Uncategorized

newsbeat

Leave a comment

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.

Leave a Reply