Radio: BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

Media Fact sheet #246: BBC Radio 1 Newsbeat

Use BBC Sounds to listen to Radio 1. Select a Newsbeat bulletin ( 8 am or 12.45 pm are good options) and then answer the following questions: 

1) What news stories were featured in the bulletin you listened to?

2) How does Newsbeat appeal to a youth audience?

3) How might Newsbeat help fulfil the BBC's responsibilities as a public service broadcaster? 

1) How is the history and launch of Radio 1 summarised in the fact sheet? If you studied this as part of GCSE Media you will already know much of this.

Radio 1 was an instant hit. The programming was mainly around entertainment (because the people who produced the shows had come from light entertainment). Radio 1 DJs became household names. The station remained popular for many years, but by the 1990s Radio 1 was losing listeners.

2) Look at page 3 of the fact sheet. How is Radio 1 attempting to appeal to its 15-29 age demographic? 

 It aims to entertain and engage young listeners

with a distinctive mix of contemporary music and speech.

3) What did young people used to get from radio? Focus on audience pleasures / Uses & Gratifications here (see top of second column on page 3).

In the past, young people tended to look to radio 1 to connect themselves to popular culture products and platforms, to gain an insight into the world beyond their own experience, to build para-social relationship with media personalities and for pure entertainment.

4) How has Radio 1 and News beat in particular diversified its content for the digital age? 

News beat offers a range of platforms and forms to appeal to the youth audience. There is an expectation that the news it provides for young people will be a reliable source of accurate reporting in the context of rising concerns about fake-news.

5) How is News beat constructed to appeal to audiences? 

News beat code switches from formal to informal to engage different audiences as well as personalising different aspects.

6) What are the three key ideas from David Hesmondhalgh and which apply to Radio 1 Newsbeat?

One key idea is that cultural Industries are made to create profit and this does not apply to radio 1 news beat because the BBC is a PSB provider, free from commercial impulses. All profits go back into making more content for the people.

Another key idea is that content production is made by ‘symbol creators’ and this does apply to radio 1 news beat because the diverse output of Radio 1 and Newsbeat is huge. Creators are governed by professional guidelines but they are also free to be creative to make products to excite youth audiences.

Lastly the third key idea is that the internet has not challenged the centralise power of providers or allowed audiences to challenge content ad this does relate to radio 1 news beat as Radio 1 and Newsbeat is finding it difficult to challenge the social media giants in targeting a youth audience, but it does try to utilise these platforms with its content.

7) Now look at Curran and Seaton. What are their key ideas and can they be applied to Radio 1 Newsbeat? 

One key idea is that the media is concentrated in the hands of powerful commercial media giants and this does not apply to radio 1 news beat as PSB are supposed to hold power to account by offering impartial news which is not driven by economic and political ideology. Furthermore, the BBC is funded by the licence fee which is set at by the government. Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries has announced that the fee will remain at £159 until 2024, and then rise in line with inflation for the following four years. The plans for the new licence fee settlement cover a period of six years and will take effect from 1 April 2022 until 31 March 2028. It’s also important to remember that the government could get rid of the BBC should it say so, but it cannot tell it what to say or do.

Another key idea is that the culture is controlled by social elites and this does not apply to radio one as the BBC has its remit written into The Royal Charter, which states that it must remain independent and that the mission of the BBC is to act in the public interest, serving all audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services which inform, educate and entertain. This means it is diverse, different and caters for all, not a small minority account.

8) What key idea for Livingstone and Lunt is on the fact sheet and how does it link to the CSP?

The key idea is that media can have a citizen- based approach to regulation and this links to the csp as the BBC is an example of a citizen-based approach to regulation.

 Citizen-orientated regulation is concerned with content-based issues.

 Citizen-based regulation is a positive form if regulation that directs media content so that it can

improve the lives of citizens and contribute the wider well-being of society.

 Citizen-based regulation promotes forms of media that can hold powerful groups to account.

9) How can we apply Stuart Hall's Reception theory to Radio 1 Newsbeat?

Stuart halls reception theory is that media producers encode media products in a way that they think will appeal to them. This is not always successful.This links to the csp as the BBC tries to appeal to young people with its content, but it faces competition from other platforms that appear to be catering for them in a better, more appealing way.

Some media content reinforces dominant ideologies of social power. This does not link tot he csp as Radio 1 has a wide and varied output. Radio 1 has a lot of content that represents minority groups. Newsbeat often runs stories that questions political power.

10) Choose one other audience theory on the fact sheet and explain how it links to Radio 1 Newsbeat.

Henry Jenkins fandom's theory is that participatory culture uses social media tactics drive

audience engagement. This links to Radio 1 Newsbeat as Radio 1 and Newsbeat creates immediacy of content through their social media. Radio content is also visual and offers a behind-the-scenes visual as well as listening experience. This brings together the producer and the audience and can promote personal engagement with content and the BBC as a institution. Hashtags, TikToks and Instagram post offer a more personalised experienced. and potentially offer feedback to help producers adapt content to suit changing audience needs.

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.

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• 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.
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•  Alongside responsibilities for programme standards and protecting fair and effective competition in the areas in which the BBC operates, the Charter gives Of com the job of setting the BBC’s operating licence (the Licence).
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• We have taken account of the BBC’s interim annual plan for 2017/18, 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?

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;

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.

• 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.

•  We are requiring the BBC to put in place a new commissioning Code of Practice for Diversity, approved by us, by April 2018. This will ensure that on- and off-screen diversity considerations are embedded in the commissioning process. We will also ensure the BBC is publicly accountable for achieving its workforce diversity targets. It must now report in detail on its progress towards these targets each year. 

Ensuring you have a range of different topics and genres ensure you will attract dffferent audiences and that is essential if you want to succeed further. 

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

They are announcing an in-depth review of how different audiences are represented and portrayed on the BBC. All audiences should feel that the BBC offers something for them, however, our research shows that several groups feel that it does not adequately represent their interests or lives.

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

The BBC now must provide a significant level of news, current affairs and factual programmes across its full range of services and platforms, and seek to reach and serve all audiences. So i think its has good value for money.