Newsbeat is active with their audiences letting them call in or message them about their problem that relates to the topic they are reporting on.

Newsbeats is produced by the BBC news and you can listen to it on Radio 1, extra 1 and Asian network. Asian network added newsbeat because of staff shortages as well as the BBC wanted to streamline the news about covid-19.

Newsbeat is targeted to young audiences aged between 15 – 29

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

“Presenters and reporters on Newsbeat have been told to steer clear of polysyllabic words and address listeners as if they were talking to a friend, the programme’s editor has revealed.” – Louisa Compton

Louisa Compton aims to use cartoons, games and digital media to deliver news to a generation turning off radio

To provide impartial news and information to help people understand and engage with the world around them

 “BBC’s switch to digital-first, using video, mobile and online to reach a 15 to 24-year-old audience who are switching off the radio in their droves.”

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.

possible questions:

To what extent does the BBC attract young audiences

what I know:

Newsbeat is produced by the BBC news and you can listen to it on Radio 1, BBC 1 Xtra and Asian network.

The BBC is regulated by Ofcom and they focus on content including use of language, protection of under 18s.

The produces hope to engage the younger generation to listen to the news in a more entertaining way.

Newsbeat was launched on 10 September 1973 in response to the launch of a network of commercial radio stations across the UK which supplied a news service very different from the style of traditional BBC News.

Argument:

My argument is that the BBC is trying to expand their audiences to the younger generation by

NEWSBEAT:

• Home station – BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1 Xtra, BBC Asian Netwrok
• Original release – 10 September 1973
• Newsbeat studio is based at Radio 1 in Broadcasting House in Central London
• Many of the stories produced by Newsbeat are reported by other programmes across BBC News
• Newsbeat is both a traditional radio programme with regular, scheduled broadcast times, but it is also available online after broadcast.
• Newsbeat is a 15 minute news programme which broadcasts at 12:45 and 17:45 during the week on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network
• Newsbeat had to compete against traditional print media and the conventions of roll news channels, but mobile-first audiences are now learning about important events through what is trending on their social networks and notifications of breaking news flashing on their screens.
•  Radio 1 reached just under 9 million listeners every week in the first quarter of 2020. Despite facing tough competition from other platforms, such as television, streaming services and podcasts, radio shows continue to attract a mass audience.

BBC:

• The BBC Charter is a royal charter setting out the arrangements for the governance of the British Broadcasting Corporation.
  • A Royal Charter is an instrument of incorporation, granted by The King, which confers independent legal personality on an organisation and defines its objectives, constitution and powers to govern its own affairs.
• BBC is regulated by Ofcom
• BBC ethos is to inform, educate, entertain

Newsbeat/ Radio 1 Audiences:

• Newsbeat is produced by BBC News which provides news aimed towards younger audiences of teenagers and people in their early twenties.
• ‘Newsbeat promises its younger listeners all the news they need to know from the UK and around the world‘
• Radio `1 aims towards an audience aged from 15-29. However a demographic profile states that the average age of the consumers are aged 30
• Newsbeat producers hope their short-term stories will engage the audience and keep them up to date about the latest events happening around the world, which is the preferred reading.
•  The producers hope to appeal to their listeners by framing the content through an informal tone, quick overviews, upbeat links, and audience participation.
• There are many factors which might influence our position to the programme, such as age, values and ideology, geography and even our mood. Importantly, we don’t always react in the way the producers intended.
• Stuart Hall:
  • Stuart Hall argued producers encoded meaning and values into their texts which was then decoded by the audience, but our reactions are shaped by our individual frameworks of knowledge. You should also consider the different modes of consumption, especially the ways we might listen to the radio.
  • Hall’s encoding / decoding model of communication offers three hypothetical positions – the dominant, oppositional, and negotiated readings.

Possible Essay Questions:

• How does Newsbeat use new technologies?
  How does Newsbeat appeal to younger audiences?

10 Newsbeat facts:

• Newsbeat is broadcasted through Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network
• Newsbeat target a younger audience with a average age of 14-25
• They have a weekly audience of 8 million people
• Newsbeat was produced on 10 September 1973
• Newsbeat is a 15 minute new programme that broadcasts from 12:45 and 17:45 on week days
• The editor for Newsbeat is Danielle Dwyer
• Newsbeat is produced by BBC but differs from other BBC news outlets as it aims to provide news to a much younger target audience
• BBC is funded by a TV license (hypothecated tax)
• BBC is regulated by Ofcom
• Newsbeat is a multi-media platform

My argument:

I want to argue that the BBC are aiming towards younger audiences to attract new audiences. Newsbeat appeal to these younger audiences by introducing new technologies, making it easy and accessible, and presenting the news in an informal way.

• Newsbeat is a Public Service Broadcast (PSB) – The policy and standards board confront you if you break a bylaw.
• It is a multimedia production; there are stories written on the website as well as radios to tune into with video.
• Newsbeat is an example of a traditional media product which reflects changes

Media Audiences

• Newsbeat has its BBC News product with bulletins that are broadcast on BBC Radio 1, BBC Radio 1 Xtra and BBC Asian Network

How do they appeal to the younger audience?

