P2 - Planning our Radio Newscast

P1 - Group Preparation

As a group, we got together and all decided on the things that we would like to be a part of our radio news cast. 

The kinds of stories we thought would fit our criteria are hard stories such as crime, education etc yet include stories for young people as they're out target audience. Also because we're targetting a youthful audience, we thought fashion, celebrity, sports stories and the weather would attract them more. This presents the news value of human interest, currency and familiarity; if we had done a story on health for pensioners, they cannot really relate. Therefore by choosing these stories, it will attract a larger audience because it's something they can talk about as it's also current. 

In addition, we thought we should include different ways of presenting each story so that it's not the same thing and bore the audience. We came up with vox pops and voice inserts instead of just using recordings in our newscast. To edit these, we said we'd use audacity to cut, trim, paste, etc the sound clips to how we need. To record all this, we said we'd use a dictaphone instead of using phones because they record at a better quality than our mobile phones. 

For our newstory, like others we decided to start off with the introduction to ourselves. By presenting ourselves first we feel that our audience will have a better sense of familiarity. The the normal procedure of how to start a news story once we fully research on how it is done on popular radio stations like Capital FM. 

R31 - Pyschographs

Psychographs

 - A way in which to describe an audience by looking at their behaviours and personality traits. It labels a  particular type of person and makes an assessment about their viewings and spending habits.

I believe that I would be an Aspirer, Explorer and Reformer. This is because as a young person, I do in fact care about image and appearance, materialistic things and especially the packing of a product instead of the quality. For example unfortunately, I am the type of person that would go for a brand rather than the quality, like many others.

I think I fall under the psychograph as an explorer also, because as I'm still growing and gaining new experiences, I am finally seeing the world under my own impression and not of those that tell me. I am maturing and more understanding of everything around me which does impact the way I am.

In addition, I think I am a reformer as I am quite inquisitive about the way things work and why people do what they do. This is shown through my interest in psychology. I am aware of the types of people around me socially and will not allow anybody to restrict me from what I know is my rights.

R30 - Trip To the BFI

On Wednesday 11th of February, we went to the BFI on the South Bank to get more information about the British Film Industry. The day set out to inform us about the different exhibitions of films. We also got the chance to watch the film Belle, and have a Q & A session with the producer, Damian Jones - also producer of The History Boys and Adulthood/Kidulthood.

In the first half of the programme, we were given an introduction to film and the types of films there are. The speaker helped us identify that there were different types of audiences within the audience we were sitting in. For each film we had watched that the speaker said, we would either have to stand if we had watched it, or sit down if we hadn't. All the people that were standing presented a different audience. Some of the audience members were standing for more than 2 of the films which represents a mixed audience signifying that audience do not always have to be 'labelled' as a certain thing.

In the second part of the programme, the speaker played a list of trailers and in the hand outs we had to guess where it would be exhibited. E.g Picture house, art house. We also had to determine the genre of the film for example The Woman in Black starring Daniel Radclyffe was obviously a horror film however there were other films that were less easier to determine. We also received information about small independent film companies such as Warp X - which I can talk about in section B of my exam.

In the last part of the programme we got to watch  a film called Belle (2013); directed by Amma Asante and produced by Damian Hurst. The film is about a young girl called Dido Belle from the West Indies - also the illegitimate mixed race daughter of the nephew of William Murray (1st Earl of Mansfield, the Lord Chief Justice of England). She was found living in poverty by her father and was entrusted to the care of Mansfield and his wife. The film focuses of Dido's relationship as a young woman however to the public, very little is known about her existence due to society measures. The film is inspired by the 1779 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle beside her cousin Lady Elizabeth Murray and focuses on the equality between Black and White. However meanwhile, the relationship between her and an aspiring lawyer who is White British; it is set at a time of legal significance, as a court case is heard about the Zongmassacre. This was about when slaves were thrown overboard from a slave ship and the owner filed with his insurance company for the losses. Lord Mansfield rules on this case in England's Court of King's Bench in 1786 with a decision that contributes to the abolition of slavery in Britain.

