Week 1
Radio Industries 

Radio Industry is divided in four different categories, Public Service Broadcasting, Commercial Radio, Community Radio and Unlicensed.

Public Service Broadcasting (Radio)

Broadcasting which is intended for the public and will profit rather than for purely commercial concerns is intended for the public, is referenced by the term “public service broadcasting” in the UK. The BBC is most notable for being the first public service broadcaster in the UK.

The BBC is most remarkable to be the first public service broadcaster in the UK because the broadcasting in the UK is supported by a licence fee and does not sell advertising time.

In 1981 were set up by the government, the state – owned Channel 4 and S4C to provide different forms of public service broadcasting.  In order to procure for minorities and arts Channel 4 was required to be a public service alternative to the BBC. S4C was to be principally Welsh language programmer.

The BBC owns to us, and its control by Tony Hall, he is the 16^th Director- General of the BBC. Director – General has the responsibility for a significant global workforce and the Corporation’s services across television, radio and online.

Furthermore BBC operates under a Royal Charter and a Licence and Agreement from the Home Secretary; BBC is semi – autonomous public service broadcaster. Its work is funded chiefly by an annual television license fee, this is charged to all British households companies and organisations. British Government agreed with Parliament that British Government sets the level of the fee.

Commercial Radio

What is more the commercial broadcasting opposed to state sponsorship is the broadcasting of television programs and radio programming by privately owned corporate media. Moreover what concerns for profit is initially based on the practice of airing radio advertisements and television advertisements.

Just like other paid services such as cable television, radio and satellite television, commercial broadcasting extends along with them. Those services are broadly partially or quite paid for by local subscribers and are well – known as leased access. 

Community Radio

Community radio brings people together physically within the station premises, but by broadcasting to a distinct audience, whether a geographic community or a community of interest, a linguistic or immigrant community or a group of people that is in some way marginalised the station may provide social capital, social worth and ultimately social gain to that community.  Its own to different individual communities or individual community members.

Questions of finance were in the minds of authorities and professionals inextricably linked to standards of engineering, staffing and programming.  The  broadcasting unions in particular felt access to be a threat assisted as it was by the new lightweight and low – cost technology coming on to the domestic market. Professionals generally could not see the point of, or the demand for programming made by amateurs. A remark by the BBC’s Head of radio Scotland reported in relay magazine was typical. He hoped that the newly formed Radio Academy, a body representing the mainstream radio industry ‘ would be a professional forum, unsullied by the involvement of the audience or community radio lobby’.  The community radio now is funded by grants, advertising, donations and subscription.

 Unlicenced Radio

Over the above there is another type of radio, Unlicenced Radio. The use of radio continues to outstretch quickly, is closely planned to give a high standard of service as possible. Detrimental intervention to lawful users can cause from unauthorised use of radio.

Unlicenced Radio began as opposition to BBC as early as 1930s and then went off shore in the 1960s. Today in the UK there are currently an estimated 150 pirate radio stations. In past days pirates were powered by car batteries but nowadays they moved to tower blocks and the power came from the block room. Pirate radio stations funded from advertising and publicising events at nightclubs also DJs in order to gain public exposure pay to broadcast on pirate radio stations.

References :

·         BBC - Inside the BBC. 2014. Tony Hall, Director-General. [online] Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/aboutthebbc/insidethebbc/managementstructure/biographies/tony_hall/

·         Gordon, J. 2012. Community radio in the twenty-first century. New York: Peter Lang.

·         Stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk. 2014. Ofcom | Guide to the use of radio transmitters and the law. [online] Available at: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/enforcement/spectrum-enforcement/law

·         Wikipedia. 2014. Commercial broadcasting. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_broadcasting

·         Wikipedia. 2014. Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_service_broadcasting_in_the_United_Kingdom

·         Wikipedia. 2014. Pirate radio in the United Kingdom. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_radio_in_the_United_Kingdom