Wednesday, 12 December 2018

Radio 1 Breakfast Show Essay

Part (a)Radio 1 target audience is on the decline, discuss the reasons why audience numbers are dropping and the steps taken by the organisation to maintain (and or grow) its audience. Discuss the role of technology in maintaining its audience.
Part (b) From your viewing of Jon Richardson on the phones, measuring skips and did the Strictly crowd fist pump? Discuss the impact of Radio 1’s funding (from taxpayers money) on its production content. (take into account the stations remit…)

The Radio 1 Breakfast show - broadcasted on FM, DAB, Freeview, Freesat, Virgin, sky and online via BBC Radio Player (allowing viewers to view it up to 30 days after it has been released) - with Greg James is broadcasted weekdays from 6:30am till 10:00am. The breakfast show has been running since 1967 but has recently been taken over by Greg James (becoming the 16th presenter in 2018). Their music is largely playlisted, what is going to be played on daytime Radio 1 is decided by a committee - they choose around 40 records each week to be repeated during the daytime play(A-list records get 25 plays a week, B-lists get 15, and C-lists get 8 to 10). The current fee is £150.50 for a colour license and £50.50 for a black and white license; however, the license is free if you are 75 or over, and half-price if you are registered blind. BBC Radio 1's remit is to entertain and engage a broad range of young listeners with a distinctive mix of contemporary music and speech. The target audience is 15-29-year-olds and it should also provide some programming for younger teenagers. BBC Radio 1 should offer a range of new music, supporting emerging artists - especially those from the UK - and to provide a platform for live music. News and documentaries and advice campaigns should cover areas of relevance to young adults. Radio 1 is funded by the Television license fee. In 2016/17 Radio 1 had a budget of £34.7 million. The high level of funding available to Radio 1 influences the quality of programs. Radio 1 is able to host special events (such as concerts and competitions for example). Radio 1 uses this revenue to ensure that program content (the guests and the quiz quality for example) is high, quality production; and can fund Social Media sites (such as Twitter, Youtube and Facebook for example). People aged between 15 and 24 listened to just over 14 hours of radio per week last year - seven hours less than the average adult and less than 15% less than they did a decade earlier - according to the broadcasting regulator Ofcom. Radio 1 is suffering because its core audience is turning away from live radio (this is largely to do with the new arrival of streaming services). The Breakfast Show has been losing audience numbers year-on-year since Nick Grimshaw took over by Grimshaw was brought in especially to develop a larger audience in its target range of 15-29 and shed over 30s.

The general purpose of the show is to provide music for people and to provide them with the news, weather and other goings on in the world. the age demographic is around 15 to 29. this has a large impact on the type of music that would be played on the show. Mainly stuff that teenagers would listen to. The general pattern is an intro, then about three songs, then more talking, then another three songs then a member of the public is open the show, then three more songs. Finally, the weather is talked about, along with the news and the general information about what is happening in the world. Then another three songs and a quiz. The news tends to be every thirty minutes. This rota is repetitive and is on a constant cycle throughout the whole time that the show is on - 30 minutes of music, 10 minutes of news, and then 10 minutes of quiz and talking to people. The music jas to fit the wants of a large number of people, for example, the main music type is pop music, but if they only played that kind of music then they would miss out on other listeners that like different kinds of music such as rock music.

