Radio: Life Hacks
Our first CSP for radio is the BBC Radio 1 show Life Hacks.
Our key concepts for Radio are industries and audience so these are the contexts we need to consider when studying the texts. This video gives you a brief outline of the CSP and the contexts we need to study:
Previously on: The Surgery
Before being merged into Life Hacks, The Surgery was an evening radio show on BBC Radio 1 that ran between 1999 and 2017. Most recently, it was on every Wednesday at 9pm and ran for 60 minutes. It featured presenter Katie Thistleton and advice from Dr Radha Modgil.
It worked like an agony aunt column in old teenage magazines and took on controversial subjects such as gender identity, sexuality, relationships and mental health. It featured texts and calls from listeners and the post-watershed slot meant adult topics could be discussed.
The Surgery
Life Hacks: Stormzy interview
Life Hacks: debt advice feature on BBC Sounds
Listen to this debt advice feature on BBC Sounds.
BBC Radio 1: History
BBC Radio 1 launched in 1967 playing pop music and using jingles in the style of American radio. It was a significant change from previous BBC content and was hugely popular in the 1970s and 1980s (some shows had 10m+ listeners).
It became available on DAB digital radio in 1995 but not promoted until digital radios were more popular in 2002. It is available via digital TV and online via BBC Sounds.
Radio 1 is famous for events as well as radio – summer Roadshows, Big Weekends and the annual Teen Awards.
Industries: Radio in decline
Although the BBC still boasts impressive audience figures for BBC Radio 2 and 4, it has struggled to attract young listeners to BBC Radio 1 in recent years.
Since 2010 listeners have declined – and although BBC R1 targets 15-29 year olds the average listener in 2017 was aged 30. Radio 1 is increasingly focusing on digital and social media with 16m weekly YouTube views reached in 2018.
Radio 1 Audience profile:
I believe they are attempting to reach a younger, more modern audience, as it suggests using social media to get in touch with them. They also have a section about the BBC Young Writer's award, and utilises has two young hosts.
2) Go to the Life Hacks podcast episodes page. Listen to a few episodes of the podcast and explain how the topics may a) appeal to a youth audience and b) help fulfil the BBC's responsibilities as a public service broadcaster.
The Life Hacks podcast is relevant to a young audience because it's there to give advice on mental health in daily life: living, relationships, and quarantine. It informs, educates and entertains with it's fun presentation and life stories relating to current afairs.
Media Factsheet
Read Media Factsheet #196 Close Study Product: Radio - Life Hacks. You'll need your Greenford google login to download it. Answer the following questions:
1) Read the first page of the factsheet. What content does Life Hacks offer to listeners?
Discussions and advice regarding sex, relationships and mental health. Adolescent issues
I think it covers a few, such as supporting learning for people of all ages, reflecting the UK's cultural diversity and it's values and culture.
4) Do you consider Life Hacks to be a 'distinctive offering' that helps the BBC to fulfil its public service broadcasting remit? Why?
Yes, as it offers advice on adolescent topics, teaching the youth how to cope with current issues and supporting them in the form of entertainment such as music and discussion. It makes the BBC seem less archaic as it targets less the general public and more the specific youth.
5) Look at the figures on page 3 of the factsheet. How much does the BBC spend on Radio 1?
1.6% of the licence fee
6) How has new technology impacted on radio?
Radio has generally thrived in the digital environment with overall listening figures demonstrating an upward trend with audiences able to consume on a range of platforms and by personalising their listening through access to a podcasts.However, younger audiences, while making greater use of smart devices to consume music and audio content, are listening to a lot less live radio.
The audiences targeted by Radio 1 and Radio 1 Xtra are young people. Radio 1 has a median age of 30. They have more female and ABC1 listeners. 90% are white.
9) Applying Gerbner's Cultivation theory, how might Life Hacks influence its listeners (or 'cultivate' certain views)?
The preferred reading may be that the listener finds the advice and services useful and reliable, and thus their life is enriched from it.
Audience contexts: additional reading
He found out interesting concepts set up by popular rapper Stormzy where they talk about his campaign that helps fund scholarships for BME students to get into Cambridge and Oxford university
RAJAR figures for Q2 of 2018 shown that Radio 1 has lost 200,000 weekly listeners since May, when they attracted 9.4 million listeners a week.
The 9.2 million listeners that Radio 1 now pulls in each week is officially the second-lowest ever recorded ratings for the BBC station, and is close to equalling the lowest weekly rating of 9.1 million, which was posted in May 2017.
They interview a range of personalities, offering both information and advice and education to young audiences about their causes. Entertainment aspects stem from the celebrities interviewed, such as Stormzy, which are likely to appeal to young audiences.
"the public has exceptionally high expectations of the BBC"
"leaving creative decisions in the hands of programme-makers, but stretching and challenging the BBC to deliver for all its audiences."
"In most areas, they place tougher requirements on the broadcaster than existed before, as well as safeguarding key areas of delivery. They set a baseline for future performance."
"support social action campaigns on radio"
"require the BBC to reflect the full diversity of the UK"
"secure a more distinctive BBC"
Those which promote diversity and variety.
