A Level Radio

1. Radio 1 Breakfast Show
Thursday October 4th 2018
‘Unpopular Opinion’
https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio/play/m00
00jzq

2. Radio – AO1 – quick summary
We have to study The BBC Radio One Breakfast Show with reference to one
complete episode from September 2017 onwards.
You need to develop understanding of the scope and content of the text, and to
concentrate on discussion of issues of media industries and audiences, e.g:
How does the text meet public service broadcasting requirements?
How does it address the target audience?
Economic, political and cultural contexts should also be studied in relation to
radio.

3. A Level Media Studies Quick Overview
Media Messages - Paper 1 35% Evolving Media - Paper 2 35%
News and Online Media
Study of the Daily Mail and The
Guardian newspapers and online
media
Media Industries and Audiences
Video games, film, radio
Media Language and
Representation
Music videos, advertising, magazines
Long Form Television Drama
Study of two TV dramas
Making Media (NEA) 30%
Cross-media production in response to a set brief from
a choice of four (television, radio, magazine, music
video).

4. Radio 1 Breakfast Show
Overview Reminder
• The Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Greg James is broadcast Mon-
Thurs from 06.30-10.00 am.
• The Breakfast Show has been running since 1967, but Greg James
took over as the 16th presenter in 2018.
• Here is the promo which announced his arrival
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWwHrzohIUw
• Here is a promo to suggest that feedback is good on the show
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1046732859975839744
• BBC Radio 1 is broadcast on FM, DAB, Freeview, Freesat, Virgin, Sky,
or online via BBC Radio Player (including via the phone or tablet
app) where it can be heard live or streamed for 30 days.
• The Radio 1 Breakfast Show is produced by the British Broadcasting
Corporation (BBC) and broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from its own
studios at Broadcasting House in London.

5. Reminder
The Radio 1 Playlist
• The music on the show largely play listed – what is going to be played on
daytime Radio 1 is decided by a committee
• Radio 1 choose around 40 records each week for repeated daytime play
(A-list records get 25 plays a week, B-list 15, and C-list eight to 10).
• Choices are partly guided by what’s already popular with young people
online; many older artists are not included as the network is trying to keep
an under-30 audience.
• The current Head of Music has been trying to get away from the data-
driven approach to choosing what will get played, in order to make the
playlist less globally homogenous and more distinctive
• The playlist also appears on the website each week
• There is also a Brit List which helps push featured new British artists –
again to make the output less globally homogenous and to make it more
distinctive
• Please note that since Thursday’s episode the playlist has already
changed
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/playlist

6. Reminder - Radio 1’s place in PSB
LINK TO R1 BREAKFAST SHOW
• “Radio 1’s remit is to entertain young listeners with a distinctive mix of
contemporary music and speech. Its target audience is 15-29 year olds. It
should offer:
• a range of new music
• support emerging artists - especially those from the UK
• provide a platform for live music.
• News, documentaries and advice campaigns should cover areas of
relevance to young adults.
• Broadcast at least 40 new documentaries each year
• Offer at least 2 major Social Action campaigns, supported across daytime
output and online each year, together with a number of other initiatives
• Please note that the above PSB requirements are spread across the whole of the
daytime Radio One schedule – for that reason there was no mention of social
action campaigns (apart from oblique references in Sam Fender’s song about male
suicide) and no mention of any documentaries.
• The first four bullet points were met however

7. Reminder
Radio 1’s remit revision notes
• Radio 1’s programmes should exhibit some or all of the following
characteristics:
• High quality, original, challenging, innovative and engaging content -
it should nurture UK talent.
• The service should deliver its remit by producing a wide range of
programmes that expose listeners to new and sometimes
challenging material they may not otherwise experience. It should
reflect a diverse range of new and UK music.
• Radio 1’s daytime programmes should offer a mix of music,
information and entertainment and use an extensive playlist to
introduce unfamiliar and innovative songs alongside more
established tracks.
• Accurate, impartial and independent news should be placed at the
heart of daytime output.

