Analysis of Three Radio Stations

Viking FM

Viking FM was first aired on April 17 1984. It is based in Kingston upon Hull and broadcasts
music and information to the East Riding of Yorkshire. Their website states that they play “all the
biggest hits, all day” which means that they play mainly pop music, with other styles if they
happen to be popular, or have been popular in the past.

As with most radio stations, Viking has a morning show, which runs from 6-10am. Their morning
show is called “Alex and Ellie in the Morning” as it is presented by two people called Alex and
Ellie. The two are marketed as a comedic pairing, and the station generally takes a light hearted
approach to its own content.
Their other regular shows include the weekday 3-7pm show with Darren Spence, and the 10am-
1pm show with So Wright that runs from Monday to Thursday. Other than these, there are a few
other segments, however these do not run nearly as regularly.
On weekdays Viking start broadcasting at 6am and end at 10pm, on weekends they start at
7pm and end at 1am.
In general, Viking FM mainly reports on local news, however it also reports on some national
news, mainly entertainment based. The entertainment based national news is usually chosen
because it captures the interest of the locally based audience. Some stories may include recaps
of soap operas like Coronation Street, which are very popular with a majority of their listeners.

As previously mentioned, Viking FM doesn’t take it’s content particularly seriously, at least it
pretends to be carefree in order to create a more casual, comedic style. This is typical of local
radio stations, as they are often made with the purpose of entertaining people making their way
to and from work, which can often be dreary and stressful. The style of the station therefore has
to be quite easy going so that it does not annoy the listeners by being too serious.

Viking’s target audience consists of the rush hour commute. Mainly people who enjoy the pop
music “of the last 15 years.” Clearly they aim to entertain people, rather than foster an
appreciation of music. Casual music fans can encompass any part of socio economic groupings
or geodemographics. However, Viking is clearly aimed at Mainstreamers due to it’s rather
mainstream content.

Being a local station, Viking FM does not have a massive budget, and therefore can’t afford a
“live lounge” or anything overly extravagant. It is owned by the Bauer Media Group, who own
bigger stations such as Kiss, or Magic, meaning that Viking is not particularly high on the priority
list in terms of budget.
The production of Viking FM is very standard, with a simple studio, a presenter who
talks, and several assistants who help the presenter with different tasks. Ranging from
making them coffee to delivering news stories. There is no script, other than for the pre-
planned news segments. Instead there is a running order the presenters have, and they
improvise around it. Other than that, the presenter is expected to turn up early to get an
understanding of the show, while technicians already have the show segments prepared
for them. Some of the news, such as traffic reports, are phoned in over the course of the
show. As the name suggests, Viking is broadcast on an FM frequency in Yorkshire and
Lincolnshire. This means you can listen to it on any Radio. There is also the website,
where the station is broadcast live via internet.

Jazz FM

Jazz FM is a specialist radio station broadcast in the UK, which focuses mainly on Jazz music,
however it also plays Soul and Blues music. It was first aired on March 4th 1990 as 102.2 Jazz
FM, however its current iteration launched on October 6th 2008.

Jazz FM has a breakfast show which, on weekdays, runs from 6:30am-10:00am with Nigel
Williams hosting. There are many other shows, including Helen Mayhew’s TrueBrit, which plays
contemporary British Jazz. Jazz FM essentially has a show for most types of Jazz, at essentially
every point in the day, with some shows stretching to 3am.
Because it is a specialist station, Jazz FM does not report on any news, unless it is directly
associated with its subject. An example of news that could be featured would be the death of a
famous artist, such as BB King, or a new album being released.

Jazz FM markets itself in a much more classy way than most other stations, this is due to the
prestige associated with Jazz music. The station has much older presenters who would not be
associated with the term “DJ”. This is because fans of jazz music tend to be older and value a
simpler style. The more minimalist style could also be associated with modern jazz often being
minimalist or experimental. In addition, most of the shows on Jazz FM are branded as playing
“The World’s Greatest Jazz” showing that Jazz FM takes itself much more seriously than a
station like Viking, as it markets a very niche style of music to a cult audience.

