Radio

                                                                                                                      Thursday 5th December 2024

Radio research

1) BBC national radio stations include: Radio 1,2,3,4, 5 live and 6 Music

2)  Radio 1 broadcasts modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day.

Radio 2 broadcasts a wide range of popular music from the 1960s to the present day.

Radio 3 broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, drama, culture

Radio 4 broadcasts news, drama, comedy, science and history

Radio 5 broadcasts breaking news and live sports coverage

Radio 6 broadcasts classic tracks across eras and genres

3) The range reflects the cultural diversity of the UK by having different genres and dates so theres something to suit everyone

4) Commercial radio stations make money by selling advertising

5) Commercial radio stations include: Heart, Capital, Kiss and Magic

6) Commercial radio is funded by advertising.

                                                                                                                Thursday 19th December 2024

Do now

1. BBC radio 1 is an example of a BBC radio station.

2. Commercial radio is a radio station that runs for profit.

3. BBC radio reflects British culture by including different genres and dates so that theres something suitable for everyone. (diverse interests of the people who live in Britain)

4. LIAR - Language, Industry, Audience, Representation

5. Context - historical, political, social and cultural

The Radio Industry 

DEFINITIONS:

Public service broadcaster - television and radio programmes that are broadcast to provide information, advice, or entertainment to the public without trying to make a profit.

Commercial radio - a radio station that runs for profit.

Community radio -low power Radio Stations, which set-up and operated by local communities.

Podcast - a specific audio show or individual episodes of that show

DAB radio - (Digital Audio Broadcast), Radio uses digital technology to distribute your favourite radio stations. uses digital technology

RAJAR - stands for Radio Joint Audience Research

License fee - licence fees are calculated on the basis of several factors including the size of coverage area and the popularity

Royal charter - the constitutional basis for the BBC

Remit - the remit of radio 4 is to be a mixed speech service, offering in-depth news and current affairs and a wide range of other speech input

Convergence - the process by which multiple media technologies are brought together into one computerised device

The three UK radio categories:

public service, commercial and community radio.

BBC radio: a public service broadcaster that operates several national stations and many local radio station. Publicly funded by the licence fee.

Community radio: often not for profit, cover smaller areas and serves the interest of a particular social group e.g hospital radio. funded through a variety of sources such as grants, advertising, fundraising.

Commercial radio: funded by advertising, UK has many of these. Large and often focused on particular genres of music, very popular.

Research task:

2. The BBC REMIT is to provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them.

4. BBC radio 4 broadcasts a wide variety of speech-related programming, including news, drama, comedy, science and history.

10. In the UK, Ofcom regulates radios.

Exam style question:

A public service radio is funded by license fees which are calculated due to several factors, this includes the size of the area that its broadcasting too and the popularity of the radio station this is paid for by the public.

However commercial radio is funded via advertising from people/companies who pay for them to advertise it, this means that its content is provided to listeners for free

                                                                                                                Thursday 9th January 2025

Do now

1. A public service broadcaster is independent of government finance by public money and is seen to offer a public service.

2. a commercial radio is funded by advertising.

3. BBC4 broadcasts mixed speech/spoken word.

4. OFCOM regulates radio in the UK.

5. technical convergence/ streaming services like phones have affected the popularity of radio in recent years.

DAB radio

Digital radio means more choice and more options to listen.

Podcasts

Podcasts are a downloadable programme which can focus on different interests.

Radio audiences

Radio is still very popular in the UK although it may not be as popular - BBC radio 4 has 9.1million listeners. 88% of the uk's adult population listen to radio each week.

Radio is still popular because it can be used to educate and find out more information on certain topics such as the news allowing people to stay updated on the latest things and make them aware of it. It can also provide you with background noise which some people like when they need to work or drive etc.

The Archers

The archers storylines are sometimes serious storylines but more commonly focus on daily rural life.