Personally for me, I thought the film was really good. At first, it took me a while to get into however when I started to understand what the film was about, I really enjoyed it, as did my friends. To create a film which was inspired by a significant point in history and then to make a film about it to exhibit not only to a normal audience but to a young audience of students, is a very daring move. Some of the students did not enjoy the film however I thought the film was really well executed. The storyline helped show the lives of people oppressed from inequality and especially as the theme of sexism was portrayed throughout, it interested me more. Overall, I wouldn't mind watching the film again.

In the last part of the programme, we got the meet the producer Damian Hurst, who was also the producer Kidulthood and The History Boys. Je told us about the successes and losses of a film. He shared personal stories about how the films he thought would be successful didn't even make it to the big screens while films like Adulthood which he did not expect to do good at all, became a very successful film for an independent film company. Likewise, even though the film was very small-budgeted, the profit made back was over the 'norm'.

Overall, the day was a very resourceful yet entertaining one. I learnt a whole load of things that I never thought i would need to learn. As well as it being very packed with information, i still enjoyed myself and had a better time than I thought I would. Even though this won't really be able to help with my coursework, i still benefitted as it can help me loads with Section B of my exam and the film industry.

R29 - Mipsterz & Hijab

As media is all about finding things out from different perspectives, I took the opportunity to work with Anna on the BBC with a project called Hip and Hijab. Myself as well as other students took part in an interview on how we think Muslim young girls are represented in society and what the hijab means to us. Being a Muslim myself and not wearing hijab entitled me to having different opinions compared to the other students.

Due to a family emergency, I could not attend the first meeting with a woman called Shelina. The meeting was about the idea of oppression as the media seem to continuously present Muslim women as feeling oppressed due to them wearing hijab.

The second meeting took place at All Stars Bowling Alley in Brick lane. I learnt that the natural environment is best in this circumstance to show young girls not being made to feel like they're oppressed and that Muslim young women are the same like non Muslim women when taking part in leisure activities. This sort of environment will reflect the fun that Muslim girls do have and show the public that 'being made to feel oppressed' is not always the case.

R28 - City University Masterclass

On the 10th of December, I went to a master class in City University for Journalism. We had to apply online and see if we could get in which luckily enough I did. When I went, we had to get into different groups of four and come up with a particular news story, which would eventually became one big newscast.

 My group had chosen to do how the recession had affected them. We were then given a microphone and a dictaphone to go out onto the streets to do a vox pop. As it was lesson time, majority of the students had gone to lectures or lessons so it was difficult to find someone who would participate. We eventually did, and also went to a local store and a large supermarket like Tesco. We eventually got the answers we needed and put the newscast together with the help of Collette Cooney, a broadcast journalist. 

 We also got the opportunity to have a tour around the University, especially around the media room that had a green screen and controls of the radio channel. This opportunity taught me about the variety of newscasts that are broadcasted. Also, as I was unsure about whether I wanted to pursue the career path of a journalist, this gave me an indication of what it was like to be one. I gained more teamwork skills and had the chance to meet new people, which developed my social skills. Overall, the day was very enjoyable and something I would do again. However, to be a journalist, I’ve learnt that you need to be very confident and outgoing to get the best possible news stories which I think isn’t for me.

