Radio Radio Public Service Broadcaster A radio station
Radio
Radio Public Service Broadcaster = A radio station or programme that offers a range of tastes to cater for different audiences.
5 categories of commercial radio stations in the UK - - National commercial radio (classic fm, absolute radio) National brands (regional stations that have been collected into networks sharing some programmes) (global radio = heart, gold) (bauer media group = kiss, magic) Independent local radio (regional commercial stations specific to a certain area, not a network group) Community radio (serve their local areas and produce content in the interest of the local people, non profit and funded by the community) Hospital radio (hundreds of stations based in hospitals, staffed by volunteers)
- How does the BBC promote its stations and programmes? - - Through cross platform marketing as BBC tv will promote radio stations and events related to the BBc (such as T in the Park) Billboard and magazine ads Each radio station has a website within the umbrella of the BBC website that allows the audience to catch up on programmes or engage with interactive elements They produce promotional films BBC taster that showcases new ideas
The 7 codes and conventions of speech based radio programmes 1. Presenter = acts as an anchor to guide discussion 2. Discussions = a group of people discussing a range of topics 3. Phone-ins = an effective and cheap way of involving listeners and allowing them to offer their point of view 4. Drama = storyline programmes, fictional 5. Contributors = news magazine programmes invite guests who tend to be experts or knowledgable in the topic to take part in the discussion 6. Documentaries = may be related to news items or current affairs 7. Outside broadcasters = reporters, presenters and mobile studios bring stories and features from different locations
Scheduling: Each radio station has a schedule and programmes are put on at the same time every day across the schedule. The regular programmes for each station are broadcast at the same time every day and the scheduling of particular programmes will have been researched to maximise the target audience. The radio divides its day related to what the audience would be doing. This could be breakfast shows or sport shows after/during sporting events. This creates a sense of familiarity, reliability and expectation in the audience which provides structure. The BBC uses scheduling through the Radio 1 and 2 breakfast shows, BBC Sussex sport shows after, for example, football matches, and the Late Night Womens Hour at 11 pm to allow for more adult content.
The voice of Late Night Women’s Hour = Lauren Laverne
OFCOM regulates the radio and tv broadcasting industry The role of OFCOM is to advise and settle some of the technical aspects of regulation through implementing and enforcing the law.
How can Curran and Seaton’s power and media industries theory be applied to the BBC and LNWH? Curran and Seaton’s theory states that the media is controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of profit and power. This media concentration generally limits creativity, variety and quality. Therefore, more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for more varied and adventurous media products. The BBC is a major deliverer of radio and tv, with the majority of the things we watch and listen to coming from this one company. This could be detrimental to us as an audience if the BBC put out the same opinions across their products, or we could be viewing the same thing over and over with no added creativity. The lack of advertisements of products outside of their company may limit us as an audience from experiencing new things so therefore we could be missing out as we are only seeing the products they produce that benefit their company only.
4 factors that create appeal for radio audiences - The blind medium = only involves hearing which allows the audience to use their imagination The companion medium = radio provides a strong sense of personal communication and offers interactive opportunities The intimate medium = the direct mode of address makes radio very personal The undemanding medium = radio allows the audience to do other things while listening so they do not need to devote all their attention to it
How does LNWH appeal to audiences? - Laura Laverne is of a similar age to the target audience, her northern accent subverts the stereotype of the typical radio presenter so therefore makes her more relatable The time schedule appeals to a more specialised audience (niche) The themes of the programme are constructed to be of the interest of the specialised audience The style of the programme and choice of guests constructs the audience as the guests tend to be educated It is available across and range of platforms so therefore available to a global audience
Hall’s Reception Theory and LNWH The listener is assumed to be part of the target audience so it is also assumed that they would accept the preferred reading of the media product. However, if they are not part of the target audience or simply have different opinions they may take a negotiated or oppositional reading.