The archers is about farming and is set in the countryside with story lines like caring for animals and marmalade making competitions etc

Started in 1951 after WW2

it portrays events taking place on the day of the broadcast

Soap opera conventions

- designed for regular listening (e.g daily) and they are on-going to keep listeners 'hooked'

- set in specific location where characters come together

- stories focused on family/work/relationship

How can you listen to the Archers?

 

-broadcasts on the radio at 7pm every night day except Saturday, repeated at 2pm the following day

- weekly omnibus every Sunday morning

-also available on demand fir 30days after broadcast

-available on BBC internationally.

- short running time (13mins).

listeners

The target audience is adult/older British women.

The archers have aprox. 5million listeners - plus one million online 

Mainly focuses on women's lives as they historically have done in the past , particularly family, relationships, domesticity and marriage.

                                                                                                                       Thursday 16th January 2025 

The Archers 

The archers are the world's longest-running radio soap opera. It began broadcast in WW2,1951 on radio 4 in part to educate returning soldiers about ??farming??. The show set in fictional village of Ambleside, explores comforting tales of rural English life. Some stories are more dramatic, but most are about relationships or more realistic everyday activities such as farming. Each episode is 13 minutes long and listened to by more than 5million people. The show is broadcast every day at 7pm, then again, the next day, and in a weekly ongoing. The target audience are  

 

Storylines 

Selling home, trying to get away from Joy. 

Gavin previously in prison, exits and sounds sorry for what he's done and sounds unwell. 

Mick – pub car park – lives in his van - Housing crisis 

Litter picking in village 

Joy and mick are now in a relationship – moving in together. 

Main Characters  

2 women: Joy – nosy neighbour. 

Kirsty – estate agent. 

Gavin 

Mick – acting as Santa 

Vicar from a church – plays for the locals 

Genre conventions 

Drama, modern slavery 

Audience appeals 

Ongoing storylines, issues explained, dramas, farm activities 

 

                                                                                                                        Thursday 23rd January 2025

Do now

1. The Archers first broadcasted in 1951

2. The archers broadcasts on BBC Radio 4

3. Two soap opera conventions are regular listening, + multi-strand narratives.

4. The archers broadcast on the radio at 7pm every night except Saturday and then repeated at 2pm on the following day. Weekly omnibus on Sunday mornings.

5. The BBCs remit is to inform, educate and entertain.

Characters

Pip archer

The character, Pip Archer graduating from Felpersham University, Pip took up a top agri-business job, only to walk out after a week and talk her dad into employing her at Brookfield.

Key issues the characters been involved in: during a flood she saved the Brookfield dairy. However, she caused an IBR outbreak to spread to Bridge Farm and Home Farm which she initially covered up.

co-parents her daughter , Rosie, with Toby Fairbrother. Their relationship fell apart, however, and she has found romance with Stella Pryor, who manages Home Farm.

The character fills the conventions of a soap opera by including relationships and farm life.

Kate Madikane

The character, Kate has always flouted convention, diving into protest rallies, exotic foreign adventures and stormy relationships with equal fervour.

Key issues the characters been involved in: Kate returned at the end of 2014 she confessed that her marriage to Lucas had collapsed after an affair - not her first.

The character fills the conventions of a soap opera by including relationship drama.

The Archers Audience

Age - 55+ (62% of the audience are over the age of 55)

Gender - mainly females (76% of the audience is female)

Location -  midlands location

Income - high 'disposable' income

Class - ABC1 

Sexuality - mainly straight

Religion - Christian

White British 

However,  theres also a secondary audience.

- The archers is perceived as a high-quality soap opera.

- Radio 4 has a high cultural status and the audience for the archer consists mainly of well-educated middle class professionals, most are middle aged & over, white females

- Listeners from different walks of life could engage with the show in different ways due to its multi-strand narrative.

                                                                                                                         Thursday 30th January 2025

Do now

1. On average, The archers have 6million listeners

2. The target audience for the archers is ABC1 females

3. The archers broadcast on the radio at 7.00pm everyday apart from Saturdays and repeats at 2.00pm. weakly omnibus on Sunday mornings.

