Bias
The first issue I will look at is 'bias' which means to show favouritism towards something. This may be a person, an idea, religion, political party etc. Producers making factual programmes must be careful about what content is put into their shows. When it is something factual, producers must try to stick with facts rather than showing opinions, which may be bias. An example of bias is in this article which suggests that people and the media are racially bias. The author, Karen Angel, explains that victims of violence who are white, are more often in the spotlight of the media and that we are hard pressed to name many black victims and therefore, the media has shown a bias towards white people. The link to this article can be found here: Click
It is important that producers be careful when showing bias, especially when it comes to a factual programme because showing favouritism in any way can sway people's opinions. This may be seen as you trying to push your opinions or thoughts onto the public and this can harm a producer's reputation in the industry.
Balance
Balance is being able to show different sides to one story, using more than one opinion to keep things balanced. When making any type of programme, especially a documentary or factual programme, it is important for a producer to include a selection of varied opinions and to be able to show an equal share of opposing opinions. This is how balance is kept in a programme. If a producer does not keep a balance and only shows one opinion or idea, the programme can then be criticised for being bias and the programme may prompt viewers to complain about only showing one side to the story. Not keeping the balance to a programme may discredit the producer's work and themselves when it comes to future jobs.
An excellent example of where balance can be considered to be missing is Big Brother, where one character may be seen as mean and nasty. The editors of the show will then tend to show more of this person, especially when they are doing something nasty, so that they can create interest in the television programme and this can sometime create a media frenzy around the show. The producer's want this as it helps keep their viewers.Accuracy
In terms of factual programmes, accuracy means being able to state facts, knowing that they are accurate and true. This effects the producer because things must be properly researched with facts having to be checked two or three times, which means pre-production of a programme may take longer. It is however, very important that any facts shown within a factual programme or documentary are definitely accurate because you are showing these programmes to the public who will assume that what you are telling them is fact. If they happen to be incorrect, you are then giving out fake information. If noticed, this could discredit your work and reputation as a producer who can create factual programmes. It is also important for producer's to be accurate within their factual shows to avoid complaints from viewers who will dispute your work, which will then be made known to others within the industry, making it hard for you to get future work in factual programme producing.
An example of inaccuracy within media would be with the story of CNN reporter, John King, who reported that a 'dark-skinned male' had been arrested in relevance to the bombings at the Boston Marathon. This was not fact and the reporter was forced to apologise for his errors in reporting factual information. The link to this article can be found here: Click
Another example would be when a programme featuring Sir David Attenborough
showed a polar bear giving birth. The audience were lead to believe that this took place in the wild, when in fact, it was filmed in a zoo. The link to this story can be found here: Click
One channel in the UK where a lot of factual programmes can be viewed is on channel 4. Here I have added a link to Channel 4's Factual Programme Guidelines.
There is such a thing as a 'contract with viewer - This is basically an unwritten rule that means if you state your show is factual and interesting and describe what your show is about, you have made a pact with your viewers to supply them with the information you said you would as well as it being precise, accurate and interesting.
Representation
Representation is how something or someone is portrayed. It may be how a group of people may be shown such as a race, religion or people who live in a particular place. Producers must be careful when representing people in a television show or movie because it may cause offence. For example, when showing Irish people as being constantly drunk, people may be offended by the fact that this is stereotyping Irish people. This could be done in many ways, such as showing people from London as being in gangs. Complaints may come in about programmes which show representation in a stereotypical way or in a particularly bad way. This will affect how your programme will be taken by the public audience.
An example showing representation would be the television show 'Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' which shows one side of the travelling community, the extravagant side where girls are expected to get married, have children and obey their husbands and the men often get into fights, bringing their caravans from one place to the next. This is only showing one side to the travelling community as they are not all like this, however this popular television show only tends to show the most shocking yet interesting types of 'gypsy'.
