Radio: BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

Newsbeat analysis

1.) The stories featured in the bulletin were ones new to that day: the Belfast stabbing and heart attacks within football matches.

2.) Newsbeat attempts to direct its appeal to a youth audience by using jingles which attracts their attention through the modern and hyped beat, almost creating an enigma code by promising a valid upcoming story. They also specifically branch into topics they think a youthful audience may prefer. 

3.) Newsbeat may help fulfil the BBC's responsibility as a public service broadcaster since whilst it was announcing the news of a heart attack within a football match it also cleared a time for advice within a situation like that, educating audiences what to do in case of a similar situation.

 Media Factsheet #246: BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

1.) The history and launch of Radio 1 Newsbeat began in 1973 to attempt to shift audiences from illegal pirate radios to their own for pop music.

2.) Radio 1 attempts to appeal to its targeted audience of 15-29 through using modern and youth appealing musics and pop culture references.

3.) Diversion: entertainment through surrounding audiences to masses of different kinds of music

Surveillance: educate audiences and learn what is happening within their society and around them

Identity: connects audiences with the pop culture and their communities

Relationships: par-asocial relations are created through listeners and music artistic because of a mass admiration. 

4.) Radio 1/ Newsbeat has diversified its content for a digital age through both live and stream-able episodes which can be accessed whenever the user desires, also using less formal terminology to appeal to listeners more casually.

5.) Newsbeat constructs modern attitudes to appeal to audiences by its diverse range of speakers and topics, appealing to a more youth and casual audience.

6.) Three key ideologies from David Hesmondhalgh that apply to Radio 1 and Newsbeat are cultural industries (the radio is made in order to create and receive a profit), the internet isn't threatened as a central power provider/ allows audiences to challenge and question content, also content production is presented by "symbol creators".

7.) Curran and Seaton's key ideas are that the media is "concentrated in the hands of powerful commercial media giants", that culture is controlled by social elites. 

8.) A key idea for Livingstone and Lunt is that media can have "citizen-based approach to regulation" and that the BBC's regulation with its content is also "citizen-based".

9.) Stuart Hall's reception theory can be applied to Radio 1 Newsbeat since the producers encode media products in a sort of depiction that audiences will be appealed by them, however this does not always work since their target audience is that of the youth.

10.) One audience theory that can be applied towards Radio 1 Newsbeat is uses and gratification since audiences and youth listeners can somewhat relate to presenters and form par-asocial relations between them which would increase their want to interact with the radio, audiences are also able to learn about what's happening within their society in an easier way to interpret by a youth audience. 

Industry contexts: reading and research

1.) The BBC is the UK's most widely-used media organisation, providing programming on television, radio and content online. The public also holds very high standards for the BBC as it is publicly funded through a TV licence. 

To meet those high public expectations the BBC aims to deliver content that is educational, entertaining and inform. The BBC is regulated in order to protect watchers from any harmful content which is why it follows regulations set in place by Ofcom. 

On the 29th of March 2017 the Ofcom consulted on a draft licence setting out requirements for the BBC to fulfil its remit, there were plans for Ofcom to measure the BBC's overall performance.   

2.) The license framework seeks to strengthen news and current affair rules, secure a "more distinctive BBC", increase requirements around children's programs, support more social action campaigns on BBC radio. It also ensures a safeguarding of vulnerable genres like arts, musics and religious programmes as well as supporting a wide range of valued genres.

3.) I think that the three most important aspects are strengthening news and current affair rules, protecting "vulnerable genres" and requiring the BBC to reflect the full diversity of the UK. I believe this since these all ensure that the BBC is the most accurate and uses no biases whilst presenting. 

4.) Radio 1 has increasingly focused on YouTube views as well as other digital platforms since those sources of entertainment and information are more popular within the digital era compared to traditional sources like radios and newspapers.

5.) I do think that the BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat offers licence fee payers good value for money since it all educates, informs and entertains however I do not think it should be a compulsory for all to pay and that only watchers should be obliged to pay for the content.