Devices employed in Current affairs Program and the News Program - Essay Example

A comparison of Devices employed in Current affairs Program and the Regular News Program A comparison of Devices employed in Currentaffairs Program and the Regular News Program The evolution of the world has been accompanied by various developments, which touch on changes that have taken toll in information and communication. The eventuality has been the evolution and improvisation of various forms of media such as internet, radio, television and even newspapers. Each of these forms of media has the potential of covering an array of themes that could be covered by others. These trending developments have also been accompanied by accompanied by a shift in paradigms regarding how information and entertainment should be disseminated. Even noticeable have been the points of divergence in the manner in which information should be disseminated. This paper compares and contrasts the manner in which information in current affairs programs and regular news program is disseminated with respect to communication devices. In order to effectively achieve this, it focuses on the way BBC television news and CNN current affairs program covered the Casey Anthony’s case. BBC (2011) news makes use of the images, as well as sound. It features how the jury comprising of seven women and five men ended up in the rejection of the prosecutions that Ms. that Anthony was responsible for the murder of Caylee. The news describes that Ms. Anthony had been accused of dosing her with chloroform, making her suffocate using a tape and dumping her body in the woods. However, the accused was found to be guilty of relative petty offenses such as child neglect. As this is done, the image of Ms. Anthony is presented. Each time the information is described, the pictures in the proceeding are features in real images, breaking the monotony of vision of the news anchor. The news offers a description of the appearance of the accused during the verdict delivery session. Here, Ms. Anthony, who faced a death sentence if found guilty, cried in the quietly. The moments after the jury left the room, she went about hugging her lawyers tightly while she sobbed. All these are not only presented in words, but also in images. The News offers the description of the amount of time that the Ms. Anthony had spent in the jail while awaiting her trial, and also talks about the time that her release was expected. She had been made to spend about two and a half years in jail while she waited for trial. She was to be expectedly released soon, despite the minor offenses that she had been found guilty. This is because she had already served enough time in the jail. Images of the state of the parents and even the prosecutors during the court proceedings are featured. Ms. Anthony’s parents had sat quietly as they listened to the proceedings of the court. All these are not only presented in words, but also in images. The CNN (2011) current affair program also utilizes the images in making similar coverage of the case. The news reports of how a jury of eleven members acquitted Ms. Anthony, who had been accused of murdering Caylee, for forcibly, giving her chloroform, suffocating her using a tape and throwing her body in the woods. It also reports of how the accused was found guilty of child neglect. The television news offer snapshots of the court proceedings, as well as the public opinion regarding the case. The amount of time that Ms. Anthony had spent behind the bars is also covered; that she had been already stayed about two and a half years in jail as she waited for trial and that she was to be released soon because she had spent the jail term. The news give the opinions of each of the opposing sides; that the defense side argued Caylee had accidentally drowned in the swimming pool, while the other side maintained that was never the case. Instead, Ms Anthony had intentionally killed her daughter for freedom to carouse with the boyfriends. It was cited that Ms. Anthony had never grieved following the death of her daughter. She had arguably gone clubbing with her boyfriend and even making a tattoo on her body. The news also covers how the accusations against Ms. Anthony had limited evidence, and how the forensic investigations also failed to find the accused on the wrong. Besides, the current affairs program utilizes music in conveying the information. The information is conveyed relatively first with a background of sound being produced rhythmically. It is discernable that current affairs program works almost the same as the television reports, as far as the coverage of stories is concerned. All television information is characterized by the use of images and sound (Fang 1991). Both news reporters on the television and newspaper articles look go for crucial points underlying an event. They go about inquiring information from the all kinds of people involved. In this case, the reporters have from both media covers the perspectives of the jury, the accused, the parents of the accused, the societal debates and the atmospheres in the court proceedings. Most of the coverage by the program entails the use of snapshots, which are introduced by in a few sentences by the news reader, while enabling the viewer to have main events in the proceeding case. Additionally, the public opinions, the jury ruling and the appearance of the accused, among other areas and events of the case proceedings, are directly presented to the viewers, rather than in the in word reported form. The television version of news presentation is much dependent upon the footage. However, the presentation also requires that the word read by the present relate to the content of the footage to make meaning. Indeed, it is often imperative that besides the various constraints which limit the story coverage, including chronology, clarity and lead, there should be a relationship between the words and the presented footage. In the case that the words and the footage do not support each other, they would result into a dissonance that would blur understanding. In this regard, perhaps the difference between the current affairs program and the news program is the tense in which the information is framed. The current affairs program covers the news in the past tense, while the regular news inclines to present tense. The television news offers a demonstration of fresh information in the words that are said by the presenters, and this is reinforced by the present tense. It is the picture that has a profound impact on the understanding of the information and this is evident for both cases. Secondly, the information is conveyed faster than the regular news program and a rhythm is also set in the background. The rhythm only functions to regulate the speed in which the information is disseminated (Moore, Hickson andStacks 2010). References Fang, I. 1991, Writing Style Differences in Newspaper, Radio, and Television News. Retrieved on December 2, 2012 from http://writing.umn.edu/isw/assets/pdf/publications/Irving%20Fang.pdf BBC. 2011. “Casey Anthony: The case that gripped the US”. BBC News, 05 July 11 18:50 GMT CNN. 2011. “The Casey Antony Case”, CNN Current Affairs program. 8th July 2011 14:00 GMT. Moore, N., Hickson, M. and Stacks, D. 2010. Nonverbal Communication: Studies and applications. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury. Read More