Analysis of Relevant Radio Programmes (CIN09/Morning Show)

As we are creating a radio programme that is going to be related to Children in Need, it is important to look at last year's children in need radio event; in particular the morning and afternoon shows as we have to create shows that will be placed at these times.

Pitch, Projection, Pace, Pause

Pitch:

Relatively simple style of presenting. Upward inflections are common within this show, "StratCast Radio", this is said with an upward inflection. The presenter has chosen to use this style for certain sentences because it gets you interested in what they are doing; upward inflections place emphasis on certain points, in this instance the presenter is emphasising the name of the radio station. Another example of upward inflection is when the presenter says to his co-presenter "Josh!", the upward inflection is then followed by a query the presenter has with him. This is typical amongst a conversational style of presenting.

The inflections used also reflect the status of each person, the main presenter uses more upward inflections. This combines with the projection, the main presenter's projection is louder and clearer compared to the other presenters. This is an automatic indication to the audience of the heirarchy of the radio show.

Projection:

I found the audio to be very loud in places, almost as if the gain on the audio deck was too high. If this was the desired effect then i believe it was done to make sure the audience could hear, and they were very much within the intimate zone. This could be because of the various information they give out, such as "

Pace:

Due to the content of the show, the pace is at a normal speed. This is because the show gives out information about children in need. The pace picks up during certain features, this builds excitement and brings the audience in to the show. If the pace was too quick then the listener would not be able to understand the content being spoken.

Pause:

From what i can tell, there are no massive pauses within the show, this is because it is a morning show. If there was a pause longer than three seconds then the audience would lose interest in the show and perhaps choose to listen to something else.

Mode of Address:

The Mode of Address is most commonly indirect and informal, this represents the codes and conventions of other morning radio shows. The presenter is heard conversing with his co-presenters, this develops the popular "chatty" style of morning radio show.

Institutional Context

This particular radio show is within a college's boundaries, this is reflected in topics discussed. They feature content associated with a younger audience, such as their discussion into the NME awards the night before this particular show. StratCast are not bound by advertisements as they have Stratford upon-Avon's facilities and resources behind them, this allows the show to have more freedom regarding content and the style of the show.

Analysis of Radio Programmes (Jamie & Harriet/Heart FM/Morning Show)

Heart FM is a very different radio station to Radio One, for one it is a commercial radio station primarily broadcasting locally over 33 different radio stations around the UK, although each show can be accessed online and the Jamie Theakston morning show is advertised as the flagship morning show therefore people will want to listen online if they can.

From the website itself it is easy to see what format the show is and what audience they are targetting the show at.
(www.heart.co.uk/london/about-us)

"Heart's core audience are aged between 25-44"

Simply, they are aiming their station at this audience range which is a very broad demographic covering 19 years but this age range mainly features people getting in to a professional stage of their life, but also people who are settling down with someone and having kids.

"dispite juggling their various roles as wives, husbands, parents and professionals"

This lets you know that they are targetting the show at both males and females, and this is given away again by the two presenters of the London morning show; a man and a woman.

"they are very social people who enjoy shopping, going out and spending time with their friends and family"

We can gather from this quote that their target audience is within the ABC demographic because they have the money to enjoy shopping and going out; their target audience obviously has enough money to be able to enjoy the finer things in life.

"the playlist is driven by passion, playing songs from the 70s, 80s, 90s, 00s"

This helps strengthen the signs the previous statements have shown in regards to target audience. Having songs from different decades is a clear indication that the target audience is an older one as they will be playing songs the audience grew up with which helps them to relate better to the show.

To analyse the show in more detail i accessed their podcast from Monday the 11th of October, this features the key parts of their show that have been edited together to fit 16minutes.
(www.heart.co.uk/london/shows/breakfast/podcast)

Pitch, Projection, Pace, Pause

Pitch:

Upward inflections are the most comment device used by the presenters, the effect this has is that it makes the presenters seem energetic and this is exactly what you need first thing in the morning; if you listen to energetic presenters you are bound to feed off this energy, on the other hand if you listen to a calm voice with a low pitch and few upward inflections you are bound to feel calm and sleepy.

