Life hacks

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.

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.

BBC Radio 1 - Life Hacks: Blog tasks

Analysis

Listen to the extracts from Life Hacks above and answer the following questions:

1) What do the titles The Surgery and Life Hacks suggest?

The titles causes it to appear that it will make life simpler or better for us as the group of spectators. 

2) How are the programmes constructed to appeal to a youth audience?

they have casual discussion toward the start of The Surgery communicate, talk about important points that are focused at young people, for example, FOMO 

3) What does the choice of presenters (Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton) and Dr Modgil suggest about the BBC’s approach to diversity and representation?

past radio stations could be stereotyped into simply utilizing white moderators, this shows how BBC have advanced in the feeling of decent variety and portrayal. 

4) 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?

textual styles and splendid fun hues which is speaking to the more youthful age. additionally they have inquiries on thier site to draw in with their intended interest group. 

5) 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. 

getting rest, ethnicity and personality, youth anguish and does the general store make you feel discouraged are the point they discussed which requests to the more youthful crowd as this is something they experience and relate.

Audience

1) What is the target audience for BBC Radio 1?

15-29

2) Who is the actual audience for BBC Radio 1?

40-45 years old

3) What audience pleasures are offered by Life Hacks? Apply Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory.

Individual way of life as their group of spectators can identify with it. redirection as individuals can likewise tune in to music, 

4) Read this Guardian review of Life Hacks. What points does the reviewer make about Life Hacks and the particular podcast episode they listened to?

'I ended up tuning in to a couple of life motivation/pioneering digital broadcasts a week ago.' this demonstrates she could identify with the web recording and thought that it was helpful 

5) 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?

The station is additionally still the top decision for audience members matured 15 to 24 in the UK

Industries

1) How does Life Hacks meet the BBC mission statement to Educate, Inform and Entertain? 

instruct their crowd by giving them with exhortation in regards to youth related issues. They illuminate them on current news and mainstream stories. They likewise engage with music, 

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.

The BBC is the UK's most generally utilized media association, giving programming on TV and radio and substance on the web. The open has uncommonly elevated standards of the BBC, molded by its job as a freely financed telecaster with a transmit to illuminate, instruct and engage people in general, and to help the imaginative economy over the UK. 

To meet these desires, the BBC must convey the mission and open purposes set out in its new Royal Charter (the Charter). Just because, the BBC will be vigorously considered answerable for doing as such by a free, outer controller. Nearby obligations regarding program benchmarks and securing reasonable and powerful challenge in the territories in which the BBC works, the Charter gives Ofcom the activity of setting the BBC's working licence(the License). This sets restricting conditions, requiring the BBC to convey for permit charge payers. It is additionally our business to investigate, measure and report on the BBC's exhibition. 

Shield helpless classes, for example, expressions, music and religious projects. Our examination demonstrates these zones are significant for certain crowds; yet some are in decay. We have along these lines affirmed higher necessities for BBC One and BBC Two to show programs in these kinds, including another prerequisite to communicate during pinnacle review times. With BBC Three's move on the web, we have likewise acquainted an administrative condition with protect the arrangement of satire on BBC One and BBC Two just because

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?

1) Support social activity battles on BBC radio. We are requiring Radio 1 to offer a base number of significant social activity crusades every year. Giving data and bringing issues to light of social issues influencing youngsters and giving them a stage to draw in with is one of the key ways Radio 1 can separate itself from other radio stations 

2) Support a wide scope of esteemed kinds. The BBC must help a wide scope of classes over its channels and administrations, for example, show, parody, real projects and various sorts of music. 2 Ofcom anticipates that the BBC should bolster esteemed classifications, especially those that have seen declining speculation. We additionally anticipate that the BBC should keep delivering programs on a wide scope of built up subjects and interests – including yet not solely projects covering governmental issues, business, purchaser issues, country issues, wellbeing, handicap and social activity 

3) Require the BBC to mirror the full decent variety of the UK populace. We are requiring the BBC to set up another charging Code of Practice for Diversity, endorsed by us, by April 2018. This will guarantee that on-and off-screen decent variety contemplations are inserted in the authorizing procedure. We will likewise guarantee the BBC is freely responsible for accomplishing its workforce assorted variety targets. 

4) What do you think are the three most important aspects in the a-h list? Why?

Reinforce news and current issues rules. To ensure the BBC achieves the most extensive crowds conceivable with its news and current issues content, we have expanded amount for news on BBC One and current issues on BBC One and BBC Two. Bolster a wide scope of esteemed classes. The BBC must help a wide scope of classes over its channels and administrations, for example, dramatization, satire, authentic projects and various sorts of music, Require the BBC to mirror the full assorted variety of the UK populace, I accept this is significant on the grounds that with the goal that no segregation is occurring on the BBC 

5) Read point 1.9: What do Ofcom plan to review in terms of diversity and audience? 

we intend to analyze the on-screen assorted variety of the BBC's customizing, incorporating into its famous pinnacle time appears. The audit will ask what spectators anticipate from the BBC to comprehend whether it reflects and depicts the lives surprisingly over the entire of the UK, extending from more youthful and more established crowds to different networks 

Read this Guardian interview with BBC 1 Controller Ben Cooper.

6) What is Ben Cooper trying to do with Radio 1?

The needs new crowds for the BBC so Ben Cooper's attractive and aggressive mission to make BBC Radio 1 like a Netflix for radio would make a perfect section point to a meeting with the station's controller. 

7) How does he argue that Radio 1 is doing better with younger audiences than the statistics suggest?

the measurements are determined is erroneous which is the reason the normal is more seasoned than it appears. He supposes the most widely recognized age of a Radio 1 audience is 18. What's more, for its YouTube channel, it is 12-to 17-year-old females. 

8) Why does he suggest Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio?

Is it accurate to say that we are particular from business radio? Truly we are," he says. "We will play something like 4,000 unique tracks a month, business radio plays around 400. 

9) Why is Radio 1 increasingly focusing on YouTube views and digital platforms?

he more youthful group of spectators are progressively drawn in with Youtube and in this manner things, for example, radio are winding up less mainstream 

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.

I figure they should leave the substance for business supporters on the grounds that the more youthful age are more averse to tune in to Radio 1 as there are such huge numbers of different spots where they can, for example, spotify or youtube