Broadcast outlet analysis by carol kinney

Carol Kinney JRN22o AE

BROADCAST OUTLET ANALYSIS

Comparison of Three Broadcasts  Local Broadcast: WKTV, News Channel 2, Smith Media,

LLC, NBC affiliate, Utica, NY. 5am “At Daybreak” broadcast, 06 Nov. 2013, 1 hour.  Cable Broadcast: MSNBC, Channel 44 Time Warner Cable

Central New York, NBC Universal. “All In with Chris Hayes.” 11pm, 05 Nov. 2013, 1 hour.  Radio Podcast: Internet. National Public Radio (NPR).

“Pop Culture Happy Hour.” 01 Nov. 2013. Listened on 07 Nov. 2013, 54 minutes.

News Channel 2 WKTV: “Where the news comes first” Television Broadcast: 1. Local station that “holds a license from the government to organize and schedule programs for a specific community . . . and transmits those programs [via radio waves] . . . and receives compensation” from advertisers (McGregor, et al. 123).

2. Viewing area: As far East as Syracuse,, NY; as far north as Croghan, NY; as far east as Saratoga Springs, NY; as far south as Walton, NY (FCC).

3. Is an NBC primary affiliate (only NBC affiliate in the viewing area, McGregor, et al. 126).

4. News broadcasts at Monday- Friday: 5am-7pm; Noon-1pm; 5pm-6:30pm; 11pm-11:30pm.

Saturday and Sunday: 6pm-6:30pm unless preempted by sports (WKTV).

5. Simulcasts Noon and 5pm news broadcasts on: The CW network and HD channels, as well as on WUTQ 1550AM and WRCK 1480 AM and WUTQ-FM 100.7 radio (WKTV).

MSNBC Cable Broadcast: 1. Broadcast Network: Entity which owns a “vast station system within the United State consisting of network stations (McGregor, et al. 125), which can also operate its own broadcast news stations, such as msnbc.

2. Broadcasts via cable and satellite.

3. News 24-7-365 with some intermittent programming on weekends.

4. Like the television broadcast, it is regulated by the FCC, but unlike the television broadcast, it is allowed to broadcast within the national boundaries.

National Public Radio (NPR)

1. Wireless transmission of radio waves that operate on frequencies, “or channels (McGregor, et al. 68) and also via satellite (155).

2. “In 1970 . . . NPR [was created] to interconnect . . .and produce (153)” programming for radio .

3. Programming “that is culturally enriching, but not necessarily controversial or provocative (154).”

4. Offers podcasts (internet listening) of programs that were previously aired live on radio.

WKTV News Channel 2 at Daybreak  News Broadcast of local, state, regional and national news.  Includes local weather and sports reports.  Segments have catchy titles: Top Stories Healthy Living At the Bus Stop NY in a Minute

Brand New Morning Mug Club The Day Ahead All local

 Broadcast has a wide variety of live and prerecorded video

footage, as well as straight reporting, interviews, and affiliate video reports.  Uses technology in directing the viewer to the station’s website, in the reporting of the weather, and some social media interaction.

“All In with Chris Hayes” MSNBC

 Live discussion of current events with host and guest panelists who are either in the

studio, or who are transmitting via satellite or video feed.  Acts as a commentary, rather than a news report, although the topics were related to the day’s news events.

“Pop Culture Happy Hour” NPR  Host, Linda Holmes, editor of NPR Pop Cultures programming

and two guest panelists talk about how pop culture influences society.  The one topic for the day was “Making Toddlers

into Nerds” which consists of the host and panelists discussing a wide variety of forms of entertainment that parents can introduce children to without the aid of computers.  None of the subtopics were “news” related stories,

but were current.

Highlights of Comparisons Between the Three  Similarities: All three contained elements of storytelling (Green, et al 23-37) that included: 

Focus (23) : each story or segment had a certain amount of time allotted to tell the details.



Compelling characters (26) : in both the reporters and interviews, and within the stories themselves.



Action (27) : each story contained good language skills to describe the action and offered reactions of interviewees or panelists.

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Good audio (30): all three could clearly be heard without any glitches.

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Pacing (31): all three reflected proper emotional ebbs and tides that matched the stories that were reported and/or discussed.

Comparisons Continued Major Differences: Commercials: 

Both the local broadcast and the cable broadcast had regular commercial breaks; the public radio podcast had no commercial breaks.

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Public radio, such as NPR relies upon grants and viewer support for operational funding (McGregor, et al. 157-158).



Cable broadcast networks, such as MSNBC, rely upon national advertisers for the bulk of their operational funding (McGregor, et al. 125).

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Local broadcast stations, receive their income from whatever advertising income they can get their hands on, but a majority is business and organizational advertisers within the viewing distance.

More about Commercials . . .