8. Sustaining citizenship and civil society
The BBC provides high-quality news, current affairs and
factual programming to engage its viewers, listeners and
users in important current and political issues - impartial -
Promoting education and learning
The support of formal education in schools and colleges and informal knowledge
and skills building – to support learning for all ages as well -
Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence
Encouraging interest, engagement and participation in cultural, creative and
sporting activities across the UK – all high quality -
Representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities
BBC viewers, listeners and users can rely on the BBC to reflect the many
communities that exist in the UK
Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK
The BBC will build a global understanding of international issues and broaden UK
audiences' experience of different cultures
Delivering to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies
and services
Assisting UK residents to get the best out of emerging media technologies now
and in the future
6 “Public Purposes”
of the BBC

9. Radio One Breakfast Show
PSB and the October 4th episode
• You are going to argue that the 4th October episode of Radio One’s
Breakfast Show did ‘entertain young listeners’ with:
• a distinctive mix of contemporary music and speech’ (Radio One Playlist
and the use of Romesh Ranganathan as celebrity guest, as well as Greg
James’ presenting style)
• Offer a range of new music – 41 songs, the vast majority taken from this
year and over 80% of the music was from the Playlist)
• Support emerging artists - especially those from the UK – Greg James’s
song of the week – Sam Fender with Dead Boys and the winner of BBC’s
Sound of 2017 – Ray BLK with Run Run
• Provide a platform for live music – Radio Stings and continuous mentions
of Radio One’s Teen Awards and Radio One Xtra’s Live Lounge
• News which cover areas of relevance to young adults (the sad death of a
girl at a music festival, strikes by workers at McDonalds – as well as
sporting information)

10. Radio One Breakfast Show
October 4th 2018
• The Radio One Breakfast Show did nurture UK talent (Radio One Playlist +
51% of all music on the show was from the UK)
• The Radio One Breakfast Show did expose listeners to new and
sometimes challenging material they may not otherwise experience
(Sam Fender and Ray BLK)
• The Radio One Breakfast Show did reflect a diverse range of new UK
music (Check out the songs played on the show )
• The Radio One Breakfast Show did offer a mix of music, information and
entertainment which uses an extensive playlist to introduce unfamiliar
and innovative songs alongside more established tracks (Again check out
the songs played + the news items + the fact that they also mentioned The
Licence Fee at one point in the show)
• The Radio One Breakfast Show did offer accurate, impartial and
independent news which was placed at the heart of daytime output
(6.30am, 7.00am, 7.30am, 8.00am, 9.00am)

11. BUT
• New and more challenging music was played after
9.00am – majority of listeners were now at work?
• There was no news from 8.00am and 9.00am
• Between 8.00am and 9.00am the use of celebrity
interviews and the most popular segments of the show
‘unpopular opinion’ are used alongside no news to try
and appeal to the same audience as commercial radio
– the fact that both Ray BLK and Sam Fender was
played after 9.00am must be noted
• Does competition from Commercial radio mean that
the 8.00am – 9.00am slot is different?

12. ‘Trail of Breadcrumbs’ (Oct 1st – 5th 2018)
Shared across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube + Instagram
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1048512438239289344
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1047437237850447872
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1047386789311369216
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1047111280111304704
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1047021005330366464
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1046663756942520320
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1046655181335797761
• https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn1yDmgnGKR/?hl=en&tak
en-by=gregjames17

13. Context – Star Guest on the show
Romesh Ranganathan
• Romesh Ranganathan is a British
stand-up comedian and actor.
• He is known for his deadpan
sarcastic humour
• He has made multiple
appearances on comedy panel
shows like The Apprentice: You're
Fired!, and was formerly a regular
on Play to the Whistle
• In 2016, he completed his first
major tour, Irrational Live, in
which he performed in some
iconic venues such as the
Hammersmith Apollo.
• He was on the show to promote
his autobiography ‘Straight Outta
Crawley’

