Radio: Launch of Radio 1 CSP case study

1) What radio stations were offered by the BBC before 1967?

-  Light Programme (light music and entertainment and now Radio 2), the Home Service (News and current events, now Radio 4) and the Third Programme (Classical music, now Radio 3).

2) How was BBC radio reorganised in September 1967? What were the new stations that launched?
- BBC Radio Home (1939-1967) broadcasting education programmes and news. Mainly speech-based. Replaced by Radio 4.

BBC Radio Light (1945-1967) broadcasting mainly light entertainment (comedy / drama) and music. Replaced by Radio 2.

BBC Third (1946-1970) broadcasting intellectual arts-based talk and music. Replaced by Radio 3.

3) What was pirate radio and why was it popular?
- There were changing attitudes to music and youth culture in the early 1960s.  ‘Pop’ music was becoming more popular and attitudes in young people were becoming more relaxed.  There was clearly a need for a radio outlet for this music with a less formal presentation style; but there was nothing on the BBC. This led to the growth of ‘pirate’ radio stations who could produce these shows for young people, but were beyond the control of regulators.

4) Why did pirate radio stop broadcasting in 1967?

-  In 1967 the Marine Broadcasting Offences Act officially outlawed pirate radio stations. The Government had closed the legal loophole that allowed these stations to broadcast and these had a British audience of 10 to 15 million. This meant the audience had to go to Radio 1 if they wanted to listen to popular music.

5) How did the BBC attract young audiences to Radio 1 after pirate radio stations were closed down?
- Many of the pirate station broadcasters then were then employed by BBC Radio 1, thus bringing many of the their loyal listeners with them

6) What was 'needle time' and why was it a problem for BBC Radio?
 - There were concerns that too much music on the radio would mean that people would no longer buy records,

7) How did BBC Radio 1 offer different content to previous BBC radio stations?

8) Who was the first presenter for BBC Radio 1 and why did these new Radio 1 DJs cause upset initially at the traditional BBC?
- Tony Blackburn was the first presenter, this caused the Radio 1 Djs to be quite upset because Tony previously worked for the pirate broadcasting radio and when he joined the BBC radio 1 this made a lot of people upset.

9) Listen to excerpts from the Tony Blackburn's first 1967 broadcast - how might it have appealed to young listeners?

10) What conventions did Tony Blackburn's radio show borrow from pirate radio - which made it very different to previous BBC radio content?

Audience and industry

1) What was the target audience for BBC Radio 1 in 1967?
- The BBC radio had an older Target audience as they struggled to attract the younger target audience

2) Why did Radio 1 initially struggle to attract young listeners?

• It was not seen as ‘cool’ by many young people as the BBC stood for traditional, conservative values.
• It struggled financially as there was no increase in the licence fee to pay for this extra radio station.
• Whilst Radio 1 tried to copy the pirate radio’s style, it didn’t quite do it effectively initially as it broadcast simultaneously with Radio 2 – so it had to have a more formal style than the pirate broadcasters.  Some young people didn’t respond positively to this.

3) What audience pleasures did Radio 1 offer listeners in 1967? (Use Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory).

4) How is the BBC funded?
- The BBC is funded through the compulsory licence fee (£159 now; it was around £4 a year in the 1960s). 

5) Applying Stuart Hall's Reception theory, what would the preferred and oppositional reading have been of BBC Radio 1 in 1967? 

Oppositional reading- the music played was not fit for everyone