BBC Radio 2 is the most listened to station in the UK, the station combines popular music and culture with a diverse range of specialist music, documentaries and comedy. The station that has been running for over 40 years, it is known to play the widest selection of music on the radio - from classic to mainstream pop to a specialist portfolio including classical, country, folk, jazz, soul, rock n roll, gospel, blues, organ music, big band and brass band. Much of the stations daytime playlist is best described as adult contemporary, a radio format that is aimed toward people aged 30 years and older - a contemporary radio format also are known offer lively contemporary music of the past decade or two. Radio 2 broadcasts throughout the UK on FM between 88.1 and 90.2 MHz from studio in central London. The station was launched at 5:30 on 30th of September 1967. Below is an explanation of an example from BBC Radio 2's news broadcast, I have been able to discuss the reporting style and target audience as well as the presenters style of speaking including tone and voice:
The Radio 2 News bulletin began with an abrupt start, quickly switching from presenter to the news reader. The bulletin began with an introduction that it is the Radio 2 News and the traditional Radio 2 news intro music that many of us are familiar with - the music is very formal and has a relatively quick and but strong sound to it that officially introduces the news. The news reader who does not introduce himself firstly gives the time of which is 8:00am and the date, the 2nd of September. He then proceeds into the headlining stories where he gives a very brief 10 second description that indicate what we can expect to hear in this news bulletin - the headlining stories in this particular broadcast are as follows: President Obama beginning an intensive effort to persuade congress to back military action in Syria, pupils in England doing GCSE having to resit some papers for not reaching the minimum standard and European men who are 4 inches taller than a century ago which has been scientifically proven. By now I have been able to recognize and grasp the reporting style of this news reader - he has a very strong and clear tone of voice, of which can be easily understood. His pronunciation is clear and can be easy to follow when he reads at the quick pace that he does - his calm voice makes it very easy to grasp what he is saying which will make it easy for the older aged side of the target audience to understand. The short pause that the news reader takes notifies us that the bulletin will proceed into the more informative versions of stories that are expected to come. It first begins with a more descriptive version of the President Obama story that we heard a brief description of through the headlines, we are given information of how the White House has begun concerted efforts to persuade congress of the needs to take military action against Syria. The news reader continues to tell us of how democrats and republicans attended a special briefing designed to bulster President Obama's case for the nerve agent Saren which was used to kill more that 14,000 civilians.The story which now continued over a 30 seconds, transfers to an pre-recorded audio clip of Mark Mardell, a reporter who is in Washington and reporting from the location - he gives more information on the specialist briefing that took place so that for the listeners who may not of been able to follow the story have the chance to grasp more detail. Mardell also informs us on Obama's decision and his feelings toward the decisions being made. I believe that although this story did not take place in England, it does concern those who may have family in Syria fighting in the troops. It is informative to those who have an interest in either what is happening in Syria or politics. Once again we hear another headline story but now in plenty more depth, the story of the Sixth Former's in England that have failed to achieve a GCSE will be required to continue with the subject in the new academic year. This report includes not only a quote (read out by the news reader) from the ministers who say that good grades are vital to getting a job, but also includes another pre-recorded audio report from Luke Waldon whom once again gives an in-depth and consistently more informative description of the story - telling us that how from today (2nd September) post 16 education training in England will have to carry on in studying English and Maths until they achieve at least a C. I believe this particular story was broadcasted to the adult target audience who may be aged from 30+, those who have teenagers who are currently studying at school at a GCSE level. This story being broadcast can make parents aware of the situation so that they can push their children to succeed in there examinations. Next up, we move into a story that was not given as a headline, the story is noticeably shorter that the other two that we have already heard. This one is of five boys aged from 11-19, who have been arrested on suspicion of arson when a fire badly damaged a school in Lancashire, we hear that 125 firefighters had been called to fight the fire but no one had been hurt. I feel as though this story had been given for multiple different reasons, the most relevant being for families in the local area of Lancashire - they can be made aware of what has happened and know that there school is safe or there children are safe is something that this news story provides. Similarly, the fact that the story notifies us that no one has been hurt enable families who may have people working at a school in Lancashire to know that they are safe. The next story was about the how the TUC is lodging a complaint with the European Commission that accuses the government of failing to implement properly European rules to give equal pay to agency workers. The report includes audio of reporter Emma Simpsons who gives a slightly more detailed version of the story including how agency workers who have been working for 12 weeks are entitled to the same pay as permanent workers. This story is one that stands as being extremely important, with the target audience of Radio 2 being adults or 30+, it will concern almost all of those who work within an agency, information like this is something that they may only find out through the news which is why it is important that stations like Radio 2 include these in the news bulletins. The last three stories included one of the headlines and two separate and smaller stories,which however did still include as much information that could fit in the moderate amount of time given. The first short story is about how Vodafone are expected to confirm that they are selling 45% in its US mobile company The Rising Wireless to main stakeholders for 130 billion dollars, which is the biggest deal in corporate history - this story which may not concern