Television journalism

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Television journalism is a form of journalism that is broadcast on television .

particularities

Presentation and representation

In contrast to print journalism, television journalism is characterized by audiovisual reporting, which is usually broadcast at a predetermined time. The messages are conveyed through image and video overlays, an audio commentary, a moderator or a subtitle . Depending on the message format, different camera perspectives and design techniques and stylistic devices of video and sound technology are used, which differ significantly from the print media. Often, graphics , diagrams , maps or animations are shown to better explain the situation. Image and video material is either recorded by journalists on site, obtained from external sources and, less often, reproduced. The viewer should be touched emotionally and the audience's attention should be gained through the image representations and the showing of people . Since news broadcasts are real representations, we speak of a television program and not a television series .

Procedure and charisma

News programs usually appear at fixed times on a television station in the morning and evening programs before and / or after prime time . The exception here are news channels , which usually transmit news every hour on the hour or even just news reports. In the case of events that are perceived as particularly dramatic, special news transmissions (“breaking news”) can also occur which interrupt the current television program. An example of this is the television coverage of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 . TV journalism usually consists of a political-social, a sports and a weather part. In private channels and special news programs, tabloid and specialist journalism can also play a more important role. TV news can be broadcast faster than print news can be printed, but news can often be found faster on the Internet. Local reports are mostly limited to regional broadcasters ( local journalism ).

Differences between public broadcasting and private broadcasting

TV journalism can be found both in the offerings of public service broadcasting and in private television . Political reports, sports reports and weather reports are available on both public television and private television. Over time, however, these topics have declined in both areas and the focus has shifted more to human touch topics. This trend can be seen even more clearly in private television. Private broadcasters are more inclined to tabloid journalism than public broadcasters and often show more technical effects.

production

Editors usually conduct research with the help of news agencies such as the German Press Agency or the Internet. For live broadcasts one is often broadcast vans used. Prompters are used so that the newscaster can keep eye contact and speak freely. This is a monitor that shows the message text mirror-inverted, so that the moderator can read the text without having to look away.

history

The beginnings of television journalism in Germany were shaped by the propaganda of the National Socialists in the 1930s and 1940s. The newsreel that was broadcast in cinemas was a defining feature here , as very few had a television at the time. Only after the end of World War II did reporting become more neutral. Since many did not have a television at the time, news formats were first broadcast in small cinemas and later viewed in television rooms. It had a great influence on political journalism, as politicians could now show themselves live in interviews and panel discussions, which made the reporting and thus also its reception by the population more personal. The first news formats included news broadcasts and live broadcasts of major events such as sports competitions. Reports and documentaries were added later. Since the 1960s, the magazine show developed and investigative journalism on television became a reality. With the introduction of the private television stations in the 1980s, the reporting did not change much at first, as these mainly broadcast entertainment formats. The television journalism that emerged in the private broadcasters is characterized above all by a production with more technical effects and a diversification in various specialist journalism, but also by the approval of more tabloid journalism.

Over the years, television journalism has developed more and more into an entertainment format ( infotainment ) and people-oriented. Consumer and advice programs are becoming more popular, while political programs are losing viewers.

Today, most news formats are also broadcast in the form of a web video on media libraries , in social media or a mobile app of the television station or viewed on a second screen . An example of the broadcast via social media is the youth offer of Funk from ARD and ZDF.

