Vlog script

Vlog script

Introduction

Hello, and welcome to the first in a line Vlogs from Operator media. Operator is an educational company designed to inform any and all potential users. Our materials are original and designed as educational resources for schools and individual study. The following Vlogs will be covering Media ownership, Cross media conglomerates and their inner workings as well as the operation and functions of a radio show.

Media ownership

Media Conglomerates are a composition of many, subsidiaries or smaller companies. Bauer media is one such company and is in fact a cross media conglomerate. This means that its output spans multiple media output, TV, newspapers, radio and magazines. Bauer media spans a massive range of products and holds many companies within it. It is almost impossible that you haven’t been exposed to some form of Bauer owned product in the UK. As the UK's biggest publishing group it reaches over twenty million people in the UK through its brands alone. Bauer's major competitor is Global media, a British company that owns the profitable Capital FM, as well as many other companies. They are a massive competitor to Bauer. Bauer are in ownership of many high profile magazines and radio channels as well as TV broadcasts. Essentially, Bauer is a body in which many smaller companies are held. It is in ownership of hundreds of smaller companies. Bauer has a fairly straightforward operating model. It is divided into many smaller divisions, smaller branches across eastern and western Europe. These smaller branches are governed by one larger office, but under these smaller offices are controlled the radio channels, the magazines and all the smaller local media outlets. The one main body handles marketing across all outlets, while each separate division handles its own programming.

Independent company

Independent companies operate under very different parameters to a company like Bauer or Hallam.

Hallam FM is one such independent company.

Situated in a small building, broadcasting to south Yorkshire and the north Midlands, Hallam is the number one Yorkshire commercial radio station and is part of the Bauer place portfolio. Key presenters include Becky Hayes, John Harrison (Big John) and Ollie Hayes. Hallam's competition includes Capital FM, Rother FM, Peak FM and BBC Radio. There are also the governing bodies of these companies that make sure everything is in check:  RAJAR (Radio Joint Audience Research): Bauer uses this company to collate all of its figures.  BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation is a public funded service that dates back to 1927 and gets its funding from license fees and advertising. This is clearly evident from the show, ‘Big john at breakfast’ as it has heavy amounts of advertisements.

Hallam FM broadcasts to the whole south Yorkshire region. This includes a wide variety of Ethnicities and backgrounds. The show covers urban and Sub-urban areas, meaning that it must appeal to a wide Target demographic. As such Big John at breakfast must also appeal to this wide target audience. This is covered as it plays multicultural music and discusses topics that affect all people encompassed in this target audience. Hallam FM’s major competitors are channels such as capital FM, a much larger national channel that broadcasts with a similar style to a larger audience.

A PSB remit

A PSB is a Public Service Broadcast. This means a show that benefits the pubic rather than a show concerned about commercial success. All channels related to the BBC must fulfill their PSB remit to be allowed to continue broadcasting. The terms of the remit are simple. A show must appeal to a verity of audiences and must not discriminate. It must entertain the listener and be educational and informative.

