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BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 1 Xtra

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What we will be focusing on:- How, when and why BBC radio 2 started?- Who is there target audience?- What sort of content is played?- Controversies with in BBC Radio 2

BBC Radio 2

+ BBC Radio 2 from the beginning.

• BBC Radio 2 was originally The Light Program and broadcasted mainstream light entertainment and music from 1945 until 1967 when it was rebranded as BBC Radio 2.

• The station launched at 5:30AM on the 30th September 1967 with the first voice to be heard was thirty year old Paul Hollingdale on his early morning breakfast show.

• They had benefits that other radio stations didn’t have; free national UK coverage and higher audio quality of VHF for the most part of the day.

• BBC Radio 2 stayed much where the Light Program featuring people like; Max Jaffa, Sandy Macpherson and many others.

+Shows and

programs on BBC radio 2

• Over 7 hours of BBC radio 1 shows were played on BBC radio 2 during the weekends. Some of these shows included; Family choice, The Jimmy Young Show, Late Night extra, and many more.

• Many of the weekday shows were tailed to housewives with shows such as: Breakfast Special, Family Choice, Woman’s Hour, and many others throughout the day.

+ What could you expect to hear on BBC radio 2 today?

Over the course of these past few weeks I have listed to radio 2 at a range of different times in the day and night to see what sort of programs, songs and news you could hear in 2015 on BBC Radio 2. This is what I have learnt:• In the morning you can expect to hear the breakfast

show hosted by Chris Evans, in this there were a range of music genres from various years are played along with the latest news and the occasional traffic and weather updates, over all the mood is quite relaxed and the program is rather chatty.

• The afternoons provide a slightly different type of atmosphere, Steve Wright, I have found plays the same type of music however the program also provides gest hosts which I feel can sometimes give the show a bit of a ‘talk-show’ feel to it.

• During the evenings the station seems to soften down with more music than anything else. The host, Jo Whiley, for around 2 hours plays some of her favorite songs.

The overall atmosphere is relaxed and I feel would appeal to people of their 30’s to late 40’s and upwards as even though there is a variety of music play the majority is targeted to this age range.

+ Some of the controversies inside BBC Radio 2…

• 1999- Johnnie Walker was suspended from his daytime show over allegations of drug and alcohol abuse were made against him in the Sunday tabloid, News of the World. Later that year he was reinstated after ha was fined £2,000 for possession of cocaine.

• 2008- Russell Brand and Jonathon Ross were found to have left four prank messages on actor Andrew Sachs’ answering phone (during an episode of the Russell Brand Show) which included rude and offensive remarks about his granddaughter and the use of ‘foul language’. Both the presenters were suspended for 12 weeks from all BBC programs, shortly after Russell Brand announced his resignation and Jonathon Ross was suspended for a further 12 week without pay.

These are only two of many examples of controversies with in BBC Radio 2, personally I don’t feel that enough has been done to punish the offending presenters or prevent these types of ‘scandals’ from happening… What is you opinion of this and do you think the radio could have done more in these cases?

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BBC Radio 1 Xtra

What we will be focusing on:• How, when and why BBC Radio 1 Xtra started• What sort of content could you expect to hear on this radio station.• Who their target audience are.

+BBC Radio 1 Xtra from the beginning.

• BBC Radio 1 Xtra is a relatively new station so does not have as much history as BBC Radio 2.

• It was first aired on the 16th of august 2002 as the DAB sister station of BBC Radio 1.

• The BBC recognized that BBC Radio 1 audiences were aged between 25 and 35 and that there was a gap in the audience figures so BBC Radio 1 Xtra which was to help the BBC target younger audiences between 15 and 25.

+The type of news you would hear on BBC 1 Xtra.

BBC radio 1 Xtra is required to carry a significant amount of news, information and speech content, their news is mainly operated of Radio 1’s Newsbeat operations, however only news stories that the BBC feel the younger audience would be interested in is played.

+What sort of music is played on BBC Radio 1 Xrta.?

• The typical genres of music that are played on this station are, grime, baseline, garage, dubstep and drum and bass.

• The artists and musicians are largely British and North American which gives the station a certain style and feel that would appeal to a mainly teenage audience.

• Unlike BBC Radio 2 where you might find that the shows change and differ depending on the time of day, BBC Radio 1 Xtra sticks to the same style of show, music, news and subjects.