14. Linking the guest to BBC Radio One’s Remit
Representing the UK, its nations, regions, communities
• Romesh, as a member of the Hindu faith, fits one of
the BBC’s Public Purposes that is that listeners and
users can rely on the BBC to reflect the many
communities that exist in the UK
• Romesh fits that bill and although nothing is made of
his faith in the programme, the fact that Romesh
joined Radio 1’s phone lines for the majority of his time
on the show means that some of the audience will be
able to interact with a person who represents a
different faith.
• https://twitter.com/gregjames/status/1047744837259
350019

15. Greg James
The Presenter’s style – Reminder -
• Deliberately targeting a younger audience, Greg James is well aware
that pop stars and in the case of today’s programme a comedian are
now superbrands that can communicate directly with their
audience and therefore tailor their public image without the
mediators of the media.
• Greg James’ job is thus to gently prod at the humans beneath the
facade, encouraging them to laugh at themselves and show their
more endearing qualities. With pop stars arriving from any number
of different destinations – Disney, YouTube, reality shows – James’
approach is one of light humour which befits the early morning
audience.
• “The listeners have become like mates…They're always front and
centre and this will of course be the case on the new breakfast
show. It's going to be the most enjoyable challenge I've ever
undertaken and I can't wait to get started.“

16. ‘Gregulars’
• ‘I just briefly thought
that calling people that
listen to the show
everyday ‘Gregulars’
was a good idea and
that means I need to go
to bed immediately bye’
• Twitter Sept 19th 2018
• Also on Instagram –
same day

17. Talking with Romesh
• This gentle style of humour is evident on the case study show.
• Being a comedian, Romesh needs little prompting from Greg James
in being witty and the vast majority of his show’s appearance is one
of relaying anecdotes from his time on Radio One’s phone lines – a
good example of this is when Romesh talks with a PE teacher who
admits that the spare kit box in schools is never washed.
• The longer interview with Romesh about his new autobiography is
also relaxed and is mostly about Romesh’s mum is excited about
him coming back to his home town’s Waterstones to do a book
signing – Greg saying that she may also set up a stall next to him
selling her own products
• Link to Radio as a medium
• The intimate medium: radio is very personal. Listening to the radio
can feel like being in a conversation shared only by oneself and the
presenter and it encourages intimacy through its direct mode of
address.

18. The use of talk during the show
• Chat during the show was light-hearted, one example was when
Greg James interviewed fellow Radio One DJ Jordan about one his
Instagram story ‘A Day in the life of a DJ’ where Greg noticed that
Jordan had used ‘instant coffee from a jar’ when he used a ‘posh
cafieteier’ instead of ‘the expensive coffee you get in those shiny
sealed bags.’ This led to viewers texting in telling stories about
coffee use, including Kim from London who left her coffee on the
top of her car and then accidently drove off
• The companion medium: the radio format provides a strong sense
of personal communication and a direct mode of address for the
audience. It also offers lots of interactive opportunities, from
phone ins to texts, emails and tweets which get read out on air.
Listeners can get a ‘shout out’ or a ‘mention’ in a talk programme
which makes them feel more directly involved. Likewise some
programmes offer listeners the opportunity to air their views or
select music to be played.

19. Recurring Feature on the show
Cabbages (Radio as undemanding)
• In the same way that #passthepasty became famous a few weeks ago the
use of cabbages as a running theme in this episode of the show was used
as an entertaining running joke about how cabbages bring bad luck
• This was prompted by Aston Villa’s manager Steve Bruce having a cabbage
thrown at him for being useless at his job – he was subsequently sacked
and the running joke on the show was how cabbages brought bad luck
• The main focus of this running joke was focused on Miller – a lorry driver –
who was talked to live because the day before he was driving around the
country with twenty tonnes of cabbages – he talked about breaking down
twice and an anecdote where he was challenged by Greg James to leave a
cabbage on someone’s front door to bring them bad luck
• Miller did this to a man who had a go at him when he was parked up
waiting for the rescue services to come to him – at night he sneaked up to
his door and left a cabbage there for bad luck
• The undemanding medium: it allows audiences to do other things whilst
listening, such as writing essays, doing housework, driving cars etc. A
listener doesn’t need to devote their time entirely to the platform.

