CHAPTER ONE

·         INTRODUCTION

Television is a sight sound medium of communication which transmits sound  and pictures from given broadcasting studio to millions of homes every day by means of electromagnetic radiation using the techniques of radio. The word “Television is a combination of both Greek and Latin words”. The Greek tele, (meaning far) and the Latin word Vidre, (to see) both combine to form the word television. Thus, television means vision and sound at a distance. It is a visual medium  which gives the impression of participation and intimacy. Several programmesincluding live and recorded dramas, sporting events, cartoons, quiz, talk shop and variety shows are shown on television every day.

Television newscast and programmes have greater effect in shaping opinion and socializing viewers and listeners for good or bad. It’s a very powerful medium of communication because it has the ability to combine sound and picture which gives it an advantage over the radio and other print media. It create impact on its audience through communicated messages through blending of certain aesthetic elements properly to produce synergy. Such elements include light, sound, time-motion, space audio-video gestalt, voice/diction, pronunciation, personal appearance and make-ups. Besides communication media, aesthetics elements deals with sense ands consciousness, such aesthetic reality can be expressed in the cloth we wear, food we eat, facial expression, warmth good voice, etc.

As a result, television is often regarded as the harbinger of violence, crime, juvenile delinquency and other forms of anti-social behavior. Television is a visual medium. It gives the impression of participation and intimacy. When a viewer sees himself or a relation on the television screen, he feels like turning to that station all the time. One can watch a stage governor, administrator or president on the screen and see the expression on his face while making any pledge, to know if he is being honest with such a promise or not. Television makes it possible for viewers to determine if a suspect being shown on the screen is innocent or guilty. The ability of television to blend sound, motion and colour together to provide realism makes it a darling of consumers of media of communication.

Relating specifically to news presentation on NTA channel 12 Uyo, much of the study shall be composed around the proper manipulation of these aesthetic elements by the newscasters and the production crew to achieve synergetic effects. All media of communication possess naturally aesthetic elements; Television has vision and sound as it primary aesthetic elements while that of radio is sound. Sound as an aesthetic element of communication can be considered to included the human voice, sound effect and music. They are the major elements which make broadcast programme come alive in terms of their aural appeal. Both should And usual together form a balanced clarified and intensified total screen event an audio-visual gestalt. When sound and video “unites” the produce aesthetic energy. Light is the first aesthetic element of television because it makes vision feasible. Television depends on both the internal and external light to make the images visible on screen. It is also necessary for manipulating, articulating, clarifying and intensifying our inner emotional environment.

Light can be seen as language in television production used along with other elements to give a synergistic experience. Since shadows constitute noise in communication, via careful lightening, the audience can be made to see through spatial nature of the newscaster. Television news programme has a specific running time in order to make room for other programme. In keeping with the viewer’s objective feelings, the television artist and newscasters must be conversant with time and must know how to manipulate in certain ways to affect the feelings of the viewers. Motion on screen is an organized experience designed by the television artist to make viewers feel in a particular way. Psychological closure is based on the careful handling of two processes. That is the sharpening also supplementation and leveling also omission. Sharpening is the process of adding extra information to clarify facts, leveling means learning out information that may not fit the desire pattern.

Many authors have tried to define news in a sentence or paragraph, thus Editor San Francisco Examiner, Author McEwan quoted “news is anything that makes a reader say” “Cree, whiz” or anything you can find out today that you did not know before. George Hough 3rd (1984:19) sees news as both a community and a state of mind. Joseph Pulter 19th century of St. Louise post dispatch and the New York world defended it as stories that are original, distinctive. Romantic, thrilling, unique, curious, quaint, humorous, odd and apt-to-be tacked about. Bruce Westly (1968:384) defines news as; anything timely that is interesting and significant to readers in respect to their personal affairs or their relation to society and the best news is that which posed the greatest interest and significant to readers in respect to their personal affairs or their relation to society and the best news is that which posed the greatest interest and significance for the greatest number.

