Is TV News a window on the world?

                                                                                                             1. Introduction

To many people, TV news is the window on the world. The news gives access to information, to a broader perspective of the world than we would otherwise have. TV news expands our view and understanding of the world. However, very often television news is biased and provide us with false truth and distorts the world it projects. As it is known, media have tremendous power in setting ideology. Therefore, somebody's interpretations  of the news is presented on TV rather than objective facts. Objectivity and fairness are rare. The ideas of impartiality and objectivity are under pressure in our times. Unfortunately, very often the information that we get from TV news fits the needs of ideological struggle. There are increased signs of propaganda. By the way, on the Internet, there is less control over what gets published, and so biased news pieces are available along with objective pieces. To portray issues fairly and accurately, media must broaden their range of sources. Otherwise, they serve not as a window on the world but merely as megaphones for those in power.  

2. However, the law formally states  that the news should represent real life in a true light. The TV news do many things to persuade viewers  that they are 'a window on the world'.
Starting sequences have many purposes:

• they attract attention 
• they give a recognisable brand image to the news programme 
• they use computer graphics which connote technological sophistication, therefore accuracy of the news is  expected

But the main purpose of news starting sequences is trying to show us that the news is a ‘window on the world’ through connotation and iconic symbols.
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In the shown above BBC NEWS 2014 title sequence an animated graphic sequence begins showing red transparent concentric rings connoting the news being impartial. The rings merge and expand while maps of the world fade in and out of view. The names of world cities appear and disappear until we see a large figure 1 with the logo of BBC News. The connotations of the maps and world city names connote worldwide coverage of news. Loud brass and percussion music accompanies the entire sequence connoting the significance and authority of the news. During the opening sequence, we can see the entire BBC studio with all the equipment and the surrounding area connoting that they are not hiding anything from viewers.

Sets and presenters
The news is also trying to present itself as impartial and realistic through the sets and presenters.The look of the presenters is also formal: they wear formal clothes to emphasize the authority of the news. Formal standard language is used by news presenters. The  serious tone means that the news programme is an important authoritative source of reliable information.  Its sole purpose is to inform the audience in a serious manner, which indicates that the news that they are broadcasting is a serious presentation of the facts. The studio newsreaders remain fixed within the studio environment. This fixed role further constructs them as being in an authoritative position.
The legal and regulatory framework
The UK broadcast regulator OFCOM is approved by the government. Its duty is to protect the public from harmful or offensive material. According to the regulations impartiality is a requirement for broadcasters. All broadcasters must be objective and do not show signs of bias. 
The Ofcom Broadcasting Code.
Section Five: Due Impartiality and Due Accuracy and Undue Prominence of Views and Opinions

Interestingly that the BBC is not subject to all of the requirements of the Broadcasting Code. For example, it is not subject to the rules on impartiality and accuracy. The BBC has their own Editorial Guidelines.

But does BBC news deliver what it claims? Very often it delivers distortion and fabrication of facts.

Example: Ukraine -  whenever it's neo-Nazi Right Sector, they're called protesters by the BBC news, and on the other hand, pro-Russians are called terrorists.

Protesters???

3. The gatekeeping process
Gatekeeping process is a process of how information moves from source to receiver. The news passes through many steps of processing on its way to the receiver, and at each step in the process, the original data is reduced in length, edited for style, censored, and so on.
The acquisition of news can be carried out by news gathering from the following sources:
Reporters 
They live in the community and every day contact with people in the area.
Correspondents
They are the part time journalists who work for the TV channel.
Very often their comments are based more on an opinion rather than facts.  This leads to
bad reporting thus not showing reality in a neutral, unbiased and impartial way.
Monitoring officers
They listen to the transmissions in different languages, translate them into English and make a report of it.
News agencies
They sell their stories to news producers worldwide.





Press conferences















Court cases or trials

Other media news (newspapers, Twitter,etc)
However, these news sources cannot be totally unbiased and trustworthy. In all these situations, when news comes into the news studio, rather than news teams going out to find it,  it is easy for a news program to become a victim of spin.

The newsgathering process

The news gathering process involves
1) planning
2) working in the field: interviewing the relevant people who have opinions and knowledge about the topic; attending events related to the story idea.
3) monitoring the web : the Internet is a huge source of information. It is often necessary to be familiar with background information on the topic.