20. Linking this to #passthepasty
• When one of the listeners mentioned she had not
eaten a Cornish pasty, one was fetched for her
from Cornwall to Scotland in the form of an
Olympic Torch Relay
• This went viral
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-
45425752
• http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3lbn
hTNllwDwnL3vSN7rwRh/pass-the-pasty-follow-
the-journey

21. Newsbeat – Stories covered on Oct 4th
PSB – News should could areas that are relevant to young
people (as well as cover the wider BBC Public Purposes)
• Cyber Attacks – Russia is warned by the UK about its constant attempts to hack
Western computer systems
• UK offers aid to the victims of the Indonesian Earthquake and Tsunami disaster
• One American police office shot and killed in South Carolina and six children held
hostage – hostage taker gave himself up after two hours
• Christian Ronaldo is accused of rape. The alleged rape was from 9 years ago and
the female victim was inspired by the #MeToo movement to come forward.
• A call for tighter controls of drugs at festivals after the death of a teenage girl who
died from taking two ecstasy pills
• There was a strike by McDonalds/Wetherspoons/TGI Fridays and Uber staff
prompted by low wages
• Charlie Sloth leaves Radio 1 Xtra after 8 years
• Barcelona beat Tottenham 4-2 win in The Champions League – focus of the news
was on the role that Messi played in the victory
• Liverpool manager Klopp was disappointed at the 1-0 loss that Liverpool suffered
at Napoli
• A woman at The Ryder Cup lost the eyesight in one of her eyes after being hit by a
drive from Brooks Koepka, she is threatening to sue the organizers who offered her
no help – she does not blame the golfer.

22. NewsBeat
Linking these stories to Radio One’s Remit
• Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK
• The BBC will build a global understanding of international issues
and broaden UK audiences' experience of different cultures
• Sustaining citizenship and civil society
• The BBC provides high-quality news, current affairs and factual
programming to engage its viewers, listeners and users in important
current and political issues - impartial –
• If you look at the two above mentioned Public Purposes of the BBC
then you will see that the news items do indeed build a global
understanding of international issues (The govt attacking Russia and
the support for victims of the Indonesian Earthquake) as well as
some high quality news which fits the demographic of the 15-29
audience – especially the strike by Uber staff, Charlie Sloth leaving
Radio One Xtra and the death of the girl at a music festival.

23. What was missing?
Tailoring the news content to the right audience
• Details of the
Conservative Party
Conference – this was the
main news item on the
BBC news that night
• Only time that it was
mentioned on the show
was when Greg talked
about Theresa May’s
‘dance moves’ and her
appearance with Philip
Schofield on This Morning

24. The Songs played on the show
• Reminder
• Radio One has to ensure that at least 40% of
the music in daytime is from UK acts each year
• Radio One has to ensure that at least 45% of
the music in daytime is new each year, with
continuous particular support for new and
emerging UK artists alongside established acts
• The music on the show met both of these
remit targets

25. The Songs played throughout the
whole show
• Song 1 = The Weeknd – Can’t feel my face - Canadian
• Song 2 = Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid – Eastside -
American
• Song 3 = Jade Bird – Uh Huh - UK
• Song 4 = Tiësto & Dzeko ft. Preme & Post Malone –
Jackie Chan – Dutch
• Song 5 = The 1975 – TooTimeTooTimeTooTime - UK
• Song 6 = Jamie T – Zombie - UK
• Song 7 – Dynoro & Gigi D’Agostino – In my Mind -
Lithuianian
• Song 8 – Beyonce – Hold Up - American

26. Songs played
• Song 9 – Pale Waves – Eighteen - UK
• Song 10 – Dean Lewis – Be Alright - Australian
• Song 11 – Calvin Harris – Promises - UK
• Song 13 – Jess Glynn – All I Am - UK
• Song 14 – Wolf Alice – Don’t Delete The Kisses
- UK
• Song 15 – Bring Me The Horizon – Mantra - UK
• Song 16 – HRVY – I wish you were here - UK

