to the thinking subject. People should be regarded as arbitrary with

their thoughts, moods, and behaviors. In factual programmes this term is not commonly used, so

if the programmes focus mainly on subjectivity[ CITATION Wis12 \l 1033 ], this will seem

prejudicial. Many citizens could not consent, but comments would be made, or the crowd will

collapse. However, initiatives can be subjective if they present people's feelings on a case rather

than open-mindedly looking at the broader picture.

Opinion and Bias

An opinion is a conviction in something dependent on a topic much of the time. Opinions

are more dependent on evidence or experience, and so factual programmes will have to be

prepared to question you if you wish your opinions. An argument may justify a viewpoint, while

some do not hold the same view on the same argument that causes conflict. For, e.g., a broad

spectrum of persons from various ethnic groups, cultures, and living standards can be included if

views are included[ CITATION Kil94 \l 1033 ]. It shows that you are honest and unbiased and
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also offer a range of opinions. It is still necessary to offer everybody an opportunity to speak and

to express their views. A side-by-side view usually leads to a failed program.

Bias only implies one party; in factual programmes, this is not recommended; it is the

reverse of impartiality, equilibrium, and objective. It's called bigotry, too. If one is on the other

side of the story or the information is balanced, it can contribute to the loss of viewers and

concerns since all of you do not agree with the discriminatory nature. For, e.g., you post a

message from a person and reveal just one half of it, making it appear one side.

Back to Michael Moore, as earlier described, he made a documentary named Bowling

For Columbine[ CITATION Wis12 \l 1033 ]. As in his other documentary, he only looked at one

aspect of the case, but he was skewed again. Michael is searching for the key reasons behind the

1999 Columbine High School Massacre and is searching for anything to prevent and view crime

in the shooter's vicinity and where everybody has access to this but never fired.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hH0mSAjp_Jw&t=1s

Representation
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The way one shows things or somebody on the camera is representation. It is mainly

achieved in a constructive or pessimistic manner. The person's age, race, and sex are more likely

to be reflected. Each human being has now been placed in a certain group. If stereotype

characteristics or culture features, any step taken by anyone can be described as one type. In

factual programmes, you must ensure that you present your opinions. The portrayal is about

advertising by other persons or organizations, e.g., young people, as persons without self-control;

this may be a bias issue[ CITATION Wis12 \l 1033 ]. Representation of some programmes gives

the viewers who are viewing a clearer perspective. In other situations, though, it may not be very

pleasant. Mountain Dews in 2013, all of the perpetrators of African American ethnicity, could

serve as a model of the racial portrayal of black people.

EastEnders is a television show that thousands of viewers are watching in Britain and is a

group of common southerners living on Albert Square. The display usually shows what London's

existence in certain areas is like[ CITATION Wis12 \l 1033 ]. The exhibitors appear to be middle

class, have simple employment, including bartending, working in a chip store, selling cars, and

often working in market stalls. This offensive has usually not been seen by viewers for decades,

and people love seeing the tragedy because of the issues they have tended to present, so no

people were watching. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLHE5CxhsjI

Access and Privacy

In specific, access is primarily related to agreements whether one wishes to film an

exclusive place, persons, or things. The machinery factual for creating the facts package is also

involved in access. It is, therefore, necessary for factual programmes to have access consent

because the output could not at the end of the day be transmitted if you intrude on other's room

and privacy. For example,f you are shooting in another country and wish to make a film in a

certain location, you need the approval to go there[ CITATION Hil05 \l 1033 ]. Take place only

with the right permission for filming in someone's house or private property. You will need keys,

for instance, to movie vox pops, interviews, and presenters. Producers may face prosecution

proceedings if they have been broken. Filming may only be achieved with the right permission in

a house or private land of someone.

