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.