The show starts at 6:30am and after a quick hello from the presenters, 2 songs are played - I Found You by Calvin Harris and Blanco, and Let it Go by James Bay - and then they give a quick debrief of what is going to be happening throughout the whole broadcast. The first few people that have been played are Scottish, American and English going to prove that there is no specificity on who is getting played (whether they are British or not). Although, the only people who are being played right now are males, creating an enigma on whether or not females will be played eventually and it is just that they are the first songs randomly chosen. The age range of who is being played first is 28-34. Once the songs have finished, the presenters then talk a bit more; telling the audience stories that have been told to them through phone calls from viewers all over the UK. After more 2 songs have been played, the hosts introduce the songs that have just been played - the artist and the song title - and then give the audience a sneak peek of the topics that are going to be talked about and the songs that are to be played (by playing snippets of the songs for them). For the rest of the radio broadcast, it is a constant cycle between songs then talking, songs then advertisement and showing what is coming up and then repeated. However, the cycle is broken every half hour where the news is being presented (sports, weather and just generally what is happening around the world). It becomes apparent by the end of the second news broadcast that it is just a recycle of the news in the previous half hour (7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30, 9:00. In this broadcast, they go on about Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn - that many people are likely to vote against Brexit and this would cause an uncertainty to making the Brexit plan a reality. They would next talk about New Zealand - how at least 145 whales are becoming stranded on the beach and half of those who have died have had to be put down. They also mentioned that needles have been found in strawberries in Australia and New Zealand. Other things that they talk about consist of the robot landing on Mars, Cricketers "whitewash" in Sri Lanka, football possibly going to the final, and the weather. As well as telling news, playing songs and telling pub stories, the Radio 1 hosts competitions such as manning the phones Jan Scam (a festival) and Call-ins (Manning the Pub, Phone-ins, and Pub stories). Since the Radio is based in the UK, they mainly play artists who are from the UK (Calvin Harris, James Bay, Florence and the Machine, Weiss, Liam Payne, Bring Me The Horizon, Rita Ora, Little Mix, and George Ezra for example) to help promote them and maintain their contemporary audience.

Last year, BBC News reported the number of hours 15-24-year-olds spent listening to the radio has fallen from 29 million hours in 2010 to 16 million in 2016. This age group used to make up 45% of Radio 1's listenership; however, it more recently being 36%. This is largely thanks to the arrival of streaming services, and that’s why Radio 1’s head of music, Chris Price, wants to start some kind of streaming service. Right now, Radio 1 doesn’t have that streaming service, so it’s targeting it's 15- to 29-year-old demographic elsewhere online, because they’re aware that 42% of 15- to 24-year-olds on social media follow their chosen radio station’s social pages, compared to 31% of those aged 25 or older. On YouTube, Radio 1 has 3.5m subscribers compared to Radio 2’s paltry 42,069. Radio 1 has 2.55m Facebook likes compared to Radio 2’s 633,053. Radio 2 may have higher listening figures for its live shows, but the reach of Radio 1 – particularly with viral content – is much higher on social media than it is for Radio 2, and that’s because its audience is younger. As Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper explained this morning: “Radio 1’s Listen, Watch, Share strategy means that RAJAR is only part of the story. Alongside the 10.5m listeners, our YouTube videos have received over 1.4 billion views and we have 8.7m followers across social media.” The reason Radio 1 has so many social media followers is that it’s producing content that works on YouTube and on social media as well as on the radio. These things are funny, they’re usually video-based, and they just happen to act as breadcrumbs that entice people on social media to tune in. When it gets famous guests, Radio 1 plays games like Innuendo Bingo or Playground Insults that are rivalling Carpool Karaoke, the hugely popular spot from James Corden’s massive US TV show, in terms of actual funniness and in what execs like to call ‘shareability’. Other reasons for the shrinkage of listeners is due to the differentiation in technology now-days - there being YouTube, Phones, IPads and iPlayer. To attempt to maintain their audience, BBC Radio 1 uses BBC iPlayer to involve artists in order to help them gain audience views. They do this by letting people rewatch the videos that they have of artists singing and doing small interviews after they have performed. BBC Radio 1 also uses social media platforms such as Youtube to allow viewers to watch these videos - such as Innuendo Bingo and Playground Instlu Match - which they have celebrities come in and take part in. More ways that the radio is trying to improve the audience who are listening is through using trending jokes and competitions to get people interacting. 













