Broadcast journalism is an essential element to news media production and has been since the development of radio and television (Starkey and Crisell, 2009). Various outlets produce broadcast news, an analysis of the ways in which they are structured will reveal how they differentiate. Investigating radio news will elaborate upon half of what makes up broadcast news. The similarities and difference between radio stations are integral to understanding them as content producers. Segments from ABC’s Triple J station and 3AW will be used in this comparison. Transitioning to television news will show how it’s similar to radio news in a number of ways (Starkey and Crisell, 2009). Segments from Channel Nine News and SBS News will be used to exemplify the similarities and differences between these two channels. This comparison will define the context behind Australian broadcast news.
Radio is essentially the original medium for broadcast news (Aydelott and Buck, 2007). There are many different forms of radio news diverging through the various stations, financiers and regional allocations (The Age, 2005). Pertinent analysis will be drawn from examining Triple J and 3AW bulletins airing on Wednesday the 29th of July, 2015.
Radio news programs, regardless of the stations context, share similar elements and the radio stations 3AW and ABC’s Triple J are nuanced enough that their similarities reveal significant features of broadcast news. Both stations covered the most significant stories of the day and provided newsworthy material. Both 3AW and Triple J opted to lead with the timeliest stories, this is likely due to radio being best at delivering breaking news and spot stories (Phillips et al., 2013). The news value of significance was used heavily in both bulletins due to it effecting the broadest amount of people (McQuail, 1992). Significance being so prevalent in the story selection is a result of the brief nature of radio news bulletins as the two stations have a maximum story length of 60 seconds. Significance is at the apex of news values and is presumably the reason why stories with this attribute are also featured at the forefront of these two bulletins (Byrne, 2009). The two stations opted to implement several copy stories, the foundation of a news bulletin. These types of stories are found in the majority of radio news productions as they are a means of delivering the essential information of a story, concisely (Stephenson et al., 2013). The similarities between 3AW and Triple J exemplify the elements that are the basis of broadcast radio news in Australia.
The differences between radio news programs can reveal much about structure, audience and reporting priorities and will be examined through the nuances of 3AW and Triple J. A noticeable difference between the two bulletins is the presence of advertisements (Phillips et al., 2013). 3AW opened with a short ad and also ran a commercial when transitioning to sports news. The presence of advertisements during this news segment indicates that 3AW is a commercial radio station and requires investment in the form of advertisement revenue. Commercial stations like 3AW are driven by profit (Phillips et al., 2013). Triple J doesn’t have advertisements in its program as it is a public radio station that is predominantly funded by the Australian government (Commonwealth of Australia, 2014). The government dictates the content the station produces through the ABC’s charter, so the selection of news Triple J broadcasts is chosen by the ABC but adheres to its charter guidelines (Commonwealth of Australia, 1983). The content has to be relevant and newsworthy but doesn’t have to pander to any audience as shown by its news segments. 3AW is a talkback and current affairs based program and has a target audience of people aged 35-64 years old who are online shoppers, home and car owners (3AW693, 2015). The type of station and the target audience is why the news bulletin is extended and contains many more grabs and voicer materials when compared to Triple J (McMahon, 2014). The ABC’s Triple J news segment is much shorter than 3AW as the program is aimed at 18-24 year old Australians who are listening for the latest new and independent music (Triple J, 2010). The stories are brief and often only copy stories where the newsreader quickly highlights the most important elements of the event and then returns the station to its primary function, playing music (Triple J, 2010). Triple J are a national station and cover stories from all corners of Australia, airing news that’s often specific to certain regions like the missing helicopter story from the aforementioned bulletin (Phillips et al., 2013). Radio news broadcast differences highlight the varying elements that stations do not share with each other.
Television broadcast news shares many elements with its audio only counterpart, however visuals are core to the experience of television news and an analysis of two different brands of television broadcast news will show how the medium can differ. Two different stations, SBS and Channel Nine, are diverse enough to display how their structures and core guidelines dictate the way they produce a news bulletin, such as the ones airing on July 29th, 2015.
Both the Special Broadcasting Service and Channel Nine displayed many similarities in their news broadcasts. They both cover the major news events of the day and like most television stations, they have an ad-break. The bulletins are of similar length and feature a news reader crossing to reporters and using grabs. As with radio, the TV news broadcasts used significance as a key news value when selecting their stories but not as much, likely due to their increased air time and visual aids (Phillips et al., 2013). Both stations have extremely similar target audiences, focusing on the 16 – 39 age range. This is a similar age group used by the other major news stations in Australia, with some overlap (The Age, 2005). The stations produce content for this age range as they are impressionable and flexible with their brand preferences and open to watching television news (The Age, 2005). The only obvious reporting priorities these two stations share however are giving all Australians premium video content (Nine Entertainment Co, 2015a). These similarities define what is generally considered broadcast television news in Australia.
Television broadcast news diverges quite fundamentally between different stations and especially between commercial and public news outfits such as can be seen in the various distinctions shown between 9 News and SBS News. Both bulletins feature advertisements but Channel Nine has double the amount due to being profit driven (Phillips et al., 2013). The SBS doesn’t require a high number of advertisements because 80% of the station’s funding is from the Australian Government (Jolly, 2007). This funding model requires the station to still be competitive in the news media market but does provide some security in their content shown by how they lead with different stories (Skrzynski and Ebeid, 2013). Channel 9 continued to air information about the ongoing Bronwyn Bishop story whilst SBS ran with the United Nations MH-17 Tribunal story. This shows the clear distinction between commercial and public television as well as local and national news. Channel 9 being the commercial and ‘local’ station for Melbourne opted to capitalise on the scandal that is Bishop’s travel expenses. They did this to focus on a target audience that have a vested interest in the issue as taxpayers and viewers (The Age, 2005). It’s an essential part of Channel Nine News to appeal to the broadest audience in order to generate maximum advertisement revenue. This difference in presentation also exemplifies the primary goals behind the two stations. Channel Nine News chose to lead with a story based in Australia, where their audience is located, due to their commitment to delivering “locally produced programs including news [and] current affairs” (Nine Entertainment Co, 2015b). SBS has a charter requiring them to “provide multilingual and multicultural radio and television services that inform, educate and entertain all Australians” (Commonwealth of Australia, 1983). This charter means that the news they provide should be of value to all Australians and international issues like the MH-17 story are a part of informing that population. In reference to television ratings the Nine News bulletin was more effective on that specific date, confirming that their style of news is likely more appealing for Australian audiences despite SBS having the superior bulletin (Knox, 2015). The differences between television broadcast news highlight the elements that separate different producers of visual news.
Radio and television are two different platforms where broadcast news is aired. Radio and television news is produced by many stations in Australia, all of which have differing core focuses but contain similar news content. The way the news bulletins are structured and produced by these stations and how they are similar, yet differ, defines broadcast news in Australia.
Harrison Johnstone 