In this session, you will be
- Listening to radio shows through the BBC Sounds web portal (www.bbc.co.uk/sounds) or the BBC Sounds App
- Making notes about a variety of topics, but mainly on how the NEEDS of the AUDIENCE are met
The notes you make today can ALL be used in your final Component One exam, as well as any mocks that feature radio. This is an important lesson, as you are digging out EXAMPLES. And examples get you MARKS.
In order to complete these tasks , you will need a BBC Sounds account, so please set one up if you do not have one already.
BBC Radio 4
Using Wikipedia, ChatGTP, or asking someone else in your house, write down some BRIEF information about BBC Radio 4, it's target audience, and what kind of shows it broadcasts.
Then, using BBC Sounds, find four radio programmes broadcast on BBC 4. What kind of shows are they? How to they appeal to their target audience? Who is their target audience? How do they meet the needs of their target audience? And how can audiences use these shows?
The BBC Sounds web portal
Many people, especially younger people will access BBC sounds using either the web portal (basically an old fashioned term for website: a 'portal' to other pages, or the BBC Sounds App, which can (and should) be downloaded for free for your phone. This approach is called convergent media, and it brings together different industries to target new audiences. In this case, it means the combination of internet and radio. [MICHAEL VOICE: WRITE THAT DOWN!]
These questions may seem a little weird, because you'll be briefly analysing a website or an app. However, a significant amount of time and money has been devoted to making these as user friendly and enjoyable to use.
Please answer the following question with screenshots from the site or above, as well as your own bullet point notes
How does BBC Sounds appeal and meet the needs of it's audiences? Make reference to:
- Thumbnails (the preview images that suggest programme content)
- Lexis
- Images
- Font
- Colour
- Hyperlinks (the words or images you click on to access content)
- Engagement (these are techniques that keep you engaged with the website, and stop you from leaving it. Engagement is a very important concept for online media!)
- Accessibility (is this website suitable and easy to use for people of different ages and abilities?)
- Plurality (the ability to appeal and meet the needs of multiple audiences)
How does BBC Sounds meet your needs?
This next task is important, and it's fun. In order to explain how BBC Sounds adopts a pluralistic approach to media production, you are going to find an example of how it meets YOUR needs. You will then refer to this briefly in the exam.
Find a podcast, show, music mix, anything on BBC Sounds that is 'made for you'. Not something you 'sort of' like, something that meets your needs and interests in a specific way. You will need to listen to lots of different things.
Then, make notes on how it appeals to you, and meets your needs.
Using me (Michael) as an example, my perfect show is The New Music Show on BBC Radio 3. It's absolutely crazy! It plays some of the most challenging and experimental music I've heard. It's brilliant, and I can't believe it's played on national radio. Why? Because it meets the need of a very niche audience (experimental music fans). But from a financial perspective, it also encourages me to keep paying the TV licence, as I feel represented.
How does BBC sounds meet someone else's needs?
Final task! Find a podcast you ABSOLUTELY WOULD NEVER LISTEN TO. Listen to it. Sorry. How does this podcast meet the needs of a completely different audience that ISN'T YOU?