Wednesday, 5 December 2018

Radio 1 Breakfast Show

BBC Radio 1 Facts:
  • Radio 1 Roadshow began in July 1973 with a Land Rover pulling a converted caravan around British holiday resorts. It's now morphed into the Big Weekend, with up to 100,000 fans watching acts like Jay-Z, Foo Fighters and Madonna playing unlikely towns like Swindon, Dundee and Norwich.
  • The first song played on Radio 1 was 'Flowers In The Rain' by The Move
  • The age demographic is 15-29
  • The BBC claim that the average age group who have been watching it since 2009 is 30
  • Nick Grimshaw then Graham James
  • 2.43 million a week in 2018 - used to be 9.4 million
  • Funded by the government 
  • Publicly funded - Licence Fee - Remit
  • The Radio One Breakfast Show is currently the most listened to ‘show’ on Radio One and forms part of Radio One’s overall public service broadcasting (PSB) remit to ‘entertain, educate and inform’ and is required to demonstrate a ‘distinctive’ output of content compared to commercial radio.
  • Radio must be studied in relation to media industries and media audiences, including a consideration of the economic, political and cultural contexts that influence the radio industry and its audiences.
Public Service Broadcasting In the United Kingdom, the term "public service broadcasting" refers to broadcasting intended for public benefit rather than to serve purely commercial interests. 

License Fee - The current fee is £150.50 for a colour licence and £50.50 for a black and white licence. The licence is free if you are 75 or over, and half-price if you are registered blind.

Remit - Radio 1's remit is to entertain and engage a broad range of young listeners with a distinctive mix of contemporary music and speech.

Target Audience -Its target audience is 15-29-year-olds and it should also provide some programming for younger teenagers.

Music - It should offer a range of new music, support emerging artists - especially those from the UK - and provide a platform for live music. News, documentaries and advice campaigns should cover areas of relevance to young adults.

Funding - Is funded by the Television license fee. In 2016/17 Radio 1 had a budget of £34.7 million. The high level of funding available to R1 influences the quality of the programmes. Radio 1 is able to host special events (concerts, competitions etc.). Radio 1 use this revenue to ensure that program content is high (guests, quizzes concerts ), quality production; and can fund Social Media sites (Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, etc)

Commercial Radios - Capital Radio and Radio X have a distinctive content linked to their Target audiences. Radio X funded by advertising revenue. The annual budget is unknown but is significantly less than Radio 1. Radio X and capital Radio struggle to match Radio 1 for the quality of production and the availability of audience interaction via social media.

Maintaining Audiences - The Show’s audiences are declining – as are the audiences for BBC Radio 1 as a whole. As the BBC’s Media Centre posted on 26 October 2017: ‘BBC Radio 1 posted a reach of 10.5m listeners aged 10+ (from ... 10.9m last year) and the Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Nick the station has 9.7 million listeners aged 15+ (from 9.59m last quarter and 9.87m last year)

Reaching Audiences - People aged between 15-24 listened to just over 14 hours of radio per week last year - seven hours less than the average adult, and 15% less than they did a decade earlier, according to broadcasting regulator Ofcom. Radio 1 is suffering because its core audience is turning away from live radio. This is largely thanks to the arrival of streaming services.  The Breakfast Show has been losing audience numbers year-on-year since Grimshaw took over (see above) but Grimshaw was brought in especially to develop larger audiences in its target range of 15-29 and shed the over 30s.


Production and Distribution:
  • The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James is broadcast weekdays from 06.30-10.00 am. 
  • The Breakfast Show has been running since 1967, but Greg James took over as the 16th presenter in 2018. 
  • BBC Radio 1 is broadcast on FM, DAB, Freeview, Freesat, Virgin, Sky, or online via BBC Radio Player (including via the phone or tablet app) where it can be heard live or streamed for 30 days. 
  • It is produced by the BBC from its own studios at Broadcasting House in London. 
  • There’s a useful BBC Academy podcast (with transcript) about how the programme is produced http://www.bbc.co.uk/academy/articles/art20170619095219011
  • The music is largely playlisted – what is going to be played on daytime Radio 1 is decided by a committee; they choose around 40 records each week for repeated daytime play 
  • (A-list records get 25 plays a week, B-list 15, and C-list eight to 10). 