News Values

The most widely studied list of news values was proposed by Norwegian scholars Johan Galtung and Mari Ruge in 1965.  The scholars proposed twelve selection criteria such as frequency, threshold, unambiguity, meaningfulness,consonance, unexpectedness, continuity, composition,  reference to elite nations,  reference to elite people, reference to persons, reference to something negative. By these values gatekeepers make decision about newsworthiness of news.They said the more an event
satisfied particular conditions the more likely it would be selected as news.
Galtung and Ruge define and describe each of these news factors as below:

Galtung and Ruge's list of news values has been criticized by many scholars. However, it is considered the most classic news values classification.
Time flies and dictates new values. The four new news values are:

•  
• Visualness

In our times visualness is the the most dominant news value. Our age is a visual one, where images count more than words. The ability of journalists to “get pictures” determines whether an event is selected as news. Visualness is driving  the selection of news in television nowadays.

<-----This is the moment a drunk passenger stripped naked at the airport.

• Emotion 

The news should have elements of entertainment to be interesting and appealing to audiences.

<------David Beckham's emotional farewell

• Conflict   

 The news are often presented in terms of conflicting views. It is considered to be  newsworthy. 

<------Journalists destroy studio set as TV debate on Syria turns into an on-air brawl

• the “celebrification” of the journalist 

Very often such journalists provide their own perspective on the events.
“ We have celebrified the news to the point where we are losing the news, where it is more about what some people think than what they know.”—Frank Sesno, former CNN White House correspondent.

Not everything can be shown or said in TV news. There are laws which prevent some things being broadcast. One of them concerns the coverage of sexual and other offences in the UK involving under-eighteens.

Some more rules concern Privacy:

Television channels have to balance between viewers who watch the TV programmes and advertisers to survive. Therefore, news gatekeeping mechanisms have to handle commercial agendas in a way that does not endanger the trustworthiness of the viewers.  Advertisers pay big sums of money for seconds of airtime. It is no surprise that the advertisers have the influence on content of news. Therefore, the news is not always chosen because of newsworthiness but is influenced by profit motives, by the race to get the story first in order to increase rating. For instance, '' in Newsweek’s June 6, 1983 issue, Newsweek published an article detailing the nonsmoker’s rights movements. When the tobacco advertisers learned about this, they withdrew their advertisements from that issue, which may have cost Newsweek as much as one million dollars in advertising''(White Larry C. Merchants of Death. New York: William Morrow Beech Tree Books, 1988, p 139).

There is competition between news companies - who will get the better news and do it faster. Late breaking stories are usually given in a hurry, therefore they are not always trustworthy. Technical issues might also occur: problems with live translations for press conferences,etc

TV producers have to fight to get and  keep the audience's attention. Therefore, TV news programme makers use different techniques to construct their narrative stories. TV news narratives are constructed around segments, e.g. an individual news story. These short segments don't demand much attention, and often not necessarily directly connected to other segments of the programme. Segments are easily accessible for casual viewing, and deliver quick, easy chunks of news. The narrative plot of television news is much less continuous than that of films. News stories usually start with a summary of key information, followed further details in decreasing order of significance.  However, sometimes the narrative structure of news resemble a ‘soap opera’.

Actuality footage gives added value to news because it is crucial to the narrative story. However, ''much actuality footage is in fact archive footage, and even when not, always a 'representation' of the reality rather than the reality itself''.

Conclusion

In our era we are getting news from very different sources: television, radio, print versions of newspapers and magazines, Internet. The majority of young people nowadays get news and information from social networking: through Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites. They are less likely to use newspapers, television, or radio to access the news. The majority of older people continue to discover news through TV. Unfortunately, we cannot completely trust the information other sources provide either. There is also a lot of misinformation. Although TV news stories are often inaccurate and biased, television remains an important news source for many people. Media illiterate people get affected by false information. False information can lead to unintended reactions. Political, economic, and social events often shape people's life, that is why it is important to have access to the most accurate and true information. In 2013 a tweet from Associated Press twitter account told about an attack on White House. The twitter informed that American president Obama was injured.  This had negative affect not only on the citizens but also on the US stock market.

