• first episode on 17 april 2018
• aimed at young people – a talk podcast
• Life Hacks is both a traditional radio programme with a regular, scheduled broadcast time, but is also available online after broadcast for streaming and downloading. The broadcast itself and the accompanying website provides opportunities for audience interaction, which is central to the programme’s address to its audience. Life Hacks also exemplifies the challenges facing the institution as a public service broadcaster that needs to appeal to a youth audience within a competitive media landscape.

Media Industries
• Life Hacks is a Radio 1 product and therefore has a public service status as part of the BBC.
• Identification of funding for Radio 1 through the license fee, concept of a hypothecated tax.
• Issues around the role of a public service broadcaster – how does Life Hacks reflect the need to represent the nation. Arguments over the need for addressing a youth audience
already catered for commercially.
• Consider the programme as distinctive in its public service remit.
• The influence of new technology on media industries – Life Hacks as multi – platform media product.

Media Audiences
Life Hacks is reflective of the way the industry targets niche audiences and provides an opportunity to consider industry regulation and the availability of new technology shapes audience targeting and response.
• What techniques does the broadcast use to target a youth audience?
• Consider the way that external factors – such as demographics and psychographics – are likely to also affect audience response and produce differing interpretations
• Consider the opportunities for audience interaction and self-representation
• cultivation theory including Gerbner
• reception theory including Hall

Social and cultural contexts
Life Hacks reflects an acceptance of diversity and a degree of openness in contemporary culture around personal, social and identity issues.

life hacks is part of the bbc – a public service broadcaster. this means that it is funded through taxation

The programme includes discussion of health and social issues such as exam stress, sexual health, alcohol and drugs

How it attracts a young audience:

– The language used and the way the presenters present themselves suggest that they are trying to appeal to more of a youth audience as they tend to use informal language as if they were speaking to a friend – this also makes it more personal which may make the listeners feel as if they are being directly addressed.

– The content discussed is mainly targeting a youth audience as it specifically discusses growing up and going through life from a teenager/ younger persons position (university etc)

theorists:

• hesmondhal – psb funding reduces the risk – constant economic sustenance (Radio listening figures in the UK- 90% of the population tune in to the radio every week, 61% tune of the population tune in to digital radio every week.)
• young & rubicam – psychometrics – everyone fits into set “personality types”, e.g. young, millennial trendy people
• clay shirky – the “end” of the passive audience (war of the worlds), with the invention of the internet the link between institution and audience becomes more equal – social media (listeners use social media as a place to discuss media) – this relates to life hacks as they are frequently seen encouraging participation (for example, in life hacks, presenters frequently ask listeners to text in, at 14:51 vic and katie introduce the listener, who talks about crying over significant things)
• war of the worlds – laswell’s hypodermic needle theory – passive audience, not participatory (one-to-many)

the media becoming more participatory (egalitarian)