Audience segmentation - a key activity within an audience analysis. It is the process of dividing a large audience into smaller groups of people - or segments - who have similar needs, values or characteristics

GEARS:
Gender
Ethnicity
Age
Region, Nationality
Socio-economic group



Thank you, random people.
Tells date
Wishes well
Merry Xmas (general seasonal greeting)
Who’s it with
Gives a summary of what’s to come
Bad music
More bad music
More bad music
Even more bad music
Stupid stuff about a crap magpie
Random stories
Working class different ethnic groups because of the artists
News
Travel wildlife politics criminal activity weather
Advertising somehow plus quiz
Jon Richardson
Quiz starts around 45 mins
The music is dependant on popularity but also changes to different people’s tastes
The aim of this station is to find out about the music and the news and give it to the people who are either about to go to work or need to know what’s going on in the world
20 mins more news Brexit parliament
Jeremy Corbyn
Basically, repeat


Summary

The general purpose of the show is to provide music for people and to provide them with the news, weather and other goings on in the world. The age demographic is around 15 to 29. This has a large impact on the type of music that would be played on the show. Mainly stuff that teenagers would listen to.
The general pattern is an intro, then about three songs, then more talking, then another three songs then a member of the public on the show, then three more songs. Then finally comes the weather, and the news and the general information of what's happening in the world. Then another three songs and a quiz...The news tends to be around every 30 mins

Educate - Quiz
Inform - Weather
Entertain - Music

The music has to fit the wants of a large number of people, for example, the main music type is pop music but if they only played that kind of music then they would miss out on other listeners that like different kinds (better) music like rock music for example.