Privacy is not practiced and should not disturb the privacy of others. One will question a

certain individual in a factual program who wants to keep their identification away for security

politics. It often applies to famous people. There is legislation that prevents journalists from

photographing celebrities in their residences. The constitution lays down the right to privacy of

freedom and speech. When you report personal or sexual lives, accounts, health records, or film

stories in your homes without consent, that could be a huge problem. The legislation enables

individuals to take such measures to invade their privacy. It is impossible to privacy again if

private knowledge is written or broadcast. Most films do not rely on one or a select number of

individuals in particular[ CITATION Wis12 \l 1033 ]. That's because it is so narrow and

intimate, and people don't want to focus. Any people, in general, feel that they are entitled to opt

not to take center stage and instead complain. On the other side, certain citizens believe that they

should be free to share their thoughts and feelings about such topics.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txhnkLuN-k0
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Contract with Viewer

A deal provides the most honest evidence with the audience practicable. It's a popular and

unexpressed law. It ensures that you have signed a contract with the viewer to reveal what is

promised in this program if you have informed the viewer about the program and intended for a

specific topic[ CITATION Wis12 \l 1033 ]. You will have to offer what is included with the

contract, and that's the agreement you reached with the audience to hold them involved. For

instance, as a show begins at seven, you must adhere to it or treat the viewers to lose, but it is

more dependent on the confidence that you have given the audience and the right information in

factual programmes.

Hollyoaks is a British soap opera that airs on the ITV network in the United Kingdom.

The show is located in the Hollyoaks district of Chester, with a diverse range of protagonists,

mostly aged 16 to 35. It is an indication of a contract between the audience and what is seen in

the next segment. If they reveal something else (which soaps do not usually seem to do), they

break the verbal agreement, and you may lose the audience's trust.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6vQ92bOiVQ

U27 L02 codes and conventions of factual TV

Codes and conventions related to news

Codes are symbol structures that generate meaning. There are two types of codes:

technical and symbolic. Technical codes are all forms in which a camera can work in a film, for

example, to tell the tale in a media text through devices[ CITATION Wis12 \l 1033 ]. Symbolic

codes indicate what's behind what we're doing. For one, the behavior of a character shows you

how the character feels.

Conventions are the methods of doing something that is widely recognized. In any

format, there are common conventions, such as the usage of interviewee quotations in a print

story, but there are also genre-specific conventions.

Studio News Readers

Media organizations such as BBC still provide a reader with studio news. The individual

who begins news reports with the latest stories is simply a studio newsreader. They will all be

shown in the main studio, the reporting and field reporters will examine the reports further and

let the audience know all about them. To produce a more professional news item, Studio news

readers must adhere to the codes and conventions to hold their viewers interested and trusted in

the newsreaders[ CITATION Pip06 \l 1033 ]. News readers should be able to hold an eye on the

camera squarely and not turn it down while reminding the viewer of the problem. It allows the

listener to trust the news viewer for the main facts. It often lets the viewer feel like they talk to

the newsreader, and the newsreader addresses the topic, and they keep watching the piece. The

newsreader must still be there in any way. They ought to be cleverly applied to win the interest

and confidence of the public. Thus, the viewer believes that the newsreader is intelligent and

well aware of the problem. The studio newsreader must also show up in body language

Field Reporters

These are often crucial to a news piece since they write from the scene and can go into

greater depth and get feedback like vox pops. Field reporters normally live like tv readers from

studios. In reality, there is work to be done in the field of news and report. For instance, the field

reporter is supposed to participate in a shooting in Birmingham and cover the circumstance on

stage in his article[ CITATION Wis12 \l 1033 ]. The paper is irrelatively since it would not cover

the whole case since the field writer was in an entirely other location than that of the newspaper
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and confuses the public. Like the readers of studio television, field reporters have to dress well.

Yet, the studio news readers' dress code is not that stringent. They should wear intelligent clothes

while reporting on a formal, not risky topic, e.g., politics. However, they are not browned off

using protections such as helms and bulletproof chests whenever they write from a risky area,

e.g., covering war news. They must wear cover since they're in a hazardous place. They must not

get too near to the combat zone either.

Links to Studio

When a TV studio interacts with another studio in the same company to broadcast

footage from that studio or location, this is referred to as cross-promotion. Often, television

organizations use this to collect content from other studios to show it to the public. Consider the

following scenario: On the news, you'll always hear, "Now we'll go live to..." This is a direct

connection to the studio[ CITATION Gra13 \l 1033 ]. When a news story has access to the

studio, it becomes more trustworthy when the studio newsreader is backed up with a second

source. As a result of receiving various perspectives on a single story, the viewer has more

interest in the curriculum. Links to studios are more common where another studio has further

background on a story or has an eyewitness or specialist in to speak about it. For example, if

protests break out in Scotland, the BBC's main headquarters will broadcast live from Scotland's

studio to get further evidence since they might have eyewitnesses.