Television formats

In television journalism, there are different program formats that differ in their design and preparation. Common formats are:

  • News program : A news program is usually broadcast at certain times and mostly focuses on political, social and sporting topics.
  • News Magazine : News magazines offer more freedom for journalistic creativity and are often longer than a news show. News programs often deal with entertainment topics and celebrities ( tabloid journalism ) or subject-specific topics ( specialist journalism ). Guests are often invited to a talk show or interview. Magazines are often broadcast at certain times of the day. For example, several stations have a breakfast or morning magazine .
  • Special Report : A special message (also Breaking News) is a special kind of breaking news that interrupts the current television to convey a perceived as a particularly important message.
  • Reportage : A reportage should reflect more of the reporter's observations in order to move the viewer more emotionally than just presenting facts. Usually reports deepen a topic.
  • Documentary film : A documentary film deals with an event that actually took place and uses various cinematic elements for this. In contrast to reporting, the focus is not on the reporter's experience.
  • Talk show : A talk show (also called a television debate) is a discussion program. The discussion takes place similar to an interview between the host and one or more discussion guests, but also between the talk guests themselves. The host is called a moderator or talk master , English host . Typical is the process in which the moderator first asks the discussion guests about a topic, and then a more or less free and / or host-directed conversation develops among the discussion guests. Current topics are often discussed.
  • Newsreel : A newsreel was a compilation of film reports on political, social, sporting and cultural events that was newly produced every week for the cinema . The cinema newsreels were shown in the opening program for the main film. They became superfluous when many households had their own television set and could use it to watch news programs - daily or several times a day. On television, programs with “Weekly Review” tie in with the tradition of the cinema newsreels.
  • Interview : In an interview, a person is questioned with the aim of determining personal information , facts or opinions .
  • Consumer broadcast : Consumer broadcast deals with products and services from consumers by analyzing and evaluating them.
  • Live reporting : Live reporting describes the real-time transmission of events, e.g. B. a football game or a concert, which is usually accompanied by a comment.
  • Advice broadcast : A advice broadcast is a journalistic format that aims to help the media recipient solve specific problems. Advice journalism is closely related to utility journalism , and consumer journalism is also closely related to consumer questions.
  • Weather report : In the weather report, a moderator explains a weather forecast for the next few days.
  • Comment : With a comment, an event is described by a comment and the situation is explained.
  • News overlay on the television picture, which informs about current events or, for example, stock market prices.
  • Teletext messages: are distributed via teletext and are therefore mostly short messages. Some TV channels have a number pad for news.

Components of a news broadcast

A news bulletin often includes the following elements to get the news across:

  • The presentation of messages by a newscaster
  • The explanation of facts with the help of graphics, photos, maps, animations etc.
  • The announcement of statements from politicians, celebrities, responsible persons etc.
  • Live reports on site and live broadcasts with reporters
  • Expert discussions or interviews
  • an explanatory film
  • Comments
  • a reporter's report
  • Surveys of the population ( Vox pop )
  • Correspondence reports from abroad
  • News films and news in film
  • Weather report

reception

relevance

News programs often have high ratings and are an important part of television programming. For Germans, they are the main source of information. Germans also trust reporting on television. The Tagesschau made it to place 1 and the heute-journal to place 2 of the most trustworthy news sources, which were determined in a survey in 2019. The television station N-tv made it to fourth place. According to a survey, 38% of the news about political events are obtained from public television. Reporting on television is thus via daily newspapers (22%) and the Internet (17%). However, only 5% of respondents named private television as a source of information used. In 2019, according to a survey, 30.8 million people enjoyed watching the news on television.

Message formats in Germany

The Tagesschau (ARD) reached the most viewers per month with an average of 4.9 million viewers per item in 2018. Since 2016, however, the range has decreased more. The Today-journal of ZDF reached average speeds from 3.77 to 3.82 million viewers per contribution.

criticism

Today, television journalism has the task of conveying news neutrally . In times and countries with propaganda and censorship this is not the case. For example, the German weekly newsreel was used as a propaganda tool for media politics during National Socialism , and news coverage in North Korea is also used as a propaganda tool. It is therefore problematic when individual television stations have a monopoly in broadcasting news. Even today, some broadcasters are accused of fake news .

Public television broadcasters also have an obligation to fulfill an educational mandate in reporting that goes beyond tabloid journalism .