Big John-Show analysis

Hallam FM holds many different shows on its channel, these generally consist of music and news shows. Often these cross over and form multimedia coverage shows. But today we will only be focusing on one show, Big John at breakfast. Hallam is an AM/FM and DAB broadcast and launched on October the 1st, 1974. DAB on its online broadcast. Big john at breakfast, a topical music and news show, broadcasts from 6AM to 9AM every weekday and the Church of Big John, a highlights, show broadcasts from 10AM to 12PM at weekends. Its key presenters are John Harrison, or Big John, James Crookes and Janine Jones. The show broadcasts in FM and DAB, Free view and is now recently available on mobile applications. The show’s genre is largely chat and comedy. It is foremost a comedy chat show with a heavy amount of news and media added in. The purpose of Big john at breakfast is entertainment. The show plays a wide selection of music and is often comedic and light hearted. It serves other functions as a news and related media informant, but ultimately is designed to entertain. It is presented in the style of a standard chat show. The presenters talk, play jingles and music then talk some more. The topic of discussion changes regularly but it is always of a consistent style.The program has a fairly straightforward structure. It plays music at regular intervals to break up what is either news or chat segments of the show. There are regular competitions and phone ins from members of the audience. Hallam FM and Big john at breakfast advertising big john @ breakfast is advertised purely as a subsidiary of Hallam fm. It receives little advertising as single item but rather it falls under Hallam FM, which is in turn part of Bauer.   Big john at Breakfast reaches its audience in a wide variety of ways. It uses public advertisements, posters on the sides of buses and taxis to passively reach its audience in public places. It reaches its audience by advertising on other radio broadcasts as well. The Big john radio jingle can be heard on various Hallam FM broadcasts. They advertise on a wide variety of Bauer owned media. Hallam FM broadcasts on 97.4 MHz in Sheffield and 102.9MHz in Barnsley and Rotheram. 103.4 MHz, DAB, and Hallam FM online services. This means Hallam is able to reach its audience over a lot of different media in a lot of different ways, making it incredibly accessible, not just in Yorkshire. Big john's simulcast and downloadable podcasts make sure it is accessible worldwide. It broadcasts live on Hallam Radio as well as online, allowing it to be accessed live globally.  Hallam advertises itself in a more physical way too. It sponsors various local events, allowing it to reach its crowd within these events and concerts. It puts up posters and advertisements on signs, buses etc. These usually advertise events that Hallam are involved in, rather than the channel itself.  Big john reaches its audience in a few ways too. It has vox pops with various members of the public which are used in the show, as well as public surveys. They also have various competitions with small prizes for listeners of the show, all of which help to further reach out and involve its audience.

>AUDIO CLIP< Interview

How Hallam FM effects its audience

The Effects of Hallam FM on its Audience Hallam FM tries to remain neutral in terms of Race/Gender orientation, and the news it produces is also designed for everyone rather than a set group. However the news Hallam reviews is still influencing their audience. It is told from their side and their point of view, imprinting the views of the Hallam news team on the viewer. This extends to music choice, comedy and Vox pops used in the show. All are related to Hallam's own views, even if it is designed for a wide audience. 

How does Hallam represent the individual?

Hallam FM uses local presenters who emphasize on their regional accents and knowledge. They are much related to the area they are from and almost act as a standard representation of a stereotypical individual of the district, helping them represent their audience. On top of that, the audience is often directly involved. Hallam have various public interviews that are recorded before the show, as well as a lot of people calling in for interviews as well as live guests. On top of that they host competitions to keep the audience entertained and engaged in the show, allowing them to represent themselves to an extent. It also produces locally relevant news that suits its audience Ultimately it represents it’s audience through culture, music and the style of adverts that it produces on his show.

>AUDIO CLIP< Presenters talking

Legal and ethical issues

There are a series of legal and ethical issues that Hallam and Big john face for their broadcasts. They broadcast to a wide and very racially diverse audience. This means that all content produced by Hallam cannot be focused on one audience demographic and must appeal to members of multiple backgrounds and races.  As such, they must carefully monitor all content they air. Music selection is diverse and appeals to all target demographics under Hallam FM. This is why the show Big john has such a diversity of content in its broadcast, allowing it to fulfil its role as and tackle any ethical issues that may have held the show back.

In terms of regulatory bodies, the BBC obeys the regulations of the ASA in terms of it’s advertising as well as Ofcom regulations. The ASA regulates the advertisements that the show plays, but Ofcom is the big regulatory body for the channel. The Ofcom broadcasting code provides very clear rules and regulations that all media broadcasts must obey. The code was last updated in march 2013 and is constantly updated so that it remains relevant to modern media, The code deals with almost every broadcast issue, largely protecting children from unwelcome information or uncensored broadcasting. Bauer obeys the code with all of its media output, Big john included. Here are some examples of OFCOM code that Big John obeys:

Broadcast and voting

.    2.13  Broadcast competitions and voting must be conducted fairly.

.    2.14  Broadcasters must ensure that viewers and listeners are not materially misled about any broadcast competition or voting.

