Analysis of ‘The Project’ TV Show

Analysis of ‘The Project’ TV Show

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Analysis of ‘The Project’ TV Show

Introduction

The Project, mostly described as ‘news delivered differently’, is a show in Australia that provides news on current affairs, entertainment, and comedy on 10 and win Network. With four hosts on board, the show presents facts, arguments and performs interviews with various individuals related to particular news. The show has disseminated because of its live characteristics and involves strategized dynamics to offer quality and influencing reports to the audience. The show rating has been high with the growing audience due to the features and quality of news broadcasts made through the show. The Project has become a TV hit due to the authenticity of its news, sound and information quality, and the diverse scope of broadcasting. It is one show having news on current affairs, providing entertainment, and also comedy. The feature leads to a broad audience since it covers the needs of most individuals. Therefore, the project success is based on its three broadcasting areas, professional reporting style and presentation, quality visuals, and well-developed broadcast interviews. Using The project news titled ‘Covid-19’ and bushfire’s response, the authenticity and quality of ‘The project’ news is analyzed based on its delivery of the program to its audience demographics.

Evidence of The Project QualityEvaluation of ‘The Project’s authenticity of news will be done through analysis of two news examples done through the show. First is the covid-19 disease, which is a challenge to most of the countries at this time. Recently, the world has been experiencing an outbreak of covid-19, and Australia is not left out. This outbreak led to panic buying for fear of worse conditions during lockdown strategy to prevent the spread of the disease. Therefore, The Project addressed the issue though current affairs news urging people to stop panic buying. The show does not just urge people not to panic, but also through the broadcast provides reasons for the individuals to stop panicking (“COVID-19: Please Stop Panic Buying | The Project”, 2020). The second example will be on the bush fire case that recently occurred, destroying nature and people’s properties, and killing animals and people throughout the affected areas. Due to the problems caused by the bush fires, The Project developed news on the response strategies put by the government to prevent spread and minimize the losses that occur because of the fire (“Bushfire Response/The Project”, 2020). The news broadcast in the show provides evidence of the project quality and standard news, as well as the growing trust and customer base from consumers.

According to (Strömbäck et al., 2012), the news is not all about the thoughts of journalists but rather the newsworthiness that develops due to the selection and gathering methods involved. Having a subject to address is not equivalent to having news, but rather the subject should be expounded on by having evidence to show that the claim being made is genuine and not created. Also, transparency in broadcasting news is crucial as it clarifies the form of communication in the story and reminds the audience that there is a reality in the presentation of the story (Rupar, 2006). Facts can easily be identified from the gathered information. However, there is a difference between fact, the interpretation of the events, and the presentation to the audience. These factors influence the delivery of information to the audience and determine the authenticity of the information. Also, newsworthiness and transparency influence the audience to be loyal to the show.

News content reveals important tendencies in how news personalities approach the subject of discussion (Reese & Lee, 2020). The content speaks a lot more to the audience as it informs the audience on the subject and the essential facts to derive from the show. In the first example of Covid-19 panic buying, the information presented is on the rush that people have to get to shopping malls and make unplanned purchases of products. The content is addressed through an interview with behavioral economist, who explains the purchase behavior of consumers. Also, a producer explains the high demand for products by consumers. The content is attractive to the audience because it is a factor that affects them. The Project first makes its claim, which is to prevent people from having panic buying. After the claim, the evidence is provided showing empty shelves, which proves that there has been impulse buying. Therefore, there is a flow of information.

Analysis of the Show

The reporting style used by The Project is live coverage. The hosts present news to the audience live in that it is not recorded. Also, some interviews are conducted directly to the interviewees during the time. As stated by Freeborn, most people buy and read a newspaper which suits their political point of view, therefore in application of the concept, people are interested in news that affect them and broadcasted live providing evidences (Freeborn, 1996). For example, in the second example on bushfire, The Project presents content that relates to the responses. It first shows the finances required for response before having an interview with governmental personnel to explain the strategies kept by the government to prevent more fires and help affected individuals. The reporting style enhances the understanding of the content presented. Besides, the presentation improves the delivery of content to the audience. Through the interviews conducted, there is the interactivity that attracts the audience. Studies have identified satisfaction as one of the most visible outcomes of increased interactivity (Chung & Nah, 2009). Therefore, satisfaction increases the audience size by attracting more consumers hence explaining its reason for the growth of the audience.

