re:constructions - Conventions of the News Camera

Interpretations

CONVENTIONS OF THE NEWS CAMERA
By Gaye Tuchman, 1978
Questions by Henry Jenkins, 09/15/2001

"Anchorpersons and camerapersons appear in standard torso shots, emphasizing their heads and shoulders...The camera operators attempt to project friendliness to the audience through this framing and to maintain neutrality by keeping the torso framing standard throughout the sequence of stories...The head and shoulders of a talking head, whether that of a mayor, senator or secretary, may be similarly framed or presented at a greater distance from the camera lens...All newsmakers are presented from this same distance or combination of distances, again connoting neutral presentation. The anchorperson, commentators, and newsmakers may be portrayed in a tighter (closer) shot than the TV reporter at the scene of a story... As a general rule, the reporter is portrayed standing in front of the scene of a story, the camera moving in, eventually focusing on the reporter from the waist up...The distinction between cinematic detachment and participation connotes neutrality. A movie actor would be shown acting in a crowd, despite the extent to which such a shot might initially block the viewer's clear identification of him. The movie director would want to portray the hero acting with others to show his involvement, in contrast to the intentional portrayal of the uninvolved reporter."

- Gaye Tuchman, Making News: A Study in the Construction of Reality (New York: Free Press, 1978).

Questions to Consider

Tuchman describes the conventions by which television cameraman film the participants in the news. What do you see as the significance of having such consistent norms for depicting specific participants - anchorman, reporters, newsmakers - as opposed to the more varied ways that we film characters in a television drama or sitcom?
Tuchman argues that such conventions are important in communicating the "neutrality" or "objectivity" we associate with American news coverage. Can you think of moments in the recent media coverage where these conventions broke down? If so, why?
Tuchman describes the field reporter as uninvolved in the events around them. Can you point towards moments in the recent news coverage where reporters get involved or interact in a more immediate way with the people and materials of their surroundings?
How do gliches or breakdowns in conventional news coverage impact our emotional responses to the coverage? Does the coverage seem more "real" or "authentic", less rehearsed, when these conventions break down?
In some cases, reporters were describing situations where they were at risk or things they had personally witnessed. How does this shift from objective to personal accounts - from the same reporters - impact the way we feel about the information being reported?

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