R27 - Researching Radio Stations

Simi -

Radio Station	Ownership	Brief history	Target Audience	Newscast
97.3 LBC	Owned by Global Radio	-       First presenter: David Jessel (08/10/1973) -       First in the UK to combine interviews with celebrities and political figures.	- Aged 35 to 54	News/Talk -       Debates and interviews -       Interaction with audience -       News and travel update -       Advertisements
102.2 Smooth FM	Owned by Global R	-       On 25 June 2012, GMG Radio's owners, Guardian Media Group sold its radio division to Global Radio at an estimated price of between £50 million and £70 million. -       Global renamed GMG Radio "Real and Smooth Radio Ltd.	25-45 year old	Adult Contemporary -       Smooth jazz to attract the daytime audience -       News -       Advertisements
105.4 Magic	Owned by Bauer Radio	- In 1998, Melody FM was purchased by media group Emap from Hanson plc; the Magic brand replaced that of Melody's in December of that year.	25 to 54 age group, but 22.5% of listeners are over 45 plus market	Adult Contemporary -       News and travel update at a certain hour -       Competitions -       Advertisements
96.9 Choice FM (Capital Xtra)	Owned by Global Radio	- Britain’s first 24-hour black music radio station with a license, covering South London. - On 3 October 2013, Global announced that Choice would be rebranded as Capital Xtra on 7 October.[4] - Capital Xtra reaches 680,000 listeners in London alone.	15 -34	-       Rhythmic contemporary -       Competitions -       Formerly urban contemporary -       Travel update -       Advertisements

R26 - The Weekly Radio Magazine

Analysing a newspaper article

An issue for the radio is that fewer people choose radio for the news.  A newspaper article from the Weekly Radio Magazine (published 11^th – 17^th 2007) has stated that ‘fewer people choose the radio for news’ which already tells me what the news article is about. It says that “people using the radio has their main source of news has fallen by a third in the last four years”.

The conducted a survey asking 2000 people which was their main source news. The results showed that television was first with 65% choosing it over other forms of media. This figure hasn’t changed since 2002. In fact it has decreased from 16% from 11%. Even though this article is from 2007, it clearly shows that situations for radio being used for news has not increased or gotten any better which we hopefully would like to change with my radio newscast as we have researched within the younger generation so it can improve for the following years.

The Ofcom ‘New News’ report said local news coverage on a commercial radio “has tended to be the first victim whenever stations have hit financial problems. Smaller stations have, by tradition, carried heavier burdens in terms of local news obligations and this has proved a particularly difficult circle for some to square.”

This shows just how easily the radio news of media can easily be affected by small changes and it shows that the growing and development of technology has impacted the radio news vastly. With out radio newscast we’d like to target the younger generation so that in time, radio news can be introduced into the public and reach it’s standards that it used to. 

R25 - Responses From Target Audience

To find out more from our target audience, i asked 7 girls and 6 boys four questions. They are: 
1. Do you listen to the radio or watch/hear the news? If so how often do you do that? 
2. Do you think the radio is common amongst young people? 
3. Do you ever listen or watch the radio or news on your phone? 
4. What kind of news interests you?


From the responses, I have found out that people believe that the radio is unpopular within the younger society due to the new range of technology. Young people hardly use the radio anymore because they have their phones to listen to music or apps which allow them to do so.

R24 - Audience Vox Pop Research

To find out more primary research from our target audience, we took to the streets of Tower Hamlets and we asked people four questions. 

1. Do you listen to the radio?
2. What stories are you interested in?
3. What makes news more interesting?
4. Why do people listen to the radio?

We received a mixed response generally based on stereotypical gender types as females liked more celebrity and fashion stories whilst the males enjoyed sports. Majority hardly listen to the radio and it is a way for people to pass time. 

R23 - Is Radio Still Relevant

Published on 14 Aug 2013

- Cindy Diamond, Sales Director Inland at Mediamark speaks about how radio is still relevant today, and always will be

In this day and age, the radio isn't as popular as it used to be. The new forms of technology have over-ridden the radio as mobile phones now have the ability to download apps to listen to your own personal favourite music. E.g. Spotify. With this in mind, the radio is less needed than society would like to think however here, Cindy Diamond , a sales director from Australia in Mediamark talks about the opposition of how it is still relevant and to her beliefs, will always be relevant.

