Evaluation of Main Project

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My main audio project develops follows and number of the standard forms and conventions of a radio news broadcast. I have used the standard structure of an opening jingle followed by the headlines, which are then reported in more detail, this gives listeners an idea, and basic roundup of the stories that will be discussed. After the main news, I then have the sports section, which gives all the latest sports news, similar to that of a standard news broadcast. The broadcast the closes with a short weather summary and a faded out closing jingle. In this case, the structure of my radio show is similar to that of any other radio show, however, I did choose to make a few changes, mainly in the jingle, which I decided to make more up-tempo and electronic in an attempt to intrigue listeners, I felt this was particularly important for a local news station in order to attract listeners, and make them listen to the rest of the broadcast. I also made my jingle relatively short so that the news could be straight the point. I then spoke as the presenter in a clear and serious tone, in the manner that a news broadcast should be delivered. I decided that I shouldn’t try and change the standard codes and conventions of the radio news broadcast too much, as the standard structure is a tried and tested routine, and people who want to find out about the news wouldn’t be too interested in a news broadcast that challenged stereotypical news programming. A standard news broadcast is meant to deliver the news rather than focus on being different, and so in terms of challenging the forms and conventions of real media products, my audio project doesn’t do anything drastically different to other media products. The news needed to have a serious tone and it is a serious matter, and so attempting to challenge conventions may have had an adverse affect as it may have directed attention away from the main topic of the news.

2) How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My research showed that my broadcast should be aimed at the 30 plus target audience as these are the people that listen to the news on a far more regular basis. Other than that, the news should appeal to both genders and people of any social background, as it is an informative service. In order to try and appeal to this age range, it was important that my news bulletin was serious, and covered a variety of topics and important current issues. The stories that were covered needed to relevant to the local society, and therefore all my stories were locally based. I also did this as there are a number of different radio programs that offer UK based or world news, but there are very few that present local news in the island of Jersey. There was a need to cover the main stories, as well as sport throughout the island, as a number of people suggested that they were most interested in the sporting events. This meant that I had a relatively long sport section, in order to match the wants of the public. My media product therefore represents the 30 plus age group quite well.

3) What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

A local radio station would be most likely to distribute my media product, for example, my news broadcast could take place within the Channel 103 station, which is the local radio station in the island. My broadcast could fit in to the constraints of the broadcasting station, whilst also allowing for longer, more in-depth news analysis, as this broadcast is only five minutes long. It is possible, however, that a national radio station could distribute my news program, in a ‘news in your area’ section, which I know have been featured within BBC programming. My radio show could fit into any radio program for a news feature, as a roundup of the news, the fills a break within the standard radio show. For example, my radio show could be broadcast within the middle of the morning show as a break from the music and banter that is normally present, and this would also give listeners and idea as to the goings on within the island. Essentially, any radio station could pick up my radio broadcast and broadcast it as a news program for the island, but most likely it would come from a local based radio organisation, as the listeners on this show would be most interested in island life.

4) Who would be the audience for your media product?

The target audience for my media product would be the within the 30 plus age range, as these are the people who regularly listen to the news to keep up to date with the local stories. This broadcast would most likely be played throughout the day, and therefore may target workers within offices, who may be more likely to be listening to the radio whilst at work. My radio program doesn’t target a specific gender, as the news is designed to be informative and factual in providing the latest stories in a specific area, and therefore would not target any one gender. My radio broadcast may be slightly aimed more towards the ABC1 category of people, however, as a news bulletin shouldn’t be aimed at any one class of people, I also feel that a number of people within the C2DE category could also listen to my radio program. The research I gathered suggested that it was the 30 plus age bracket that I should target with my media product, and not any specific gender or class, and this is therefore what I have tried to create in not looked to target a specific group, as the news generally has a fairly wide appeal and a mass audience.

5) How did you attract/address your audience?

Attracting the audience for the broadcast was something that had to be carefully considered and I looked at doing this in a number of different ways. I attempted to attract my audience by maintaining a serious tone throughout. I knew that it would be very important to have interesting stories combined with a serious nature in order to attract my target audience for the broadcast. In order to address my audience I knew that the news program would need to be informative, and this is something that I did by featuring a number of local stories that would interest the local population. Whilst maintaining a serious tone, I also felt that having a reasonably laid-back style would help in attracting the audience as this would create a calming effect. It was also incredibly important that the dialogue could be easily understood otherwise the effectiveness of the news show would be non-existent, so I spoke in a clear manner, and used radio equipment in order to maintain clarity of speech. I also felt that including Sound FX and musical interludes between stories would help to attract the audience as this would also give the show a more relaxed feel, and therefore easier to listen to, rather than someone just dictating the news.

6) What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

I feel that I have learnt a lot from the completion of this audio task. I have never been that confident at using apple Mac computers and the programs that are featured on it, however, this is something I feel I have improved through the completion of the task. I have learnt to use GarageBand more efficiently, and the editing techniques required to make a smooth broadcast. I have also learnt the importance of using the technology available to create a good radio show. Another key skill I have learnt from this task is the ability to use the radio equipment we have available to us. This was great use in the completion of this task, as it aided me greatly in being able to complete the task. This equipment was incredibly easy to use as it turned out. Overall, I feel I have increased my skills greatly through the completion of this task, and this I would look to improve my skills throughout the course of future tasks.

7) Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

I feel that my main project is far superior to the one I made in the preliminary task, particularly as my main task was a far greater project. In my preliminary task I only needed to create a short jingle and a 30 second or so clip of someone talking, whilst the project needed to be a full five minutes in duration. I feel that the overall standard is far better, and that the quality of the editing and sound is greater in the main task. I still feel that there are a few flaws with my main task, however, when compared with my preliminary task, this one is far superior. My understanding of the programs used was better for the main project, and this therefore meant that the overall standard of my project improved. When creating the preliminary task, I was learning to use the programs and equipment for the first time, whilst in this instance, I had become more familiar with the equipment I was using. I also understood the concepts of a radio show far better in this task, and in understanding the concepts better, this gave me more option to change around with them a bit in an attempt to make a better and more well-rounded broadcast.

Audience Feedback

The majority of people asked said that my radio show was fairly good, and had a proffesional sound to the broadcast, mainly due to the clearness of the speech from within the recording studio. The main issues that people had was with the jingle, suggesting that the jingle may not have been either long enough, and sound enough like an opening to a news broadcast. However, the general comments recieved for the broadcast were positive, and said that the piece fitted together well, and that the final product wasn't dissimilar to something that would be heard on a regular radio braodcast. I had originally used different sound FX to seperate each of the main headlines, so when I originally asked for audience feedback, this was one of the main issues people had with the project, saying that the sound FX i had used were to upbeat and didn't fit in with the nature of the broadcast. I changed this in order to try and make the sound FX fit more seemlessly into the piece, and on the subsequent feedback, most people said that it was a great improvement from the original, and that these new sound FX were far more effective in the radio news show environment in which it was placed.