RADIO CSP 1 – NEWSBEAT
Radio – Newsbeat
Broadcast available: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006wkry
This is a Targeted Close Study product for which you will need to focus on the following areas of the Theoretical Framework:
• Media Industries
• Media Audiences
You will need to listen to excerpts from the broadcast, but the focus will be considering industry and audience issues.
Newsbeat is an example of a transitional media product which reflects changes in the contemporary media landscape. Newsbeat is both a traditional radio programme with regular, scheduled broadcast times, but it is also available online after broadcast.
The broadcast itself and the use of digital platforms provides opportunities for audience interaction. Newsbeat also exemplifies the challenges facing the BBC as a public service broadcaster that needs to appeal to a youth audience within a competitive media landscape.
Media Industries
• Newsbeat as a BBC News product with bulletins are broadcast on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1 Xtra and BBC Asian Network
• The funding of BBC Radio through the license fee, concept of hypothecated tax
• Issues around the role of a public service broadcaster within a competitive, contemporary media landscape
• The distinctive nature of the programme connected to its public service remit
• Arguments on the need for addressing a youth audience already catered for commercially
• The influence of new technology on media industries – Newsbeat as multi–platform media product. eg
o Website
o Twitter
o Instagram
• The regulation of the BBC via Ofcom and the governance of the BBC
Media Audiences
• The techniques the broadcast uses to target a youth audience and create audience appeal, eg
o Presentation style
o News values
o Content selection
• The opportunities for audience interaction, participation and self-representation
• The way external factors – such as demographics and psychographics – are likely to also affect audience response and produce differing interpretations
• Cultivation theory including Gerbner
• Reception theory including Hall
Some useful information on presentation style.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/newsbeat-debbie-ramsay-radio-1-jargon-7jnrt3d8t
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2014/oct/12/radio-1-newsbeat-youngsters-news
Regulation
Regulatory contexts:
• Radio broadcasting is regulated by Ofcom
• Regulation focuses on content including use of language, impartiality, protection of under 18s
• PSB has very specific regulatory rules
• Ofcom is also responsible for awarding -and rescinding – licenses which gives its regulation force
• As radio has moved online and to podcasts, regulation has become more complex, in response the government launched a digital radio action plan and Ofcom produces a review each year
• The availability of non-regulated broadcasts via the internet poses a challenge both for the regulator and the regulated radio broadcasters.
With reference to Newsbeat:
• the form, style and content of Newsbeat and how it is a product of Public Service broadcasting regulation
• Newsbeat as product of a public service broadcaster; Radio 1
• the demands of PSB regulation mean Radio 1 must provide educational and socially useful broadcasting as demonstrated by this programme
• the need to deal with difficult issues and build an interactive audience relationship via new technology whilst also adhering to taste and decency guidelines
• Newsbeat can be seen as part of the BBC’s remit to address diverse audiences – by age, location, ethnicity etc
• the tension between the restrictions placed on PSBs and the need to compete with commercial broadcasters – particularly for the youth audience
• Newsbeat also raises issues about the contemporary relevance of PSB – does the availability of so much similar content on the internet make PSB outdated or more necessary as a regulator of quality?
Social and cultural context
Newsbeat is part of BBC News. The BBC has a unique place in society as the ‘national’ broadcaster with an expectation of impartial reporting of the news. There is an expectation that the BBC will be a reliable source of accurate reporting in the context of rising concerns about fake-news.
https://www.bbc.com/academy-guides/what-do-i-need-to-know-about-the-bbc
https://www.bbc.com/aboutthebbc/governance/mission
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180427144724.htm
The BBC is at the heart of political arguments regarding its social role, the content of its programming and the fact that it offers competition for commercial media industries.
http://www.newsmediauk.org/Current-Topics/Public-Sector-Competition
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/02/how-bbc-can-defeat-grave-threatconservatives
Traditional news providers (Radio, TV and Newspapers) are in competition with a host of digital websites and social media platforms who have become the primary providers of news for many, especially young people.
https://www.youtube.com/user/Radio1Newsbeat
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat