Newsbeat

Question 1

When did Newsbeat start?

Answer 1

1973

Question 2

What radio stations is Newsbeat broadcast on?

Answer 2

BBC Radio 1
BBC Asian Network
BBC 1 Xtra
Known as simulcasting, which could be as a result of budget cuts

Question 3

What times of day is Newsbeat broadcast and what was significant about this?

Answer 3

Broadcast at 12:45 and 5:45 which is when young people are more likely to be listening
It’s only on in the weekdays to reflect how young people are less likely to listen then given they may be enjoying a social life

Question 4

How many radio stations, Tv channels and staff does the BBC have?

Answer 4

It has 59 radio stations, 10 TV channels and 22,000 staff

Question 5

When was the BBC started?

Answer 5

The BBC started daily transmission on November 14th 1922, by which time it had more than 1 million ten-shilling (50p) licences

Question 6

What happened to the BBC in 1927?

Answer 6

The company was restructured as a public corporation by Lord Reith and he created the Public Service Broadcasting template

Question 7

When did BBC radio 1 start and what was the show first like?

Answer 7

It started on the 30th September 1967 to combat pirate stations like Radio Caroline and Radio Luxemburg. It was the first to be aired on DAB in 1995
It tried to emulate a new DJ style with music and American style jingles
It was hugely popular in the 70s and 80s with 10m+ listeners

Question 8

How many hours of BBC Radio One is dedicated to specialist music? How is their music different to commercial music?

Answer 8

at least 60 hours
They are distinctive from commercial radios because commercial radios usually play around 400 different tracks a week whereas BBC Radio 1 will play around 4,000 tracks

Question 9

What kind of product is newsbeat and what does this mean?

Answer 9

It’s a transitional media product: A product which reflects changes in the contemporary media landscape. This is shown by the fact that news is broadcast through both a traditional radio show, but also uses digital convergence because the show is available online afterwards as a podcast on BBC Sounds

Question 10

How big is the BBC?

Answer 10

It’s the largest broadcaster in the world and in Britain, more than 30% of all TV viewing is from the BBC

Question 11

What is the BBC which makes it unique?

Answer 11

It’s a Public service broadcaster, which is broadcasting made, financed and controlled by the public, for the public. It’s neither commercial nor state-owned, making it free from political influences (it has to be politically neutral) and pressure from commercial forces

Question 12

How much is a current licence for the BBC?

Answer 12

£169.50

Question 13

Which radio channels have kept high levels of popularity and which have not?

Answer 13

The BBC boasts impressive figures for BBC Radio 2 and 4, but it has struggled to attract young listeners to BBC 1 in recent years as listeners have declined since 2010

Question 14

What is the target age of BBC Radio 1?

Answer 14

15-29 years

Question 15

In 2017, how old was the average listener of BBC Radio 1? Why my this figure be somewhat misleading?

Answer 15

30 years old
This may be slightly misleading , because if you looked at figures from 10 upwards rather than 15 upwards, the average age, some commentators say would probably be around 18

Question 16

How many average weekly YouTube views did BBC Radio 1 have in 2018 and what does this show?

Answer 16

16m views a week showing it’s increasingly focused on digital and social media

Question 17

What is the audience for BBC Radio 1 like in terms of gender?

Answer 17

Slightly more female than male

Question 18

What % of Radio 1 listeners are ABC1?

Answer 18

58% (compared to 55% UK average)

Question 19

What % of Radio 1 listeners are white?

Answer 19

90%

Question 20

What % listeners of Radio 1 are in the target audience?

Answer 20

41% is between 15 and 29

Question 21

Where can listeners catch up with Newsbeat and what consumption behaviour patterns does this reflect?

Answer 21

BBC sounds
This reflects audiences want content on demand at a flexible time to them

Question 22

How does Newsbeat target an audience of 15-29 year olds?

Answer 22

-News bulletins are only 2-3 minutes each to present news to people with short attention spans. News is presented in a chunked way which is easy to understand
-young people are offered opportunities to get involved; they can like and share on social media and are asked to take part in polls as well as take part in Q+A sessions (Shirky’s rise of the prosumer)
-people can send in their own stories - the show uses personalisation and anecdotes
-hosts are generally young to engage listeners and they have a variety of accents
-focus on celebrity based content to provide entertainment
-plain, simple, chatty language is used with a simplifying of complex stories to help a younger audience understand
-events like the Live Lounge and BBC Big Weekend
-Many of the stories are about issues that affect young people to provide relatability e.g. GCSE and A-Level results and show ‘Why’s it so hard to find a uni flat?’
-Use of constant diegetic sound with sound beds and effects

Question 23

What’s an example of a show done by Newsbeat to try and create a bigger audience and attract greater ethnic groups?

Answer 23

A special edition of Newsbeat in South Africa 30 years after the release of Nelson Mandela

Question 24

Why is Newsbeat unique because of their ability to take risks?

Answer 24

As a non-commercial organisation, Newsbeat doesn’t have to appeal to mass mainstream audiences meaning they can take more risks. For some, 15 to 29 might seem like too much of a risky audience because they are highly engaged in catch-up streaming services like Netflix and Disney +

Question 25

What is Newsbeat trying to achieve in aiming their product to their specific audience?

Answer 25

Newsbeat is the BBC's attempt to engage and maintain young audiences for the future. They want to direct younger audiences to the BBC at this age as people tend to choose their preferred platforms at a young age and stick with them. Currently, the BBC's audience is much older in BBC Radio 2 and 4, with the average age of a BBC consumer being 61. Once this older generation dies, the BBC will no longer have an audience unless they attract a new younger generation now. They want to make Radio 1 like Netflix for radio

Question 26

How can Stuart Hall's reception theory be applied to Newsbeat?

Answer 26

Preferred reading: It's entertaining, informative and educational Negotiated reading: They may feel like it holds one or two Reithian Values such as it's educational and informative but not entertaining Oppositional: People feel like the news has been dumbed down to a younger audience making it neither educational or entertaining

Question 27

How can cultivation theory be applied to Newsbeat?

Answer 27

While the BBC is meant to be un-bias, many believe their values are more liberal or left wing, helping them to target young people

Question 28

What are the three Reithian Values which make up the BBC's remit?

Answer 28

Entertain Inform Educate

Question 29

What are the benefits of being a PSB?

Answer 29

- no advertisement, meaning more people are likely to watch - Constant budget and cash flow means they know before hand how much they have for a show -Don't have to live to expectations of shareholders - they don't have to appeal to a mainstream audience meaning they can take more risks - focus is mainly on quality of shows rather than on adverts

Question 30

What are the negatives of being a PSB?

Answer 30

- because their money comes from the tax payer, they must closely stick to their remit of educate, inform and entertain. This makes it harder for them because commercial stations are able to mould themselves around the listener - they cannot make extra money, leading to subsequent budget costs

Question 31

What is the name given to a tax allocated for a specific purpose and is an example of the tax the BBC are funded by?

Answer 31

Hypothecated tax

Question 32

Where have many BBC offices moved from and to and why?

Answer 32

They have increasingly moved away from London and towards Birmingham for a reduced costing of staff and lower living costs. Since 2022, it has been recorded at the Mailbox in Birmingham

Question 33

Who is newsbeat regulated by?

Answer 33

Ofcom

Question 34

What sets out the BBC's remit and what does it say that created Newsbeat??

Answer 34

The Royal Charter - The charter says that the BBC must have some sort of news and cannot just be music on the radio. It must have an extended news bulletin in peak times each day under the requirement of strengthen news and current affairs

Question 35

How is BBC 1 Xtra different to BBC radio 1 and how does it bring in a new audience?

Answer 35

This is a digital radio channel, conveying the increased popularity of online technology. It attracts a more urban, black audience

Question 36

How has Newsbeat been affected by BBC's budget and cutting of costs?

Answer 36

Newsbeat used to have its own website and app, but now it has been closed to reduce costs. Its content, which is somewhat minimal, is now incorporated into the main page of the BBC. This reflects that young people aren't really using websites. Many critics believe that the content of BBC 1 and 2 should be left to the commercial sector

Question 37

Where on social media does Newsbeat has a clear presence?

Answer 37

Twitter: they promote the stories they talk about on the show to try and encourage more people to listen. They receive few likes and comments, but have a high number of views per post at around 2.5k for each post. They have 150k followers on Twitter They no longer are present on Instagram or Tik-Tok, which could reflect budget cuts and shows that there are less opportunities for the audience to engage and interact; it may show they are struggling to keep up with changes in technology and digital convergence

Question 38

What are Galtung and Ruge's news values?

Answer 38

-currency - been in public eye for some time and deemed as valuable -continuity -closeness to home (proximity) -exclusivity -expectedness -elite nations or people -negativity -personality -recency - breaking news -size - the amount of people it affects or the amount of money involved -simplicity -uniqueness

Question 39

Are the BBC achieving their aim to target younger audiences?

Answer 39

In 2016, the broadcaster reached 91% of 16-34 year olds. While the proportion of young people watching BBC TV has dropped to 66%, 59% of young people are using the BBC's online services compared to 52% of adults. This suggests they are successful, younger people just have different consumption behaviours

Question 40

What does the Charter define the BBC's six public purposes as?

Answer 40

1. sustaining citizenship and civil society 2. promote education and learning 3. Stimulate creativity and cultural excellence 4. The BBC must represent the UK, its nations, regions and communities 5. Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK 6. Take a leading role in the switch to digital technology

Question 41

Which industry theory does the BBC charter defy?

Answer 41

Curan and Seaton argue that the media industry has fallen into the hands of few conglomerates and, like Hesmondhalgh, the believe the drive for profit means the media is driven by commercial motives over creativity. They also say with a drive for profit and power in the hands of a few, there's less diversity of opinion with minority interests being side-lined and marginalised. However, given the BBC doesn't have a drive for profit with their PSB structure and their royal charter commitments. It means the BBC maintains high standard products that nurture creativity and representation of minorities

Question 42

What threatens the BBC's future? What helps them to stay alive?

Answer 42

The rise of online streaming services like Netflix and Disney + as well as Youtube, Spotify and Apple Music who provide similar products just with larger mass appeal (It's clear Netflix follow Curan and Seaton's theory of targeting of mainstream audiences). Similarly, people are increasingly watching the BBC via the streaming service under which no TV-licence is required to access. Many believe the BBC should be privatised, arguing tax-payers shouldn't have to pay extra taxes when they don't use the service What helps them to stay a float is that they specifically target the UK making it feel more personalised to a British audience - e.g. British contestants and British celebrity icons like Tess Daly and Claudia Winkelman. They are also seen as reliable in a time of high levels of fake news

Question 43

What makes Newsbeat unique from the BBC?

Answer 43

-Culture based -More celebrity stories -some positive news -exclusive interviews and more personality stories

Question 44

How does Newsbeat conform to Hesmondhalgh's ideas?

Answer 44

He believes the internet has not challenged the centralised power of providers or allowed audiences to challenge content. This is clearly shown through Newsbeat as they struggle to challenge social media giants in targeting a youth audience, but it does try to utilise some of these platforms with its content

Question 45

How does Newsbeat conform to the ideas of Livingstone and Lunt?

Answer 45

They argue media can have a citizen-based approach to regulation. The BBC is an example of this as it's concerned with content-based issues and promotes forms of media that can hold powerful groups to account. Citizen based regulation is a positive form of regulation that directs media content so it can improve the lives of citizens and contribute to the wider well-being of society

Question 46

What codes and conventions of radio does newsbeat follow?

Answer 46

-Intro: This is newsbeat at 12:45 -Bulletins of articles at the start of programme to tell the consumer what they can expect to hear -Quick cutting between the presenter, interviews and music -clips of actuality - material recorded on location - in the form of vox pops or interviews -for more breaking news, the expert who is the presenter much ask questions, where the broadcast is then cut across to an interviewee on location

Question 47

How has the government tried to respond to the move of media products online in regards to regulation?

Answer 47

as radio has moved online and to podcasts, regulation has become more complex, in response the government launched a digital radio action plan and Ofcom produces a review each year

Question 48

Why can Shirky's and Jenkin's theories be seen as less useful in the context of Newsbeat?

Answer 48

Because newsbeat has a strict remit, it must contain certain key elements meaning there is less room for the prosumers to alter the content Therefore, this is still essentially a traditional news product based around the (gatekeeping) model of producer’s selecting and presenting appropriate content for their audiences

Question 49

What's an example of Newsbeat using the news value of personality in one of their news stories?

Answer 49

The made two Newsbeat programmes on Taylor Swift's new album: The Tortured Poets Department

Question 50

What's an example of Newsbeat using the news value of uniqueness in one of their news stories?

Answer 50

Seagull screeching: Hear the young Brit who won a European seagull contest

Question 51

What's an example of Newsbeat using the news value of recency in one of their news stories?

Answer 51

Loose in London: a story about the King's horses who were spooked and ran through London on the 24th April 2024

Question 52

What's an example of Newsbeat using the news value of simplicity in one of their news stories?

Answer 52

Flights to Rwanda: the programme tried to explain the Rwanda policy to teenagers

Question 53

Which news value does Newsbeat use less than other commercial broadcasters?

Answer 53

Negativity: there is a lack of sensationalism showing they are a trusted news source. This is especially important as the hypodermic needle theory would argue younger audiences are more vulnerable to being injected with the ideas of the news so it's important that what they're told is true

Question 54

What's an example of Newsbeat using the news value of proximity in one of their news stories?

Answer 54

Bradford stabbing