The document summarizes and compares different BBC news outlets including the BBC News website, Newsbeat radio show, Newsround TV show, and BBC Look East TV segment. It discusses the target audiences, presentation styles, language, and potential biases of each outlet. However, the document acknowledges its own bias in only examining BBC news providers and not comparing to other companies like Sky or ITV news or other mediums like print newspapers.

1. UNIT 7
LO1
P1: Explain the media market for different news
providers

2. Different News Outlets

3. BBC News (Website)
When you go on to the BBC NEWS website, the first thing you are met with is an array of articles about the
top news stories. Along the top of the page there is a navigation bar with different categories such as
‘Business’ and ‘Politics’ which readers can click on to be directed to specialised articles on specific topics. The
home page also gives you the option of the 4 nations as well as Alba, Cymru and Local News which I think is
good as it gives the reader the option to have the text in different languages as well as having the news
shown tailored to their country. As mentioned, the website shows many different news articles at any one
time and these come in the form of written articles with images, live news articles that get updated
constantly and a link to watch the BBC News Channel Live. The content shown on the homepage is updated
multiple times a day in order to keep the readers updated on the latest news.
As an example, I am looking at the headline ‘Covid-19: World leaders call for an international
pandemic treaty’ and the article that goes with it. At the top of the article, there is a large image that fills
the width of the page and has a brief description of the image. As the BBC is a public service company, the
article is written with quotes from both the UK’s Prime Minister and other world leaders that shows the article
has no bias. The language used is all formal to reflect the tone of the BBC and to match the purpose of
informing the reader. For this particular article, the target audience is adults as isn’t a topic that most young
people would be interested in. However, the target audience varies from article to article as the BBC has
articles on many topics for a variety of audiences.

4. BBC News (Website)

5. Newsbeat (Radio)
Newsbeat is the 15 minute segment on Radio 1, 1Xtra and BBC Asian Network when the news is presented.
It is aired twice a day at 12:45 and 17:45 however, every hour the headlines are announced on the
different shows throughout the day. Newsbeat has had multiple presenters over the past few years but it is
currently presented by Roisin Hastie who replaced Tina Daheley on the Radio 1 station. As Newsbeat is a
news show presented on the radio, there are no pictures or videos to go alongside the news. This means
that the emotion created for the listener is done through choice of background music, audio clips and
emotive language so the producers have to make important decisions to ensure that any content is suitable
to the tone of the news story and that clips used are relevant to the story.
As an example I listened to an episode of Newsbeat through the BBc Sounds app. The episode has constant
background music (similar to the BBC News theme tune) whilst brief summaries of the content of that
episode are being played. The presenter starts by making a statement about the first news item which is
followed by an audio clip related to that news story. The presenter uses informal language to appeal to the
Radio 1 listeners as they are typically younger adults who listen for more the talking and the music rather
than a serious tone. Once the summary is complete, the first news story starts to be told with a new piece
of background music. This music tends to be an instrumental version of current, popular song that is
played on the radio. The music is quite loud so can be distracting if the listener struggles to focus on one
thing or struggles to differentiate the two noises. The voices speaking tender to be younger maybe mid
thirties at the oldest unless there is an expert guest involved.

6. Newsbeat (Radio)
These younger voices appeal to the target audience as they have a more upbeat tone, they sound bubbly
and energetic. Younger presenters sound more enthusiastic which keeps the listener engaged. The stories
told are only the most relevant stories for example COVID-19 updates and discussions of vaccinations.
When the news changes from one story to another, there is a louder piece of music played to signal the end
of one story and another. This again could also be to keep the attention of the listener as it is louder and
will regain the interest of anyone listening. Sometimes a quote from a caller will be used to keep the news
feeling relatable as they’re real people speaking about how the current situation affects them. Newsbeat
includes audio clips from varied callers to show they haven’t got a bias towards one group of people which
keeps the audience satisfied as most listeners feel represented and like they can relate to what they are
hearing.
One thing I noticed about Newsbeat is that there is a constant switch between presenters for each news
story which keeps the audience engaged as there are multiple new voices instead of hearing one
monotonous voice throughout the whole 15 minutes. In my opinion, Newsbeat is good for listeners with a
short attention span as there is constantly new music, new callers, new voices all in one 15 minute episode.
However, this switching between music and people can make it less accessible for some listeners who can’t
focus easily on lots of sounds.