As well as being in the radio industry, she is a part of the digital and social media space which does affect the listeners as they choose more digital rather than radio. She talks about how advertises use their marketing skills to target the audience whereas with radio you cannot really market other than give them something to listen to. Social media allows interactivity therefore the audience will undoubtly find it more interesting. However radio has the ability to transform itself from a single media type. Radio can advertise to start engaging with consumers more actively on the ground. "Radio has remained dominant". In actual fact, consumers have enhanced radio by the use of social media and digital media. Radio offers more things generically as you can use it wherever and are able to stream it from a variety of forms of technology. Without knowing it, she believes that we are always surrounded by the radio; in the mornings, at home, out etc. Aspects of the media is everywhere and within radio, all of these things are covered so essentially we are surrounded by the radio. Radio popularity is increasing. Overall, it's development goes through it's niche market and then through it's mass pool. This is unique and a powerful aspects as marketers are also attracted by this.

R22 - BBC Gathering News

BBC - Gathering News

This online article explains on the BBC's methods for gathering news. There are five main points that the website list. These are:

1. That facts are the building blocks of news therefore you need to gather your own facts and statistics and check them very carefully.
2. To remember the 5 W's - What, Who, Where, When and Why (in addition, How). These are essential for gathering news and you get the full insight on the story.
3. That by interviewing people who have been affected by the story or know a lot about it will help add quality to your story by the fact that they have been a part of this news story somehow which is what the audience want to hear about.
4. Get as much background information as possible before setting off for an interview so you can ask the right questions.
5. To make sure you know the difference between fact and opinion. A fact is beyond dispute, where as an opinion is someone's view.
6. Try to balance different opinions in your report. One of the BBC's policy's are to be impartial.

This method helps gain news however there is an interviewing master

class with Natalie Jamieson, using Nick Grimshaw to show the better ways of interviewing a person which can also help with research as well as presenting a person's opinions and thoughts. As she is a specialist in her job of entertainment, she has the chance of interviewing lots of celebrities, so much so that she is now well experienced in this criteria.

These are tips she gives on how to get a good interview.

1. Research - Again, it is essential to do your background research on the person not only to make the interview more interesting and flow easier, but also so that the interviewee does not feel uncomfortable or disrespected. It also flatters them and they'll feel more inclined to open up to you.
2. Make the interview like a conversation - It would make the interviewee very uncomfortable if questions were just fired at them.
3. Ask open questions rather than closed - Open questions allow them to give more broad and better answers whereas closed questions are just a yes or no answer.
4. If the person gives an interesting answer for example something you didn't know about, pick up on them and get them to expand. It's highly likely that the audience will not have known about this either and get's them more intrigued.
5. Politeness is key - introduce yourself, say why you're doing the interview and what its for so the interviewee doesn't feel like your bombing them with questions, and when you're done say thank you.
6. If you do not understand what they've said, it is okay to ask them to repeat it, just in case you start going on about something that you think they've said.
7. Relax and put questions into your own words so the interview is more natural.

R21 - Information from Radio Practitioner/Journalist

Our (Tweenz) email interview with BBC Journalist, Josie Verghese

1. How do you know what stories to choose for a bulletin?
For most programmes deciding the stories to feature and the order they should run is a collaborative decision made by the team involved in producing that bulletin/programme on the day. Programmes tend to have editorial meetings and this is a discussion about the potential stories and angles they might want to pursue. Ultimately the decision will be down to the programme editor and don’t forget that when there is breaking news things can change and quite often the plan that was agreed at the beginning of the day will have completely changed by the time things go on-air! In terms of making decisions on what stories we pursue and support schools with for BBC News School Report we always try and look for original and unique ideas and which specifically relate to young people.

2. How do you protect your sources?
Sources and contacts are really important to any journalist and so building relationships with them is really important. For sources to feel comfortable and willing to share their stories they need to feel like they can trust you and you will treat them appropriately so being honest and letting them know your plans is important so they understand how their story is being reported and featured. Sometimes if stories are sensitive then interviewees and sources will remain anonymous.

