RADIO CASE STUDY-23/03/20

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PUBLIC SERVICE VS COMMERCIAL BROADCASTING

Public Service Broadcasting refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests, public service broadcasters such as the BBC are funded by the public/ local people; the BBC is paid via the TV license.

The BBC which is a public service broadcaster has a set of values and they aim to educate, entertain and inform their audience.

Commercial Broadcasting is the broadcasting of television programmes and radio programming by privately owned corporate media, and example of a commercial broadcaster is ITV.

Curran and Seaton’s theory can be applied to commercially driven broadcasters such as ITV. ITV’s aims are to be a leading creative force in global content production, however another of ITV’s aims or main intention is to generate/gain as much profit as possible they do this through their large audience of 36.8 million viewers per week. However the BBC which is a public service broadcaster subverts this theory as their main intention is create quality content which appeals and represents a diverse range of demographics that is part of their mandate and values which are to educate, entertain and inform its audience. Curren and Seaton’s theory argues that content for commercial broadcasters can be problematic due to reasons considering variety, creativity and quality, they suggest that even if the content is quiet popular at times , it can be considered boring and of poor quality for example ITV have shows such as I’m A Celebrity, X-Factor and Love island which have similar platforms they each have a voting station where you can vote for your favourite people , they also have a competition challenge throughout their shows, content such as this can get repetitive and boring however by ITV having a large audience;these type of programmes get more viewings and as they audience level rises the bigger the prizes on these programmes get.Also commercial broadcasters do not have as much duty as the BBC which is publically funded, therefore the BBC doesn’t comply with this theory because it makes content that appeals to their views and to justify its TV license it must ensure quality for its diverse community.

RADIO 4- CASE STUDY

BBC radio 4 is owned and operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Radio 4 has a wide variety of spoken- word programmes such as the news,drama, comedy and science.It also occasionally broadcasts concerts, and documentaries related to various forms of both classical and popular music.

It is the second most popular domestic radio station in the UK.

On average the age range for BBC radio 4 listener is 56 years old and leans towards an older audience. Their target audience is between 35-54 ABC1 which makes up for 24% of the audience.The radio station has had a upmarket bias 75% of those fall into the ABC1 demographic. Radio 4 reaches 11.55 million listeners each week, 221.2% of population; the average listener tunes in for 11 hours each week. However online radio 4 attracts 1.8 million unique browsers to its site each week, its the biggest of any BBC Radio stations.

Radio 4 is different from other BBC Radio stations because it’s for viewers who are interested in intelligent speech, also its schedule is packed with journalism, comedy, feature and drama also reading anywhere in the UK radio. You can also access radio 4 on line anywhere in the world. Radio 4 also has one of the oldest age rangers out of the BBC radios following behind BBC 3.

BBC RADIO 1, RADIO 4 AND RADIO 5 LIVE.

BBC RADIO 1 is a radio station that specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day, however at night Radio 1 has a different approach they play alternative genres including electronica, dance , hip hop and indie.

BBC RADIO 1 also presents news as the Newsbeat.

Newsbeat is a fifteen minuet programme that is broadcasted at 12:45 and 17:45pm during the week, they also have short bulletins that are also heard throughout the day. Newsbeat is produced by the BBC News but differs from the BBC’s other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for a specifically younger audience. By newsbeat being 15 minuets a day it allows a younger audince to engage with current evens and be aware of what is going on in the news.

BBC RADIO 1 presents their news as fast paced this intrigues a younger audience or an audience between the age 15-29, however it has recently showed that people between the age of 35 listen to radio 1. The fast pace of they way the radio station runs helps the audience at this age range encode the media forms it also allows the audience to listen without being in full focus.

Radio 1 also produces a an array of music genres meaning BBC radio 1 has something for everyone, as bbc radio one had 10.56 million listeners above the age of 10 this may be because of what type of products they broadcast. BBC radio 1 also a large online network , they have a YouTube channel with 6.62 million subscribers; It is known that the younger generations use social media more or are considered that their life evolves around social media and by BBC radio 1 having an online platform it allows the younger audience to have an easier access. BBC radio 1 also post video of live performances of famous musicians which draws younger audiences in , they also post interviews of celebrities therefore by posting videos like this it attracts their intended target audience.

However unlike bbc radio 1 , BBC RADIO 4 is a more sophisticated broadcaster as it broadcast a wide variety of spoken-word programmes including the news, drama, comedy, science and history.

RADIO 4 present their news at a slow paced as their target audience is aimed at 35-54 years old. By having an older target audience it may be crucial to have a slower paced broadcasting technique as older audiences have time and patience to listen to the radio.

