BBC Radio 1 - Life Hacks: Blog tasks

BBC Radio 1 - Life Hacks: Blog tasks

Analysis

1) What do the titles The Surgery and Life Hacks suggest?

  The titles are made to suit younger audience who Radio 1 is trying to attract as 'Life Hacks' is something that more younger people are into rather than the older generation as it is more of a modern idea as younger people look for easier and most efficient alternatives of doing things. 

2) How are the programmes constructed to appeal to a youth audience?

Both shows ran around times that suit a youth audience as it is during times when a lot of them would be free and just relaxing so they can listen to the radio whilst doing so. 

3) What does the choice of presenters (Cel Spellman and Katie Thistleton) and Dr Modgil suggest about the BBC’s approach to diversity and representation?

The two main presenters are both from a white background which doesn't show much diversity, however they're both quite young which suits the demographics of their target audience. Dr Modgil is a British doctor who is from a different, Asian background which finally adds diversity to the show and shows how Radio 1 is a diverse broadcaster accepting different races to work for them. 

4) Go to the Life Hacks iPlayer page and analyse the content. What does this suggest regarding the Life Hacks audience and what the BBC is hoping to achieve with the programme?

BBC have used colour whilst also keeping the layout and professional and easy on the eye so it's not too overwhelming for the audience. 
They have also avoided using lots of text and made it more visual and easy on the eye so it looks more appealing to the audience and makes it easier for them to make a choice. 

5) Go to the Life Hacks podcast episodes page. Listen to a few episodes of the podcast and explain how the topics may a) appeal to a youth audience and b) help fulfil the BBC's responsibilities as a public service broadcaster.

The podcasts are all based on topics that are issues in society that people are trying to raise awareness for; especially the youth, which would raise their interest in Radio 1's podcasts. 
They also fulfil their responsibility as a public service broadcaster by educated people on topics that are based on ongoing issues in society. 

Audience

1) What is the target audience for BBC Radio 1?

Their target audience are the younger generation although they are currently struggling to attract them at the moment. 

2) Who is the actual audience for BBC Radio 1?

The actual audience for them are middle class and working class, mid-age age people. 

3) What audience pleasures are offered by Life Hacks? Apply Blumler and Katz’s Uses and Gratifications theory.

Personal identity because it helps people identify things about themselves through the media which they may have not previously known about or lacked knowledge on. 

4) Read this Guardian review of Life Hacks. What points does the reviewer make about Life Hacks and the particular podcast episode they listened to?

The reviewer talks about how they subconsciously listened to a few life inspiration/entrepreneurial podcasts last week.

5) Read this NME feature on Radio 1 listener figures. What are the key statistics to take from this article regarding the decline in Radio 1 audience ratings?

- Radio 1 has lost 200,000 weekly listeners since May, when they attracted 9.4 million listeners a week.

- 9.2 million listeners that Radio 1 now pulls in each week is officially the second-lowest ever recorded ratings for the BBC station

- The lowest weekly rating of 9.1 million (May 2017)

Industries

1) How does Life Hacks meet the BBC mission statement to Educate, Inform and Entertain? 

They inform and educate people on social issues and attempt to raise awareness on issues that need more media coverage and attention to make people more conscious of these issues. They entertain by having celebrities and upcoming people coming in to talk on the radio about various different things. 

2) Read the first five pages of this Ofcom document laying out its regulation of the BBC. Pick out three key points in the summary section.

- What the BBC is
- What expectations they need to meet and their mission statement
- TV license

3) Now read what the license framework will seek to do (letters a-h). Which of these points relate to BBC Radio 1 and Life Hacks?

People expect a lot from the BBC as it is a public service broadcaster which their TV license fee go towards. BBC got Ofcom to help them set up the license fee for the nation. 

4) What do you think are the three most important aspects in the a-h list? Why?

- Support social action campaigns on BBC radio; it helps educated and raise awareness of things which helps them achieve one of their mission statement. It also attracts more younger audience it shows they care about social issues. 

5) Read point 1.9: What do Ofcom plan to review in terms of diversity and audience? 

Announcing an in-depth review of how different audiences are represented and portrayed on the BBC.
As part of our analysis we plan to examine the on-screen diversity of the BBC’s programming, including in its popular peak time shows. 

Read this Guardian interview with BBC 1 Controller Ben Cooper.

6) What is Ben Cooper trying to do with Radio 1?

Ben Cooper’s eye-catching and ambitious mission to make BBC Radio 1 like a Netflix for radio.

7) How does he argue that Radio 1 is doing better with younger audiences than the statistics suggest?

He reckons the most common age of a Radio 1 listener is 18. And for its YouTube channel it is 12- to 17-year-old females. 

8) Why does he suggest Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio?

He states- “Are we distinctive from commercial radio? Yes we are,” he says. “We will play something like 4,000 different tracks a month, commercial radio plays about 400. 

9) Why is Radio 1 increasingly focusing on YouTube views and digital platforms?

Because their target market is the youth audience and seeing as many of them aren't listening to Radio 1, they're having to go out their way to use different methods to reach their target audience. YouTube is quite popular amongst youngsters and a lot of other groups in the market so it is a smart decision made by BBC to post their content on it. 

10) In your opinion, should the BBC’s remit include targeting young audiences via Radio 1 or should this content be left to commercial broadcasters? Explain your answer.

As BBC is a public service broadcaster, they should have something to offer to everyone and if they didn't target the younger audience, it'd leave a gap in the market so it is good that they're targeting them. The future of BBC also lays in the younger generations hands as their views and popularity's starting to decrease and they need to do things to reach out to the newer audience and keep them viewing in order to continue running successfully a few years down the line.