Potential Playlist For My Radio Show

To give an indication of my audience, I have created a brief potential playlist for my show.

•  Midnight City- M83

• I Got U- Duke Dumont

• Dark Horse- Katy Perry

• Crying For No Reason- Katy B 

• XO- Beyonce

TalkSPORT's Website

TalkSPORT Website

This website is very plain and simple, with just a white background which makes it relatable for any age group. In addition the fact that all the images on the website are males suggests that the target audience of this radio station is predominantly male, and an audience that are interested in sport.

BBC Radio 2 Website

BBC Radio 2

This website definitely implies that Radio 2 targets a slightly older audience. Immediately you can see that the presenter of the radio show is older, and the colour scheme is less vibrant and youthful.

In addition the people featured on the website and on the radio show appeal to an older audience (Rob Brydon, Brian Blessed and Kate Winslet), though I think this radio station also targets both males and females.

Websites - Similar Audience to Metro FM London

The first two websites I am looking at are for stations that I feel are quite similar to mine, Kiss FM and Capital FM.

Kiss FM Website

When looking at the Kiss FM website the colour scheme of light and dark blues suggests that the radio station is aimed at a younger audience. However, as the blues are very neutral, this could suggest that the radio station targets both men and women as listeners.

This is also supported by the artists featured on the website (such as Rita Ora, Drake and The Saturdays). It focuses on artists that are contemporary and in the charts, again suggesting that the target audience is around 18-35.

This website suggests that the target audience is very similar to what my demographic will be in terms of age and gender.

Capital FM

When looking at Capital FM's website I noticed almost identical conventions, in terms of colour scheme and artists featured, as I saw on the Kiss website. It again has a range of blue's, suggesting it targets both a male and female audience. It also features recent and popular artists such as One Direction, Calvin Harris and Pharrell.

Target Audience and Websites

Everything contained within a radio station's website will give an indication of, and appeal to the target audience. This is another way to determine who the audience is.

I am going to look at the websites of 2 radio stations that are completely different to mine and the websites of 2 websites that are similar to mine.

When looking at the websites I will be analysing the font, colour, words used, tabs, stories shown, competitions, pictures, songs being played and the presenters. I'm going to be relating these elements to the age, gender and class of the target audience to show how important branding the station towards the audience is.

Audience and Ofcom

To help me get a better understanding of the audience for existing radio stations that are similar to mine I have decided to visit the Ofcom website to look at character of service sheets for a number of radio stations, before creating my own character of service sheet for my local radio station, based in London, Metro FM.

The Ofcom character of service sheets include useful information regarding audience, specifically where in the country the radio station targets, (the potential reach of the radio station), what type of music dominates the station and the age range of the target audience.

Below are some examples of the character of service sheets I have looked at for Capital FM London, Heart FM London and Kiss FM London:

Below is the character of service sheet I made for my radio station, Metro FM London:

My Questionnaire

Here is my audience questionnaire to help me get an idea of listening habits, which will help me when I begin scripting my radio extract.

Audience

Having listened to lots of different radio stations it's become clear that whilst there are specific conventions associated with the medium of radio across all the stations, the form that these conventions take is dictated by the station or show's target audience. For example, the way the jingle sounds, some of the news stories that have been chosen, and the way the presenters speak is designed to help them connect with their target audience. Adverts appear on particular stations because the companies believe that the station's audience are likely to buy the products being advertised. The type of music being played is also going to appeal directly to the target audience.

When creating my show i've realised that I need to think very carefully about who my target audience is in terms of age, gender, and lifestyle and I'm going to have to make sure that when writing my script and choosing my music, that it's appropriate for the audience that I have identified.

In order to determine who my audience is I will conduct both primary research and secondary research. Primary research I will do by myself by making questionnaires and conducting interviews. This will help to determine who my audience will be. Secondary research will be research that others have already conducted.

Jingles

When listening to a variety of different radio stations I heard that there are a number of different types of jingles on each radio station. You can hear many of the types of jingle below at the following site, which I used as part of my research.

Radio Jingles

1) Station jingle

• This is played frequently on every show on that radio station
• It contains the station name, the frequency, a slogan that sums up the style of the radio station and hints at the target audience and also possibly music that reflects the audience/genre

2) Show jingles 

• It includes the name of the station, name of the show, and most likely the name of the presenter/presenters, and possible a slogan that even more identifies the tone of the show
• It is supposed to reflect what the show is going to be like (humorous, serious etc..)