• Target audience of younger people – teenagers and ‘twentysomethings’ [16-25 years old]
• 84% are 12 – 15 ages
• Not specific to either gender
• The fifteen-minute Newsbeat programme is broadcast at 12:45 and 17:45 during the week
• Newsbeat allows traditional broadcast times as well as being available viewing after the broadcast, which is relevant to the target audience who consume media online mainly.

The target audience is for young people, so it is interesting to note that the programme only lasts 15 minutes which is relevant as the younger generations consume media in short amounts otherwise they may not be interested in watching. Also the times the radio start is relevant as they both begin afternoon which is relevant as it shows how the radio is targeted to a younger audience, an audience that stereotypically do not like waking in the morning.

Social Media Marketing and Gen Z attention span apparently “the average attention span of someone born into Gen Z is about 8 seconds”

• Changed their sound and brought in younger hosts to relate to the audience more and feature more slang language
• Tries to show relatable stories that are more interesting, creative and exciting
• Less formal English speaking
• Using more social media platforms – new technology for the younger audience to interact with

• The stories Newsbeat include stories on things like TikTok, education and celebrities such as Stormzy and Kanye West. Clearly appealing to a younger audience.

Media Industries

• Newsbeat was launched on 10 September 1973 in response to the launch of a network of commercial radio stations across the UK which supplied a news service very different from the style of traditional BBC News

REGULATION – The question subject

• Since Newsbeat is targeted at a much younger audience, it arises the question about the regulations of the news radio and how different are the news reported on this radio. So even though the news being reported may be different to the regular radio it doesn’t really matter as they are feeding content to the younger audience in a way that still benefits them, it may be a different radio but it is still owned and regulated by the same people.
• As such it has it’s own governing body and is regulated by OFCOM. It’s the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom

Mention:

Gerbener

Stuart Hall – Appeals to younger peoples dominant ideology to maintain interest for its target audience. Younger audience have different consumption patterns so the use of online streaming and websites appeals to this form of consumption.

Preferred reading – there is a certain understanding and idea Newsbeat wants the younger audience to take away

Possible Questions:

1. How does the BBC attract new audiences with radios like Newsbeat
2. Assess how Newsbeat appeals to modern media audiences
3. How does Newsbeat appeal to younger audiences
4. How is Newsbeat regulated

Facts about Newsbeat

1. BBC is funded by TV licences from the public through hypothecated tax
2. Newsbeat is a Public Service Broadcast (PSB)
3. Target audience of younger people – teenagers and ‘twentysomethings’ – 84% are 12 – 15 ages
4. The fifteen-minute Newsbeat programme is broadcast at 12:45 and 17:45 during the week
5. John Reith was the BBC’s first general manager when it was set up as the British Broadcasting Company in 1922
6. Newsbeat is also available to watch online afterwards
7. The stories Newsbeat include stories on things like TikTok, education and celebrities such as Stormzy and Kanye West. Clearly appealing to a younger audience.
8. Regulated by Ofcom.
9. Ethos of the BBC – To educate, Inform, Entertain
10. How new technologies are used to upkeep with modern social and physical advancements

what makes press a quality or not quality tv programme:

Good narrative

good acting

camera angles

Habermas – His theory relates to the BBC because it tells us what is happening in the world and brings people together with opinions and discussion

broadcasting and the theory of public servic.

The BBC created an image for their audiences when they first started off with commercial television and interests of minority audience. It evolved to introduce new audiences who might be interested in the news or other entertainment. By the 1980s that expanded to broadcasting about cultural and political stuff. However politics took over broadcasting and most people became uninterested.

‘the numerous radical press pamphlets and small-scale newspapers of the Victorian era were engines for social and political change. ‘

without advertising income, the free press could not complete with their commercial rivals, and their process of media concentration.

Elements that make Press a quality or not quality tv programme:

Acting – Good

Lighting, camera angles, editing, sound – Good

Storyline – Intriguing, quite suspenseful.

Outfits, hair, makeup – Professional, suitable for the roles they were playing.

Settings – In a professional, suitable office space. Opera house etc. Could be more exciting

Music/sound effects – Opening song, quite intriguing for the programme.

Professional marketing –

Broadcasting targets mass media, a big audience

Narrowcasting targets a niche audience

The BBC was made in 1922.

Radio was the first media broadcasting form, then television.

The first director general was Lord John Wreath.

They established an ethos with three main principles, ‘Entertain, Inform and Educate’.

To oversee due diligence and regulation the Government has a charter, BBC charter. A set of rules to make sure the BBC is doing what they are meant to be.

The BBC took up a paternalist approach, not a populist approach. Differences, good, bad.

Popular is giving more of what people enjoy, however it could be a detriment to them through exploitation (entertainment).

Paternalist is advising what is best (education/inform) even if it is not as pleasurable.

Grace Wyndham-Goldie noting the msot significant thingh about broadcasting that it changes time and space.

What life would have been livefd 100 years ago is like the here and now.

New communication media technologies allow you to change time and space il.e. the telephoine, recording abnd being able to listen back layrter

Fear people have of new technologies will ruin everything – people will stop talking to each other, wont work

The BBC became like ‘social cement’. British culture was centred around the BBC.

Habermas – In 1929 the BBC had a round up aimed at women. Public sphere.

BBC allows communications and connections within the media between different people.

‘Cable television was left to produce programmes that were suffiently attractive for the public to buy’

Double Think George Orwell. Government and ministers

Curran and Seaton – Ownership effects

‘