Plans to ensure that all audiences are represented in BBC content and that it reflects the interests and values of people all over the UK.
7) How does he argue that Radio 1 is doing better with younger audiences than the statistics suggest?
He comments '“We will play something like 4,000 different tracks a month, commercial radio plays about 400. We need to play hit music to get audiences in to expose them to new music', as well as suggesting radio 1 is meeting the BBC remit to entertain and educate.
9) Why is Radio 1 increasingly focusing on YouTube views and digital platforms?
Youtube is a massively dominant platform where you can easily watch anything you want at any time for free, and is also heavily browsed by the target audience of radio 1. Simply put, in this digital age it would be suicide to ignore digital platforms like youtube.
The BBC should absolutely try and be representing a variety of interests and demographics in their content. I overall think that the BBC's current direction of targeting a young audience through Radio 1 is a smart decision.
Our key concepts for Radio are industries and audience so these are the contexts we need to consider when studying the texts. This video gives you a brief outline of the CSP and the contexts we need to study:
Previously on: The Surgery
Before being merged into Life Hacks, The Surgery was an evening radio show on BBC Radio 1 that ran between 1999 and 2017. Most recently, it was on every Wednesday at 9pm and ran for 60 minutes. It featured presenter Katie Thistleton and advice from Dr Radha Modgil.
It worked like an agony aunt column in old teenage magazines and took on controversial subjects such as gender identity, sexuality, relationships and mental health. It featured texts and calls from listeners and the post-watershed slot meant adult topics could be discussed.
The Surgery > Life Hacks
In November 2017, The Surgery was merged into a new Sunday afternoon show called Life Hacks that runs between 4pm – 6pm presented by Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton. This mostly plays music but offers advice segments with Dr Modgil covering similar topics to The Surgery.
Although both The Surgery and Life Hacks ran in scheduled broadcast slots, in recent years the programme has been available as a podcast and encourages digital consumption and interaction.
The Surgery
Life Hacks: Stormzy interview
Life Hacks: debt advice feature on BBC Sounds
Listen to this debt advice feature on BBC Sounds.
BBC Radio 1: History
BBC Radio 1 launched in 1967 playing pop music and using jingles in the style of American radio. It was a significant change from previous BBC content and was hugely popular in the 1970s and 1980s (some shows had 10m+ listeners).
It became available on DAB digital radio in 1995 but not promoted until digital radios were more popular in 2002. It is available via digital TV and online via BBC Sounds.
Radio 1 is famous for events as well as radio – summer Roadshows, Big Weekends and the annual Teen Awards.
Industries: Radio in decline
Although the BBC still boasts impressive audience figures for BBC Radio 2 and 4, it has struggled to attract young listeners to BBC Radio 1 in recent years.
Since 2010 listeners have declined – and although BBC R1 targets 15-29 year olds the average listener in 2017 was aged 30. Radio 1 is increasingly focusing on digital and social media with 16m weekly YouTube views reached in 2018.
Radio 1 Audience profile:
- Slightly more female than male
- 58% ABC1 (against population average of 55%)
- 90% white
- 41% of audience is in target audience range of 15-29
- Median age of 32
Industries: BBC remit and regulation
In 2011, BBC Radio 1 was part of a review into what the license fee should fund. Critics suggested that the content of BBC Radio 1 and 2 should be left to the commercial sector.
In response, the BBC made major changes at BBC Radio 1, aiming to re-target a core 15-24 audience and offering more diverse programming.
Since 2017, the BBC has been regulated by Ofcom. It is responsible for BBC content and ensuring it is delivering on its remit.
BBC Radio 1 - Life Hacks: Blog tasks
Analysis
Read the notes and listen to the extracts from Life Hacks above before answering the following questions:
1) Go to the Life Hacks iPlayer page and analyse the content. What does this suggest regarding the Life Hacks audience and what the BBC is hoping to achieve with the programme?
2) Go to the Life Hacks podcast episodes page. Listen to a few episodes of the podcast and explain how the topics may a) appeal to a youth audience and b) help fulfil the BBC's responsibilities as a public service broadcaster.
The Life Hacks podcast is relevant to a young audience because it's there to give advice on mental health in daily life: living, relationships, and quarantine. It informs, educates and entertains with it's fun presentation and life stories relating to current afairs.
Media Factsheet
Read Media Factsheet #196 Close Study Product: Radio - Life Hacks. You'll need your Greenford google login to download it. Answer the following questions:
1) Read the first page of the factsheet. What content does Life Hacks offer to listeners?
2) Which of the five central purposes in the BBC's remit does Life Hacks cover?
3) Read the history of Radio 1 on page 2. Why was the launch of Radio 1 both significant and controversial?
Radio 1 launched in the 60s in order to meet the needs of the youth. BBC radio at the time was limited to news, discussions, pop and classical music. Up until this time young
people could only access contemporary rock, pop and soul music through pirate radio stations Controversy arose as the BBC was monopolising music broadcasting in the UK when commercial alternatives could be found, and many questioned the BBC's decision to promote pop music was wrong as it didn't fit in with their PSB remits.
