Introduction
First of all there are three sectors within the UK these are;
- community
- public
- private
In this blog post i am going to be explaining what each of these sectors are and using examples within the UK to support my research.
Community
Community normally refers to a radio station within a local area. Some notable examples would be; Bishop FM,Cambridge 105 and Camden community radio. You need to acquire a license in order to create a community radio station in your region. The station is payed for by funding and advertisements. There are normally non-profit based. However there are many advantages for people creating these community shows. For instance many do it for social gain or experience in the profession. It is also helpful for the public in the area as it can raise local issues and news. This could result in the public getting involved and interacting with the radio station.
Public
Public radio are stations which are funded by the general public. This is so the channel can compensate from the fact that they have no adverts. Therefore, they make up what they
would earn through advertising with a license fee as well as premium telephone
lines and merchandise. However, any profits that are made will be put back into the stations production fund in order to improve it. Examples of public radio stations would be any BBC radio station such as 'BBC Radio 1.
Private
Private radio stations refer to all stations which are funded through the revenue which they earn from advertising. It is mainly prevalent in local radio stations, or instance Capital FM (London) or Hallam FM (Sheffield.) This is due to the fact they are airing to a smaller audience. Therefore, there is less money to be earned in alternative methods such as premium phone calls.
Listening diaries
To gain a better insight into the types of radio speech packages I conducted in research. This involved listening to existing radio shows and writing a listening diary. After analysing a range of different shows I began recognising re-occurring techniques and themes used. These would depend on what type of show it was. For example I noticed that shows aimed at younger audiences such as 'NewsBeat' were more fast paced. This was due to the view that the younger generation have a shorter attention span. 8I also realised the vocabulary would also change depending on the target audience. For instance when listening to BBC 4 (Aimed at the older generation) it was apparent that they used much more complex vocabulary than other shows such as BBC One.
Elements of a factual or news-based speech package
As I have stated, speech packages will use very similar techniques in order to create a successful and engaging product. These are the various elements which will usually make up a speech package:
Presenter - The presenter is the person which presents the show (pretty self explanatory I know.) They will almost always be recorded in the studio and are used in between other elements such as vox pops and interviews. They are a key part in the overall structure of the show. Without them it is hard for the listener to distinguish what is coming next as there is no explanation for various aspects of the package. The presenter is definitely one of the most important aspects of creating a successful speech package.
Reporter - The reporter or correspondent is the individual who will go out and report back with the information received The information can be presented in a range of formats such as live interviews or vox pops. Arguably, the presenter could easily be this role also. However, this will make it more difficult to engage the listener.
Interviewees - These are not involved in the production per say. Rather, they are participants within the show which contribute to the completion of the package. The report will ask questions and get answers from an interviewee this is known as an 'interview.' The interviewee of cause will be somebody relevant to the topic being discussed. For example somebody affected by the subject being discussed or someone involved with it. It is a great way of getting opinions and facts from various perspectives.
Correspondants - These are seen most of the time in news-based programming. They are used in order to correspand between the journalists and reporters. A corrospondant will be there in person when the event happens and normally alerts the press of what is unfolding so they can report to the public. They are useful as tey can get real accurate information from someone who is actually there in the flesh.
Experts - Experts and people who are proffesionals in the specific topic which is being reported. They will normally be contaced by a correspendant or PR. Then if they accept can be interviewed for a specific speech package in order to get there insight on the subject. This is efficient as you can get more accurate and un-biased information from someone with an expertise in the subject.
Vox Pops - Vox pops are similar to interviews in a sense that they get opinions from people relavent to the subject matter. However, a vox pop will consist of the participent simply talking about a subject as opposed to being questioned. This results in a shorter less long-winded speech from a relavent person within the subject.
Examples of factual programming
There are various different types of programming within the factual programming genre.
Discussion
Discussion
The clip above shows a discussion based radio speech package. These usually have a very casual and laid back feel to them and are often done live. Bassically a couple of people relevant to the subject will get together with the presnter and discuss a topic. The idea behind this is that the listener can get a range of opinions from different people. Due to this they may incoporate various people with radically different views in order to provoke debate.
Magazine show
A magazine show is a factual radio programme made up of various different topic as oppose to focusing on one. This provides the viewer with a range of different topics and spreads out the target audience.
Current Affairs
These shows are normally very fast paced and aim at getting the most recent headline to the public as quick as possible. They will usually be short and snappy and just explain the situation. There may be talk shows later debating the topic but tnews programmes just report it as it happens.
Ethics and regulations
Like all of the other media sectors, radio follows very similair ethics and regulations. There have been many incidents such as 'Sachs Gate' which didn't caus legal issues but did cause ethical. This caused the public to file many complaints against the station which risks the show being taken of the air. Therefore, radio channels need to be aware of both ethical and legal constrains when producing a speech package.
Sterotyping - This is more of an ethical issue as oppose to a legal one. It is often frowned upon to generalise a specific type of group of people. This can cause offense to may people within that group. However, the line between discrimination is very thin and is easily crossed. When it becomes hateful or predudice then it becomes a legal concern.
Privacy - This is often percieved as a legal issue due to the fact people have the right to privacy protection. This means that shows cannot release sesitive information about an individual no matter what the circumstances are. Sensitive information can include things such as addresses, names amongst other personal details.
Not to cause harm or offence - This is a very broad constraint which comes into many other the other legal and ethical contraints. With this the presenter need to use there own morale judgment as to what is suitable. Generally, things that offend are insulting certian groups or individuals, offensive language and obscene programming.
Representation - This reffers to how you represent the public as a whole. It means involving a range of people from different races, social classes and backgrounds. This is to refrain from offending minorities if they are not represented properly. This also comes into how you represent them as a group. It is often seen as offensive to represant a specific minority in a negative way.