The cycle of what is happening
  • 6:30am start
  • songs
  • Talking
  • Song
  • Showing what is coming up
  • Song
  • Talking
  • Song
  • Talking
  • Advertisement
  • Song
  • Talking
  • Sports - 7:00
  • Weather
  • News - finish at 7:03
  • Talking
  • What’s coming up in songs
  • Songs
  • Talking - quiz - 7:15
  • Songs
  • Taking
  • Songs
  • News -7:30 (repeating what was said earlier)
  • the schedule is 30 min music, 10 min news, 10 min quiz and talks to people
Inform
  • Strictly Come Dancing information
  • Saying timetable for the breakfast
  • Announces song names
  • PM uncertainty over Brexit
  • Cricket
  • May puts heart and soul into Brexit plan
  • Agreeing on a deal with the EU tough? Even tougher in HoP
  • NZL 150 whales died from being stranded on a beach, half put down
  • Money back today looking at rail companies if they don't deal with complaints
  • Convicted rapists escape prison, don't approach Wayne Jones
  • Needles in more strawberries in AUS and NZL
  • NASA successfully landed a new Mars rover - InSight rover
  • ENG cricketers hoping for a whitewash in Sri Lanka. 164-5
  • Arsenal wants Premier league top 4
  • Huddersfield moved off the bottom of the table
  • Weather news, just rain
  • Brief news, trying to keep people occupied and able to attend
  • The schedule is 30 min music, 10 min news, 10 min quiz and talks to people
  • They play genres about pop rock and anything a stereotypical teenager would like
  • News beat
  • Repeats previous news as well as going into more detail
  • Brand new quiz team
  • Telling times for everything right at the start
  • Telling the names of the songs before or after
  • Telling the audience what is to come in between 2 songs
  • Repeating stories
  • Giving snippets of songs to show what’s coming up
Entertain
  • Hyper intro
  • Background music
  • Meme
  • Strictly Come Dancing
  • Comedian John Richardson
  • Big tracklist
  • Joking about a magpie which they named Danny Tetley
  • "Someone accidentally glued a horse to the floor"
  • Fun quiz
  • Magpie saying a thing - merry Christmas
  • Replying to messages from audience
  • Using voice clips
  • Telling pub stories
Educate
  • Quiz
  • Quizzes keep people interacting
  • Gives viewers info on recent events
  • Political education in Newsbeat
  • Science and tech
  • STEM
  • Brexit
  • Cricketers
  • Theresa May - Brexit plan a reality - more people vote against it and make it an uncertainty(?)
  • New Zealand - whales died after stranded on the beach - half had to be put down
  • Trains - the independent body can tell the train to go
  • Needles found in strawberries - the second time in a few months
  • Robot land on Mars
  • Cricketers - whitewash in Sri Lanka
  • Football - going into final(?) - talking to the boss
  • Weather
  • Theresa May and Jeremy Corbin
Artists
  • Calvin Harris (BRITISH)
  • Benny Blanco
  • James Bay (BRITISH)
  • Cardi B
  • Ozuna
  • Selena Gomez
  • Offset
  • Tyga
  • The 1975 (BRITISH?)
  • Florence + the Machine (BRITISH)
  • Weiss (BRITISH)
  • Bruno Mars
  • Lennon Stella
  • Liam Payne (BRITISH)
  • Dani Filth
  • Bring Me The Horizon (BRITISH)
  • Rita Ora
  • Willy William
  • Nicki Minaj
  • Swae Lee
  • Post Malone
  • Starley
  • Donae'o
  • Ghetts
  • Halsey
  • Nicki Minaj
  • Little Mix
  • The Killers
  • Mumford & Sons
  • Avril Lavigne
  • Duke Dumont
  • Gorgon City
  • Naations
  • Rudimental
  • Tom Walker
  • MK
  • Jonas Blue 
  • Becky Hill
  • Dave
  • Fredo
  • Ariana Grande
  • Arcade Fire
  • George Ezra
  • Zedd
  • Alessia Cara
  • Blossoms
  • The Black Eyed Peas
  • The Zutons
  • Destiny's Chils
  • Charli XCX
  • Troye Sivan
  • Cadet
  • Deno
  • Clean Bandit
  • Marina and the Diamonds
  • Luis Fonsi
  • Khalid
  • Martin Garrix
  • Dua Lipa
  • Jade Bird 
  • Sigrid
  • Mabel
  • Slaves
  • TIEKS
  • Don Harkna
Songs being played
  • I found you - Calvin Harris & Benny Blanco
  • Let it go - James Bay
  • Talk talk - Dj Snake & Selena Gomez & Ozuna & Cardi B
  • Taste - Tyga
  • It’s not living (if it’s not with you) - The 1975
  • Hunger - Florence + the Machine
  • Feel my needs - Weiss
  • Locked out heaven - Bruno Mars
  • Polaroid - Liam Payne & Jonas Blue & Lennon Stella
  • Wonderful Life - Bring Me the Horizon & Dani Filth
  • Let me love you - Rita Ora
  • Sunflower - Post Malone & Swae Lee
  • Call on me - Starley
  • Preach - Ghetts & Donae'o
  • Without me - Halsey
  • Woman like me - Little Mix
  • The man - the killers
  • Guiding light - Mumford & Sons
  • Complicated - Avril Lavigne
Extra
  • Not playing any curse words - just stopping the singing part and turning it into an instrumental song for seconds
  • Lewis Hamilton - British
  • BBC being promoted in the quiz
  • Quiz mainly British answers
  • Music genres - pop, alternative rock, rap- not staying to only one genre
Generally both the old and young age demographics are appeased by the use of the information and the music. For example, the older generation is appealed to by using the information that the show provides to interest them. Also, there is a chance that the older people would also like the music that is being played. Then for the younger generation, the music and the "banter" that is mentioned is a draw in for them. Again the younger people may also listen to it for the information and to know what is going on in the world.

There is news about the sport, politics and entertainment. There is also a certain type of comedy that would appeal to both generations. This would interest all age groups and the music is not exclusively pop music, therefore there must be some music that would interest the older generation as well as the new one.