Demonstrates the BBC’s awareness to cater for all areas of society Women have previously been underrepresented in media Social and Cultural context of LNWH It caters for a specific social group The topics discussed reflect what is of the interest of young women in today’s society
Late Night Womens Hour
Product Context - Spin off from Woman’s Hour Broadcast once a month at 11 pm Presented by Lauren Laverne Has a number of female guests Each episode focuses on a particular theme relevant to the audience Began in 2015
Historical Context - - The original Woman’s Hour first broadcast in the 1940 s The female audience was the minority audience in the 40 s One hour a day or week was set aside for just the female audience which suggests that BBC radio targeted their media products at men or that the BBC was run by the patriarchy Demonstrates a shift in society and increased gender equality
- Institution Economics - The BBC raises its finances from a license fee The license fee is £ 147 per year and is paid by the UK population The license fee enables people to consume TV and radio (BBC or not)
The BBC’s mission is to inform, educate and entertain. This mission has been around since 1922.
It could be argued that commercial broadcasters (those who are set up to make a financial profit through advertising) might see a programme like LNWH as being too specialised, aimed at a relatively small audience and broadcast at an unpopular time. Purely commercial institutions would be less likely to produce a product like this due to the relatively low audience figures, lack of sponsorship or advertising deals to tie-in with the programme, and its specialist nature. The programmes have only female contributors, is made up predominantly of just dialogue (without music, sound effects etc. ) and the topics explored use intellectual and specialised vocabulary. The BBC, however, have a commitment to producing a wide selection of content, aimed at all sections of the population. In which case, LNWH could be seen as a ‘typical’ BBC product.
Scheduling - Late Night Woman’s Hour has an 11 p. m. broadcast timeslot. However, audiences can now listen on digital devices other than radios and download podcasts to enjoy at their leisure which means the time a broadcast airs live might be less significant. Technological Change Digital technology, such as Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB) , possibly offers broadcasters like the BBC more freedom to produce challenging content which would normally got out after the 21. 00 watershed (the time which more ‘adult’ themes can be shown on TV and radio, such as violence or language), and still be heard at any given time though downloadable content.
It could be argued that programmes like LNWH, and the general product output from the BBC, challenges the idea that the media is run purely for economic profit and power, while being controlled by a small number of powerful companies, such as Sky, News Corporation and Disney, for example. Theories Late Night Woman’s Hour might also be used to support Curran and Seaton’s idea that socially diverse patterns of ownership help create conditions for varied and adventurous productions, In other words, the more variation of media companies which exist leads to greater choice and potential risks to be taken with product. It could be argued that the success and growth of podcasts across a range of topics and genres could also be due to the relative inexpensive production costs and hosting facilities on a range of divergent technologies. Podcasts are also available to a wider global audience , which widens the target market.
Categorising Audiences A stereotypical Radio 4 listener is likely to be educated often to degree level, be in a managerial/senior/educational job environment, upper-middle class, aware of current affairs – and most likely male Consideration should be given to how Late Night Woman’s Hour challenges the established audience of this channel. Some examples of these challenges to the Radio 4 audience might include the obvious gender bias (the clue is in the title), the presence of Lauren Laverne as the main presenter and the nature of the content.
Audience Interpretation We might consider a male response to the content of the show and with its exclusive panel of female guests, how this might be unsettling or alienating for male listeners. The nature of the programmes are not solely female-targeted material, but quite often it does take an exclusive female ‘take’ on the subjects. We might also recognise the ways in which the broadcast has been designed to invite audience members to enter the discussion through social media platforms – Twitter being the most popular form of response. Might the controversial nature of some of the episodes have been designed to invite strong responses and divide audience opinion?
Audience Targeting Highlights the nature of PSB and the BBC’s mission of inform, educate and entertain. Designed to explicitly appeal to a specialised (educated, female) audience, with potentially a younger age group than usual for Radio 4. This might be due to the content of the programmes and the makeup of the guests. Is its apparent success down to its uniqueness, as this is the only programme of its type on radio? ITVs Loose Women could be somewhat compared for television, but the target audience is perhaps not so ‘educated’? The programme may also be targeting a younger audience (late teens to early thirties) with the variety of subjects featured in the series
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