The visuals of the project show news have used relevant videos, and photos have been applied in the content of broadcasted news. The visuals directly relate to the subject of the report, are clear, and emphasize the significance of image in news distribution. This method is because it enhances the understanding of concepts and the purpose of broadcasting on a particular topic. According to research conducted on the importance of visuals in news broadcasting, it was found that visuals tend to enhance the interpretation of content more easily than voices (Gibs & Bernas, 2009). Hence, the Project achieves this by including relevant visuals that communicate to the audience. For example, in the case example of the bushfire response, visual used are the fires in the forest, burning houses and of individuals speaking about the property they have lost through the fire. Such visual communicate to the audience and makes them interpret the extent of impact and the need for the government to respond fast. Also, the sounds used are relevant to the bushfire topic. Greg Mullin, FMR commissioner fire and rescue, explains the solutions planned to stop the flames. The sounds and visuals are also evident in the covid-19 news showing empty shelves.

The Project aims to communicate to the whole public through objectives that cover news on current affairs, entertainment, and also comedy. Its scope is diverse, which attracts people to watch the show for these insights. The show has a high rating in public because, in its time on air, The Project, as well as its presenters, have been able to win awards such as eight TV Week Loggie awards and Walkley awards. Besides, it has also received a lot of recognition awards showing the effect it has on people in the country through its airing of interactive stories (“Watch full episodes of TV shows for free on 10 play – Network Ten”, 2020). Also, the show provides its news through YouTube with more than 330,000 subscribers. This number shows that the audiences for the show are significant, and it is trusted within and outside Australia. The two examples used were also aired on YouTube, hence providing the news to a vast population and through social media platforms.

The project show is different from other news shows, first because it airs at night, hence serving the late-night audiences. At night, most of the people are asleep, but for those working, the show serves their need for viewing news. Also, the presenters are known to host guests each day, who provide information on some aspects of various news, and also give a chance for listeners to speak to guests on various topics. It becomes an interactive session for the audience by asking questions and receiving responses immediately. The language used in the show is English, hence universal, and can be listened to by many other individuals in various countries. It also is an added advantage to having many viewers. Also, in its visual style, it shows the visuals while explaining what goes on in the pictures being shown. This style makes it simpler for the audience to comprehend and understand the subject of the news concerning the visuals and voice applied. On the picture editing, the show ensures visibility and clarity in that the pictures it uses to demonstrate the exact scenario that occurred, or which led to the development of the particular news.

The examples provided have backed its claims of bushfire and covid-19 panic buying with individual stories. In the bushfire, a couple who lost properties spoke of their experience at the time. It also relies on the information Philip Coorey, a political editor from parliament, to provide evidence of response strategies (“Bushfire Response/The Project,” 2020). Also, in the covid-19 panic buying, individual stories were used. To begin, the example news on product sellers in shopping mall experiencing empty shelves, and a buyer reason for bulk purchases at the time. Evidence is also gotten from a chin operating officer explaining the increased product productions caused by panic buying (“COVID-19: Please Stop Panic Buying | The Project”, 2020). Evidence has been provided to support the claims made through individual experiences.

Conclusion

The Project, or news delivered differently, is a show that has diversified its genre and covers entertainment issues, current affairs and comedy. Through well-developed content of the report, standard reporting style, quality presentation, and visuals are the broadcast elements used by the show to air news that satisfy its consumers’ demand. The examples of news aired on the bush fire and covid-19 panic buying have applied these elements hence attracting more individuals to support and be loyal to the show. The use of a universal language increases the consumer base, as many people understand. Therefore, ‘The project’ show has become a TV hit and had a vast audience because of the quality of its broadcasting elements, style of broadcasting, and the quantity of evidence provided in the news.

References

Bushfire Response/The Project. YouTube. (2020). Retrieved 27 April 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJPKaAis97g&list=PLOr8KyA9RE6KhH01OgrmeTRJgBjuUMdPB&index=2&t=0s.

Chung, D., & Nah, S. (2009). The Effects of Interactive News Presentation on Perceived User Satisfaction of Online Community Newspapers. Journal Of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 855-874. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01473.x

COVID-19: Please Stop Panic Buying | The Project. YouTube. (2020). Retrieved 27 April 2020, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsAcfPw_1_M.

Freeborn, D. (1996). Styles of news reporting. Style, 265-282. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-24710-3_21

Gibs, W., & Bernas, R. (2009). Visual Attention in Newspaper versus TV-Oriented News Websites. Journal Of Usability Studies, 4(4), 147-165. Retrieved 27 April 2020, from.

Reese, S., & Lee, J. (2020). Understanding the Content of News Media.

Rupar, V. (2006). How did you find that out? transparency of the newsgathering process and the meaning of news. Journalism Studies, 7(1), 127-143. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616700500450426

Strömbäck, J., Karlsson, M., & Hopmann, D. (2012). DETERMINANTS OF NEWS CONTENT. Journalism Studies, 13(5-6), 718-728. https://doi.org/10.1080/1461670x.2012.664321

Watch full episodes of TV shows for free on 10 play – Network Ten. 10play.com.au. (2020). Retrieved 27 April 2020, from https://10play.com.au/theproject/about.