More "laddish" - male-orientated
There is no genre of music that would not fit the general stereotype of teenagers.
Generally, the music is for people who like pop music
Phone-ins are to make the radio station more interactive
The comedian Jon Richardson is funny but in this case, he was not...disapointment. I believe this is because he is not used to being in a live radio studio when he is instead much funnier on a panel show. The comedy regardless is supposed to be aimed, I believe, at all ages. He does a type of deadpan comedy that is funny and suitable to all people over the age of 15 realistically but 16 legally.
The general feel of the phone-ins are meant to be comic in nature, but this is not easy to achieve as the nature of the phone calls is dependant on the public

Nick Grimshaw Media:







BBC Radio 1 Media:



Competitions:
- Manning the Phones
- Call-ins - Manning the Pub
                - Phone in
                - Pub Stories
- Jan Scam (Festival)

Statistics:

Why Radio 1 is losing views:
  • From Q3 to Q4 of 2016, Grimmy’s audience has increased from 5.25m to 5.37m listeners. But Radio 1Xtra lost listeners in the same period, dropping from 1.03m in Q3 to 909,000 in Q4. And Radio 1’s overall audience also fell from Q3 to Q4, down by 3.2 per cent to 9.56m.
  • In Q4 2015, Grimmy had 5.87m listeners, which is why it’s being reported that he’s lost half a million listeners in the last year, but Radio 1 as a whole lost 7.4 per cent of its listeners since then as well, and Chris Evans’ Breakfast show on Radio 2 has lost 200,000 listeners across the same period.
  • Last year, BBC News reported the number of hours 15 to 24-year-olds spent listening to radio had fallen from 29 million hours in 2010 to 16 million in 2016. This age group used to make up 45% of Radio 1’s listenership (3.7m); it’s now just 36% (2.9m). This is largely thanks to the arrival of streaming services, and that’s why Radio 1’s head of music, Chris Price, wants to start some kind of streaming service.
  • Right now, Radio 1 doesn’t have that streaming service, so it’s targeting its 15- to 29-year-old demographic elsewhere online, because they’re aware that 42% of 15- to 24-year-olds on social media follow their chosen radio station’s social pages, compared to 31% of those aged 25 or older. On YouTube, Radio 1 has 3.5m subscribers compared to Radio 2’s paltry 42,069. Radio 1 has 2.55m Facebook likes compared to Radio 2’s 633,053. Radio 2 may have higher listening figures for its live shows, but the reach of Radio 1 – particularly with viral content – is much higher on social media than it is for Radio 2, and that’s because its audience is younger.
  • As Radio 1 controller Ben Cooper explained this morning: “Radio 1’s Listen, Watch, Share strategy means that RAJAR is only part of the story. Alongside the 10.5m listeners, our YouTube videos have received over 1.4 billion views and we have 8.7m followers across social media.” The reason Radio 1 has so many social media followers is that it’s producing content that works on YouTube and on social media as well as on the radio. These things are funny, they’re usually video-based, and they just happen to act as breadcrumbs that entice people on social media to tune in. When it gets famous guests, Radio 1 plays games like Innuendo Bingo or Playground Insults that are rivalling Carpool Karaoke, the hugely popular spot from James Corden’s massive US TV show, in terms of actual funniness and in what execs like to call ‘shareability’.
  • Radio 1 is changing: you can no longer fairly compare its listening figures with Radio 2’s because the way people consume Radio 1’s output isn’t uniform anymore. The biggest radio stations have high listening figures because their audiences are older, more loyal and more predictable. Radio 1 undeniably the more exciting station – there’s far more innovation happening there – and that means the long-term future of what radio actually is might depend on what Radio 1 does next. If Radio 1 can figure out a way to win over young listeners, who have so many other options than radio, that’ll probably end up being a model for every other radio station in future. Because millennials aren’t just going to start listening to radio more when they hit a certain age: for radio audiences to return to growth, this young audience will need to be convinced to start tuning in somehow – and if they aren’t, won’t Radio 2, Radio 4, and all the other big stations be facing the same crisis of ‘falling listenership’ in 20 years’ time?
Why are Radio 1 listeners shrinking?
  • Under 18's not listening to the radio
  • no streaming services
  • More technology - Youtube, Phones, IPads - IPlayer
What is Radio 1 doing to increase the audience listening?
  • Social Media - Marketing, Videos
  • Trending Jokes
  • Competitions - Phone-ins (Man in the Pub, Celebrity Phone-ins etc.) - Interactive 
  • Celebrity Content
  • Games - Innuendo Bingo, Playground insult match
UK Based Artists - Little Mix, James Bay, Calvin Harris, Liam Payne, Rita Ora and George Ezra