Jazz FM, like most radio, relies on rush hour commuters for its peak listening. Jazz music is
often calming, or uplifting, and most of it is easy listening, making it perfect for listening in the
car. Jazz FM’s breakfast show plays mainly upbeat jazz, rather than experimental or avant
garde music, because it is intended to be listened to fairly casually. Jazz fans tend to be older,
due to a more mature musical style, and therefore Jazz FM’s target audience would most likely
be people over 40. Due to Jazz being a very old style, it is also aimed at the Resigned, who
would be more interested in antiquity, and older styles of music. Resigned also tend to be older
people.

Jazz FM is independently owned by Richard Wheatley and Jazz FM Investments LTD, who
bought the station for £1 in 2009. The station at that point was running at huge losses of £733,
000. However, investors spent £500, 000 on advertising, which led to listening figures of 408,
000 in the first quarter of 2009. The station receives funding from financial investors, and also
gains money from advertisements, allowing it to run many shows and have many presenters.

Jazz FM’s inconsistent financial history likely leads to a cheaper production process.
While nowadays the station is fairly hi fi, which is important for the style of music, the
huge losses of the late 2000’s would have led to less presenters, less technicians, and
inferior equipment. The process of production is likely similar to Viking FM, but with the
longer songs associated with Jazz, the producers and presenters have more time to
prepare stories or talk topics. Jazz FM is broadcast on an FM frequency throughout the
United Kingdom. There is also an online live broadcast, with the ability to catch up on old
shows, so presumably some are recorded and archived.

BBC Radio 4

Radio 4 is a radio station that focuses on news and talk content, it first aired on September 30th
1967, replacing the BBC Home Service. Radio 4 does not often play music, and relies on radio
drama and book reading.

Radio 4 has many segments, from interviews, to news and book reading. Radio 4 does not
often play music, as it is intended to be quite informative, and is more similar to a podcast than
a traditional radio broadcast.
Some segments on the show tackle philosophical questions or discussions, such as
relationships, or science.
Instead of music, Radio 4 broadcasts radio dramas, which are similar to soap operas but audio
based. The format was popular in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s but is almost unheard of in the
modern world, Radio 4 being the only major broadcast specialising in these dramas. In addition,
Radio 4 also contains book readings, which is completely antiquated due to the vast availability
of audiobooks in the modern world. Radio 4 would be completely unsustainable if it weren’t ran
by the BBC, due to the many alternatives that exist, such as online podcasts and audiobooks.
The audience is therefore an extreme niche.

Radio 4 is aimed at older people, who were most likely born in the 1950’s or 60’s. Radio 4 still
sometimes reruns or remakes older broadcasts, most notably “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The
Galaxy” which is the most famous drama/comedy broadcast on radio. The rerun of Hitchhiker’s
Guide shows that Radio 4 is still pandering to its core audience from the 1970’s and 80’s,
probably due to lack of interest from younger generations. Radio 4 is very serious about it’s
broadcasts, as it often discusses very serious or important topics, which demand subtlety and
respect. The station mainly aims at Explorers or Resigned, who would enjoy an older style of
broadcasting, due to nostalgia or an affinity for retro products.

Radio 4 is funded by the BBC’s TV license, which is paid for by the British public. Because of
this there are no adverts on the broadcast. Radio 4 is of course not the flagship station of the
BBC, which can be easily inferred from the “4” in its title. Therefore Radio 4 likely works on a
smaller budget. However, because it creates its own dramas, and uses books (which are often
many hours long and can be spread over many broadcasts) the licensing fees are much lower
than those of traditional musical stations.
Radio 4’s content requires much more preparation. The radio dramas require rehearsal
and are likely pre-recorded to avoid mistakes. The book readings and radio dramas
require vocal warm ups, to make sure the readers/actors sound their best, and their voice
does not break while reading the script or book. Of course with the backing of the BBC,
Radio 4 still has very high production value, despite being the black sheep of the BBC
Radio family. Radio 4 is broadcast predominantly on an FM frequency, the shows are
recorded, and the website contains archives of segments which can be listened and
listened to. As with the others, it is also broadcast online via internet.