Moreover, nobody should pay money for being misinformed. Therefore, I think it matters how the news is shown. The news should not tell us what to think but it should set the agenda on what we should think about.
It seems that often mainstream news reflects the values of the middle class, middle age, southern, university educated males who control production of TV news. Evidently it is more newsworthy when covering the news in more democratic way.
I personally think there is no chance for TV news to be unbiased and impartial. The TV channels are mostly private and, as we know, ''he who pays the piper calls the tune''. What concerns public TV channels, news serve as megaphones for those in power.

Connotations of Newsreaders

I have found an extract from a BBC TV 10 o'clock news programme and embedded it to my blog.

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Here is my analysis of the connotations of the title sequence:
The news programme's title sequence establishes the status of importance and authority. The title sequence also gives a recognisable brand image to the news programme. First a newsreader is shown at her desk. She outlines main news stories, accompanied by brief actuality footage. Loud brass and percussion music accompanies the outline connoting the significance. Then an animated graphic sequence begins showing dark red concentric rings over a white-grey background connoting the authority of the news. The rings merge and expand while map of the world fade in and out of view. The rings sometimes centre on Edinburgh, Cardiff and London. The names of world cities appear and disappear until we see a large figure 10 with the logo of BBC News. The connotations of the maps and cities names connote worldwide coverage of news.

Here is my analysis of the connotations of the newsreaders:

Formal standard language is used by the BBC newsreaders. The purpose of this is to inform the audience about the current events, not to entertain. The  serious tone means that the news programme is an important authoritative source of reliable information. This news programme is aimed at an adult audience who are more interested in being well-informed about main current affairs. They want an informational and serious programme. The use of mainly standard formal vocabulary demonstrates that the BBC uses a more formal and serious linguistic style. Its sole purpose is to inform the audience in a serious manner, which indicates that the news that they are broadcasting is a serious presentation of the facts.The look of the presenter is also formal: she is wearing a jacket. The studio newsreader remains fixed within the studio environment. This fixed role further constructs them as being in an authoritative position. 

The  programme informs the audience by the use of reporters and  interviews, giving more sides of a story. This creates the feeling of less biased information. The reporters are introduced with title and full name. This makes the programme more official sounding and means that the reporters are represented as professionals, rather than as individuals. News reporters also sign themselves off, which is again more official.  For example, “Andrew Plant...BBC news...in  Devon”. It gives it a more authoritative and ‘official’ tone. The interviews in this extract  show only responses by the interviewees providing the audience with a great deal of first hand information.

Here is my analysis of the mise-en-scene of the studio:

The mise-en-scene is full of vast amount of red colour with a touch of blue. Red colour associates with BBC news. We can also see other people in the background of the studio. The BBC presents itself as a corporation. It does not focus on individuals. Therefore, the news look more authoritative.

There is also a newswall with large smart-glass-like screens in the studio.The screens are movable so it makes the set up  more interesting.The 'podium' table is used in the studio to emphasize the importance and authority of the news.

The Nature and Purposes of Research in the Creative Media Industries

There are several types of research in the creative media industries .

Audience research deals with the investigations of the audience of media products. This type of research analyses what kind of people watch media products, what media products they choose and why. 

Market research involves investigations into target markets, competition, and consumers' demands.

Production research is conducted to get information about a media product (its content, locations,etc).

To conduct these types of research academic research methods are used: primary and secondary research.

Primary research involves original material and information. Primary research includes interview techniques, observations, questionnaires, surveys, participation in internet forums.Very often it is lengthy to conduct. However, the results of this research are more relevant because the research comes straight from original source. The two basic types of primary research are quantitative research and qualitative research. Quantitative research concerns information that you can measure in data, numbers and figures.The qualitative research does not rely on statistics or numbers. I have conducted a survey as primary research, which presents people's opinions on documentaries and freestyle football.

As you can see from this graph, 47% of all respondents were teenagers of 10-19 years old, 33% were young adults of 20-26 years old and 20% were 27-46 years old. In my opinion, the documentary should succeed in the appropriateness to target audience.

Almost a half of the respondents (47 %) have heard about freestyle football. However, the other half of the respondents have heard nothing about the sport.
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When I asked people 'Have you ever seen freestyle football on TV?', most people (93%) answered 'No'.

Fortunately, the vast majority of respondents(93%) would like to know more about this sport.

Interestingly, only 60% of the respondents watch documentary films. The rest 40% of the respondents think that documentaries are boring.