Of the three broadcasts in this comparison: 



The commercial breaks for the local broadcast were more frequent that the cable broadcast and featured mostly local business advertisement, whereas the cable broadcast featured only one local advertisement and the remainder were from larger corporations.

The NPR podcast had no advertisement, however the entire podcast topic was things that parents could buy for their children, so in a sense all of the manufacturers and producers of the items that were editorialized were given free advertisement.

Other Differences:  Content: The public radio podcast did not feature any report of the

daily events, whereas the local and cable broadcasts relied upon the daily events for substance.

Not all public radio podcasts are for entertainment purposes, some do discuss daily events, but not in this comparison. The public radio podcasts that do are more like “All in with Chris Hayes” than a local news broadcast, such as WKTV’s . Some public radio broadcasts/podcasts, allow panelists and viewers who call into the broadcast to debate events intellectually.



People: The public radio podcast and cable broadcasts relied heavily upon panelists for reporting of the topics, whereas the local broadcast had no panelists or in studio guests, just reporters and anchors.

And more differences . . .

Pace and Style:  The local broadcast emphasized getting the facts out at a fast pace covering many stories.  The cable broadcast’s pace was slower and was less concerned with facts than it was presenting biased political views.  The public radio podcast was based entirely on personal views at a pace that resembled a conversation amongst friends.

Delivered: The local and cable broadcasts were watched on television; public radio podcast was listened to via home computer, although both are accessed through the home’s cable provider.

Pillars of Good Journalism Report Card -based on Dan Gillmor’s theory NewsNow (Green, et al 19) Thoroughness

Accuracy

Fairness

Transparency

Local Broadcast

X

Cable Broadcast

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

Radio Podcast

The local broadcast wins the award for good journalism!

Report Card Continued The Good: 

All three reached a high level of thoroughness, in the stories that they covered. Out of the three, the public radio podcast was the most thorough, but then again, there was just one topic to cover.



All three delivered accurate reporting by presenting facts when necessary and appropriate, although the local broadcast was the one that excelled in this area.



All three contained either a fair amount or a high amount of transparency in both the reporter’s and the stories.

The Bad: 

Both the cable broadcast and the pubic radio podcast did not fair well in the fairness category as all of the stories were highly charged with bias.

The outright Ugly . . .

Memorable Perceived Blunders  MSNBC: In the opening segment, Hayes was supposed to

discuss NJ Governor Chris Christie’s acceptance speech for his reelection in reference to the video with Chris Matthews (a more prominent, well-known, senior reporter for MSNBC), yet the video could not be accessed through the entire segment. Both Hayes and Matthews continued the discussion without missing a beat. However, there was no apology to viewers for this technical difficulty.

 NPR: In the last segment, that was not part of the topic of

the day, the host and panelists each made a blatant derogatory statement about a celebrities sexuality, and all continued joking about it for over a minute.

Ideal usage of the three: 

Local Broadcast: Best used for local news, weather and information on a daily basis.

Benefits: Has website and utilizes social media for real time updates. Is especially useful in times of local weather and event emergencies.

 Cable broadcast: Best used to obtain national news when needed, warranted or

desired.

Benefits: Has website and utilizes social media for real time updates. Thoroughly covers national and international news that is especially useful in times of national crises. Good source for quick political and business news.

 Public radio podcast: Best used for entertainment purposes.

Benefits: In depth conversation that is based upon society and culture trends. Can be accessed when the listener chooses and the listener can interact with the podcast and the website .

Examples of ideal usage  WKTV: Delivered real time updates via

television, website and social media to cover multiple shooting event in March 2013 and major regional flooding event June/July 2013.

 MSNBC: Delivered real time updates via

television, website and social media in LAX shooting of Philippine Typhoon on November 9, 2013.

 NPR: Is always on and podcasts are archived for

limited use; access is unlimited at the convenience of the listener.

Conclusion o All three different modes of broadcast journalism fill the purpose that they are intended for:

Two are meant to communicate and educate the publics about daily events and happenings, while one is intended to communicate and educate the publics about society and culture.

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All three have adapted to technology by utilizing the internet and social media to communicate their stories.

Cited Sources Federal Communications Commission (FCC). “TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files: WKTV.” n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. <https://stations.fcc.gov/station-profile/wktv>.

Green, S.C, et al. NewsNow: visual Storytelling in the Digital Age.” Boston: Pearson, 2012.

Print.

McGregor, M.A., et al. Head’s Broadcasting in America: A Survey of Electronic Media 10th Ed. Boston: Allyn & Bacon as Pearson, 2010. Print.

WKTV. “News Channel 2.” n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. <www.wktv.com>.

Images: MSNBC. “Chris Hayes.” n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. <www.msnbc.com>.

NPR. “NPR logo” and “Pop Culture Happy Hour.” n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. <www.npr.org>.

WKTV. “News Channel 2.” n.d. Web. 08 Nov. 2013. <www.wktv.com>.