The BBC

 The BBC - Key Facts

  • These principles ensure all BBC content should…Inform, educate and entertain

  • The BBC abides by ‘Reithian principles’…Which were proposed by its first Director General, John Reith

  • The BBC does not prioritise commercial profit…Instead, it focuses on providing its audiences with the best possible content as a public service broadcaster

  • The BBC is paid for by…The TV licence fee

  • Because the public pay for the BBC…It, therefore, has a duty to reflect stories from people of all walks of life

  • Prides itself on being PLURALISTIC

Plurality

  • Where a media product exhibits and gives voice to a wide range of ideological perspectives
  • The BBC is a public service broadcaster. What does this mean? What responsibilities does this entail? 
  • It has a self-imposed remit to “inform, educate and entertain”
  • To what extent does the BBC offer it’s audiences ideological plurality? 
Analyzing LNWH - Power and profit

Curran and Seaton argue that all media products are motivated by profit and power. So far from what we have heard of LNWH, this doesn't seem right. The programme targets a very niche audience, and so far we have listened to episodes which discuss putting on makeup on the bus, Hygge and seen the variety of topics. 
It is clear that LNWH will never appeal to a mass audience, but perhaps that's the point. The BBC is a PBS and has no need to 'make money' in the same ways as other industries, but it does need to be accessible!

How does the BBC meet the needs of a diverse audience?

The BBC is different from many other media organizations, as it is a public broadcasting service or PBS. The BBC is funded directly by the British public in the form of a license fee. In return, the BBC has many obligations that its competitors do not have. For example, the BBC must;
  • Produce and broadcast a certain amount of high-quality news on each of its channels every day
  • Cannot rely on spot adverts/commercial breaks for revenue streams
  • Has a remit to 'inform, educate and entertain' (check out this documentary for more details on the history of the BBC and its remit!)
  • Create and broadcast original programming which appeals to a diverse range of British audiences
TASK:

Audience prompts

  • How is the audience grouped and categorised for this show? Think age, gender, class, lifestyle, cultural capital…
  • How does this show attract/target its audiences? 
  • How can audiences interpret this show in different ways?
  • How does this show use technology to target a specialised/niche/cult audience?
  • In what ways can audiences use this show, and how does this reflect their identity and cultural capital?
  • Reception, fandom and the end of the audience: theoretical approaches

Industry prompts

  • How is this show produced, distributed and circulated, and by who?

  • In what ways does radio use specialised forms of production, distribution and circulation?

  • How have recent technological changes in radio changed production, distribution and circulation?

  • What economic factors may have affected this show? How financially successful do you think it was? Was it made commercially or not for profit?

  • How have new digital technologies affected how this show is regulated?

  • Power and regulation: theoretical approaches



  • I feel as if the podcast can be appealing for a wide range of audience but, it does have a niche audience in terms that it isn't everyone's 'cup of tea'. It aimed at the small majority due to the style of the audience. 
  • The show is quite versatile as it can be aimed at the working class as well as middle class. We see this through the dialect that is used, it isn't completely sophisticated however it isn't also relaxing slang. It is quite 'proper'. It is on the contrary perhaps more popular amongst the middle-class audience than the working class. 
  • Age-wise, the intended audience is perhaps adults, maybe even parents. (Age range 22-35)
  • The director attracts the target audience through the conversation, Louis and Helena talk about Poetry, children, careers etc. 
  • The tone of the podcast is humourous and smooth is fairly relaxed. This reinforced through the structure of the podcast as it is quite informal and has a 'flow'.
  • In contrast, it does somewhat of a structure as it is a conversation-style interview 
  • Louis makes a couple of jokes which targets the intended audience 
  • They discuss relatable things which are conventional to the style they are aiming for things such as first crushes, puberty, insecurities etc. 
  • Another topic they speak about is Hollywood and the industries which may attract another niche group within the target audience, film geeks. Moreover, Helena Bonham Carter is a creditable actor which appeals to this niche sector of the audience. 
  • The conversation about Hollywood immediately escalated to stereotypes which demonstrates the natural flow of the podcast. That makes the audience feel like it is a conversation and it is 'real'. 
  • Helena mentions Alan Rickman which could appeal to pre-existing fans of her
  • The podcast is quite British - criticism of LA, discussions about the UK, Boarding schools in England, British Representation in movies
  • Speaks about lockdown which is a topic that people can relate to and the current situation 
  • 'Bitchy' - not strict formal language 
  • The actress personal life which is the interest of the target audience 
  • Talks about movies and Twitter- demonstrates cross-media convergence 



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