3) News jingle

• Probably include the name of the station, with the word 'news' added
• However the tone of the delivery may be more serious, as will the music (dramatic music)
• Occasionally the music reflects the genre of the show

4) Specific competition jingles 

• Music will reflect what the competition is for
• Will hear the name of the station and the excited voice of the presenters talking about what you can win

5) Traffic and travel jingles

• This is played mostly during Breakfast Shows and Drivetime shows (rush hour)
• It includes the name of the station with the word travel or traffic on the end
• It may not have music but it may have sound effects of traffic
• Often as part of the jingle a sponsor will be mentioned (car companies, insurance firms etc..) and there will be a slogan

6) Sports jingles

• It will include the name of the station with the word 'sport' at the end
• Often has up-tempo music to reflect the excitement of sport
• It may include sound effects of crowds cheering
• May include a slogan

7) Weather jingles 

• Will include the name of the station with the word 'weather' at the end
• Its usually sponsored by a company (often things like Ariel, washing powders and fabric conditioners etc..)
• The tone of the jingle is much softer
• Sometimes sound effects are included (of weather)
• The weather is usually more prominent in the morning to give an outlook for the day

I will include a number of these jingles in my show.

Introduction to Jingles

Across my radio show I'm going to create a range of jingles that help give the radio show, and the station, a clear identity. Having listened to a range of stations specifically to get an idea about how jingles are constructed, I have noticed that not only are jingles heard regularly but also the way that they're constructed also reflects the genre of the radio station and helps give an indication of the type of audience who will be listening, through the use of generic music and sound effects and also the use of slogans that are used.

Jingles always include the name of the station and the frequency, and sometimes mention the name of the show or the presenter. Often, but not always, they are accompanied by music and/or sound effects. I am going to look more closely at specific different types of jingles so that I can use the correct conventions for each in my show.

I have also visited the site below to listen to a range of radio jingles from both local and national radio stations.

Site Containing a Range of Radio Jingles

Below is an audio clip featuring a range of jingles.

Music on News Bulletins

I know that I'm going to need to use music for my radio station so I'm going to listen to a range of different news bulletins on completely different radio stations to see what music, if any, they use. I'm going to be looking at what type of music is playing, when the music is played and when it fades out.

Kiss FM - Throughout the whole news bulletin music was playing. It was quite dramatic music as the music behind news bulletins usually is, but it was more up-tempo. 

BBC Radio 4 - No music was playing at all during the news.

Planet Rock - There was no music playing during the time when the news was being read, but during the news jingle, before the news, rough rock music was played.

From this research I haven't found a definitive answer regardin music during the news (there seems to be no absolute set convention). I think that I will include music in the news jingle, which will fade as the presenter starts reading the news.

Potential Running Order of my Radio Extract

Now that I have completed research into news, I am starting to think about drafting my script for my extract. I have come up with a rough, potential running order of my extract, indicating the type of content that I want to include. Obviously, I still need to research elements such as jingles and adverts, as well as think about the content of my news stories but I think having a rough idea of my running order will help my plan my extract more carefully.

1) The end of a song - appropriate for my audience
2) Presenter mentioning the song and introducing what's coming up after the news
3) Jingle for the station
4) Advert 1
5) Advert 2
6) News Jingle
7) News presenter
8) Story 1
9) Story 2
10) Story 3
11) Story 4
12) Weather Jingle and its sponsor
13) Weather
14) Show Jingle
15) Advert 3
16) Advert 4
17) Presenter introducing what's coming up
18) Beginning of a song - fade out

Representation (News Presenters)

In this post I am going to be looking at how presenters on the radio come across to the audience. I am going to be looking at  how news stories are presented by news presenters in news bulletins, choosing two very different radio stations. I will be listening out for the age, gender, language, register, tone of voice and interaction with other presenters, to help with the scripting of my own news bulletin.

The first radio station news bulletin I looked at was Kiss. The presenter was a young female and she spoke in a relaxed voice, at a fairly fast speed. She used informal language. An example of this is when she was introduced by the show presenters and she answered "cheers guys".

The second radio station news bulletin I listened to was Radio 4. The presenter was an older male and he spoke very slowly using formal language. He also spoke very clearly.

Representation is very important on a radio station as after listening to the two completely different radio station news bulletins I discovered that the way the stories are presented play a main role in indicating who the target audiences is. For example, the fact that the news presenter on Kiss is young and used colloquial language suggests that the radio station is directed at a younger audience whereas on Radio 4 the presenter is older and the news is presented in a more formal way, which suggests that station is directed at an older demographic (something that was supported by the types of news stories on the bulletins).