4) Do you consider Life Hacks to be a 'distinctive offering' that helps the BBC to fulfil its public service broadcasting remit? Why?
5) Look at the figures on page 3 of the factsheet. How much does the BBC spend on Radio 1?
1.6% of the licence fee
6) How has new technology impacted on radio?
Radio has generally thrived in the digital environment with overall listening figures demonstrating an upward trend with audiences able to consume on a range of platforms and by personalising their listening through access to a podcasts.
7) What has Radio 1 done in response to the changes new technology have had on radio?
This has led Radio 1 (and 1Xtra) to innovate by making its live radio more visual, informative and social, through its Live Lounge and presence on social media. As such, Life Hacks exists as a multi- media platform product with audiences choosing how and with the programme.
8) What are the audiences targeted by Radio 1 and Radio 1 Xtra? What is their actual audience?
8) What are the audiences targeted by Radio 1 and Radio 1 Xtra? What is their actual audience?
9) Applying Gerbner's Cultivation theory, how might Life Hacks influence its listeners (or 'cultivate' certain views)?
Life Hacks could shape a young person’s perception of the world that they live in and the problems that they may face as the whole podcast centres around how to tackle life problems.
10) Applying Hall's Reception theory, how might different audiences 'read' Life Hacks? What pleasures or reactions might different audiences have to the programme?
10) Applying Hall's Reception theory, how might different audiences 'read' Life Hacks? What pleasures or reactions might different audiences have to the programme?
The oppositional reading is that the radio show is useless and preachy and the listener interprets it as unhelpful.
A negotiated reading is that the listener respects the advice however finds the presentation of the show to be unfavourable. Or perhaps a listener who is not in the age demographic for the show would not find the content particularly helpful, yet nevertheless enjoyable.
Audience contexts: additional reading
1) Read this short Guardian review of Life Hacks. What points does the reviewer make about Life Hacks and the particular podcast episode they listened to?
2) Read this NME feature on Radio 1 listener figures. What are the key statistics to take from this article regarding the decline in Radio 1 audience ratings?
RAJAR figures for Q2 of 2018 shown that Radio 1 has lost 200,000 weekly listeners since May, when they attracted 9.4 million listeners a week.
The 9.2 million listeners that Radio 1 now pulls in each week is officially the second-lowest ever recorded ratings for the BBC station, and is close to equalling the lowest weekly rating of 9.1 million, which was posted in May 2017.
Industry contexts: final tasks
1) How does Life Hacks meet the BBC mission statement to Educate, Inform and Entertain?
They interview a range of personalities, offering both information and advice and education to young audiences about their causes. Entertainment aspects stem from the celebrities interviewed, such as Stormzy, which are likely to appeal to young audiences.
2) Read the first five pages of this Ofcom document laying out its regulation of the BBC. Pick out three key points in the summary section.
"leaving creative decisions in the hands of programme-makers, but stretching and challenging the BBC to deliver for all its audiences."
"In most areas, they place tougher requirements on the broadcaster than existed before, as well as safeguarding key areas of delivery. They set a baseline for future performance."
3) Now read what the license framework will seek to do (letters a-h). Which of these points relate to BBC Radio 1 and Life Hacks?
"support social action campaigns on radio"
"require the BBC to reflect the full diversity of the UK"
"secure a more distinctive BBC"
"support a wide range of genres"
4) What do you think are the three most important aspects in the a-h list? Why?
5) Read point 1.9: What do Ofcom plan to review in terms of diversity and audience?
Plans to ensure that all audiences are represented in BBC content and that it reflects the interests and values of people all over the UK.
Read this Guardian interview with BBC 1 Controller Ben Cooper.
6) What is Ben Cooper trying to do with Radio 1?
6) What is Ben Cooper trying to do with Radio 1?
“My focus is to bring new audiences and new ways to the BBC,”
He wants to make Radio 1 like a Netflix for radio.
He wants to make Radio 1 like a Netflix for radio.
7) How does he argue that Radio 1 is doing better with younger audiences than the statistics suggest?
The 46-year-old is armed with some statistics of his own to illustrate his point. Using figures based on those aged 10 and up, he reckons the most common age of a Radio 1 listener is 18. And for its YouTube channel it is 12- to 17-year-old females. “There is no holy grail of one single digital footprint figure in the industry unfortunately,” he says.
He says that Grimmy is the 'No 1 youth presenter in the UK. He is knocking it out of the ballpark when it comes to connecting with young audiences on a daily basis.'
That viewership numbers are skewed and the method of collecting them is outdated.
8) Why does he suggest Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio?
That viewership numbers are skewed and the method of collecting them is outdated.
8) Why does he suggest Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio?
He comments '“We will play something like 4,000 different tracks a month, commercial radio plays about 400. We need to play hit music to get audiences in to expose them to new music', as well as suggesting radio 1 is meeting the BBC remit to entertain and educate.
9) Why is Radio 1 increasingly focusing on YouTube views and digital platforms?
10) In your opinion, should the BBC’s remit include targeting young audiences via Radio 1 or should this content be left to commercial broadcasters? Explain your answer.
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