27. Songs played
• Song 17 = Robyn – Missing U – dedicated by Greg
James to Charlie Sloth who is leaving Radio 1 Xtra after
10 years - Swedish
• Song 18 – Tyga ft Offsett – Taste - American
• Song 19 = Duck Sauce - Barbara Streisand - American
• Song 20 = George Ezra – Shotgun - UK
• Song 21 = Little Mix and Sormzy – Power - UK
• Song 22 = You Me At Six – Back Again - UK
• Song 23 = Purple Disco Machine – Dished (Male
Stripper) - German
• Song 24 = Bruno Mars – That’s What I Like - American

28. Songs Played
• Song 25 = Mumford and Sons – Guiding Light - UK
• Song 26 = DJ Khaled - Wild Thoughts ft. Rihanna,
Bryson Tiller - American
• Song 27 = Florence and the Machine – Patricia - UK
• Song 28 = Jonas Blue ft Jack and Jack – Rise - UK
• Song 29 = Dario G – Sunchyme (1998) - UK
• Song 30 = Ben Howard – Only Love - UK
• Song 31 = Foo Fighters – The Pretender - American
• Song 32 = Marshmello ft Bastille – Happier - American

29. Songs played
• Song 33 = Sam Fender – Dead Boys - UK
• Song 34 = Silk City, Dua Lipa ft. Diplo, Mark Ronson –
Electricity – American/UK co-production
• Song 35 = Mabel – One Shot – UK/Swedish
• Song 36 = Chance The Rapper – Work Out - American
• Song 37 = Loud Luxury ft Brando – Body - Canadian
• Song 38 = Nothing like Thieves – Forever and Ever
More - UK
• Song 39 = Miley Cyrus – Malibu - American
• Song 40 = Ray BLK – Run Run - UK
• Song 41 = Twenty One Pilots – My Blood

30. Linking these songs to Radio 1’s remit
• 51% of the songs are British – this is set against Radio One’s
remit to play 40% British music
• Over 80% of the music came from Radio One’s Playlist from
that week – this playlist has already been updated for this
week and is updated every week
• Some discrepancies in the music came from the ‘10 minute
takeover’ where listeners are picked at random to choose
the songs – this led to Sunchyme to be played (a song from
1998) as well as the Pretender from Foo Fighters – both
these songs suggest that the demographic for the listeners
may not necessarily be 29 and under
• The song Missing U by Robyn was played in honour of
Charlie Sloth leaving Radio One Xtra after 10 years

31. Ray BLK
Winner of BBC Sound 2017
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/122FSRNWPpZclwy6Xt1DySs/1st
-ray-blk
Radio One’s PSB has to expose listeners to new and sometimes challenging
material they may not otherwise experience.
• Ray didn’t come from a musical background, but educated herself by
watching MTV Base, grime station Channel U, and listening to Missy Elliott,
Lil Kim and The Notorious B.I.G.
• Her stage surname BLK stands for Building Living Knowing, which she
describes as her three main values, and she says she wants to connect to
fans through her lyrics.
• “It’s important to stand for something, to have my music stand for
something,” she says, something which is much evident in My Hood, her
collaboration with Stormzy. A frank account of her upbringing in
Lewisham, it balances grim portrayals of daily struggle with a message of
positivity: “On these streets, through concrete, flowers grow”
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/newsbeat-45589523
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2KlSU8VExg

32. Greg James supporting Sam Fender
Tune of the week = Dead Boys
• Radio One’s PSB has to expose listeners to new and sometimes
challenging material they may not otherwise experience.
• Sam Fender has spoken out about mental health, tackling ‘toxic
masculinity’ and the inspiration behind his new single ‘Dead Boys’.
• “It’s a song about male suicide, particularly in my hometown,” “I
lost some friends very close to me because of that. This song came
from that place, and I have been playing it to other people ever
since. It’s raised a conversation and I realised how much of a
present issue it is. Everybody that I spoke to from all different parts
of the country have all got a connection to someone they’ve lost.
• “It really opened my eyes to how much of an issue it is. If it gets to
one person and they feel like they should reach out and talk to
somebody, then it has done a good job
• https://www.nme.com/news/music/sam-fender-dead-boys-lyrics-
meaning-interview-mental-health-male-suicide-2368006

