BBC Radio 1 - The Surgery & Life Hacks: Blog tasks

Analysis

Listen to the extracts from The Surgery and Life Hacks above and answer the following questions:

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

In my opinion, this to me suggests that the show is aiming to help people better their lifestyle by giving them life advice relating to different topics. 'Life hacks' is also associated with the youth demographic in my opinion through the use of less sophisticated language to convey that the show is directly targeting a youth audience (millennials).

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

Use of Slang: the language used and the way the presenters present themselves suggest that they are trying to appeal to more of a youth audience as they tend to use informal language as if they were speaking to a friend - this also makes it more personal which may make the listeners feel as if they are being directly addressed.

Content: the content discussed is mainly targeting a youth audience as it specifically discusses growing up and going through life from a teenager/ younger persons position (university etc).

3) What does the choice of presenter (e.g. Katie Thistleton) and Dr Modgil suggest about the BBC’s approach to diversity and representation?

Through the choice of presenter BBC attempt to target a younger audience. The young ages of the presenters means that their opinions and insight offered is more likely to be well received by their audience. Also, the combination of their different regional identities and heritage helps to represent the diverse audience that the BBC are attempting to target.

4) Look at this promotional graphic produced by BBC for The Surgery. How does it construct a representation of a youth audience?

5) Now look at the graphic from a digital media perspective: how does it suggest audiences are listening to and interacting with BBC broadcasts in the digital media landscape?

Colour scheme:  the colour scheme is bright and uses quite cartoonish colours which would appeal more to a younger audience 
Emojis: the emojis suggest that this ad is aimed at more of a youth audience; stereo typically the younger generation is more accustomed to social media and would be more likely to be attracted to social media linked content
"How does social media make you feel?”: this question directly links to social media. There is more discussion about how social media influences and affects younger audiences so this question is mainly targeting youth audiences

Audience

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

15-29 years old

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

Avenger age of 32

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

Personal identification - being able to relate to the stories being told and seeing your character reflected in said stories.

Surveillance - learning about the different ways of tackling the problems being discussed

Diversion - from the entertainment aspect of the show - particularly met by the new Life Hacks version of the show, demonstrates how the BBC are reinventing their brand to suit the needs of their audience.

4) Read these Guardian reviews of The Surgery and Life Hacks. What do the reviews praise the programmes for?

The Surgery Guardian review

Life Hacks Guardian review

The Surgery Review

"Presenter Gemma Cairney can be scattershot, but she is always warm and sympathetic, encouraging her young audiences to not only get in touch with the programme but to talk to the right support agencies, and, indeed, to friends and family about any problems they might have."

Life Hacks Review

STORMZY FEAUTURE: "He was on with author Jude Yawson, who co-authored Rise Up, the first book published by Stormzy’s new imprint, #Merky Books. The chat was interesting: Stormzy explained his decision to set up a scholarship for BME candidates for Cambridge University and the ideas behind what he wants to do with #Merky in general. “My career as an artist is very self-serving,” he said. “But if I want to open a school, I don’t want that to be synonymous with me… #Merky is an embassy for people to come through and realise their dreams.”

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 lost 200,000 weekly listeners (May 2018 - August 2018)
• Used to attract approx 9.4m listeners a week
• Officially has the second-lowest ever recorded rating for the BBC Station.
• Steady decline since 2012, a time where they used to attract 11.1m listeners.

Industries

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

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.

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

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

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

Read this Guardian interview with BBC 1 Controller Ben Cooper.

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

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

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

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

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.