Facts
Based off Woman’s Hour, first broadcast 1946
LNWH first broadcast in 2015
PBS broadcasting - public service broadcasting
BBC radio 4, then podcasted on BBC sounds
Used to air weekly on Thursday and Friday at 11pm
(now its frequency is sporadic)
Used to be hosted by Lauren Lavergne
Now hosted by Emma Barnet
A magazine that covers many different topics
BBC4 targets a middle aged middle class audience
LNWH target a slightly younger audience and has a more explicit mode of address suitable for a later time slot
Formal mode of address
Defining key terms
Plurality - - Refers to when a media company produces media of a variety of different types that appeal to a variety of different audiences. For example the BBC produces a range TV and radio shows as diverse as Blue Planet to Eastenders
Diversification - refers to when a media producers creates a media product in a different industry. A great example of this is the video game production company Ubisoft diversifying their output by producing a Hollywood film.
Distribution - refers to the process of making a media product available to an audience tso it can be consumed. For example, the newspaper industry relies on a combination of physical and digital distribution
Underline the key terms
To what extent has digital technology affected the ways in which the radio industry distributes and circulates its products? Make reference to Late Night Woman’s Hour to support you answer [10]
Knee jerk reaction
Digital technologies have affected distribution in the radio industry to a large extent
Plan
BBC Sounds
Podcasts
Digital convergence
Cultural industries
(end of audience)
Curran and Seaton - power and Profit
Watershed
Regulation
Digital distribution
PBS
Streaming service
Spotify
Hesmondhalgh
Multimedia integration
Convergence
Diversification
Parasocial relationships
Digital technologies
Livingstone and Lunt
Genre conventions
OFCOM
Self regulation
Introduction
DAC - definition, argument, context
Digital technologies refer to the ways in which computers have diversified the means of production, distribution and circulation of media products. In this essay I shall argue that digital technologies have completely changed the ways in which the radio industry distributes its products. I shall make reference to LNWH, a women’s lifestyle magazine show broadcast on BBC radio 4, and targeting a middle class middle aged audience.
Paragraphs
PEA - Point, evidence, argument
LNWH is streamed on multiple platforms, including being streamed through BBC sounds, hosted on Spotify, and being Broadcast on BBC Radio 4. This diverse and inclusive range of distribution methods allows the BBC to target a range of different audiences. For example, older audience members may listen to LNWH on the radio, while younger audiences may stream it through BBC sounds. By effectively targeting so many audiences, this allows the BBC to minimise risk and maximise profit.
However, the BBC is funded by a licence fee and does not make revenue in a traditional manner. Instead the BBC is a PBS, and has a remit to inform, educate and to entertain. This approach is pluralistic, and the BBC must appeal to as many different and diverse audiences as possible. This can be achieved through digital technology. By including so many products of such a diverse nature, the BBC reinforces its brand identity, and encourages audiences to consume paying the licence fee and therefore fun it’s products
LNWH actively engages a niche audiences, and does so through its highly relatable subject matter
Digital technology allows for audience interaction through social media