TV news is usually limited in time and therefore cannot go into all the topics in depth. This leads to certain topics being classified more relevant than other topics and being more oriented towards the interests of the masses.

Younger viewers in particular accuse television journalism of outdated reporting and instead use Internet services such as web video reporting.

The presentation of terrorist attacks and other events that exploit the mostly short-term audience sensation is also criticized. It could even positively reinforce offenders and hardly reports from developing countries.

Training and job description

TV journalists are mostly video journalists who combine the tasks of a journalist , sound engineer , cameraman and film editor , or TV presenters and news anchors . The profession of TV journalists can usually a study in the fields of journalism , media studies , social science , communication science or the completion of a voluntary service be achieved.

Web links

literature

  • Gerhard Schult, Axel Buchholz: Television journalism: A manual for training and practice. Econ, 2006, ISBN 978-3-430-17683-5 .
  • Daria Bücheler: Ethics in Journalism: Will Economic Pressure Change TV Journalism? 2014.
  • Dietrich Meutsch, Bärbel Freund: TV journalism and the sciences. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden 1990, ISBN 978-3-322-99490-5 .
  • Karl Nikolaus Renner: TV journalism: drafting a theory of communicative action. 2007.
  • Daniel Moj, Martin Ordolff: TV journalism. UVK Verlagsgesellschaft, Konstanz, Munich 2016, ISBN 978-3-86764-428-0 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Karl Nikolaus Renner: TV journalism: draft of a theory of communicative action . UTB, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8385-2753-6 , pp. 72 ( google.de [accessed on September 3, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Daniel Moj, Martin Ordolff: television journalism . BoD - Books on Demand, 2019, ISBN 978-3-7445-0616-8 , pp. 41 ff . ( google.de [accessed on September 3, 2019]).
  3. ↑ Axel Buchholz, Gerhard Schult: TV journalism: A manual for training and practice . Springer-Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-12428-1 , pp. 24 ff . ( google.de [accessed on September 3, 2019]).
  4. ^ Dietrich Meutsch, Bärbel Freund: TV journalism and the sciences . Springer-Verlag, 2013, ISBN 978-3-322-99490-5 , p. 28 ff . ( google.de [accessed on September 3, 2019]).
  5. ↑ a b Daniel Moj, Martin Ordolff: TV journalism . BoD - Books on Demand, 2019, ISBN 978-3-7445-0616-8 , pp. 1 ( google.de [accessed on September 3, 2019]).
  6. ↑ a b c d e f g h Axel Buchholz, Gerhard Schult: TV journalism: A manual for training and practice . Springer-Verlag, 2016, ISBN 978-3-658-12428-1 ( google.de [accessed on September 26, 2019]).
  7. ↑ Daniel Moj, Martin Ordolff: television journalism . BoD - Books on Demand, 2019, ISBN 978-3-7445-0616-8 , pp. 29 ( google.de [accessed on September 3, 2019]).
  8. ↑ a b c d Mike Kortsch: TV journalism | Journalism. Retrieved September 3, 2019 (German).
  9. ↑ Most Trusted News Sources 2019 | Statista. Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
  10. ↑ Main sources of information about political events in Germany in 2018 | Statista. Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
  11. ↑ Interest in news on television 2019 | Statista. Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
  12. ↑ TV news broadcasts - reach 2018 | Statista. Retrieved September 3, 2019 .
  13. ↑ Daria Bücheler: The ethics in journalism: does economic pressure change television journalism? 2014 ( google.de [accessed on September 26, 2019]).
  14. ↑ Internet before television and radio as a source of news. Retrieved September 26, 2019 .
  15. ^ Bernadette Linder: Terror in media coverage . 2011, doi : 10.1007 / 978-3-531-93292-7 ( springer.com [accessed September 26, 2019]).
  16. ↑ Bastian Berbner: Journalism: Non-reporting saves lives . In: The time . August 29, 2017, ISSN  0044-2070 ( zeit.de [accessed September 26, 2019]).