.    2.15  Broadcasters must draw up rules for a broadcast competition or vote. These rules must be clear and appropriately made known. In particular, significant conditions that may affect a viewer’s or listener’s decision to participate must be stated at the time an invitation to participate is broadcast.

.    2.16  Broadcast competition prizes must be described accurately. 
(See also Rule 1.30 in Section One: Protecting the Under Eighteens, which concerns the provision of appropriate prizes for children.)

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Offensive Language

.    1.14  The most offensive language must not be broadcast before the watershed (in the case of television) or when children are particularly likely to be listening (in the case of radio).

.    1.15  Offensive language must not be used in program made for younger children except in the most exceptional circumstances.

.    1.16  Offensive language must not be broadcast before the watershed (in the case of television) or when children are particularly likely to be listening (in the case of radio), unless it is justified by the context. In any event, frequent use of such language must be avoided before the watershed. 
(Regarding Rules 1.14 to 1.16 see Rule 2.3 in Section Two: Harm and Offence.)

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.    ASA Rules

.    2.1  Advertisements must be obviously distinguishable from editorial content, especially if they use a situation, performance or style reminiscent of editorial content, to prevent the audience being confused between the two. The audience should quickly recognize the message as an advertisement.

.    2.2  If used in an advertisement, an expression or sound effect associated with news bulletins or public service announcements (for example, “news flash”) needs special care. The audience should quickly recognize the message as an advertisement.

.    2.3  The use of a title, logo, set or music associated with a program that is broadcast on that medium needs special care. The audience should quickly recognize the message as an advertisement.

From these rules and examples it is clear that big john obeys all standards set out by the ASA and OFCOM. It follows strictly the OFCOM code, the examples being competitions broadcasting and offensive language. Considering that the show does not violate either of the two examples. It consistently refrains from use of offensive language before the watershed and keeps it’s competitions fair within the guidelines set.

It follows the basic ASA rules as well by making sure the viewer is aware that the advertisement and the show are separate. Big John is a heavily advertised show on Hallam and uses advertisements as a tool to break up the show at regular intervals.

So far I have described how the show connects to its audience, but not the audience itself. This section will describe a stereotypical profile based off the information of Hallam FM and Big John’s viewer target demographics. But first we must cover the RAJAR spending power demographics. These grades separate people by their spending capabilities based on their income and goes as follows:

Grade A, upper middle class, usually managerial or administrative occupations.

Grade B, middle class, intermediate admin or professional occupations.

Grade C1, lower middle class, supervisory and junior admin jobs.

Grade C2, skilled working class, usually skilled manual workers.

Grade D, working class, semi and unskilled manual workers.

Grade E, those at the lowest level of subsistence, state pensioners or widows, casual or lowest grade workers.

Based on these grades, I have come up with a standard listener profile for Big John @ breakfast. Based on the style of advertising particularly (Fast food, loans etc) the users are probably around the C1 spending power.

Audience Profile

Sarah jones, a 21 year old university student is studying at Sheffield University, taking her degree there. She spends her time studying, hanging out with friends and working so she can pay her bills. In her spare time she mostly enjoys spending time with her friends, going to clubs and parties or hanging around in the city center of Sheffield around the university. Her money and spending power is limited however, like many people of her age in Sheffield. While Sarah has a part time job to help pay for her food and living expenses, she is still fairly short on money. By RAJAR definition, Sarah would likely class as a C1 or low end B class in terms of spending power.

Like many, she enjoys eating out. Places such as subway, McDonalds, Starbucks and similar restaurants are common spots for her when she needs a meal out. She is a consumer of mainstream products, including food and drink (Cola, fast food etc.) this can be said for her taste in music and culture too, as she regularly follows trends. However, she isn’t set in her ways. Sarah is often and regularly willing to try out new concepts and media to further her experience.

A regular listener to Hallam FM, she tunes in whenever she gets the time. Like many, she wakes up to the show Big John at breakfast. It is a good show to get up too, offering a variety of music and news to help start the day a bit more interestingly.

