Introduction to radio: blog tasks

 Introduction to radio: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Introduction to Radio' on your Media 2 Coursework blog and complete the following tasks:

BBC Sounds

Read this Guardian feature on the launch of BBC Sounds and answer the following questions:

1) Why does the article suggest that ‘on the face of it, BBC Radio is in rude health’?

It has half the national market, with dozens of stations reaching more than 34 million people a week. Radio 2 alone reaches 15 million listeners a week and for all the criticism of the Today programme (“editorially I think it’s in brilliant shape,” says Purnell), one in nine Britons still tune in to hear John Humphrys and his co-presenters harangue politicians every week.

2) According to the article, what percentage of under-35s used the BBC iPlayer catch-up radio app?

Purnell says just 3% of under-35s use the iPlayer catch-up radio app, which will soon be axed.

3) What is BBC Sounds?

BBC Sounds, a new app and website that will bring radio livestreams, catchup services, music mixes and podcasts together under one roof.

4) How do audiences listen to radio content in the digital age?

• Spotify 
• Apple podcasts

5) What does Jason Phipps suggest is important for radio and podcast content aimed at younger audiences?

The man tasked with making this work is Jason Phipps, a former Guardian employee who joined as the corporation’s first commissioning editor for podcasts earlier this year. He says there is a need to reconsider the entire tone of how the BBC tells stories, shifting away from rigid formality if it wants to attract the precious under-35 audience: “It has to be a warmer, more story-led journey. You need to report the very personal experience of it.

6) Why does the BBC need to stay relevant?

“BBC Radio is still incredibly successful, but I don’t think it’s ever faced such competition,” says Bob Shennan, a lifelong BBC employee who oversees all its radio and music output, pointing towards the likes of Spotify and Apple’s podcast libraries. 

 “And because the BBC is really important and valued by licence fee [payers] it’s got to continue to be relevant.
Now read this review of the BBC Sounds app.

7) What content does the BBC Sounds app offer?

 Music, news, drama, documentaries, true crime, comedy . It also offers you other forms of listening, from podcasts to playlists

8) How does it link to BBC Radio?

The app allows you to access any live BBC radio station, but it also provides additional ways to listen, such as playlists and podcasts.

9) What are the criticisms of the BBC Sounds app?

people  found the programme information a little tricky to access, and the search – as ever with the BBC – isn’t sensitive enough.

10) Two new podcasts were launched alongside the BBC Sounds app. What are they and why might they appeal to younger audiences?

Beyond Today, presented by Tina Daheley, is an attempt to mimic the New York Times’s successful The Daily programme, and the two shows I’ve heard aren’t bad

The first, about whether the UK has enough money, had too many audio tricks; the second, about an Iraqi Instagram star killed for being too provocative, was very good (though the word “flaunt” should be banned, especially when used to refer to women).

 End of Days, exclusive to the Sounds app, is a gripping tale. I hadn’t realised that many of the Waco cult victims were from the UK, mostly recruited from the Seventh-Day Adventist church. End of Days talks to their families and friends.