Good news that despite the lack of interest in documentaries, almost all respondents (93%) would like to watch a documentary about football freestyle.
I have interviewed a football freestyle professional

2. Secondary research includes data that has already been collected.  Secondary research includes books, journals, reference-based books and directories, periodicals, newspapers, film archives, photo libraries, internet. The purpose of this research is to identify key facts about the topic.The advantage of using secondary data is that it can save a great deal of time.  It takes much longer to collect new data (primary data) than to retrieve information that is already out there.  Also, it is much cheaper to get secondary data than primary data.
To collect secondary research data for my documentary, I gathered all information on freestyle football through the worldwide web. Here are my findings:

• It is the art and sport of juggling a football using all parts of the body to entertain audiences and outperform opponents in competitions
• The Freestyle Football Federation (F3) is world governing body for the sport that is committed to growing awareness of and participation in freestyle football worldwide. F3 own the World Freestyle Football Championships 
• Freestyle football has existed since 2000
• There are some freestyle football  internationally well-known websites are: Global Freestyle, UK Football Freestyle, BeyondFootball and Freestyle Football Federation

I also looked at existing news stories based around my idea:
http://www.eventmagazine.co.uk/Destinations/article/1291727/manchester-host-freestyle-football-championships/
http://www.beyondfootball.com/socialnetwork/freestyle-soccer-news
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/62323-freestyle-football-taking-football-to-the-next-level
I have also watched existing documentaries that are similar to my idea:

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A historical film ‘Ivan the Terrible’ relies on extensive primary research, which is based on original Russian history sources. The author of the film conducted a thorough research into costumes, haircuts, makeup, and props of that time. However, the film is not fully committed to historical accuracy. The film keeps history behind it, but also captivates the attention of the audience, of not being boring. Therefore, an audience research is necessary to conduct before filming a historical drama. Thanks to this research Eisenstein was able to touch the audience's feelings through the movie's storytelling and  depiction of the characters. Eisenstein tried to rehabilitate the czar, explaining that ''the personality of Ivan the Terrible and his historic role had to be thoroughly reconsidered. Ivan the IV's principal aim was to create a strong centralized sovereign State in place of the scattered, mutually hostile feudal principalities of Old Russia. [...] The heirs to the feudal lords [boyars and royal clans with ambitions to rule] did not scruple to resort to treachery and conspiracy. They secretly prepared the ground for an invasion of Russia by their western neighbors [Livonian Knights, Lithuanian and Polish forces], and it was they who cried to heaven about the cruelty and bloodthirstiness of the Moscow Tsar''.

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Audience research (audience data, audience profiling, demographics, geodemographics, consumer behaviour, consumer attitudes, audience awareness)

Market research (product market, competition, competitor analysis, advertising placement, advertising effects)

Production research (content, viability, placement media, finance, costs, technological resources, personnel, locations)
Data gathering agencies

The Broadcasters' Audience Research Board (BARB) is the organisation that gather data concerning audience measurement and television ratings in the United Kingdom. There are also three  market research companies in the UK: RSMB, Ipsos MORI, and Kantar Media.
RSMB are responsible for survey design, quality control and calculation methodology. Ipsos MORI are responsible for survey of the characteristics of the television owning population. Kantar Media is responsible for covering meter panel installation, data retrieval, processing and audience reporting functions.

RAJAR stands for Radio Joint Audience Research. It is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK. Here is one of their data releases:

You can find more data releases here.
Assessing research data
It is vital to choose the right research methods to ensure that the collected information is reliable and valid. .
Reliability is the degree to which the study produces stable and consistent results. It is necessary to keep in mind the following questions while assessing the reliability:

•  Can it be trusted as a source of information?
•  Could it be biased  by people's opinions or affected by flaws in the research methods? 
•  If the research activity was done again, would it get the same results?

I suppose that my research is reliable because I conducted a questionnaire where more than one person was asked. However, there is always a place for improvement. It could be more reliable if more people would answer the questions (I got only 15 respondents).
Of course, reliability is vital, but it is not sufficient without validity.  For a research to be reliable, it also needs to be valid.
Validity concerns the relevance of information to the investigation. Validity refers to how well a research measures what it is aimed to measure.
Representativeness and generalisability
The participants in the research were representative of the population. Therefore, the data is generalisable. Generally, my target audience was interested in the concept of my documentary.

