Shortly after this wave of success, Radio 1 launched 'Newsbeat' in 1973 and remains to this day. It is broadcast everyday at both 12.45 and 17.45, aside from this there are also 'miniature' bulletins that are broadcast every half an hour and act as a way of keeping listeners updated within any major headlines. DJ, Edward Stewart became to the first ever newsreader to appear on Newsbeat. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to retrieve the rate card for BBC Radio 1, although I did manage to find their license agreements on-line which offered a great insight into who Radio 1's target audience are. The BBC Trust License mentioned the following:
•‘Radio 1 should reflect the lives of 15 – 29 year olds but also embrace others who share similar tastes. News, documentaries and campaigns should also appeal and bear relevance to young adults’
Much like a newspaper, Radio 1 must follow a particular set of rules and must meet some targets:
•Radio 1 must broadcast at least 310 hours of news, sport and current affairs each year.
Within the licence agreement, it also mentions how complex issues within the news must be broken down and translated in a way that would make the target audience understand such issues with ease. This particular statement reflects its target audience massively as some areas within news may be misunderstood by a younger audience so Radio 1 is in some ways encouraging people of a younger audience to engage with national news.
In addition to this, another appealing factor for a younger audience would be the jingle that is associated with Newsbeat every time a bulletin is due to be broadcast. It allows the audience to become familiar with the bulletin and not only before but also during the bulletin, music is played which creates a slightly more informal approach and in some ways entices the audience to remain tuned in as they will know what music is being played in the future. Newsbeat is very interactive with the audience and on regular occasions encourages the audience to ring/text or email Radio 1 with any comments or opinions they have about a particular topic in the news at the time. This acts as a good way of 'breaking down complex issues' as it allows the audience to place their own opinions which is something that newspapers and other radio stations can ignore. Radio 1 also has its own Facebook page. This makes a clear connection to its target audience as people belonging to an older generation are less likely to own one compared to a young adult, for example.
Newsbeat will always make a direct link to its target audience in terms of news agenda. For example, in the past week one of the main stories up for discussion was the prospect that more and more graduate students are finding it difficult to become employed.
Newsbeat has the tendency to run through the main headlines and any other stories within the news at a reasonably fast pace and will not spend much time discussing them. There are often mentions of celebrities. An example of this in one of last weeks bulletins was Alesha Dixon and her new TV programme to raise awareness for Domestic Violence. This is another obvious link to the young target audience as people of an older age may be less familiar with Alesha Dixon than young adults would be.
The running order for the news is always the same and usually consists of the a list of the main headlines, each will then be returned too later in slightly more detail, a controversial issue within the news will be raised and listeners will be encouraged to contact the radio station expressing their views and comments and then finally any sport coverage will close the fifteen minute bulletin.
I enjoy listening to this radio station and it is one I was familiar even before this task. It is pretty much always on in my kitchen and as I am a direct member of their target audience, this is probably the explanation for why I enjoy listening to it so much.
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