Such definitions help little because they tend to fussily imply that news is a statistic object rather than a complex project involving many parts, that is, does not simply effect an “objective” world as a minor reflects someone who stands in front of it News, apart from being truthful, factual and accurate, must interest the viewers. Listeners and readers both in context and in presentation. News hinges on a number of factors such as the aesthetic elements like sound, time/motion, space and video-audio gestalt. Whereas the newscaster must possess poise, warmth good voice and good pronunciation of words. These are vital for the programme to be able to arouse and sustain the interest of the audience; hence it is necessary to evaluate these aesthetic elements in television news production and presentation to see how they are manipulated for effective meaning sharing with the audience.

1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY:

The study shows broadcasting as a communication art which goes beyond the mere distribution of information. It is concerned with stimulating feeling and the sharing of experience. Television has aesthetics or ‘feeling’ elements such as light, sound, time-motion, space and colour. The function of the effective newscaster and producer is to know how to manipulate these elements to create the desired effect and meaning in news presentation programmes. The success of the production crew and the newscaster is measured by how they compel the eye to top and find pleasure on what is on the screen.

It is their responsibility to use effectively the aesthetic elements to render experience arresting by rendering it alive. The success of news presentation as a communicative art is measured partly by the extent to which the sense tactical, gustatory, visual, olfactory and auditory of the viewers become not signals to action but revelations of what is sensible and tangible.

·         STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:

The level of performance of the artists determines extensively the success of any broadcasting station. To evaluate the performance of the artist in the NTA channel 12 Uyo, the following questions are necessary to put into consideration: what level has the aesthetic elements such as sound, time-motion, space, proper pronunciation, voice/diction, personality/make-up as well as synergistic structure like the video-audio gestalt been applied in the news production and presentation on NTA channel 12 Uyo?

·         RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The questions which the research tends to find answers to are as follows:

1.    How are the aesthetic elements such as blight, sound, space, time-motion, any synergistic like video-audio gestalt been incorporated in news presentation on NTA Channel 12, Uyo by the artists of the station in the month of May?

1.    How effectively were those elements used bin creating synergy for the general understanding of the news stories by the audience?

2.    How does the news caster employ voice/diction proper pronunciation personality/make-up and poise in news presentation?

·         PURPOSE OF THE STUDY:

1.    To asses the talents performance of the artist in incorporating the aesthetic elements such as light, space, time-motion, sound and synergistic structure like video-audio gestalt in news presentation on NTA channel 12 Uyo.

2.    To determine if these were effectively used to create synergy for the general understanding of the news stories by the audience.

3.    To assess the newscaster performance in effective utilization of voice/diction proper pronunciation, personality/make-up in news.

·         SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study is set out to find the problems facing NTA Channel 12 Uyo’s News presentation in relation to performance by its artist (newscaster) and the production crew and to find solutions to these problems so as to enlarge the audience of the station. A communicator who is concerned with his viewers must find some ways of measuring or assessing his success in accomplishing his desires and improving upon his performances. This is achieving through feedback, which will help the communicator to know whether he has been able to communicate effectively with his audience.

Since direct feedback in television is not possible, the need to content analyze the news programme becomes necessary to evaluate whether elements of aesthetic such as light, sound, space, time-motion, voice/diction, resonance, poise, proper pronunciation, audio-visual gestalt are properly utilized in creating synergy for the overall production and presentation of news on NTA channel 12 Uyo. The study shall then enable the station to improve on its performance in order to adjust to the taste and desire of the viewers and also compete favourably with other stations, thus, enlarging and maintaining its audience size.

Where the above findings are properly carried out, which is what the study intends to do, it may help the station management to find solutions on how to create effective synergy in news presentation to benefit its viewers. It may also help the management to take steps to correct the mistakes of the solution’s artists in the performances of their duties. This will help in maintaining the audience size, as the audience will benefit from improved quality of news production and presentation which in turn shall improve personal, education, social, economical and cultural outlooks of the viewers.

·         LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

This study is limited to news programme artist’s performance of NTA channel 12 Uyo, the data gathered and analyzed are therefore limited to it. The study is specifically limited to an aspect of the station’s total production, which is the evaluation of the news and problems of artist’s performance. It intends to assess qualitatively and critically the selected news programmes content.

