BBC Radio 1 - Life Hacks: Blog tasks

Analysis

The Life Hacks iPlayer page is clearly aimed at younger audiences. The bright colours and images along with the topics mentioned suggest this. 

In the podcasts, the hosts talk about many aspects of pop culture. This appeals to younger audiences as it involves them in topics that they are familiar with and subjects that they enjoy. The BBC's responsibilities as a public service is to inform and entertain. This podcast informs its younger audiences about a relevant topic that occurs but it delivers it in a way where it is amusing to the audience.   

Media Factsheet

Life Hacks offers a safe haven for teens and adolescents to discuss things that occur in their own personal life. These topics include sex, relationships and mental health.

The five central purposes in the BBC's remit that Life Hacks cover are:

• Support the learning of all ages
• Educating their audience by providing them with advice on youth-related issues
• Entertaining them with high quality and creative music
• Representing diverse communities
• Reflect the UK's values and cultures
• Showing the most creative and distinctive output and services

The launch of Radio 1 was significant and controversial because it was created with the intent of it being targeted youth audience in the UK. However, many of the youth audiences felt as ifit was aimed mostly at mid aged adults.This was also around the time when pirate radio was widely popular amongst the youth

I believe that Life Hcks is a 'distinctive offering' that helps the BBC to fulfil it public service remit. The BBC doesn't necessarily have a service that is similar to Life Hacks. This podcasts offers viewers new and infighting experiences that they would be less likely to find anywhere else 

BBC spends about 1.6% of the licence fee on Radio 1.

New technology has had a big impacton radio and the amount of people that tune in. Now that music and streaming services are accessible through the devices that we use in day to day lif, people are more reluctant to rely on radio to be their only source of music

In response to the changes that new technology has had on radio, Radio 1 has made their station accessible online. 

While aimed at teenagers and young people (aged 15-29), has an audience with a median age of 30

Gerbner's Cultivation theory suggests that exposure to media, over time, subtly influences viewers' perceptions of reality. This could be related to Life Hacks asthe information that they provide younger audiences might change their perception on how they view the world. 

Applying Hall's Reception theory, Life Hacks could offer viewrs with the audience plkeasure of entertainment & diversion. This is because its a fun place to go to for yong audiences to listen to current event that are happening that they can relate to. It also offers viewers with the audience pkeasure of Information & surveillence. Life Hacks offers the service of allowing younger audiences to ask questions and find out the correct answer from specialists

Audience contexts: additional reading

The reviewerspeaks about podcast that he listened to. This podcasts featured Stormzy and hs choice to make a Cambridge scholarship foundation for BME students. They also discuss how young people from ethnic minorities also face discrimination.

The key statistics to take from the article are:

• Radio 1 lost over 200,000 listeners in May 2018
• The Breakfast show has pulled in over 300,000 listeners 
• The station now receives 16 million YouTube views per week
• The station is the top choice for listeners aged 15 to 24

Industry contexts: final tasks

Life Hacks educates younger audiences and informs them on things they maybe uncertain about. An example of this is including Dr Radha to answer health questions is an example of this. The delivery of this information is also amusing to the audience. 

Key Points: 

• The BBC is the UK’s most widely-used media organisational because of this, the public has exceptionally high expectations of them
• OfCom consulted on a draft Licence setting out requirements for the BBC in early 2017to fulfil its remit.
• It's Ofcom's job to report on the BBC's performance

The license framework will seek to support social action campaigns on BBC radio. They aim to provide a platform that informs and raises awareness about social issues that are affecting young people and giving them a platform to engage with. 

In my opinion, the three most important aspects a-h are:

• Require the BBC to reflect the full diversity of the UK population
• Support social action campaigns on BBC radio
• Safeguard vulnerable genres such as arts, music and religious programmes

Ofcom plan to  to examine the on-screen diversity of the BBC’s programming. Theywill then ask audiences ifthey feel like the programmes shown reflects and portrays the lives 

Ben Cooper is on a mission to make BBC Radio 1 like a 'Netflix for radio'. 

Although Radio 1's statistic are accessbale, Ben Cooper argues that the statistics are incorrect which is why the average is older than it seems and he strongly believes the age of Radio 1 listeners is 18.

Ben Cooper suggests that Radio 1 is distinctive from commercial radio. He states that commercial adio oly plays 400 tracks a month whereas Radio 1 plays over 4000. He suggests that this exposes audiences to ne w music. 

Radio 1 is increasingly focussing on YouTube views and digital platforms. They are aware that younger audiences tend to spend more time on different social media/streaming platforms on there devices. Rdio 1 wants to cator to this. 

I believe that the BBC's remit should include targeting young audiences on Radio 1. Young people should be informed and be given an insight on life. They should also be allowed to access and retreive this information in a way that is entertaining and keeps them engeged.