Impartiality
This is when you may have your own opinion about a subject but you don't show it, keeping it to yourself so that you do not sway other people's opinions. When you are impartial about something, you are looking at something from all angles, keeping an open mind. It is also keeping yourself out of the main story. For example, if you are a journalist reporting on a murder, trying to keep emotionally uninvolved so that you can tell the story from an impartial view, so that you don't become bias. It is important for producers to make sure that impartiality is used so that people's opinions aren't swayed in one particular direction. It is especially important when it comes to news and politics programmes.
If a show is not reported impartially, a producer can also get in trouble with Ofcom, who have rules that must be followed about impartiality. I have added the page on Ofcom's website which breaks down the rules of impartiality: Click
An example of the impartiality rules being broken would be when the BBC presenter Jeremy Paxman wrote an article for The Guardian which claimed that Tony Blair 'based his justification for going to war on "lies"'. The link to the informational article about this happening can be found here: Click
Privacy is an issue in factual TV programming because everyone has a right to keep themselves out of public attention, however the media have a right to a freedom of expression and often argue that they should be able to produce anything they believe is in the public’s best interest. It is important not to intrude into other people's lives without consent, permission must be gotten for the use of what someone says or the use of their image in a documentary or factual programme. In some documentaries you can see people’s faces blurred out when they are talking. A person is able to say that they want while the image of themselves is kept private.
There is a law set in place to protect people's privacy and there can be serious consequences when this law is broken, such as a fine, the company and producer could be taken to court and the programme may not be shown which would be a waste of time, energy and money. This may also affect future work for the producer and the company as they can be seen in a bad light.
Subjectivity
Subjectivity is the complete opposite of the word ‘objectivity’. Subjectivity is judgement based on personal feelings and opinions rather than external facts. Presenters of factual shows will very rarely give their own personal opinion on a subject as the show is meant to be made based on fact. Giving an opinion is fine as long as it is made clear that it is nothing more than opinion. The reason factual programmes very rarely show presenters giving their opinion is because they and the producers are expected to be able to keep an open mind. Showing subjectivity in your work may lose you credibility and complaints may come in about the show made.
I believe that showing subjectivity may make your programme less than it could be because one side of the story is shown more often, pushing these opinions onto the public rather than showing a balaced view and letting each member of the public make their own opinion from there.
One television show which can sometimes show subjectivity would be Big Brother becuase there tends to be a lot of focus on one person and perhaps one thing about that one person such as their sexuality or gender. The people in editing have the power over what the viewer sees and if they show more of one person for any reason, they may not be giving the public a true image of that person and their personality.
I have included two links to descriptions of the would 'subjectivity' here and here.
An example would be the video below which is about a documentary showing a young anorexic girl. We already have an opinion of her based on the subject of the documentary but we must give it time and watch so that we can make our own opinion of the girl despite the fact that she is young and anorexic.
Opinion
An opinion is a judgement or statement made, what people think of something. Everyone will have their own take or opinion on a matter. When making television programmes, producers can show other people's opinions but must be careful to show both sides to every story. However, it is best to keep the producer's own opinion out of the television show so that the end product doesn't seen bias in any way. This keeps a programme balanced and fair.When thinking about opinions in television, I think about panel shows such as mock the week and have I got news for you, which are filled with opinions on factual news and current affairs.
An example of showing an opinion in a television show would be with a programme that featured on Channel 4 called 'Drugs Live: The Ecstasy Trial'. In this programme, a few members of the studio audience were asked for their view on the topic. This is an interesting and entertaining way of showing opinions about a subject on television. This can also be seen being done in shows where interviews are done on the street with the public over certain matters.
Conclusion
My connclusion to this task is that I have been able to look at all of these different types of issues within the production of factual programmes, learning to understand why each must be carefully considered by a producer and maker of a television show. I have been able to explain what each term means and have gotten a better understanding myself because I had to look up examples of where there have been problems in relevance to these terms. All of this information will help me to create my own factual programme.
