We decided to do our studio news broadcast about cryptocurrency because we think it's a very interesting and important topic to learn about. When analysing this clip from a BBC news broadcast, I saw that it was just specifying on Bitcoin. However, to differentiate between the news broadcast and the news broadcast we are going to make, we are going to specify on cryptocurrency in general, not just on Bitcoin, even though Bitcoin is the most popular option. Another thing we would do differently would be that this part of the news package in the studio only.
One of the things I liked about this news broadcast was the visuals that were presented to the audience, like the gold coins raining from the sky. I think that this added a bit more professionality as the visuals were very relatable to the topic of cryptocurrency. Another visual that I liked was the graph visual where the voiceover was talking about investing in cryptocurrency back in the early years of 2014, I thought it gave the broadcast depth as it had a very factual point. When it comes to the real thing, I think that this would be beneficial to our news broadcast to make it more appealing for our target audience. Another thing that I liked about this news broadcast was it was giving both pros and cons about cryptocurrency and not just specifying on one over the other. This gave a very balanced argument whether to invest in cryptocurrency or not.
In terms of bias, I recognised one term of bias throughout the whole of the news broadcast. A lady by the name of Millie Warham, who has been buying and selling books for over 15 years and now has a new hobby which is investing in cryptocurrency, got told by her son “Don’t do the books anymore, hurry up and become a Bitcoin millionaire, mum!”. I think if anyone else told her to invest in cryptocurrency, she wouldn't have done anything. But because her own son said it, she's being biased to her son, and taking his word for it. I also thought this specific part of the news broadcast was very opinionated as it was their family’s opinion, and it wasn’t based on facts at all. David Ingram, founder of The News Manual website states that opinions: "are different from facts. An opinion is a conclusion reached by someone after looking at the facts. Opinions are based on what people believe to be facts." (Ingram, 2019)
This quote above proves my point, which is that Millie believes that her son telling her about becoming a bitcoin billionaire and how it is so beneficial is facts because it's from a family member, so she has to believe her own son. However, if she was told the exact same thing as her son said but from a complete stranger then her opinion might be completely different. Ronald W. Pies, a Professor of Psychiatry, Lecturer on Bioethics & Humanities at SUNY Upstate Medical University, says: "We can think of distortions of reality as falling along a continuum, ranging from mild to severe, based on how rigidly the belief is held and how impervious it is to factual information. On the milder end, we have what psychiatrists call over-valued ideas. These are very strongly held convictions that are at odds with what most people in the person’s culture believe, but which are not bizarre, incomprehensible or patently impossible". (Pies, 2017)
According to Anna Richardson and Callum Larkin, two authors of shoosmiths.co.uk, writes that: "according to Age UK, approximately 2.4 million over 65s, representing nearly 12 million people, still rely on cash to survive (and are still using chequebooks). They may not have access to the devices that would allow them to go cashless, even if they had the inclination." (Richardson and Larkin, 2021). I also think that this broadcast also used something called the 'Magic Bullet' or the 'Hypodermic Needle' theory to make cryptocurrency come out as a positive experience.
According to Anna Richardson and Callum Larkin, two authors of shoosmiths.co.uk, writes that: "according to Age UK, approximately 2.4 million over 65s, representing nearly 12 million people, still rely on cash to survive (and are still using chequebooks). They may not have access to the devices that would allow them to go cashless, even if they had the inclination." (Richardson and Larkin, 2021). I also think that this broadcast also used something called the 'Magic Bullet' or the 'Hypodermic Needle' theory to make cryptocurrency come out as a positive experience.
The Hypodermic Needle theory was one of the premature ways of thinking about how the news and other television media impacted audiences. This theory was emerged in the 1920s and 1930s after researchers watched the effect of propaganda during World War One. This linear communication theory suggests that the media messages, that are being portrayed to a passive audience, are injected directly into their heads. This theory suggests that we all read and react to media messages in the same way. However, because the news typically is shown to a passive audience, they read the messages and do not act on them, like an active audience would do. An example of an active audience would be in TV shows where the presenters encourage viewers to email or reach out to the show on social media. An example of this would be a TV show called 'The Last Leg' where the presenters, mainly Adam Hills, to ask for the audience at home to reach out to them on Twitter.
Most of the information in this news broadcast I consider very factual considering all the research I did for this topic for the script.
Bibliography:
Ingram, D (2019). Chapter 56: Facts & opinion. [online] Available at: https://www.thenewsmanual.net/Manuals%20Volume%203/volume3_56.htm. (Accessed on 11/10/2021)
Pies, R.W. (2017, March 2). “Alternative facts”: A psychiatrist’s guide to twisted relationships to truth. [online] The Conversation. Available at: https://theconversation.com/alternative-facts-a-psychiatrists-guide-to-twisted-relationships-to-truth-72469. (Accessed on 11/10/2021)
Richardson, A and Larkin, C. (2021, August 11) Cryptocurrency – The Future of Money? Available at: https://www.shoosmiths.co.uk/insights/articles/cryptocurrency-the-future-of-money. (Accessed 11/10/2021)
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