3. Where do you go to find new stories?
People – they are the best sources for stories, talking to people is key! Also using social media. Charities, research bodies, government departments and politicians, universities – build contacts with these. And follow the news and think about different angles and ideas on how this story might be developed further.

4. What top tips would you give someone who is aspiring to be a Journalist?
Follow the news – read newspapers and websites, watch and listen to different news programmes. Find out more about the different sorts of journalism and news production (look at websites like BBC Academy) and try and get some hands on experience – if your school has a newsletter or journalism club then get involved. Maybe write your own blog or record your own video and/or audio reports. Get involved in hospital radio. Apply for work experience with news organisations like the BBC to see if you can have a taster.

5. How do you protect yourself out in the field?
Before reporting in the field all BBC journalists have to complete a risk assessment which means we have thought about potential problems or risks in advance, for example if you are filming near water or by a busy road. There are always practical things to think about like the weather being unpredictable or if you’re working with children and young people making sure you have their parental permission to be involved. One of the most important things about being a journalist and working ‘in the field’ is being prepared – or at least as much as you can be. When possible and time allows it is always good to recce a location so you know more about it before you start working – this happens for most TV productions but is often hard for news programmes as you often can’t plan ahead or predict the location so having a checklist of things to consider for any location is something we do. Being able to adapt to different and changing circumstances is often necessary – best laid plans don’t always work out! In some circumstances, like when reporting from a conflict or war zone, only journalists and crew who have had specific additional training can work there.


This is beneficial for is because it shows us that working as a team is the best way to produce an excellent radio news cast. We need a team which produce create ideas as well as work along side well together. We also need to be really friendly, not only to each other but to people we are interviewing, working with etc. The public play an important role in the news therefore we have to make sure their views are heard as well as find stories which they are attracted to. Another important part of news is to follow it. We should always be on top of news as a news reporter, and we should have outer knowledge as well as learning new knowledge as we go along. 

R20 - Defamation, Libel, Slander

R19 - Radio News Story Analysis

 

This analysis of the report allows me to see how a news report's manual paper is laid out. This will also help me with setting out my newscast in this format, thus allowing me to use the traditional methods of news reporting. I have annotated all the important parts of the texts. For example the bold text at the top outlines the story about to presented. The following text reported by "Joss Harding" includes the 5 W's. It also shows the audience targeted etc. Then it shows where the clip is inserted and this allows the people in the studio to 'click off'. They know the duration of the clip and are allowed to take a quick break. Then when the reporter reports the story again, they can summarise the story. This gives me a fair amount of knowledge on how to set out a radio news story on paper which will make it easier for me when i write out my script for my news cast.

R18 - Radio Newscast Analysis (Capital FM)

The news broadcast starts off by a distorted voice saying “Capital FM news and travel update” which suggests that it is the jingle and what is used to introduce the news. Sound effects like a ‘beep’ and a ‘whoosh’ sound is used at the end before there is silence. Then a woman (Pandora) the radio presenter begins to introduce the news. 

 The first story introduced is the Jimmy Saville case. She starts off by saying that there are fresh allegations from the Jimmy Saville case. 2 of them are being investigated in London and the Department of Health have disclosed 12 NHS trusts investigating the new allegations carried out on abuse on hospital property. A voice insert is then added of a member of the Department of Health saying “it is a disgrace and we are investigating this operation”. 
This news story carries loads of news values such as negativity, timelessness as well as proximity. As this is now local as it is in London, more of a wider audience in a congested and dense area will know as news travels fast, therefore more people are aware of it. Because this news story has been in the public eye since the beginning of summer, it has familiarity and timelessness as the issue never really left the public eye before re-entering with a new issue. The news story continues about 7000 child abuse cases being investigated. The Metropolitan police are investigating all of this – showing the seriousness of the issue if the major police team are working on this. Another voice insert is added the deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg saying “this is intolerable”. Because this is coming from the deputy prime minister, it has more importance as it’s from a member of higher authority. This also plays to human interest as a news value because thousands of child abuse cases are being investigated which makes the audience empathise for the children that this has happened to. 