An example of this is when Jamie Theakston says "Its Monday the 11th of October!", he says this primarily using a high pitch and an upward inflection; this helps wake you up and it grabs your attention, it reminded me of being woken up in the morning if you oversleep therefore it wakes you up.

Projection:

The projection is in the social zone, this is because the style of presenting is much more conversational, especially when they are interviewing a guest. The volume of speech varies, but it is mainly at a normal level; in some parts Jamie Theakston increases volume, this builds energy and grabs your attention.

Pace:

The pace is steady and there is not much information you can gather from this, although a steady pace indicates a conversation style of show; too slow a pace and you will end up getting bored, too fast a pace and you won't catch a word the presenters say.

Pause:

There are no pauses, a common device used in morning shows. A lack of pauses keeps you concentrated, pauses do the complete opposite (if used in excess).

Mode of Address

The mode of address is blatent within the podcast, it is informal and indirect. You can tell this is the case because the two presenters are discussing topics between themselves and also the pitch/projection stay within the social zone instead of the intimate zone; which addresses the audience.

This mode of address reminded me of a pair of friends chatting and you are with them listening in.

Institutional Context

Heart FM is a commerical, regional radio broadcaster. This means that from each region there is a different version of the show but they promise that each show will feature the same high standard as the London show; this show gets more high profile celebrities in as guests.

This particular radio show is broadcasted in London. The accents that the presenters have are hard to place with any region other than London, there is a hint of posh within their accents.

Other information

In regards to movies that are coming out soon, the presenter also hints at the target audience further. He mentions "The Social Network" (a film about facebook) briefly, but he dismisses a vampire film coming out, "some vampire film, that isn't worth a mention". The presenter places more emphasis on "Despicable Me", as one of the actors that voice acts in it is on the show, but also because families like animation films because the parents can take their kids; this allows us to see again who the show is targetting itself at.

Analysis of Radio Programmes (Scott Mills/Radio One/Drivetime)

In order to successfully produce a radio show it is vital that the correct research is done in to a broad range of radio shows. It is vital because radio stations are established, and it is proven that these stations can attract a particular audience through their well tested means and methods.

Radio Station One: Radio One; Scott Mills' Show

The Scott Mills show, on radio one, is a well established drive-time radio show that has been running since 2004 when the previous drive-time host, Sara Cox, decided not to return after maternity leave.

Audience

Determining the audience is important as we will be able to use their particular codes and conventions when we create our own radio show; as long as this particular audience is linked to the one we plan to aim our show at.

In this instance there are a number of ways you can determine what audience the Scott Mills' show is targetting itself at; mainly anything within the actual content of the show such as the features, the music and the topics discussed between the presenters.

Music is something that can be very particular to a certain audience, for example (through research co-ordinated in other assignments and this one itself) young people, 16-25, tend to be more interested in drum and bass/dubstep/pop/indie etc than an older age range like 30-40. Therefore, from analysing the music choices within this specific show, it is easy to tell that the show is targetting itself at 16-25 year olds.

You can tell that the show is targetting itself at 16-25 year olds because the music is current and fits in with the pop/indie/dance genres that are more commonly liked by people of the 16-25 year old category. I know that this age range is interested in this music as my group carried out audience research to see what the demographics/psychodemographics were of our target audience, we found out what type of music 16-25 year olds like to listen to and at what time of day; you can see these results in the primary research post later on in this blog.

Another indication of target audience are the presenters themselves, they sound young and energetic and it reminds me of a conversation between friends at the pub. Young people are not known for their attention span and i believe this particular style of presenting helps grab this audience's attention through humourous topics being discussed and also relevant news stories, for example on one of the news shows the main topic was gaming and an addiction to gaming; young males are primarily associated with gaming therefore it is a news story that has been selected to directly speak to the audience, it would be no use targetting this story at people in the 40+ catagory as not many of these people are massive gamers.

