Radio- industry + set text: Late night womens hour

 Industry

• how the product is created ad distriuted and by who?
• who owns this media product
• how is this industry regulated?

audience

• how does it attract the target audience?
• in what ways is it aimed at the audience?
•  how does the audience interact with the media product?

Late Night Women's hour- Home

context

• is a spin off from the long running bbc radio 4 daily magazine programme, womens hour
• is broadcast once a month by lauren laverne features a number of female panellists
• each episode focuses on a particular theme relevant to its female audience

whos the target audience?

-british audience- they are unfamiliar to a Danish term hygge

-house ownership (making it feel homely) middle class themes

-guests are very educated women, once again middle class

-age of 30+

how does it target its audiences?

-BBC sounds- catch up on demand

-niche audience- unsociable time, creates a targeting of a specific group of people that would be particularly enthusiastic.

why does the bbc broadcast this show?

on the radio once every month and airs at midnight. broadcast at this hour because it may have mature content not suitable for younger audiences. there has been a raised awareness about the inequality between males and females in the media, and the bbc has made efforts to address gender imbalance. with a variety of female hosts and presenters across radio channels, some people have questioned the relevance of a show just dedicated to women and then have a late night spin-off. the impact of the #metoo campaign and other social media campaigns highlight sexism, and the popularity of womens podcasts, show there is an audience and need for "womens" media.

additional episode: Makeup on public transport

how does the episode use lexis to appeal to its target audience?

analyse mode of address

what are the preffered and opositional readings of this show?

preferred reading is to agree and rationalise with the women, makeup on public transport is no invasive so shouldnt affect other people, very chatty free flowing convo which covers a few issues

would you listen to this show?

i enjoy the topics to an extent but when i hear it it just sounds like its directed at white middle class mums, i would not seek this show or type of shows out actively. the way its done is kind of boring and bland, theres not much emotion or passion in it.

how can we apply jenkins and shirkys theories?

the show only runs once a month and at a later hour so would seem to aquire a niche audience, a fandom like jenkins states, may discover oppostional readings. Shirky states that modern media audiences interact passively, this is not a show that is always playing in the daytime so is not likely to "accidentally" be stumbled on, fans actively find show whether that be live or on bbc sounds.

context on BBC

Publically owned, paid by yearly TV liscence instead of using advertisers.

• has principles that 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.
• does not prioritise comercial profit, instead focuses on providing its audience with the best content.
• because the public funds the bbc, it therefore has a duty to refelect stories from people of all walks of life
• Prides itself on being PLURALISTIC

Plurity

• 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 do 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 it's competitors do not have. For example, the BBC must;

• Produce and broadcast a certain amount of high quality news on each of it's channels every day

• Cannot rely on spot adverts/commercial breaks for revenue streams

• Has a remit to 'inform, educate and entertain'.

• Create and broadcast original programming which appeals to a diverse range of British audiences