4. Gender, age and ethnicity comes under demographics.

5.The BBC's remit is to educate, entertain and inform.

The archers audience and u&g

An example of a popular storyline is helen and rob.

The storyline  was praised by domestic violence charities and encouraged many victims to seek help, 

prompted audience to raise over 100,000 to charitable donations. 

People found it interesting as it hooked them and wanted to see what would happen

The BBC uses various platforms such as radio and DAB. The archers is available on any music streaming services (e.g Spotify) allowing you to listen on different devices such as your phone, making it easier for you to listen. It is also played on the radio daily, at 7pm, and then again the following day at 2pm incase you need/want to catch up. The podcasts are downloadable, and you're able to catch up for 30days, these podcasts can be found on the archers website where episodes, clips, blogs and character information can also be found. The archers is promoted through social media, mainly twitter. The archers audience raised £100,000 to charitable donations after hearing a storyline of Helen and rob.

Personal identity - similar/interest or background

Information - country life, farming

Entertaining - escape real life and follow characters, 

Social interaction - online via social media, talk to friends + family.

Why might audiences listen to the archers? Refer to u&G in your answer. [12 marks]

Audience listens to the archers because the audience may find the topic, storyline or a certain character interesting, it may also have a similar background causing the audience to relate emotions/feelings, for example a listener could have related to the storyline of Helen and Rob. The archers also appeals to the audience as they provide information about country life and farming (which are soap opera conventions) to non-rural and rural areas. The show engages the audience through entertainment, the archers always continue to keep the audience hooked and can allow the audience to escape reality and listen into the characters lives, following on. Audiences listens to The Archers beccause it can creat social interaction online via social media such as twitter or facebook. The audience can also create conversations with friends or family making them more social.

                                                                                                                     Thursday 6th February 2025

Do now

1. The 3 types of radio: BBC radio, community radio, commercial radio, and public service broadcasting (e.g bbc)

2. BBC radio PSB

3. commercial is funded by advertising

4. community radio has a very small broadcasting radio.

5.  the archers is on BBC 4

Exam questions and responses

OFCOM regulates radio.

Types of radio in the UK are commercial radio, public service broadcasting and community radio.

Explain = full sentences.

Commercial gets funding by advertising where as PSB (public service broadcasting) gets funding from licenses fees.

educate:

D: the archers educates about countrylife.

E: talk about looking after animals and community life such as litter picking that joy describes

L: educates the listener about life in a rural community

inform: cost of living

entertain: lots of storylines with varied topics 

(educate)

The archers fit into the BBC remit (To inform, educate and entertain). The archers educate the listeners about country life and communities. An example of this is when they talk to the listeners about looking after the animals on the farm and community life such as litter picking. Litter picking is described by Joy in one of the episodes and educates the listener about what life could look like in a rural community and how some people experience it.

(inform)

The archers fit to informing through creating storylines on the cost of living/inflation. This is shown when mick is living in a van instead of a home or apartment, informing the listeners on how people are living with inflation and showing how some people cant afford as much.

audience for the archers: middle-aged females, ABC1

The archers appeals to women because the archers provide you with entertaining storylines on varied topics, such as domestic life and rural life which they tend to enjoy. They also have strong matriarch female characters which other women can look up to and like.

Audiences listen to the Archers because it promotes social interaction. Social interaction is seen via fan pages, social media (e.g twitter) and other websites.  An example of when the archers audience used social interaction was for the storyline involving Helen, it raised over £100k by the audience for charity. The audience drank cups of tea and posted it to spread awareness on the storyline. The audience talked and shared their thoughts and ideas online discussing the events from the storylines and reinforcing social interaction.

                                                                                                                      Thursday 13th February 2025

Do now

1. 2 media exams

2. 1hr 30 minutes for each exam

3. The Archers is on BBC 4

4. The BBC is funded by the licence fee.

5. educate, inform, entertain is the ethos of BBC