How BBC Radio 1 uses Media to showcase for the audience:
BBC Radio 1 uses BBC iPlayer to involve artists in order to help them gain audience views. They do this by letting people rewatch their videos and watch videos that have been made for people to watch. In these videos, they have videos of the artist singing and doing a small interview afterwards.
BBC Radio 1 uses YouTube to allow viewers to watch videos such as Innuendo Bingo and Playground insult match, which have celebrities come in and take part.

Using GEARS to define the Radio X audience:

  • Gender - Male
  • Ethnicity - White
  • Age - 25-44-year-olds
  • Region - British/England
  • Socio-economic Group - C2 to E
  • How is this reflected in the type of hosts used - They are older men
  • What kind of adverts are shown, how does this suit the demographic - Beer commercials, men are stereotypically meant to drink more beer 
  • Is the Radio station likely to be offensive to certain groups - Feminists 















ESSAY - Summary of BBC Radio 1 - Jon Richardson on the phones, measuring skips and did the Strictly crowd fist pump?

The show starts at 6:30am and after a quick hello from the presenters, 2 songs are played - I Found You by Calvin Harris and Blanco, and Let it Go by James Bay. The first few people that have been played are Scottish, American and English going to prove that there is no specificity on who is getting played (whether they are British or not). Although, the only people who are being played right now are males, creating an enigma on whether or not females will be played eventually and it is just that they are the first songs randomly chosen. The age range of who is being played first is 28-34. 

For the rest of the radio broadcast, it is a constant cycle between songs then talking, songs then advertisement and showing what is coming up and then repeated. However, the cycle is broken every half hour where the news is being presented (sports, weather and just generally what is happening around the world). It becomes apparent by the end of the second news broadcast that it is just a recycle of the news in the previous half hour. In this broadcast, they go on about Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn - that many people are likely to vote against Brexit and this would cause an uncertainty to making the Brexit plan a reality. They would next talk about New Zeland - how at least 145 whales are becoming stranded on the beach and half of those who have died have had to be put down. They also mentioned that needles have been found in strawberries in           





























Big Issue: Still at War Essay

You will create an essay on issue 1332 of the Big issue: Still at War. You will analyse the media language and media representations associated with the front cover. As part of the essay, you will need to discuss the social and political contexts which have to lead to a rise in homelessness in overall and in particular within the veteran community. You will also discuss how newspapers (right wing and Big Issue) vary in the way the represent homelessness. As part of your arguments, you are required to use Gerbner's theory.

The Big Issue - launched in 1991 in response to the growing numbers of homeless people in the street - offers the homeless the opportunity to earn an income through selling a magazine to the public. Vendors buy the magazine for £1.25 and then proceed to sell it for £2.50, making each seller a mini-entrepreneur who is working and not begging; allowing The Big Issue to give them"a hand up not a handout" - this meaning to help them earn money for themselves and not just give the money to the homeless. The big issue aims to deliver social and financial inclusion by supporting Big Issue vendors in the self-help process of buying and selling magazines. Social exclusion is a short-hand term for the way that problems such as unemployment, poor skills, poverty, bad housing, living in a high-crime area, bad health and family breakdown that can link together to make it tough for people to get what they need to improve their situation. The generosity and support of their donors over the last 12 months has enabled their network of Service Brokers to support over 1,050 Big Issue vendors to become financially independent and successfully start re-integrating back into mainstream society. A few of the positive outcomes that have happened include; improved finances and money management, achieving personal sales and goals, rehousing into a suitable accommodation, progressing into employment and volunteering opportunities, gain access to health and wellbeing services, progressing into education and training, improving relationships and achieving personal aspirations, successfully obtaining official ID, and accessing addiction treatment.