The last news story is about part of a large steel bolt falling to the ground after breaking off the Cheesegrater skyscraper (one of the largest building in London). Nobody was injured however the area has been cornered off. Another voice insert is added of a member of British Land saying “There is no risk to the structural integrity of the building... The public’s safety is our priority so we have taken a number of precautionary measures”. The speech here is by a man who sounds as if he is one of the most important members – a higher member of authority reassuring the public not to worry. 

 Then another jingle of the ‘jingle bell ball’ from the previous year is used with the audience clapping. These sound effects are effective as it shows the audience that news about the concert is going to be revealed. It is used to interest and appeal the target audience listening to their radio station as the Jingle Bell Ball is run by Capital FM.

R17 - Local Newspaper Article

Analysis of a local newspaper article from the 'East End Life'. 

- The headline says "Vulnerable groups urged to get flu jab".  

• This immediately tells us that this is a health related story. 
• This targets everybody as it''s very vague by saying 'vulnerable groups' which can suggest the elderly as they as the most vulnerable, however it could also suggest young children which is what it says in the article as well as pregnant women. However this could also mean it's aimed at everybody ill therefore it targets the readers as a whole. Overall, the target audience are mainly people with health conditions in the UK, even though the article is for East London.
• This form of news may not appeal to teenagers as much as it would for parents as teenagers are not really interested in health news, which we also found out in our survey. However it may appeal to them if they are ill and 'vulnerable'. 

- The article has quotations from people of a higher authority such as the Director of Public Health (Tower Hamlets), Dr Somen Banerjee, as well as the Cabinet member for Health and Adult services Cllr Abdul Asad. This is effective towards the audience as it shows legitamate authority where people are more likely to obey if a person from a higher authority tells them to do something. If the article didn't have this, less people would take it seriously which could be dangerous for themselves as well as put more pressure on the NHS.   

- The image shows campaigners of roughly middle aged - older people holding a banner saying 'Fight for our NHS'. This suggests that the people who care about this more are the older generation who aren't only fighting for themselves but also the younger generation who do not exactly know the importance and how this will benefit them just yet.  

R16 - RAJAR

RAJAR stands for Radio Joint Audience Research and is the official body in charge of measuring radio audiences in the UK. It is jointly owned by the BBC and the RadioCentre on behalf of the commercial sector.

RAJAR is responsible for setting the research specification, the awarding of the research contracts to third party suppliers and the overall quality control , management and delivery of the service. The day to day operations are overseen by the Chief Executive and Research Director. RAJAR is structured as a 'deadlocked' company whereby Board decisions require the agreement of all shareholders. The RAJAR Board is chaired by a non-executive independent Chairman. The day to day operations of RAJAR are the responsibility of the Chief Executive and Research Director. It is a not for profit company, funded by an annual fee payable in part by the BBC and the balance from the commercial operators via subscription fees payable by the participating stations who subscribe to the service.RAJAR is set up as a JIC (Joint Industry Committee) that represents in addition to the BBC and the commercial sector, the interests of the wider advertising community. A representative of the IPA and a representative of ISBA (the Incorporated Society of British Advertisers) attend Board meetings and their input is sought on all major issues.

This graph shows a different range of radio stations in London; some which are local london radio stations whilst others are national  but also in London. The more national radio stations have the ability to broadcast to a larger population, which allows them to target a larger audience. The graph (blue line) shows that they can reach populations of 50-60,000 whereas Dream 100, a local radio station reaches between 200-1000 of the population. The more of the population it reaches, the more people listen to it. However even though many of the radio stations can attract a large population, it does not necessarily mean that the total listening hours are high. For example BBC Asian Network UK. It's audience is around 54,000 however the total listening hours are 4122.