Pitch/Pace/Projection/Pause

Pitch:

Scott Mills uses upward and downward inflections to start and finish a point, they also make it obvious for the listener when he is asking a question or being conversational. Scott Mills uses increased pitch in certain places, "Hi Becky!", this automatically tells you as a listener that he is being friendly with whoever he is speaking to; in this particular circumstance he is greeting his co-host in the way a mate would greet another mate.

This style portrays a much more relaxed style of show.

Pace:

The pace used throughout is steady, this allows you as a listener to take the conversation in. If the pace was quicker, the listener wouldn't be able to take the information in, or it could portray excitement but in this circumstance the pace allows you to listen.

Projection:

Scott Mills uses the social zone in most of his show, this allows the listener to take in the information in a friendly way; as if you are taking part in the conversation or listening in amongst a group of friends.

In one particular part the projection shifts to the personal zone when Scott Mills talks quietly in to the microphone, "i don't believe their times", in regards to certain people getting fast times in the great north run. He uses the personal zone to convey to the listeners that he is telling a secret, or saying something he perhaps shouldn't say.

Pause:

There are no pauses throughout the show, no significant ones anyway. Scott Mills chooses not to use many pauses in his style of presenting because he wants to keep the audience engaged in what he is saying, and also because if you were having a conversation with a friend, and there were too many pauses, the conversation would seem awkward or perhaps forced.

Mode of Address

The mode of address is how we define the way someone is talking to us, whether it be in a friendly manner or aggressive; it can also define how someone is talking to us, directly or indirectly.

The Scott Mills' show uses an indirect/informal style of presenting. You can tell this is the case because Scott Mills talks mostly to his co-host 'Becky', "Did you get a lolly?" "I didn't pop in". This mode of address is relevant to the style of show, a light-hearted conversational style of show. When the mode of address is more direct the conversation is not smooth, and it can often be more formal, however this particular show feels more smooth and as a listener you can get a conversational feel from the show.

In certain points Scott Mills uses direct modes of address, "well done to those who did the great north run".

When the mode of address changes the projection and pitch also change. I noticed that the projection is lower when he is talking to his co-host, and then when he talks directly to the audience the projection gets louder and the pitch gets higher (upward inflection). This change in pitch/projection ensures that the listener knows they are being spoken to directly.

Show Format

The show format features music, chat and features. All these features engage the particular target audience. The music played is mostly taken from the A/B/C-list from the Radio One website (refer to radio one research); however on friday this changes to "Wonder Years", where Scott Mills plays various songs from previous years and then at around 6pm he plays floorfiller songs that would be found in clubs, signifying the start of the weekend (this also gives away target audience details, people who have finished school/university/work for the week).

Institutional Context

What type of broadcast the show is greatly affects the content/context that the show is broadcasting. In this particular instance the Scott Mills' show is part of Radio One (BBC). The BBC itself is a public service broadcaster so its main aim is to inform/educate/entertain, something that Radio One is extremely good at doing. It is also a national radio show, therefore they have to take into account a varied range of demographics as people from all over the United Kingdom will have access to the show over the radio, this is addressed by featuring news that relates to the whole of the United Kingdom and not just London where the radio studio is based.

A benefit of Radio One being a PSB is that there are no advertisement breaks, and with no advertisements comes no major input from advertisers which allows the Scott Mills' show to do what it wants, within the laws of the BBC's PSB agreement.

Audience Interaction

Audience interaction is a common device used by the Scott Mills' show, it allows the presenters to change the mode of address to direct, and directly speak to the audience. This is done through features such as "flirt divert" wherein the Scott Mills show give out the "flirt divert" number to people to give to people who try and 'come on' to them in a pub/club etc, they will then play the answer phone messages on the show with funny results.

Interacting with an audience helps the audience to feel closer to the presenters themselves; like they are a part of the show in some way.