The Big Issue highlights the importance of war veterans and the homelessness through their Issue 1332 - Still at War. War veterans become homeless in many ways, one being that they have relationship issues, another could be due to them having Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which could have led them to alcoholism or drug use. When soldiers come out of the war, they tend to feel depressed, like there is no one there for them and cast aside to rot. However, on the other hand, the right winged newspapers represent the homeless in a negative light, wanting to kick them off the streets and not have them around. Due to this being in the newspaper, and the public reading it a lot, the public will start to believe this due to Gerbner's theory.

Issue 1332: Still at War is a remembrance special which is about homeless veterans and the amazing people who are helping them. Inside the magazine, there are articles from Dan Snow - who talks about the reality of PTSD and why society is failing generations of ex-service personnel - and Roger Daltrey - who talks about what he'd say to Keith Moon if he was able to have one last conversation with him - and also has a brand new food column, questioning the audience on whether they can ditch plastic packaging without giving up the foods everyone loves?

When veterans come out of the war, they feel depressed, like there is no one there for them, cast aside and left to rot, feel as though they have no understanding or compensation. They also feel as if there is no net to catch them, and they have to start looking for jobs and houses. Veterans tend to become homeless due to having a relationship breakdown due to their PTSD (Post Dramatic Distress Disorder) and have alcohol or drug problems. When on the streets, living without a home, the veterans feel cold, wet and lonely; living without money for food and having to wait for their benefit payments to come through, meanwhile going from shop to shop trying to find some way to warn as much money as they can. Even though the law states that the council should help those veterans who are struggling to get a home, many think that the 'should' must be turned into a must. Unfairly, if there are no visible things that are wrong with the veterans, it is believed that they shouldn't get helped by the council as there doesn't seem to be a thing wrong with them. On the other hand, if there are any visible problems or disabilities with the veteran, it becomes a high priority that they get helped and receive the treatment that they need.

On the front cover, green has been used in the centre of the image to represent the helmet that soldiers wear when they are out and serving the country. The green could portray being healthy and earthy; however, the green could also represent the protecting the mind, healing themselves, having self-awareness. The green also has another layer of annotations with the army linkage - being camouflaged, invisible and hidden from (and in) the civilian life. The black and white of the skin could portray the mystery, fear, unhappiness, sadness, remorse and protection that the soldiers feel when they are at war. The fact that it is the skin that is not coloured and void of emotion proves that as soldiers, they are not allowed to show their emotions - that they are just meant to embrace it and not show anything. The anonymity of the figure could show that they are not important and therefore are not seen by those around them. The red poppy is a sign of peace, remembrance of those who have lost their lives in the war, and is worn by everyone around the time of remembrance day. The red colour could show the strength, power and violence that happens during the war. The fact that there is a poppy in the top right next to The Big Issue title represents what was found in Flanders Field after the war; it is a reminder of the bloodshed, giving sympathy to them. By having the eyes covered, it could represent the fact that the man is just a soldier - a number in the system - there is nothing special about them. It could also portray that they can only see war and nothing else - only see fighting and are unable to adjust to civilian life.

All over the front cover, there is text that each has different meanings. "The Battle for Peace of Mind" portrays the soldiers that have been battling to bring peace to their own mind and to the mind of others and spread the message that there is no more danger. Directly in the middle, "war" is in capital letters, by being large and big it represents the danger that is all around and makes it clear that it is a real threat. The use of "still" shows that the war hasn't stopped and it is constantly around. The way that "still" has a black background evokes the idea that it is never-ending. "Fighting for futures" shows that the soldiers are fighting for the future generations - their children, grandchildren and so on - allowing them to have a better life and make they're future a better one. "Rebuilding lives" proves that the soldiers are fighting a war to help humanity rebuild itself and possibly make a better place. "Still at War" evokes a feeling that even after the war that the veterans have fought, they continue to fight their own war inside their minds and essentially outside with trying to find homes. 



































How Audiences Consume and Interpret Long Form Television Dramas

How Audiences Consume and Interpret Long Form Television Dramas Frank Underwood and Claire represent the anti-hero their characters are co...