Radio: BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

Our first CSP for radio is BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat.

Our key concepts for Radio are industries and audience so these are the contexts we need to consider when studying the texts. 

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat notes and background

Radio 1 Newsbeat is an example of a transitional media product which reflects changes in the contemporary media landscape. Newsbeat is both a traditional radio programme with regular, scheduled broadcast times, but it is also available online after broadcast.

The broadcast itself and the use of digital platforms provides opportunities for audience interaction. Newsbeat also exemplifies the challenges facing the BBC as a public service broadcaster that needs to appeal to a youth audience within a competitive media landscape.

Listen to today's Newsbeat bulletins by using the BBC Newsbeat page on the BBC website and then linking to BBC Sounds and scrolling to 8am or 12.45pm.


BBC Radio 1: History

BBC Radio 1 launched in 1967 playing pop music and using jingles in the style of American radio. It was a significant change from previous BBC content and was hugely popular in the 1970s and 1980s (some shows had 10m+ listeners). 

It became available on DAB digital radio in 1995 but not promoted until digital radios were more popular in 2002. It is available via digital TV and online via BBC Sounds.

Radio 1 is famous for events as well as radio – summer Roadshows, Big Weekends and the annual Teen Awards. 


Industries: Radio in decline

Although the BBC still boasts impressive audience figures for BBC Radio 2 and 4, it has struggled to attract young listeners to BBC Radio 1 in recent years.

Since 2010 listeners have declined – and although BBC R1 targets 15-29 year olds the average listener in 2017 was aged 30. Radio 1 is increasingly focusing on digital and social media with 16m weekly YouTube views reached in 2018.

Radio 1 Audience profile:

• Slightly more female than male
• 58% ABC1 (against population average of 55%)
• 90% white
• 41% of audience is in target audience range of 15-29
• Median age of 32

Industries: BBC remit and regulation

In 2011, BBC Radio 1 was part of a review into what the license fee should fund. Critics suggested that the content of BBC Radio 1 and 2 should be left to the commercial sector.

In response, the BBC made major changes at BBC Radio 1, aiming to re-target a core 15-24 audience and offering more diverse programming.

Since 2017, the BBC has been regulated by Ofcom. It is responsible for BBC content and ensuring it is delivering on its remit. 

BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat: Blog tasks

Analysis

Read the notes and listen to the extracts from Newsbeat above before answering the following questions:

1) Use BBC Sounds to listen to Radio 1. Scroll to a Newsbeat bulletin (8am or 12.45pm are good options) and write notes on how the bulletins may 

a) appeal to a youth audience 

b) help fulfil the BBC's responsibilities as a public service broadcaster. 

Media Factsheet #224: Industrial contexts of Radio

Read Media Factsheet #224 Understanding the Industrial Context of Radio. You'll need your Greenford google login to access it. Answer the following questions:

1) Read the first two pages of the factsheet. How does the Factsheet argue that radio still has cultural significance in the digital age? 

2) Look at the page 4 section on media theories. Briefly summarise the ideas of Curran and Seaton, Hesmondhalgh and Livingstone and Lunt.

3) What is the definition of public service broadcasting?

4) Look at the list of eight key principles for BBC Radio on page 6 of the factsheet. Choose the three you think are most significant and explain why.

5) What does the Factsheet suggest is the future of PSB radio and how might Radio 1 fit into this?

Industry contexts: reading and research

Read the first five pages of this Ofcom document laying out its regulation of the BBC. 

1) Pick out three key points in the 'Summary' section.

2) Now read what the license framework will seek to do (letters a-h). Which of these points could we relate to BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat?

3) Which do you think are the three most important aspects in the a-h list? Why?

4) Read point 1.9: What do Ofcom plan to review in terms of diversity and audience? 

5) Based on your reading and research, do you think BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat offers licence fee payers good value for money?

Finally, read this Guardian interview with former BBC 1 Controller Ben Cooper.

1) What was Ben Cooper trying to do with Radio 1?

2) How does he argue that Radio 1 is doing better with younger audiences than the statistics suggest?

3) Why does he suggest Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio?

4) Why is Radio 1 increasingly focusing on YouTube views and digital platforms?

5) In your opinion, should the BBC’s remit include targeting young audiences via Radio 1 or should this content be left to commercial broadcasters? Explain your answer.

Due date on Google Classroom

Magazines: Oh Comely - Audience

Our second Magazine Close-Study Product is the niche women's lifestyle publication Oh Comely - since rebranded as simply Oh.

The Oh Comely CSP pages we need to study are available here - you'll need to log in to your Greenford Google account to access them and will also be given colour copies in class. We'll be doing a close-textual analysis of the pages next week.

This week, we need to study both the target audience for Oh Comely and the audience pleasures that readers get from the magazine. First, let's cover the basics about the magazine. 

Notes from the lesson

Oh Comely magazine is a niche women’s lifestyle publication with a strong feminist perspective. It launched in 2010 and publishes six issues a year. It describes itself:

“Oh Comely is a curious, honest and playful independent magazine. It’s a place to meet strangers, hear their stories and look at life a little differently – where our readers are our writers and our models, too.

“Each issue we pick a theme and see where it takes us. We try something old, something new and something that scares us a bit. Then we present our findings in a beautiful, artbook style, putting new writing, photography and illustration talent at the heart of it.”