Documentary evaluation

• Topic - why I chose it

I made  a documentary to show what freestyle football is and to give a sense of the sorts of things we (football freestylers) do. This is a special interest (sports) documentary. I wanted to try to 'shed light' on this relatively new kind of sport and to create public interest to this sport.

• Documentary style

 Documentary style - I suppose that my documentary  is expository. It speaks directly to the viewer. I used a voice-over in the film. The documentary includes an interview.

• Use of camera

The production of the documentary took place in the Archbishop's Park in London. I used a tripod for the camera in a majority of my documentary so I could film without any shake. In the film I used a variety of  medium shots and long shots. A long establishing shot in the beginning of the film establishes the mis-en-scene. It plays an important part in the film. In this way, the viewer can see where the action takes place. Here I could have used a camera movement technique called panning.
The action then develops through a mix of medium and long shots. If I had to film the documentary again, I would use more variable shots - wide shots, close ups, shots from different angles.

• Use of sound

Throughout my 3 Minute Wonder documentary I used  a voice over with the use of soundtrack. I don't think it was the best choice of music for the documentary but it was the only more appropriate available soundtrack at that moment. I could also put more effort into assuring that all sound transitions are done smoothly.

• Use of editing

Editing was a very significant part of my production.I cut a lot of footage to structure the documentary.

• Use of Mise-en-scene 

A long establishing shot in the beginning of the film establishes the mis-en-scene. It plays an important part in the film. In this way, the viewer can see where the action takes place.

• How happy are you with the finished project?

It was my first solo production. I can not say that I am extremely happy with the result. I had problems with my documentary as the interview with Andrew Henderson, a world freestyle football champion, which I wanted to use in my documentary was not recorded properly,  it was of poor quality.  However, I am glad that  my documentary shed the light on this sport which is not well known, as a majority of the people who completed my survey for primary research did not know what this sport was. 

Research into freestyle football

1. I have produced a questionnaire to conduct primary audience research/market research into the viability of my concept. Here are my findings:

As you can see from this graph, 47% of all respondents were teenagers of 10-19 years old, 33% were young adults of 20-26 years old and 20% were 27-46 years old. In my opinion, the documentary should succeed in the appropriateness to target audience.

Almost a half of the respondents (47 %) have heard about freestyle football. However, the other half of the respondents have heard nothing about the sport.
.

When I asked people 'Have you ever seen freestyle football on TV?', most people (93%) answered 'No'.

Fortunately, the vast majority of respondents(93%) would like to know more about this sport.

Interestingly, only 60% of the respondents watch documentary films. The rest 40% of the respondents think that documentaries are boring.

Good news that despite the lack of interest in documentaries, almost all respondents (93%) would like to watch a documentary about football freestyle.

2. To collect secondary research data for my documentary, I gathered all information on freestyle football through the worldwide web. Here are my findings:



I looked at existing news stories based around my idea

I have also watched existing documentaries that are similar to my idea

initial consideration of the logistics/costings of practically realising your idea (eg travel to locations etc)
arranging interviews with experts/witnesses/key persons as appropriate (create a contact sheet but don't publish on your blog) and holding pre-filming meetings
collating/presenting findings of these interviews and meetings on your blog post
.
3. The current UK laws on filming in public:
do you need to consider libel or defamation?
are you risking infringement of the Ofcom Broadcasting Code?
read the Viewer Trust Guidelines from the Channel 4 website and highlight any key points that you find interesting or that might impact your production.
___________________________________________________________________________

3. The current UK laws on filming in public
''Your local council will have a film office which will be able to help you. The first thing they will ask will be whether you have public liability insurance, which covers you for any injuries to third parties or damage to property. If you're a tourist with a hand-held camera you don't need it, but as soon as you're talking tripods, or the film is for anything other than personal use, then you must have insurance. Policies are available by the day, week or year; an annual policy costs about £150''. (http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jan/26/makingvideo.workshops3)
There is no law stopping anyone filming in a public place, so if you are on the streets you can film without asking permission.
There is a law – Section 58A of the Terrorism Act 2000 – that says police officers can stop you filming them if they believe that the video will be used for purposes of terrorism. However, police guidelines state that:
“it would ordinarily be unlawful to use section 58A to arrest people photographing police officers in the course of normal policing activities… An arrest would only be lawful if an arresting officer had a reasonable suspicion that the photographs were being taken in order to provide practical assistance to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism”. http://netpol.org/2012/07/27/a-rough-guide-to-filming-the-police-during-a-stop-search/