Radio 4’s The today show flagships news and current affairs programme including though of the day. The today show is broadcasted on Monday-Friday from 6:00 am to 9:00 am and from 7:00 am – 9:00 am on Saturday and Sunday. The timing the show is on is relevant to the target audience because these may be time the audience wake up or are getting reading for work, the today show has 7 million listeners weekly . The today show also has a range of different news stories and podcasts therefore having a range for everyone.

BBC radio 4 has a large variety of programmes meaning that there’s something for everyone, radio 4 also has a schedule meaning they have programmes on at set times for example in 6:00 am they have the news and current events/ affairs .This applies to the target audience because older people tend to get up earlier so by having the news on at 6:00 am it allows the audience to be aware of what is going on.BBC radio 4 also have stripped programmes these are programmes that are set meaning that they are on at the same time everyday for example the daily prayer this appropriate to radio 4’s target audience because the daily prayer is on at 5:45 am meaning it a lines with the time older audiences/ people wake up. It also give the platform a diverse persona because by having a daily prayer it allows religious audiences to feel included.

RADIO 5 LIVE , is very different from radio 1 and radio 4 as it mainly broadcasts news, sport, discussions , interviews and phone-ins.

BBC radio 5 live has a target audience between the age groups of 25-34

Radio 5 live news has the best interviews and sporting action, therefore radio 5 live news is very different to the other broadcaster as they focus on sporting events. I think the target audience for 5 live news is possibly males between the age of 25-34, due to them having a range of sports, they also have phone ins which allows people who are interested in the subject and news they offer to ring up and talk about it.

LATE NIGHT WOMAN’S HOUR

Late Night Woman’s Hour is a highbrow speech programme on BBC Radio 4, that is a spin-off series of Women’s Hour however it is aimed at a younger demographic. LNWH links to the BBC’s mandate due to the dedication of showing/representing diversity as it has taken one of it’s popular stripped programmes and have altered it so it appeals to a younger audience, it appeals to a younger audience with the help of one of the presenters Lauren Laverne as she is a similar age range to the target audience

TYPE OF PROGRAMMES:

Programmes like these draw attention to a younger audience because they are relatable stories that young females go through for example if a women has broken up with someone they go to their friends for advice and Late Night Woman’s hour can be a digital way of doing that they can listen to relatable content and hear what advice they are giving, also by having a story about highlist youtubers it appeals to the target audience because they might be of the audience that watch them or they may just like the drama.

We could link Stuart Hall’s theory to LNWH and Lauren Laverne, Hall talks about preferred reading this is how the producer or in this case presenter want the audience to view the media text therefore by Lauren Laverne being the presenter for LNWH and being the remotely the same age to the target audience it means the content that is produced is easily decoded by the audience and the messages they give out are clear, furthermore LNWH also talks about relavent themes that apply and are relevant to the audience, for example The Guardian states “Listeners have praised it’s in-depth discussion on Women’s affairs and said that it provides a refreshing antidote to some of the BBC’s other content”., this further supports the preferred reading in Hall’s theory; the Guardian also talks about how guest who have worked with Laverne have praised her for being genuinely interested in what people have to say and not her own opinions therefore this shows that Lauren Laverne puts the audience first and cares for what they have to say.

However it may be argued that Laverne isn’t representative to the other traditional type of listener, therefore they would be considered Oppositional reading where the audience reject the preferred reading and creates their own meaning to the text; this may be considered as controversial and would possibly mean the lose of audiences.Further adding to this point Chartables reviews on LNWH have mixed reviews some people state that LNWH has ‘bad editing’ also stating some podcasts and episodes were ‘awful and full of factually incorrect comments’, therefore some of their content has cause problems and controversy. On the other hand Chartable also has good reviews on the show and Lauren Laverne in particular for example a person has stated that LNWH has ‘Diverse and engaging topics by and about “real” women’ this reinforces the BBC’s mandate as there main intention is to represent a divers community. Chartable also shows what people think of Lauren Laverne as a presenter stating ” Lauren Laverne is an amazing host” “I am a keen listener of Woman’s hour and a fan of Lauren Laverne”, therefore by having Laverne as the presenter as LNWH because it draws in listeners.

WHO IS LAUREN LAVERNE?

Lauren Fisher, who is professionally known as Lauren is a 41 year old, English radio DJ, model,television presenter, author, singer and comedian. Lauren Laverne is from Sunderland in the North of England.

WHAT DOES SHE DO?

Lauren Laverne is a TV presenter, she presents programmes such as 10 O’Clock Live for Channel 4, and the Culture Show, she also has coverage of the Glastonbury Festival for the BBC. However, Laverne also presents radio stations for example she guest edited Woman’s Hour and then later in 2015 she hosted Late Night Woman’s Hour which is a spin-off series. Laverne also took over Desert Island Discs in September 2018.

LATE NIGHT WOMAN’S HOUR: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02zhq5l

DESERT ISLAND DISCS: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qnmr

WHY DO YOU THINK SHE IS A GOOD CHOICE TO A PRESENT RADIO 4 SHOW?