Task 2

This will be an in depth examination of a broadcast of Big john at breakfast show on Hallam FM. Reviewed 10/6/14

Big john is a breakfast show designed primarily to entertain and inform the general public of Sheffield. Being an early morning show, it is designed to be listened to before school, on the way to work or as it says, at breakfast. The show has a news section, plays music and hosts many audience competitions. It is entertaining and informative suitable for all ages.

It takes the form of an AM/FM radio broadcast that is now available for podcast download. I will be analyzing a broadcast from December 2013

Show analysis

Open with audio extract: 00:00-01:25 (Adverts)

The show opens with a series of advertisements. The first of which is a Subway advert. This is relatable to areas of Big John’s broadcast, as many people will likely eat out at places like that. This is followed by a drink awareness advert from the south Yorkshire police. It was an advert that advised drink awareness, a problem around Christmas. Many people experience violence or abuse due to alcohol in some regions of Sheffield, making the advert far more relatable.

This is followed by a trailer for a film, more of a global advertisement rather than region specific.

There are a few more advertisements for local restaurants and law firms, similar subjects related to Sheffield, including an advertisement for Hallam itself.

The show is introduced with a music track and an introduction from the host, John Harrison. He proceeds with a poll about what most men in south Yorkshire lie to their partners about, discussing the subject with the other presenters. This is part of the entertainment aspect of the show as well as involving the audience in the show and helping relate back to them. 

Audio extract 04:21-04:51 (Music cut away)

The show is periodically broken up by music, as shown here. This helps segment the broadcast and signify the change in topic.

It picks up again with the presenters calling the winner of the poll they were discussing previously and asking him the question again. As stated earlier this kind of interaction helps to relate the presenters to their target audience. By involving the general audience it makes them feel less alienated. It involves and engages the public with phone ins and prizes for public competitions. While it is subjective, this could also been seen as entertainment for some viewers. The show cuts away with another music track. Most tracks played are licensed and well known tracks, acting as cultural entertainment rather than promoting the track, with famous bands such as The Killers and Little Mix.

Audio Extract 05:06-05:40 (Competition call in)

A brief section informing listeners of the local weather follows, helping keep viewers informed. There is brief chat amongst the hosts, discussing their personal lives and the following content of the show.

The following segment is a news extract that covers all kinds of local and global news. This is a very important section of the show as it is the key segment in the show as it informs its viewers on important events and information related to the south Yorkshire region. The show is supposedly a locally relevant show and this section is incredibly important.  This splits the show away from standard talk shows.

Audio Extract 07:40-07:54

Again, advertisements punctuate the broadcast. This is not only a key source of funding for the show, but also helps publicize local businesses or inform listeners of global products. Many of the advertisements are for British companies, some of which are international or local. These include several money and business advice services. Car MOTs, local supermarkets and similar services.

 Audio Extract 10:02-10:40

The hosts continue to discuss topical news, which again helps inform the viewers. At the time of the broadcast it was centered mainly on the reassignment of the Sheffield Wednesday manager and the helicopter crash involving a Glasgow pub and many related deaths. This was highly important at the time and was highly discussed.

This then moves on to more media and culturally related news. This is a lot lighter in terms of tone and is more for entertainment purposes. These include interviews and extracts from celebrities.

 Audio Extract 14:27- 14:50

These stories include a public apology from an X factor star, a talk about a celebrity diving show and other chat amongst the presenters. The dynamic between the presenters helps to make it feel more approachable to the audience, making the presenters seem more human and ordinary, helping to make them more relatable. They discuss simple things like their parties and celebrity gossip, which is normal considering the show is primarily a chat show. This is, as expected, broken up by a music track. They continue with their interactions with band members, talking about the crowd reactions and use audio extracts to help convey their point.

More advertisements break up the show again, advertising blockbuster films and local shops alike. Halifax, the ‘Home front’ film and present ideas, considering the broadcast aired around the Christmas period. There is another short music track before the extract comes to a close. The show itself lasts several hours and follows a similar structure as seen in the extract.