Modes of address to the viewer

It is where a programme adapts to the public and shows form. For instance: BBC news

and the manner they deliver is rather severe and professional. Their primary demographic is

elderly, although it is a compelling programme. So much of this programme, e.g., how the host

dresses and how they present, is intelligent and formal. On the other side, certain programmes
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may vary according to the premise and purpose of the display, according to BBC

News[ CITATION Gra13 \l 1033 ]. The news of the BBC complies with the Royal Charter's

information and education section. But shows like, "I have news for you" must not be as extreme

as fulfilling the Royal Charter's "entertaining and educating" component. "I have news for you"

is focused on hosting visitors, who are not informed because presenters and guests can approach

and use casual clothing more comfortably, but not too out of standard because it is used in the

show's entertainment element. The programme is factual, but it is distinct from the news through

informality and humor to draw the viewer, while the news is more structured and impartial. Both

programmes are effective, and both discuss the correct style of the manor for their viewers.

Interviewing, experts and witnesses

In news articles, interviews are also used. The interviews aim to allow a journalist to

learn more about a particular subject and ask someone else about it. It enhances the accuracy of

the news article. Interviews are often used to get feedback from other audiences in factual

programmes such that it is not partial on both sides in one story. The news is more casual,

making things more intimate for the listener. Vox pops are brief conversations conducted about a

specific subject with representatives of the media. They are used to bind the listener to the

programme. There must be different perspectives from the press on all sides of a given story.

You may have one side of the crowd, and vox pops' views help the audience contribute to the

plot and be involved in the programme. But not the only people interviewed are the media. There

will also be interviews with experts and witnesses. You will give the listeners some knowledge

about this story through interviews with witnesses, and the station can learn more about what

occurred[ CITATION Gra13 \l 1033 ]. Expert interviews occur where the respondent is an expert

in a certain area and addresses those issues. These are used to back up a story from various sides.
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They are often used to make the piece more precise and to increase public confidence in the

programme.

Report structure

The structure of a news section includes text interpreted by a presenter and an outside

field story, and in-studio visuals.

Why This Is Important To A News Programme:

 Increases the report's aesthetic appeal.

 It prevents the programme from being monotonous or dull.

 The use of layout aids in the delivery of brief details about the news segment.

Example: BBC News Vote 2014 Jeremy Vine Analyses Results So Far

Actuality footage

Actuality video is real footage of an incident that is used extensively in factual

programming. It's used to offer the audience a thorough understanding of what's going on in a

certain region. It also tells the audience what the place looks like now and how it has evolved.

The viewer will engage with the programme and see the effect of utilizing real-life videos. If it

was simply somebody talking about a topic and no visual evidence to back it up, the listener

might be less compassionate and would not accept the claim[ CITATION Hil05 \l 1033 ].

Actuality video may be seen in a variety of ways, including CCTV and cell phone footage.

During the 2011 London protests, the BBC used real-life video. It increased the influence of the

factual piece on the viewers so the audience could see its impact on the individuals affected by

CCTV and other means.

Codes and conventions relating to documentary

Documentary formats

Media codes and conventions serve as the foundation for many of the media we

encounter. The definition, or connotation, of media codes, is usually decided upon by the target

group. Media codes are divided into three categories: symbolic codes, technical codes, and

written codes. The intended forms in which codes are organized in a product are referred to as

conventions.

Realism

In a documentary, realism refers to the presentation of true and factual tales and details.

Dramatization

The reproduction of specific situations and scenes is referred to as dramatization. Gives the

presentation of a tale a dramatic twist.

Creating a narrative or story

This is essentially the order in which the story is revealed from start to finish.
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Work Cited

Gray, Ann, and Erin Bell. History on television. Routledge, 2013.

Hill, Annette, Lennart Weibull, and Åsa Nilsson. Audiences and factual and reality television in

Sweden. Jönköping International Business School, 2005.

Kilborn, Richard. "How real can you get?': Recent developments inReality'television." European

journal of communication 9.4 (1994): 421-439.

Piper, Helen. "Understanding Reality TelevisionReality TV–Audiences and Popular Factual

TelevisionReality TV–Realism and Revelation." Screen 47.1 (2006): 133-138.

Wise, Jenny, and Alyce McGovern. "Crime time: The rise of police programming on

television." The Problem of Pleasure: Leisure, Tourism, and Crime. Routledge, 2012.