Unit 8: Understanding the radio industry

Organisational Structures and Ownership in The UK Radio Industry

By understanding the radio industry we must first come to terms with the intentions of the industry. There are many ways for commercial/independent radio stations to make their profits, wether it be by selling off advertisements live on air and sponsors, or even just creating revenue from a parent company. This is due to their clear intentions to solely gain profits.

State National Public Radio Stations are directed by the BBC as they are ran under the Royal Charter as they are funded by the license fee. The BBC’s radio services are broadcasted over a wide range of locations, from it being nationally broadcasted, to re-runs and live on air shows through internet streaming which is becoming one of the more popular ways amongst most radio stations these days. It is due to the BBC being a public minded company that they must vary the genres of their radio stations, these include Radio 1 up to 7, with each station bound to fulfill any needs of a listener, therefore the musical content of each radio station within the BBC set-up will have a certain targeted audience which will in one way or another suit their needs. The content of talk included in BBC radio stations is usually informative or involves interviews with high profile guests, Radio 1 usually contains the most witty banter though.

Not For Profit Radio Stations are operated through the Restricted Service Licenses (RSL) as they are not on going broadcastings and their licenses very from a few weeks to a few months, the most common of these would include stations that are broadcasted to specifically benefit hospitals or maybe students, the genre of music would be suited to the targeted audience, Hospital Radio for example may be easy listening music to put patients and staff at ease during their stressful times. The conversation within Not For Profit Radio Stations on air would vary, one example would be that if it was Hospital Radio the chat would be upbeat and positive to keep everyone in high spirits, on the other hand, Student Radio would be more informative to advise students of the latest news within their school or college.

Finally, Independant Radio Stations are solely broadcasting for profit, they do this through advertisements and sponsorship, thus creating a revenue for the company. The type of music they play is usually specific to a certain genre most of the time, for example Galaxy 105 mainly play dance & R’n’B music, considering their chat content it usually contains a lot of banter within the studio, yet their aim is to entertain just like all Indepedant Radio Stations.

In conclusion, more and more radio stations are allowing listeners to gain access to internet streaming to allow them to listen online, this would make for a greater popularity within companies as audiences have an easier access to their favourite radio show, especially if they’re at work for example. So it is with more radio stations getting their own websites that it will increase their demand.

Job Roles, Working Practices and Developing Technologies

Reporter, a role which entails finding out information about a story/event and feeding it back, wether it be in the form of newspaper/magazine or radio/television. Interviewer, the figure who asks the questions to the candidate of whom they wish to receive a response from. Researcher, studying a subject to a certain extent in order to find information or to discover a new understanding. Script Writer, the writer of the script who basically organises the layout of the television/radio as to what will be said by the presenters/actors. Presenter, the presenter of the television/radio show, takes the viewer/listener through the show. Journalist, someone who writes news stories for either a newspaper/magazine or broadcasts them through television/radio. Producer, the figurehead which is responsible for all the audio content within the broadcast, making sure non of the material is breaking any of the codes and conventions of radio listening. As well as this they are responsible for generating the majority of the ideas as well as managing the audience response after the programme.

Contractual, Legal and Ethical Issues In The Radio Industry

Copyright - A legal apparatus which administers the right to control how a piece of work is used. A copyright is compiled of a set of rights, wether it be the right to make copies or authorize others to make copies or the right to sell and market the work. All these rights can be sold individually through transfers of copyright ownership. This legal issue can be avoided by making sure all materials used are eligible and unowned and that if they are not, they can be copied or bought from the ownership.

Defamation - A form of character assassination through communication which makes the victim suffer a damaged reputation in other words. This can be abhorred within the radio industry by having radio stations put clear policies in place which enable them to clearly understand the ways of the law as well.

Qualified Privilege - Generally offers the same protection as absolute privilege for the journalist, yet the only other added condition is that the report has to be fair and accurate, but most importantly published without malice.

Absolute Privilege - Complete protection against any type of defamation, despite wether the words said were to be true or false, even if they were to damage a personas reputation.

New Technologies

The newest technology to be developed within the radio industry is the introduction of DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting) Radio, despite the first DAB Radio being launched in 1995, the technology was only frequently starting to be used in the 21st century. Over 1000 radio stations worldwide were being able to broadcast in a DAB format. The advantages of DAB radio are:

• Greater sound quality compared to analogue radio
• Straightforward tuning system, DAB radio has a list of available stations to choose from
• DAB radio signals can be received in more places than analogue
• Some DAB radios offer the feature of being able to pause, rewind or record radio shows

As well as DAB, webcasting (radio via the internet) has also become quite popular with audiences across the UK, the majority of the internet radio services usually have a corresponding radio station or network, like the BBC for example. Staying with the BBC, their online service is extremely fulfilling for their listening via internet audiences. The station offers podcasts from various DJ presenters, highlights of previous shows and the exclusive feature of a live webcam recording the DJ's whilst they present. It's innovative features like these which draw the BBC's online audiences into listening via the internet.