However due to the limited time of carrying out this project and the fact that the news programme is not recorded but is presented ‘live’ and also the problem of incessant power fluctuation from the Power Holding Company of  Nigeria (PHCN) the research should cover the whole month of May, so the period for evaluating was limited to 7 days.

Inspite of these limitations, the researcher endeavoured to carryout the research which in her belief is authentic. Therefore, it is hoped that the findings and discussions that led to the conclusion so drawn will form the basis for improvement and for further research in this area.

·         DEFINITION OF TERMS 

AESTHETIC ELEMENTS. Zettl (1993) in Akpan Etuk (1990:29) and Etuk (1990:29) defines aesthetic as “a study of certain sense perceptions and how these perception can be most effectively classified, intensified and interpreted through a medium such as television or film for a specific recipient”. Aesthetic elements as used in this study  include light, sound, time-motion, space, voice/diction, good pronunciation, personality and make-up.

APPRAISAL: estimating the value of something, a judgment or opinion of something or somebody, especially one that exposes effectiveness or usefulness.

NEWS: Bruce Westly (1986:384) defines news as anything timely that is interesting and significant to readers in respect to their personal affairs. News, apart from being factual and accurate, must interest the viewers.

NEWS PROGRAMME: News Programme are essentially informative and educative. The audience stands to benefit from improve quality of news which in turn shall improve the personal educational, social, economical and culturaloutlooks.

PRESENTATION: It an act, performance, exhibition or demonstration put on before an audience. It’s a manner in which something is shown, expressed or laid out for the other people to see.

NTA UYO: Nigerian Television Authority, a federal broadcasting corporation located at Aka Etinan Road, Uyo. It was formally established in 1987 in line with the federal Government policy to establish one NTA station in each state capital. The mission is to inform, entertain and enlighten the Nigerian Television audience while maintaining its leadership position in Television Broadcasting.

SYNERGY: Young blood (1970-1999) in Akpan (1987:71) defines synergy as “the behavior of a system unpredicted by the behavior of any of its part or subassemblies of its parts”. Synergy in this study is used as the skillful harnessing of the aesthetic/artistic elements to create beauty in a programme.

AUDIO-VIDEO GESTALT: combination of sound and picture to produce aesthetic energy. The duty of the broadcaster is to use sound and picture together in such a way that intensified experience is generated.

COMMUNICATION: Is the exchange of information between people e.g by means of speaking, writing or using a common system of signs or behavior. A Taylor et al (1977:87).

VOICE: Voice is one of strongest individual factors. The announcer uses voice as a tool or instrument for expressing the intellectual and emotional content of his copy. Even so, voice may be good generally but without training it is of no use in broadcasting. A good voice can be obtained only through disciplined training. Tubs S. L. and Moses, S. (1974:60).

BROADCASTING: Broadcasting is an area of mass communication involved in the plan provision of information, entertainment and education to a large number of people. The making and transmission of programmes through radio or television, activities in broadcasting is usually regulated by law.

PERSONALITY: According to S. L. Tubbs (1974:56) its somebody’s set of characteristics; the totality of somebody’s attitudes, interest, behavioural patterns, emotional responses, social roles and other individual traits that endure over a long period of time. It’s a distinctive or vary noticeable characteristic that make somebody socially appealing.

MOTION: To gesture or signal something such as a request or intention to somebody. It’s a movement, action or gesture.

VOICE: Something that is audible which can be heard. It’s an impression if somebody or something formed from limited but significant information especially information lately received.

SPACE: Broadcast time or an area in a publication available for specific use e.g. by advertisers. A period or interval of time. Myers, G. E. (1973:74).

DICTION: The clarity with which somebody pronounce words when speaking choice of word to fit ones context.

PRONOUNCEMENT: The way in which a sound, word or language is articulated especially in conforming to an accepted standard, the act of articulating a sound or word, phonetic transcription of sounds.

RIV: Reader in View

R/T/VTR: Roll Tape/Video Tape Recorder

VOF: Voice Over Film

JUVENILE DELINQUENCY: Unlawful antisocial or illegal behavior or act carried out by youth.

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