- Newsbeat- radio service from the BBC
- The main focus is news towards teenagers and “twentysomethings”.
- Funded by the tax from the government, hypothecated tax, money from a specific tax goes towards the BBC for education.
- Launched on the 10th September 1973
- The name was taken from another radio program, “Radio Coraline”, this is because one of Radio Coralines workers “Roger Gale” worked on Newsbeat with the BBC
- Broadcasted on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network.
- 15-19, 84% listeners 12-15
Audience
1.Targets youth- talks about important and difficult matters that might make them feel understood (mental health which will draw in the young audience.)
2.An example of a transitional media product which reflects changes in the contemporary media landscape.
3. Good values- talk about negative issues going on making it important
4. ‘Newsbeat promises its younger listeners all the news they need to know from the UK and around the world‘
5. To bring in the younger audience, Newsbeat changed the language and style they present in, bringing in teens by using street slang and making stories on popular, younger generation topics, like Tik Tok, Celebrities and Young topics.
6. Linking to Stuart Hall’s ideas on ‘preferred reading’: Dominant, Oppositional and Negotiated readings
7. Producers appeal to listeners- framing the content through an informal tone, quick overviews, upbeat links, and audience participation.
8. ‘it’s a myth that young people are not interested in news; the challenge is how to reach them’
9. Radio broadcasting is regulated by Ofcom
10. Newsbeat can be seen as part of the BBC’s remit to address diverse audiences – by age, location, ethnicity etc
11. Stuart Halls theory of encoding and decoding
Possible Questions
- To what extent do historical contexts influence how audiences respond to media industries. You should refer to the close study Newsbeat to support your answer.
- Did Newsbeat only develop because of the changes in new technologies?
- To what extent is the BBC regulated.
- How does Newsbeat support the ethos of the BBC? (entertain, inform, educate)
- How does Newsbeat appeal to a young / younger audience?
- ‘The relationship between producers and audiences has changed over time.’ How far do you agree with this statement? You should refer to the Close Study Newsbeat
10 facts
- John Reith was the BBC’s first general manager when it was set up as the British Broadcasting Company in 1922 and he was its first Director-General when it became a public corporation in 1927.
- Newsbeat was launched on the 10th September 1973
- BBBC is the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees, with over 22,000 staff in total-approximately 19,000 are in public-sector broadcasting.
- 15-19, 84% listeners 12-15
- The ethos of the BBC was to ‘inform, educate and entertain’
- Newsbeat is notable for the distinctive musical imaging it has used for most of its history. At first, this was a just jingle at the beginning of the bulletin, but in the late 1990s this expanded to music throughout.
- The BBC was officially created on 18 October 1922.
- Louisa Compton, editor of BBC, says ‘it’s a myth that young people are not interested in news; the challenge is how to reach them.’
- This started in 1923, costing 10 shillings, then split 50/50 between the BBC and the Government.
- Radio coverage was patchy in the UK, securing 94% reach across the UK.
- ‘Resources have been switched from the Newsbeat radio programme to online and social media, with less polished, “super-produced” content and more immersive videos to reflect what its audience watches on YouTube’ – The Guardian article- Radio 1’s newsbeat rips up the rulebook to lure young listeners
What I Understand
- Newsbeat is widely available online on places such as the BBC website or on radio 1 at times of 12.45 and 5.45 and after broadcast for streaming, meaning it is accessible to youth as they can access it at any time