http://philipbloom.net/2009/04/14/filming-in-public-places/

Pre-production: 3 Minute Wonder

LOCATION 

Archbishop's Park, London

Documentary title - Masters of the Ball
 Outline of the documentary + Script

1. Scenes from London meeting + Introduction voiceover (''Freestyle football..... Have you ever heard of this sport? Freestylers consider it as the art of expressing themselves, while performing various tricks with a football. It has recently become a widespread sport across the world. Freestyle is very popular in the UK.''

2. Voiceover: ''How do people get involved in this sport?'' +  Interview clip of Andrew Munday answering this question.

3. Some more scenes showing different types of tricks + voiceover commenting on the tricks (''In Uppers most tricks are done with the head, chest and shoulders. Lowers are the most popular tricks among freestylers. The ball is kept aloft using mainly the feet and legs. This style is considered to be the most difficult and the one that gives a multitude of opportunities to come up with new moves and impressive combinations.In Sits all tricks are executed while sitting. 

4. Voiceover ''Freestyle football professionals perceive it as something that they can express their creativity and improve on ball control and touches to a greater heights. But what about beginners? The problem is, they may not know where to begin especially after watching a series of freestyle videos on streaming sites like YouTube.'' + Interview clip of Andrew Munday answering this question.

5. In conclusion some more scenes from meeting in London + my voiceover - ''Freestyle is like an addiction but a good addiction. It teaches you great life skills - motivation, confidence, decision making and many others. These are good attributes and excellent role models for today's youth. All you need is a ball, a bit of space, lots of practice and dedication!''

+ Contact sheet (including cast and crew)
Location releases
Recces

Proposal - Documentary about Football Freestyle

My proposal is to make a documentary which shows what freestyle football is and give a sense of the sorts of things we (football freestylers) do. This will be a special interest documentary.Football Freestyle was first found back to 1990. On that time there was a lack of tricks. The first trick was ever made is called ATW - Around The World, it is still one of the most common/mostly used tricks in football freestyle! Since then the time's changed and people started making new tricks, doing them in combinations.
Target audience - I would like to focus on the younger male and female audience in the age 9 - 30 demographic.  It is an audience that could be interested in the theme of the documentary. The secondary target group could be older people who are keen on new kinds of sport. I hope my documentary will be worthy of my audience's time.
Aim - To try to 'shed light' on this relatively new kind of sport and to create public interest to this sport.
Content - I will use the actual scenes from my last meeting with freestylers in London as well as an interview with Andrew Munday, a freestyler from Liverpool.
Locations - Archbishop's Park, London (I will need to travel to the location to film).

People - Freestyle Footballers

Sample questions for interviews - 
1) When did you start freestyling?
2) Why did you start freestyling?
3) How long have you been freestyling/training for?
4) How often do you train?
5) Where do you train?
6) How long do your trainings last?
7) Who do you train with?
8) Have you ever entered/competed in any tournaments/competitions?
9) Who is your favourite freestyler?
10) Are you a show-based freestyler?
11) Are you all round freestyler(A )
12) Do you upload them on YouTube
13) Do you promote your freestyle videos?
14) How do you usually spend on editing a freestyle video?
15) What trick do you find the hardest?
16) What is your favourite trick?
17) How often do you perform?
18) How much do you get paid?
19) How much effort do you put in your trainings?
20) How old do you have to be to enter world champs?


Equipment required and budget
Camera, Tripod, SD Card, Editing c

Budget - £ 0

Documentaries - 3 Minute Wonder

•  What is a 3 Minute Wonder?

3 Minute Wonder is a short Channel 4 television project that broadcasts first time directors' three-minute documentaries.

• What is the aim / purpose of a 3 Minute Wonder?

to give first-time directors the opportunity to air their work to a large audience, and to take a first step into the competitive UK film industry.

• What sort of topic would you expect to see on a 3 Minute Wonder?

The documentaries shown on the channel generally highlight a current issue that is not in the public eye, for example, domestic abuse or fight of people with illnesses.