many, however it could appeal to those who have a phone deal with Vodafone or most likely those who are interested in the technology and business word, being the biggest deal in corporate history people could take a lot of interest in this story. The second to last story is the last of the headlines that were mentioned a few minutes ago, the report tells us of how men aged from 18-70 across 21 European countries are 4 inches taller compared to a century ago. Studies from the University of Essex have proven that this has happened due to improving health and changes in society. The report features Susan Howard who tells us more detail on the studies that took place at the University - I believe this story is one that a lot of people take interest in, especially men from the ages 18-70, as well as this, the fact the report mentions the University of Essex gives the Uni a good image, and shows that they researched and achieved great results in a scientific study. The last story mentions the fact that Global Warming is helping 'rest diseases' that attach too crops to spread around the word - this story would concern all people putting there minds at rest on how diseases are being prevented from spreading which benefits all people. The news bulletin concludes with the weather forecast - the news reader mentions weather from all across the UK included the North and the South, informing us that there are sunny spells but cloudy and Breezy in the North. Of course because Radio 2 is broadcast all across the UK this will benefit to all the listeners. Overall, the news lasted for 5 minutes 19 seconds, despite being a lengthy section the information is said fairly quickly so that more detail can be inputted and if there are interviews or reporters to be included there is time to.
Capital FM is a radio network of eleven different contemporary hit radio station in the United Kingdom all owned and operated by Global Radio - the stations serves an audience of 7.3 million listeners and target a core audience in the age 14-34 group. From this we can gather that this station is the radio format 'Contemporary hit music' - the playlist inlcude new cutting edge music, current hits and popular hits of the last 6-12 months. Capital FM was the UK's first national, commerical hit music radio station. The station broadcasts the biggest and best songs of the moment, with showbiz interviews, the latest news (locally), traffic and travel. The station mostly appeals to females, but this is still only a small 8% more compared to male listeners. Once again I've been able to listen to a example of the stations news report and analysed the reporting styles and presenters style of speaking:
The news report begins with a news intro, a fast paced, bouncy and energetic music (similar to contemporary hit music that we hear in the charts), is played a robotic sounding voice speaks over the music introducing that you are listening to the '103.2 Capital Breakfast News'. Immediatley after this the news reader begins with the first and only headline that we hear - 'Gareth Bales has gone from Saints to Spurs to Spain' the very quick and very short headline gives us a brief insight into what the listeners can expect to hear in the next few minutes. The broadcast then immediately cuts to another small clip of music again with the same voice over it telling us that it is 'Capital South Coast' this also notifies us that the headlines are over and the main segment will begin. From here the news reader informs us that the time is 8:00 and then continues to open up the first story which is a more detailed report of the headline - 'Football player Gareth Bales has become the most expensive footballer in the world' the news reader tells us that it has finally been confirmed that the footballer has moved from Tottenham to Real Madrid for 85 million pounds - he continues to tell us more about the 'Welsh mans' wages informing us that he is expected to earn £34 a minute. I believe that this story is appealing for people from the ages 14-34, but probably more likely to the younger range. Many people have a lot of interest in football and like to keep up to date as much as possible with what is going on among footballers, the story opens up as a great headline and catches many peoples attention. By now I have also been able to point out that the whole of the news report will include a news bed, of pop type music - this is there to keep the report style a bit more entertaining and appealing to the young audience. After the first report the news reader quickly jump into the next story - 'The Prime Minister is under pressure in having a second vote to sending troops to Syria' the report then cuts to a pre-recorded clip of an interview with Lib Dem MP Mike Hancock for Portsmouth who says that 'David Cameron would be unwise to tempt his luck' the news reader lets us know that Mike Hancock also disagrees to the British involvement. Capital also link the story to how President Obama has asked congress to approve US Military intervention - the story is very similar to the one we heard from Radio 2 however this one is more based on Englands side of the story, it includes a fair amount of information however it is a lot easier to understand which would benefit to the stations younger audience. The fact that the station also links the story to the Local area (Portsmouth) highlights the fact that it is a local matter as well. The news reader now moves onto the next story - 'Two Coronation Street actors are due in court later accused on separate sex offences against young children' the report mentions the names of the two actors and the characters they play in the popular soap. Michael Levail who plays Kevin Webster is on trial and Kevin Roach who is best known for Ken Barlow will stand before the magistrate he also mentions how both deny the charges against them. I think that this report is a very important one to mention, especially with the target audience that Capital has (many of people aged 15-30 watch soap's), the story is one that they should not only know about but would be interested in as watching Coronation Street may be a regular thing for them.The next report tells of how politicians and celebrities are paying tribute to Sir David Frost the 74 year old broadcaster who died a heart attack on Saturday on the Queen Elizabeth cruise ship that left from Southampton - I feel as though this story will probably interest the older audience rather than the younger ones as they will have more of an idea who David Frost is, the news is important and sentimental and could touch those who knew of the broadcaster. The story however also relates to the are of Southampton as the cruise ship which he died on was from there. The final story is of how the musical Wicked is coming to Southampton, the show will be on at the Mayflower theatre from October - November. This story will appeal to all ages not only is it