33. Synergy
The use of Radio stings throughout the show
• A sting, sometimes called a sounder, is a short musical phrase, primarily
used in radio broadcasting as a form of punctuation. For example, a sting
might be used to introduce a regular section of a show – ‘Radio 1
Breakfast Show with Greg James’ being the one most heard during this
episode. We also heard stings for the following:
• Scott Mills, The Radio One Teen Awards, Annie Mac
• These stings took place on average six times every hour during the three
and half hour show and all of them related in some way to Radio One
programming.
• This process is called synergy because Radio One are promoting other
programmes on their station as well as the one we are listening to right
now – this form of promotion is called synergy because Radio One is using
one of its own programmes (Radio One Breakfast Show) to advertise its
other shows (Radio One Live Lounge for example) – Obviously this is
because it is not funded by advertising so all the promotion in the show –
apart from publicity for Romesh’s new autobiography is linked to other
BBC programming

34. The Quiz - Synergy
‘Yesterday’s Quiz’
• This form of synergy can also be linked to the
interactive quiz element of the show where for this
week flat mates competed on each day of the show to
see which of them could remember the most about
what happened in the news and on television the
previous day
• Interestingly the majority of the questions put to Kyle
(the contestant) related to the BBC or Radio One
programming – there were references to The
Bodyguard, Charlie Sloth, Dr Who and Radio One’s
Teen Awards for example – indeed Greg James signed
off the segment with the phrase ‘like The Bodyguard
this is also good drama from the BBC’

35. Radio One Teen Awards
Linking to Radio One’s remit
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1040268893569339393
• Radio One has to feature coverage of at least 10 festivals and significant
live events in the UK and abroad each year so as part of that remit it
organizes this event which is only open to 14-17 year olds – again this fits
the demographic of the show and provides this audience with what could
be their first taste of a music festival in one day
• A lot of the acts on the bill are also on the Radio One Playlist and the
inclusion of Little Mix as headliners ensures that tickets for the show will
sell
• Radio One will also obviously cover the show live and the whole event is
hosted by such hosts as Greg James – this provides synergy between the
show and Radio One – in that way the attendees on the show are
reminded that the concert is part of Radio One and not just a festival in its
own right – ‘trail of breadcrumbs’
• Greg James kept mentioning throughout the show that listeners could win
tickets for the event but only if they listened to the show the next day at
7am – obviously this was used to secure a returning audience

36. Greg James
Talking about Yesterday’s events
• Alison James pushed a guy off the weather map
• Theresa May appeared in a comedy skit with
Philip Schofield
• Theresa May’s dancing at the Conservative
Conference
• Radio 1 Xtra DJ Charlie Sloth leaving the station
• Instagram story about Rita Ora and straws
• https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/104774836013
4909954

37. ‘Unpopular Opinion’
• The Bodyguard was overhyped garbage
• Ed Sheeran is overrated and overplayed
• Cold toast is better than hot toast
• Milk in cereal is wrong
• Egg whites are better than egg yolks
• The blind medium: since it only involves the sense of
hearing and not seeing it can be considered to let the
audience use their imagination a great deal more than
the visual mediums.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esukUkYco08

38. ‘The 10 Minute Takeover’
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08gwqz
1/segments
• Listeners are allowed to choose three songs –
this obviously adds to the interactive aspect of
the show and the choices of songs, especially
Dario G’s 1998 song Sunchyme suggests that
the demographic of Radio One Breakfast Show
may not be necessarily under 29

39. Over to You
• How does this episode of Radio One Breakfast
Show meet public service broadcasting
requirements?
• How does this episode of Radio One Breakfast
Show address its target audience?
• Investigate a Commercial Radio Station’s
Breakfast Show and write down any
similarities and differences.