12/15 OCR A Level Media Studies essay (BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show)
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Course
Evolving Media
Institution
OCR
This is a model essay that I have written for my teacher for paper 2 media studies. Despite the change in course for next year, I know that this still remains the same so in spite of doing a slightly different case study, I hope that this essay helps students develop their own structure when writin...
Explain how social and cultural circumstances might affect audience interpretations of radio.
Use the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show in your answer
BBC Radio 1 (BBCR1BS) has acquired a target audience of 15-29 year olds. Over time, it has
gotten narrow with it stretching to 34 year-olds previously. It shows that they have recognised
that younger people remain consumers of popular culture. Thus, pandering to them helps them
to remain relevant and target the masses. In this specific episode with Greg James, it is centred
around the King’s coronation which includes a viral but hilarious misunderstanding. Moreover,
their selection of songs helps to recognise the culture surrounding their target audience. This
includes No Tears Left To Cry by Ariana Grande, Eat Your Young by Hozier and many more pop
hits. The BBCR1BS show that they are able to recognise their target audience group. On top of
this, another story they featured is an interview with the star of Queen Charlotte. In the context
of the episode, it was the number one show on Netflix at the time, highlighting that cultural
circumstances place a large influence on the content of radio. Furthermore, they are able to
understand their audience in a contemporary context. Instead of just being influenced by viral
trends and music, the BBCR1BS comprehends their audience’s day-to-day lives. This includes
the mention of chat GPT. As much of their audience would be students, it shows that the
BBCR1BS is able to use their social and cultural circumstances to make their audience feel
seen and represented. However, perhaps Greg James being slightly older than his target
audience and playing games like Eurorizzion can be seen as a desperate attempt to pander to
the masses. And, this limits their legitimacy as a public service broadcaster as they entertain but
not quite inform and educate. Radio has lost its popularity to the social media counterparts, and
perhaps the cluster of pop culture references may make audiences interpret this as an attempt
to regain views. Therefore, audiences may dislike the ways in which the BBCR1BS has used
cultural and social circumstances as it comes off as ingenuine.
But, to combat the declining viewership of radio, the BBCR1BS also has a significant online
presence. For example, their YouTube channel, most famous for its live lounge, has a total of
3.7B views and 8.25M subscribers. Furthermore, they also have an Instagram page with 1.7M
followers where they post episode clips. While some audiences may see this as an attempt to
grab viewers, RAJAR has reported on James’ success since he took over from Nick Grimshaw,
raising viewers by over 300,000 in his first quarter. However, their social media presence acts in
juxtaposition to their PSB remit as they claim to support emerging artists. This is because their
about us page on YouTube claims to show the “biggest pop hits”, showing that they rely on pop
culture to produce content. In the context of the episode, there is a 10 minute takeover, allowing
audiences to call in for their favourite songs. While audiences may enjoy this, as it makes them
feel heard, the lesser known, emerging artists still do not get recognition. However, with news of
things like the Texas shooting, it does seem to counteract this.
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