local to the south coast but because of the musical's wide popularity it will interest the target audience Capital.The final part of the report includes the weather, before the weather report begins however there is an advertisement above the same pop music that we previously heard, the advert promotes Kleenex Balsam tissues. The weather there will be warm and sunny weather across the day. The news concludes with the news reader informing us that his name is James Andrews. Listening to the whole broadcast I realize that the report compared to Radio 2's news has a lot less information and 'important' stories, Capital has chosen stories that will of appealed to the target audience that they aim for, keeping it light and including celebrity news throughout the broadcast. The news reader, James Andrews, has a very clear voice in his pronunciation. The fact that he has to fit in a lot of information in the short 2 minutes he has however does not effect his ability to make sentences clear for the audience to understand. His bold voice is also very easy to hear over the news bed playing in the background - something that Radio 2 did not have, I think the reason for this is because of the fact that Radio 2 is on a lot more serious level compared to Capital, therefore no distractions should be included. And because of Radio 2's older target audience there is no need for the input of music when the stories being told would already appeal to them a fair amount.
Similar to BBC Radio 2, Jack Solent is an adult hits or adult contemporary music radio format - it is aimed towards people aged 30 years and older and offered a lively contemporary music playlist. The station broadcasts to a stretch of the South Coast on 106 MHz and 106.6 MHz FM and on DAB. The station broadcasts from studios in Southampton. The first air date for Jack FM was the 4th of July 2011, there strapline being 'Playing What We Want' means that they do not take reuqests from the listeners but will only play what they want to.
The news broadcast begins with a news intro - this consists of a a very up beat music being played it features drums and guitars that give a very powerful introduction. A pre-recorded clip of a male saying 'On 106 FM, Online and Digital, this is Jack FM' is also included to let the listeners know where they are tuned into. Immediately the news reader starts the broadcast by firstly informing us of the current time which was 8:00, and introducing himself as David Brown. He then jumps straight into the first story (unlike the other two examples we had Jack FM does not include headlines at the beginning). I have also already noticed that the news section has a news bed of up-beat music that keeps the broadcast lively. The first story is informing us on Garth Bales decision to move from Tottenham to Real Madrid. The news reader quickly feeds a lot of information out to us in the short amount of time, calling the transfer the 'biggest deal in history', similar to Capital FM, he mention that the deal was for 85 million, and Gareth Bale is expected to get a weekly wage of £3000. The report also includes a short voice clip of the Spurs manager saying that he pays all the best to Gareth Bale - using a voice clip enable the report to have a bit more reality as we get views from people affected by the transfer. Similar to Capital FM, this kind of story will interest a lot of people as football is a hugely popular sport that people like to keep up to date with as much as possible. The news reader, David Brown, has a very deep and broad voice, it is powerful over the news bed and easy to understand. His pronunciation so far is clear and he has a very informative and authoritative sound to his voice, After the first story, the news reader quickly continues to the next - 'America has evidence of the deadly nerve gas Saren, was used during attacks' the news reader continues to inform us of how Barack Obama is trying to secure political backing for military strike against Syria regime. The story is in relation to the one we hear from both Radio 2 and Capital FM expect hear it is very brief and not a lot of information is given. Once again this kind of story is being told as it concerns the world, especially with the age of the listeners, a lot of people are concerned for troops out in places like Syria and updates are important to many people. Quickly the news broadcast moves onto the next report - a Portsmouth mother looking for her children is seeking help from Westminister to get her children back.The report tells us of how the children were taken by the ladies former husband last summer, and she is now hoping that the diplomatic pressure could help get her kids back to the UK. The story cuts to a pre-recorded phone interview with Portsmouth North MP, Penny Morden who supports the campaign. I believe that this story is given because of its local relation to many people who live in Portsmouth, the fact that it features an MP from Portsmouth puts a good image toward Portsmouth MP's. Being broadcast to many people also means that the message can get out and listeners can do what they can to help. Sticking locally, the next two stories take place across the South Coast of England the first story reports of a motorbike rider who died in hospital crash in Dorset. The 52 year old collided with a Land Rover on A350 - this story is one that was quite touching, I think it's important to spread news such as this to promote motorbike and driving safety as this is something that is crucial in our world. The second story is more of a lighthearted one, reporting that the Bournemouth Air Festival had a record amount of guests of 4 million people over the 3 days it took place - a story like this is more beneficial to the creators of the BAF, as the radio can promote the Air Festival too many local people across the South Coast. The final story is the same as Capital FM's, Jack FM report hos friends of David Frost pay tribute to the 'giant of TV'. The inform the listeners that the broadcaster died on Saturday at the age of 74 - again a story that is probably going to appeal to the older audience as they probably know of David Frost the most. The last 20 seconds or so includes: the sport - staying locally Jack FM updates football fans of how Pompey, Saints and Bournemouth have all lost against there competitors. And the weather, a very short a brief update to those across the South Coast that the weather will stay sunny and dry. The broadcasts ends with the news reader promoting the radio's website where they can access the news online and find out more information of the stories that have just been read. After thoroughly listening to the example of Jack FM's news I noticed that the news readers pronunciation of names wasn't as good as it probably should of, I felt it difficult to follow names and some of the football teams that he mentioned, this could be the same for many other listeners.
