Page 32 - Courting the Media Contemporary Perspectives on Media and Law

―Mediated Forensics: From Classroom to Courtroom‖ 23

regional infrastructure was changed, and broadcasts became national or even
global in nature. [Butler, 263].
Like many practitioners and teachers of the medium, in his book Butler
focuses on the essential function of presenters, and how much is invested in
the communicative attention that is afforded through engagement with studio
and home audiences. The techniques of gestural and voice techniques, as well
as studio lighting, cues and design and camera procedures, especially use of
close-ups, are all worthy of attention, certainly more than can be provided in
this paper. The techniques are not merely aesthetic or superficial, but are
fundamental to creating a relationship of trust, persuasion and apparent
interaction with the audience [Deming, 136-139], [Kavka, 37-38]. This
relationship becomes the basis of the key function of presenters, in mediating
or interpreting subject matter, especially in non-fictional genres like current
affairs, news, talk panels and documentaries.
The presentational paradox is partly resolved through the celebrity status
that well-known presenters and newsreaders can attain. This can be a
problematic thing in itself. However, generally TV celebrities differ from film
stars and create and maintain their role through active conversational
engagement with audiences. Presentational authority can also be transferred
from expertise outside television, through what Butler terms social actors.
Expert or even celebrity social actors can become key presenters in segments
or programs like counselling, political comment, science, fashion, cooking
and, most relevant to our paper, televised courtroom shows [Chad].
This function of presentational commentary in television images reminds
us of Roland Barthes‘ adage about print pictures, i.e., that pictures in
themselves can be highly ambiguous, and require written comments or
captions for clarity. This does seem to be the case in the production of ‗raw‘
footage, in documentaries for example. The audience relies on the voice over
and narrator for appropriate guidance, information and context of particular
shots and sequences. It is possible that the Channel 4 documentary on coronial
matters, while having a presentational component, failed to provide adequate
and familiar authority and background about graphic imagery, to allow their
meaningful reception by French law students concerned. It is not that
presentation did not occur, but it was probably limited, and its style might not
have been culturally immediate or familiar enough to satisfy the
communicative function required for commentary of such sensitive subject
matter.