BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat: Blog tasks

 Newsbeat analysis

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 

In order to keep the younger audience interested  they start by playing some upbeat music.

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

It summarises the news in a detailed way that is perfect for a range of ages in audience.

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? 

Radio accompanies us in our cars, on commutes through mobile devices and can be found in our homes through television, radio, and voice activated speakers. You can now ‘go beyond radio’ with hardware such as the Amazon Echo Auto which uses Bluetooth to enable you to access radio stations from all over the world in your car via your phone. Radio is a global medium. Radio is also a medium for all sorts of formats: drama, comedy, variety, magazine format, zoo format (a show where presenters chat informally), shock jocks (deliberately provocative talk show hosts), soap operas, (named after the soap companies who sponsored the shows) and advertising itself (with jingles and catchphrases) all started on radio.

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

David Hesmondalgh The media put profit before creativity. Music can uniquely reflect an identity to a listener and smaller stations do not have to make money for shareholders.

Livingstone and Lunt Media regulation should have a consumer-based approach. The deregulation of radio businesses with the 1996 Telecommunications Act changed the radio landscape dramatically and led to the rapid consolidation of the industry.

3) What is the definition of public service broadcasting?

Definition: “In the United Kingdom, the term “public service broadcasting” refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests. The communications regulator Ofcom requires that certain television and radio broadcasters fulfil certain requirements as part of their license to broadcast. All of the BBC’s television and radio stations have a public service remit, including those that broadcast digitally.”

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.

- Attention to minorities – inclusive and non-tokenistic programming.- this is important as there content has to be appropriate and suited for their audiences,otherwise the regulators wouldnt approve it 

- Universal geographic accessibility – you can listen to radio anywhere in the country. thisis important as widens the audience range

Universal appeal – across the board the programming will have something for all an everyone.

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

The BBC has many radio channels which are designed to reflect the nation’s diversity and each week nearly 35 million people tune in to P.S.B channels. The BBC has developed its Sounds app to converge all its content into one place in order to challenge the new threats to attracting younger audiences offered by streaming sites like Spotify, Apple and Amazon Prime. As it stands the BBC is surviving but its future is looking more and more precarious, especially it cannot convince the young that it is worth paying for. It could be that P.S.B radio broadcasting might have to have a separate licence fee, or we may see the development of individual subscriptions to stations.

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.

The BBC is the UK’s most widely-used media organisation, providing programming on television and radio and content online. The public has exceptionally high expectations of the BBC, shaped by its role as a publicly-funded broadcaster with a remit to inform, educate and entertain the public, and to support the creative economy across the UK. To meet these expectations, the BBC must deliver the mission and public purposes set out in its new Royal Charter (the Charter). For the first time, the BBC will be robustly held to account for doing so by an independent, external regulator. Alongside responsibilities for programme standards and protecting fair and effective competition in the areas in which the BBC operates, the Charter gives Ofcom the job of setting the BBC’s operating licence (the Licence). This sets binding conditions, requiring the BBC to deliver for licence feepayers. It is also our job to scrutinise, measure and report on the BBC’s performance.  On 29 March 2017, we consulted on a draft Licence setting out requirements for the BBC to fulfil its remit, and plans for Ofcom to measure the BBC’s overall performance. We have carefully considered more than 100 responses from members of the public and industry. We have taken account of the BBC’s interim annual plan for engage with is one of the key ways Radio 1 can set itself apart from other radio stations;/18, published on 3 July 2017. We have also carried out bespoke research into audience opinions and expectations of the BBC.

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?

Increase requirements around programmes for children. CBBC must show at least 400 hours – and CBeebies at least 100 hours – of brand new, UK commissioned programmes each year. CBeebies has to provide a range of programming that supports pre-school children’s learning; c) Secure a more distinctive BBC across all its services – a central feature of the Charter – through a range of new measures. At least three-quarters of all programme hours on the BBC’s most popular television channels should be original productions, commissioned by the BBC for UK audiences. There will be new requirements on Radio 1 and Radio 2 to play a broader range of music than comparable commercial stations and more music from new and emerging UK artists; 

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

Support social action campaigns on BBC radio. We are requiring Radio 1 to offer a minimum number of major social action campaigns each year. Providing information and raising awareness of social issues affecting young people and giving them a platform to engage with is one of the key ways Radio 1 can set itself apart from other radio stations Safeguard vulnerable genres such as arts, music and religious programmes. Our research shows these areas are important for some audiences; but some are in decline. We have therefore confirmed higher requirements for BBC One and BBC Two to show programmes in these genres, including a new requirement to broadcast during peak viewing times. With BBC Three’s move online, we have also introduced a regulatory condition to safeguard the provision of comedy on BBC One and BBC Two for the first time; f) Support a wide range of valued genres. The BBC must support a wide range of genres across its channels and services, such as drama, comedy, factual programmes and different types of music. 2 Ofcom expects the BBC to support valued genres, particularly those that have seen declining investment. We also expect the BBC to continue producing programmes on a broad range of established themes and interests – including but not exclusively programmes covering politics, business, consumer issues, rural affairs, health, disability and social action. We will monitor the BBC’s output in a variety of ways to ensure it meets its public purposes and provides a broad range of programmes across its services;

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

n securing the BBC’s delivery across the nations and regions, we have considered our previous research and the BBC’s past performance. We have also considered audience and stakeholder views which suggest that there is scope for the BBC to improve how it meets the needs of all the people of the UK. 3.29 We have set objectives for the BBC in relation to the nations and regions. It must accurately represent and authentically portray all audience groups. It must also distribute its production resources and support creative industries across the UK

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

I believe that is as you will have full access to the channels however i do believe that the price was a bit to much. i believe that £90 is a decent price. As the pricing would be inelastic meaning that the audience are still likely to purchase even if then price increases as the need it for there household .

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

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

In any normal week, Ben Cooper’s eye-catching and ambitious mission to make BBC Radio 1 like a Netflix for radio would make an ideal entry point to an interview with the station’s controller. But this isn’t any ordinary week. On Friday, the BBC announced that Cooper would be getting a new boss, and a controversial one at that. From the end of this month James Purnell, the BBC’s director of strategy and education, will be taking responsibility for radio as part of a new, expanded division. Purnell’s long-rumoured appointment has been viewed in some quarters as problematic, with Tory MPs arguing that the former Labour cabinet minister could jeopardise the BBC’s impartiality. On a practical level, there have been rumblings about Purnell’s lack of hands-on programming experience.

2) How does he argue that Radio 1 is doing better with younger audiences than the statistics suggest?
He is starting out with 25 hours of on-demand “phone-first” content, such as a weekly “Top 10 most-played tracks of the week” programme, but intends to seriously ramp up the hours next year. “In this job, you’ve got to keep across what young audiences are doing. They want content on whatever device they are using, increasingly the phone, when they want it, and that is the key for us to stay relevant and stay young.”

3) Why does he suggest Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio?
Cooper talks innovation but Radio 1’s rivals, and a report submitted to the culture secretary that informed this year’s charter review white paper, accuse the station of not being distinctive enough. He bristles at the suggestion. “Are we distinctive from commercial radio? Yes we are,” he says. “We will play something like 4,000 different tracks a month, commercial radio plays about 400. We need to play hit music to get audiences in to expose them to new music. I think we need to look at the fact that we are no longer competing just purely with Rajars against Capital and Kiss.

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

“I’m up against Pokémon Go and Minecraft for young audiences. I have to persuade people to switch off Minecraft and watch [Radio 1’s music sessions slot] Live Lounge, get off their iPad and listen to radio. Those are the things that keep me up at night. I’m thinking about tomorrow, not today.”