Radio 2, Wave 105 and Jack fM all connect with their audiences in individual ways which is what makes them so different from one another. As Radio 2 is a BBC station it is a part of the BBC Trust, which is created for BBC viewers, listeners and users to rely on to reflect the many communities that reflect in the UK. The BBC Trust's priorities is split into six specific areas which is to represent the different nations, regions and communities to the rest of the UK, cater for the different nations, regions and communities of the UK, bring people together for shared experiences, encourage interest in and conversation about local communities, reflect the different religious and other beliefs in the UK and provide output in minority languages. Radio 2 connects with the audience by following the rules of the BBC Trust and ensuring a rounded representation of the nations on regions on the news is done. The BBC work hard to output news that will effectively report the changing faces of the UK. The BBC has also made a continual effort in recent years to improve the accuracy, balance and relevance of its UK wide news coverage. Through research I discovered that the average BBC 2 radio listeners is 51, whilst most live in the South of England. 'In a year the station weekly audience grew to 14.94 million, from 13.90m and a record 15.44m last quarter. The station also had a share of 16.9% from 15.6 last year and 17.2% last quarter. Further more The Chris Evans Breakfast Show drew an audience of 9.35 million listeners every week – compared to 8.55m last year and 9.75m last quarter.' - taken from RAJAR. Wave 105 find the best way to connect to there audiences is through multiple different competitions and presenter led shows. By using techniques such as competitions it creates money for the station - the more people who enter the competition, the more money made. As well as this, it gets the audience involve and creates a wider popularity for the station. Media.info, a media statistic website shows me that 50.3% of the stations listeners are females and the rest male. The most popular age range for the listeners is 22-55 year olds therefore covering both age ranges of Jack FM and Radio 2. I also discovered the total listeners per week is 360,000. Jack FM connects through to it's audiences through a very different basis compared to Radio 2 but does seem follow some similarities of Wave 105 including competitions and presenter led shows but also through activities and sponsorships - each 10 stations will be sponsored by a company that will have some accordance to the area that it broadcasts to across the UK this way they can do more competitions and activities etc and gain more money and also listeners. Jack FM represents themselves as a radio station who 'play what they want' meaning that audiences will tune into the radio for different genre's of music and along with there different lifestyles. Through media.info I gathered information that told me there total listeners per week is a total of 64,000 adults (15+) whilst there total population covered is 515,000.
Websites Used:
BBC.CO.UK
BBC - Radio 2 - About
In-text: (Bbc.co.uk, 2015)
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BBC - iPlayer Radio
BBC.CO.UK
BBC - iPlayer Radio
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WebsiteThe Audience | This is Global
RADIO, G.
The Audience | This is Global
In-text: (Radio, 2015)
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THOMAS C HOKENSON - WEBMASTER@RADIOSTATIONWORLD.COM, R.
RadioStationWorld - Radio Broadcast Directory and Listing of Radio Stations on the Web
In-text: (Thomas C Hokenson - webmaster@radiostationworld.com, 2015)
Bibliography: Thomas C Hokenson - webmaster@radiostationworld.com, r. (2015). RadioStationWorld - Radio Broadcast Directory and Listing of Radio Stations on the Web. [online] Radiostationworld.com. Available at: http://radiostationworld.com/ [Accessed 12 Nov. 2014].
Website106 Jack FM (South Coast)
WIKIPEDIA
106 Jack FM (South Coast)
In-text: (Wikipedia, 2015)
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https://media.info/radio/stations/106-jack-fm-2/listening-figures
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