LO1: Task 4 Analysing a Radio Programme

LO1: Task 4 - Analysing a Radio Programme (LBC)

James O'Brien (10-1)

Purpose and Schedule

Presenter James O'Brien airs on LBC, also through simulcast, between 10am-1pm for the purpose of information and entertainment as James O'Brien discusses current political debates in which audiences are able to call into the station to engage with the presenter or debate against them. Examples of topics covered within the programme; debates with callers and discussions, posted to social media channels like YouTube afterwards to achieve simulcast, include: 'Trump isn't a good person but he's the best man for the job', 'What are Palestinians in Gaza 'returning' to?' and 'What has Brexit done to you?'. These are each hard news topics which elicit a mature 18+ audience, informing listeners of current news affairs and entertaining them through listening into phone call debates of overt political leanings.

Income

Every 15 minutes during the programme, an interlude of adverts occur for a few minutes with ads intended for a mature audience such as AA car insurance, car adverts (e.g. a new Hyundai Hybrid car) or shopping discounts (Morrisons and Dreams) which convey a parental/guardian audience through content which is relevant to an older demographic (buying a car, insurance and saving money on weekly shopping). 

Content & Production

News stories featured in the programme are intended for a mature audience through hard news topics which inform an audience; likewise the entertainment aspect of the James O'Brien programme is present within phone-ins where there's a catharsis in James' discussions with callers such as a conversation about dialect and accents with a caller from Liverpool and how their accent has changed as they've moved across the world to the U.S. Dialogue within the programme is of high rhetoric with complex issues and the understanding of multiple audience viewpoints, especially politically; representations of callers differ in age from early 20's up to late 70's, to engage with it. The jingle to introduce the programme creates connotations of pertinence and gravity akin to something like introductions to BBC news, whilst also introducing the hour with James O'Brien. This would create connotations of important or relevant information.

Staff & Resources

James O'Brien is evidently the primary personality of the James O'Brien 10-1 Programme whose educated personality when engaging with callers over political debate and the resulting catharsis as he deconstructs or challenges their arguments is created to be entertaining, thus resulting in their uploads to YouTube afterwards. Eleanor Walsh is the senior producer however to the James O'Brien show. The equipment used include DT-250 headphones, microphones which are Beyerdynamic MC840's as well as dials to control phone-ins and presenter volumes.

BBC Radio 4 Radio Drama: The Talented Mr. Shakespeare

Purpose and Schedule

The Talented Mr. Shakespeare, written and directed by Wilf Scolding, is a comedy radio drama which tells the tale of Shakespeare as his arch-rival plots his death for plagiarising his work. This comedic representation of such an out-there concept conveys the genre through examples like Shakespeare hiding from a woman as his voice dithers in the background; creating a comedic challenge of gender stereotypes. The drama aired (last) at 14:15 on the 7th May 2025: a midday time where younger audiences would likely be in school and are therefore, unlikely to hear some of the mild inappropriate content like swearing, threat of violence or innuendos. The historical, comedic genre is then signified in the verisimilitude of bedding music (and ambience of chatter in locations like a pub) which reflects the 1500's time period the drama is set.

Income

As with other BBC content, funding for Radio 4's radio dramas comes from the TV license however, the quality of the content is high with professional voice acting featuring a diverse range of vocal performance which all fit charmingly and comedically into the drama's genre: Shakespeare's over the top smug voice is exemplary of this. The intrinsic attraction to radio dramas, particularly one reliant on historical context, is emblematic of Radio 4's ABC1 target audience. Some representations that challenge gender stereotypes like a female character (Lady Audrey) using a pistol, could also reflect the 51% female demographic; this furthered by the self-absorbed, arrogant but flamboyant personality of Shakespeare and his cowardice also convey this direction of entertainment toward the audience.

Content & Production

The story structure of The Talented Mr. Shakespeare follows a non-linear narrative structure. The connotations of this convey the target audience of the program with content that has multiple aspects to a given story with a primary storyline with cross-cuts to multiple characters in different locations. The interchange of dialogue is comically colloquial, with some Shakespearian jargon akin to his play's dialogue structures (e.g. 'thee' 'thy') to create a juxtaposing flair of eloquent line deliveries with vulgar connotations 'I will not take slander from a spongey spur-galled skene's mate'. In relation to the target audience, the interchange of dialogue between characters toys with lexical composition to create comedy in examples of phonetic repetition (e.g. the alliteration of fricative language to convey immensely, creative, distaste toward someone). The broadcast also utilizes diegetic sound effects to further immersion and convey the time period and comedy genre. Examples include water splashing and gargled mumbling as Shakespeare's head is dunked underwater to sober him, lute bedding music and chatter in pub-locations, gun cocks or ambient/transitional/context sounds like footsteps and doors opening to further audience immersion. 

Staff & Resources

Writer/Director: Wilf Scolding

Producer: David Morley

Shakespeare: Tom Mothersdale

Marlowe: Arthur Hewes

Will Kemp: Harry Kershaw

As a radio drama, the presenters are instead exemplified as voice actors who lead the drama's narrative. With an audience profile of adults (aged around 56) the cast reflects this with actors of the same general age demographic and background as wealthy historical figures pertaining to Shakespeare (e.g. Christopher Marlowe, an English playwright). An audience of adults who are likely listening (either through time-shifting via Blackbox device on the BBC Sounds app or) live, during the 2pm time window, could relate to this demographic of voice actors because of this (somewhat) mature, intellectually (and lexically) creative, age representation.

Necessary hardware for the production of a drama like this would include (generally): Microphones, each for different actors, headphones, amps (solid state, tube and cabinet units) and computers with audio editing software like Adobe Audition. The BBC has solicited companies for their hardware and infrastructure contracts which they gain their equipment from such as 'VSC Design Limited' and 'QVest Media'.