7. Newsround (TV)
Newsround is 5-10 minute show on CBBC and BBC Iplayer that is a news show aimed at young teenagers..
The show does cover important news for example politics (foreign aid), royal news, sports, current affairs
(COVID), TV news and then more social issues or social media related issues. What I like about the
language used in the show is that the reporter explains terminology to the audience without the audience
feel like they are being babied or like the show is being patronising. The audience learns new terminology
without even knowing.
For this example I watched an episode of Newsround that included the story of Evie Meg who is a social
media influencer who has Tourettes. The language used is informal, quite simple language as the younger
audience may find it difficult to understand more complex, specialist words on topics like Tourettes where
medical terms are used. The reporter spoke to Evie Meg about her life with tourettes and whilst the
segment is only a couple minutes long, there is a lot to unpack. The subject is spoken about by Evie herself
which I like because it makes the story personal and perhaps the audience can relate. There is music in the
background but is barely audible compared to Newsbeat. I think this is good as younger people are easily
distracted so by the focus being on the guest or reporter, it is easier for the audience to process what they
are hearing.
The show includes a weekly ‘Happy News’ segment which we wouldn’t see in BBC Look East as it wouldn’t
be suitable to the target audience. It works for Newsround as their audience is 12-15 year olds who can
understand the serious tone of the world around them but need to see the positives more than an adult
does.

8. Newsround (TV)
I wouldn’t say there is any bias in the show as the show mostly
avoids highly controversial topics where bas could be. In terms of the
reporters, they are diverse so inclusivity and equality are
demonstrated to the audience. The only bias really is in the fact that
the show tries to show as much of the positive side of the story
instead of the negative however, I think this because they have
younger viewers so need to be careful with what content is shown as
they need to ensure it is not harmful or dangerous for younger
viewers.
The images used tend to have brighter secondary colours that are
more complex than on Cbeebies. This shows the audience are
maturing and it treats the audience as if they are more like adults
than children. All the images and videos shown are relevant to the
news story which is good for the audience as they then have a visual
reference to go along with what they are hearing. This can it easier
for the audience to understand what is happening as they can see
the visual representation to solidify their understanding of the news.
The show directs the audience to visit the website for more
information or if they have any questions. This is beneficial to the
audience as it means they can learn more or try understand better if
they want to or if they are just curious. It encourages curiosity from
a young age which is good for the young viewers as they grow up.

9. BBC Look East (TV)
BBC Look East is shown on BBC One and on IPlayer and is a small segment of the main BBC News that is
specific to East Anglia. The segment is only about 6 minutes but covers all subjects relating to the region.
The show includes interviews with local residents, workers and regular civilians on the streets of East
Anglia.
The language used is formal as it is aimed at adults so terminology can be more complex than in
Newsround. Words like “Vital” and other emotive language are used to emphasise the seriousness of the
news. There is one reporter in the studio who reads out the headlines and the articles but then there are
other multiple reporters in different areas who interview and report on the smaller, local stories.
Compared to other news shows, there is no music in the background. The only noise comes from the
reporter talking and any videos shown. I think this is because the show is more formal as it is more serious
and focuses on the harsh reality of the situation rather than trying to report a story in only a positive light.
Watching an episode, there is bias as all the reporters and guests were white, middle aged people. The
reporters could try interview people of a minority group to get different opinions and points of view. This
would’ve made BBC Look East more inclusive for the audience as not everyone in East Anglia is white and
British. The bias is very obvious which surprised me as the BBC are a public ownership company so are
supposed to produce content suitable for all audiences.

10. My research explores different providers however they are
all a form of BBC whether it’s radio, a website or a kids
show. Therefore, my research is bias as I didn’t look at how
other companies like SKY or ITV present their news. I also
didn’t look at physical newspapers or news apps.