BBC RADIO MERSEYSIDE
Radio Merseyside is one of many BBC local radio stations. Since its first airing on 22 November 1967, it has become a pillar in the local community, especially amongst older people. Since 2006 this highly popular station has broadcast from Hanover Street, Liverpool and regularly reaches an audience of around 339,000. The show is broadcast via the Allerton Park transmitter on 95.8 MHz. However in more recent times has started broadcasting via DAB and the BBC's relatively new Iplayer radio app. In all this has transformed not just this station but all BBC stations into pull media and created a fragmented audience.
Over the years, Radio Merseyside has become popular due to its friendly, interactive and helpful relationship with its audience. Programs such as Roger Phillips phone-in, Hold Your Plums (a satire quiz show) with Billy Bulter and of course, full match commentary for the local football clubs have allowed the audience to create a bond with the presenters. I think it's very important to make note of this friendly warm attitude as its one of the important factors that make a local radio program successful. Radio Merseyside adopts a very calming simple approach to broadcasting which is due to its target audience (mainly retired or semi-retired pensioners)
THEIR SHOW...
The most important information is how can their way of presenting the news help and inspire my final piece? Below is an audio clip of one of their news bulletins and my breakdown of what I believe are the most important things to take from it.
0:00
The bulletin starts off with a jingle, it is designed specifically for the show currently running (the phone in) but then transitions into the news bulletin. It is a very calm jingle and quite a soothing piece of music. Again this is to ensure it fits and attracts the target audience.
0:15
The presenter starts immediately by telling the time, this is an hourly update so this piece of information is key. Roger (the presenter) then hands off to the news presenter
0:28
The main news presenter is introduced by the statement 'here's Julia Bold' and she begins with the greeting of 'good afternoon'. This again focuses on the friendly aspect of the station despite the seriousness and professionalism of the presenter.
0:31
The first story is to do with Liverpool city center so it is fairly obvious this is a local radio station. This important story dominates the first section of the bulletin and represents the importance of the news stories being very local and not national or international.
0:45
The specialist reporter is then introduced "our reporter Phil Cooper is at the scene for us" I think that the following language in the next couple of minutes is ver important. The words 'we' and 'us' are used quite often showing that the station is providing for the community. Furthermore, when Julia says "We will, of course, bring you and further updates" this shows the dedication of the station and the 'of course' makes it sound as if the station is fulfilling a duty. However small and intricate theses details are, I believe they are important if I'm going to create a good quality final product and meet the brief.
3:22
In the next news story, there is a statement from a university professor bringing an educational are to the program and ensuring that it is informative.
4:54
A sports story is next included, 'Jürgen Klopp' shows they are completely focused on the local football team and are broadcasting for that teams fans. I think its important to recognize that specific sections such as this are short and do not dominate the bulletin and so neither should they dominate mine.
5:20
Next is a recap of the first news story simply due to its severity. However, I'm most likely not going to include a story such as a terror attack in my news report considering it is completely fictional.
5:36
Finally is a very brief overview of the upcoming weather. The presenter does not go into detail and just gives an outline of the afternoon, evening, next day and the day after.
5:53
The bulletin ends after around 5 or 6 minutes with the presenter signing off and a jingle playing at the end.
Overall from this bulletin, i found that it was serious, straightforward and clean. There was no background music playing and no sound fx when the bulletin had begun. As mentioned previously, the jingle is more like a proper piece of music rather than a series of sound effects. Once again this has likely been done to ensure it does not alienate its audience. The bulletin does not include a travel report suggesting it isn't aimed at car listener. I aim to have a travel report in my bulletin so i will have to research is further within some bulletins on other stations. 5 stories where reported on in the bulletin which can be categorised as 'Unfolding, Health, Crime, Economic and Sport'. I will be interested to see if the news teams on other stations reported on the same stories considering the bulletins are from the same day and all located in the North West of England.
BRANDING
Radio Merseyside's branding is unique in that it belongs to the standard BBC local radio collection. As seen on the right the stations belong to a house style. This consistency isn't going to be as much of a problem since I'm only creating one station. However its important that the blog, the station logo and any other little details I add are consistent and hold up continuity wise. I believe this is an especially important factor since I am creating a fictional radio station and bulletin.
As for the local radio logo's design, it is very simple. A single line of black capital text is used for the station name and next to that is the names of the towns in the local area. Also, the iconic BBC logo is positioned just above the station name. The simplicity of the logo represents its target audience. These stations are not intended for younger people and so the design features such as bright colour and extravagant fonts are not required. Also, the BBC can get away with such a simplistic logo as they are an established brand. I think its important to note that my station won't have that kind of national or international recognition and, therefore, the branding should have a little more character.