[Source: Oh Comely magazine website]

Oh Comely audience

Social Media Reach: 100,000 
Readers Per Issue: 25,000 
Average Age of reader: 27 
Sold through independents, WHSmith and international outlets


Oh Comely offers: “Access to a difficult to reach and highly-targeted niche demographic of creative women who spend money on the things they love.”

“Oh Comely is a powerful mix of words and pictures, stylishly presented and much loved by its readers. It provides an alternative to the ‘pile-it-high-sell-it-cheap’ aesthetic of mainstream magazines for young women, and this is why it has carved a loyal niche of fans. It is a breath of fresh air for a creative audience desperate to find something that speaks to them directly in an accessible, intelligent and interesting voice.”

[Source: ohcomely.co.uk/advertise]

Psychographics

Oh Comely magazine's description of itself would suggest targeting the Reformer and Explorer psychographic groups with an emphasis on creativity, self-discovery and a rejection of consumerism and commercialism.

Audience pleasures

There are many potential audience pleasures for Oh Comely readers. Applying Blumler & Katz’s Uses & Gratifications theory, three in particular would be:

Personal identity: Readers enjoy having their quirky, creative lifestyle and feminist viewpoint endorsed and reflected by the magazine.

Personal relationships: Oh Comely is presented in a particularly personal way. It is the creation of three university friends, the magazine offers background on the contributors and readers are encouraged to ‘get to know’ the editorial team.

Surveillance: Oh Comely deliberately looks to inform its readers about niche stories, events and people.

Oh Comely - Audience blog tasks

Read Meet the Editor - Oh Comely in Media Magazine 65 (p26). You can find this in our Media Magazine archive. This gives you a brilliant introduction to the magazine. Answer the following questions:

1) Summarise the ownership and production of Oh Comely - how did it start and who owns it?

2) What is the print circulation and how many subscribers do they have?

3) How does the editor Alice Snape characterise the typical Oh Comely reader?

4) What are the key aspects of the magazine's design aesthetic discussed by the editor? How might this link to audience pleasures?

5) How does the magazine represent women in terms of its production team and editorial decisions?


Now read the Oh Comely website page on advertising and audience to get a good idea of the demographics and psychographics for the Oh Comely target audience. Answer the following questions:

1) How does Oh Comely introduce itself ('what it's all about')?

2) How do the print circulation/readership statistics for Oh Comely compare to Men's Health?

3) How is Oh Comely distributed to the audience?

4) What do you think the target audience demographics for Oh Comely might be? Some details are provided by the magazine (e.g. average age 27) and you can fill in further gaps using the Media Magazine interview with the editor.

5) What psychographic groups might be attracted to Oh Comely? If you've forgotten this, revise psychographics here!

6) What social class classification would you expect most Oh Comely readers to be? Why?

7) What level of education would you expect for most Oh Comely readers? Why?

8) What audience pleasures are offered by Oh Comely?

9) It has been suggested Oh Comely is a “magazine about people, their quirks and creativity rather than money and what it can buy”. How does the design and advertising content of Oh Comely support this view?

10) Why do you think Oh Comely has been able to build a loyal audience of subscribers in the years since it launched? Think about audience demand, rival magazines and the overall media landscape in the digital age.

Due date on Google Classroom

Radio: Introduction to radio

Our final media topic on the coursework side is Radio.

We have two CSPs to study for this topic and also need to consider the place for radio in a digital media landscape. 

Radio CSPS

War of the Worlds – Columbia Broadcasting Company (1938)

Newsbeat – BBC Radio 1 

These are targeted CSPs and need to be studied with reference to two elements of the Theoretical Framework (Audiences and Industries) and all relevant contexts. 

Example exam questions

Briefly define public service broadcasting (PSB) [2 marks]

To what extent is War of the Worlds a historically significant media product? [20 marks]

Identify two strategies or techniques used by Radio 1 to attract a youth audience. Explain the reason for each. [4 marks]

Explain how regulatory contexts shape the output of media industries. You should refer to your radio Close Study Product, Newsbeat. [9 marks]

Key question: Is radio still relevant in the digital age?

How does radio respond to the digital media landscape we now find ourselves in. Will younger audiences listen to the radio? Does it have influence? Are podcasts the future for younger listeners?

BBC Sounds

BBC Sounds is a relatively new app designed to bring younger listeners to BBC Radio content. It aims to fulfil its requirements as a public service broadcaster while also responding to the demands of the digital media landscape.




Introduction to radio: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Radio' on your Media 2 Coursework blog and complete the following tasks:

BBC Sounds

Read this Guardian feature on the launch of BBC Sounds and answer the following questions:

1) Why does the article suggest that ‘on the face of it, BBC Radio is in rude health’?

2) What percentage of under-35s use the BBC iPlayer catch-up radio app?

3) What is BBC Sounds?

4) How do audiences listen to radio content in the digital age?

5) What does Jason Phipps suggest is important for radio and podcast content aimed at younger audiences?

6) Why does the BBC need to stay relevant?

Now read this review of the BBC Sounds app.

7) What content does the BBC Sounds app offer?

8) How does it link to BBC Radio?

9) What are the criticisms of the BBC Sounds app?

10) Two new podcasts were launched alongside the BBC Sounds app. What are they and why might they appeal to younger audiences?

Due date on Google Classroom