Personally , I think Lauren Laverne is a good choice to present a Radio 4 show because radio 4 is a speech based radio station which includes intellectual answers and uses discussion to create variety. Lauren Laverne has presented many other shows, showing that she is good at what she does, it also gives the audience as sense of awareness of who she is . BBC are know for there sense of diversity, they try and include many programmes or people who may resonate with them, therefore I believe Lauren Laverne is a god choice to have present a BBC radio 4 show because she is shown as the diverse range of the BBC because she is a Northerner meaning she will represent the North of England and by having her present she will attract a larger audience than just the South.

WHAT IS LATE NIGHT WOMAN’S HOUR ABOUT?

Late Night Woman’s Hour is a spinoff series of Women’s Hour that was first broadcasted in 2015. Each episode of Late Night Women’s Hour revolves around a theme and invloves informal and in depth discussions. Some themes that have been included on the radio programme are female friendships, women in sport and anxiety.

HOW DOES LATE NIGHT WOMEN’S HOUR APPEAL TO AUDIENCES?

Lauren Laverne is of similar age to the target audience of Late Night Woman’s Hour which will allow audiences to connect with the presenter easily. Laverne also subverts the typical BBC radio present as with her northern accent which makes her more relatable to the audience.Although the language is still intelligent, it is aimed at a younger demographic and the mode of address is aimed at younger people rather that the older demographic, whom can listen to the radio programme. Late Night Woman’s Hour apples to a specific audience because of the time it is on with the stripped schedule because older people would usually not be awake at 10pm at night. The themes tackled in the programme are aimed for younger people to interact and have their opinions to be able to have discussions on the programme or with listeners. Late Night Woman’s Hour is able to be reached on multiple platforms so it has a global target audience.

EXAMPLE OF EPISODE: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b0801ql5

OFCOM

The BBC itself is regulated by Ofcom, it tells the BBC was is and what isn’t appropriate to be broadcasted they does this in return for a fee.

OFCOMS PROMISE FOR THEIR FEE

  • Ensure a wide range of TV services of high quality and high appeal is available.
  • Ensure Plurality, not having a majority and ensuring a choice and a diverse range of things to view and listen to.

What is the Broadcasting code?

The Broadcasting Code is a set of rules that television, film and radio have to follow to have the programme on air without any complaints. The Broadcasting Code is split up into many different sections: Protecting the under-eighteens; harm and offence; crime,disorder, hatred and abuse;religion; due impartiality and due accuracy; elections and referendums; fairness;privacy; commercial references on TV and commercial communities on radio.

OFCOM BROADCASTING CODE– Ofcom is required under the Communications Act of 2003 and the Broadcasting Act o 1996 to draw up a code for television and radio, covering standers in programmes , sponsorship,fairness and privacy.

BROADCASTING CODE: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/tv-radio-and-on-demand/broadcast-codes/broadcast-code

WHAT IS THE BROADCASTING BULLETIN?

The BroadCast Bulletin is a place where Ofcom stores all the complaints about TV and Radio broadcasts.

THEORIES

STUART HALL’S RECEPTION THEORY-BBC RADIO 4 PROGRAMMEhttps://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b03tt50m

Hall asserted that communication is a process involving encoding by producers and decoding by audiences. He said there are three ways in which meaning and messages will be decoded by an audience.

  • Dominant Position: the audience accepts the intended meaning of the encoded product.
  • Negotiated Reading: the audience acknowledge some of the messages encoded by the producers of the product but may question or adapt to be more relatable in their own experience.
  • Oppositional Reading: the encoders message is understood, but the decoder disagrees with it.

CURRAN AND SEATON: POWER AND MEDIA INDUSTRY

The main points of the theory are:

  • Media Producers are controlled by a small number of companies primarily driven by the logic of a profit and power.
  • The idea that media concentration generally limits or inhabits variety, creativity and quality.
  • The idea that more socially diverse patterns of ownership help to create the conditions for a more varied and adventurous patterns of ownership.

AUDIENCES

In the world dominated by visuals images many people wonder how radio has been able to survive and develop. Some reasons are:

  • Blind Medium:only involves a sense of hearing with no visual images and allows for a sense of imagination.
  • Companion Medium: radio provides a strong sense of personal communication for the audience. It is also interactive, audiences can phone or text the show and request music.
  • Intimate Medium: direct mode of address encourages intimacy with the listener.
  • Undemanding Medium: allows the audience to do other things with their time while listening to the radio.

THE BBC REVIEW-ON RADIO 4

Radio 4 delivers the BBC public purpose to nearly eleven million listeners, who tune in on average for 11 hours each week. Our review founded that Radio 4 sets the standers for high quality, intelligent speech radio programming.It is highly thought of by it’s audience and is regarded as a ‘National Institution’.

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