• My favourite 3 Minute Wonder episodes

Dao and the Bicycle

• what I have learned from watching the film

The documentary film tells a story of the invention of the bicycle told  via the ancient teachings of Daoism. These teachings say there is a source to everything, all things come from Dao and return to Dao – all things are connected. For example,  a butterfly flapping its wings in China can cause a storm in some part of the planet. It  is not probably true. Another example is given: the biggest volcanic eruption ever led to some of the most remarkable cultural events of the 1800's – the invention of the bicycle. It is an expository documentary film.

• why I like it

The film is created using a unique and imaginative approach

Last supper 

• what I have learned from watching the film

The last supper is given to prisoners facing the death penalty. The main character is a young man called Robert Garza who has been in prison for 5 years after series of murders.It is an observational documentary.

• why I like it

The film is shocking and thought-provoking.

Home

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• what I have learned from watching the film

The film investigates the notion of 'home'

• why I like it

The editing is well-done, in a creative way.

Market research into the documentary format and its current viability:

TV listings for Channel 4 - documentary percentage of television output

Thursday, March 6, 2014 - 18 % (9 pm -10 pm -'The Floods That Foiled New Year: Caught on Camera' documentary; 10 pm - 11:05 pm -'The Repo Man' documentary; 11:05 pm - 12:05 am -'The CCTV Traffic Wardens: Caught on Camera' documentary; 1:05 am - 2 am - 'First Dates' documentary; 3:20 am - 3:50 am - 'Undercover: Hate on the Terraces - Channel 4 Dispatches' documentary)
Friday, March 7, 2014 - 0 %
Saturday, March 8, 2014 - 0 %
Sunday, March 9, 2014 - 0 %
Monday, March 10, 2014 - 1% (5:15 am - 5:30 am - 'Kirstie's Homemade Home'documentary)
Tuesday, March 11, 2014 - 4 % (10 pm-11 pm-'Strippers' documentary)
Wednesday, March 12, 2014- 13% (11 am -12 am-'Undercover Boss Canada' documentary; 10 pm -11 pm-'First Dates'documentary; 11 pm-12 am -'Strippers'documentary)

Documentary percentage of television output on Channel 4 - 5 % per week
Only 4 documentaries per week are shown on Channel 4 at peak time (during the 6 pm to 10.30 pm peak-time hours).

TV listings for BBC1 - documentary percentage of television output

Thursday, March 6, 2014 - 12 % ( 9:15 am - 10 am - 'Heir Hunters' documentary; 11:00 am - 11:45 am -'Countryside 999' documentary; 8:00 pm - 9:00 pm - 'Holiday Hit Squad' documentary)

Friday, March 7, 2014 - 6 % (9:15 am - 10 am - 'Heir Hunters' documentary; 11:00 am - 11:45 am -'Countryside 999' documentary)

Saturday, March 8, 2014 - 0 %

Sunday, March 9, 2014 - 2 % (12:15 pm - 1:00 pm - 'Wanted Down Under' documentary)

Monday, March 10, 2014 - 11 % ( 9:15 am - 10 am - 'Heir Hunters' documentary; 11:00 am - 11:45 am -'Countryside 999' documentary; 8:30 pm - 9 pm - 'A Week in A&E: Condition Critical?' - Panorama' documentary)

Tuesday, March 11, 2014 - 11 % ( 9:15 am - 10 am - 'Heir Hunters' documentary; 11:00 am - 11:45 am -'Countryside 999' documentary; 11:35 pm - 12:10 am - 'Swansea: Living on the Streets' documentary)

Wednesday, March 12, 2014 - 13 % ( 9:15 am - 10 am - 'Heir Hunters' documentary; 11:00 am - 11:45 am -'Countryside 999' documentary; 9:00 pm - 10 pm - 'Famous Rich & Hungry for Sport Relief' documentary')

Documentary percentage of television output on Channel 4 - 8 % per week

Only 3 documentaries per week are shown on BBC1 at peak time (during the 6 pm to 10.30 pm peak-time hours).

BARB is the official source of television viewing figures in the UK. 

The viewing figures for factual programmes in general: 

The viewing figures for documentaries:

As you can see, 'Strippers'documentary takes 7th place with 1.67 million viewers.