Representation (News Presenters)

In this post I am going to be looking at how presenters on the radio come across to the audience. I will look at how news stories are presented by news presenters in news bulletins, choosing 2 completely different radio stations. I will be looking at the variety of age, gender, language, tone of voice and interaction with other presenters; this will help when I create my own script and the type of presenter(s) I use depending on the type of radio station.

Adam Dowling - News reporter on Magic FM

The first radio station i listened to was Magic. The presenter was a young female who used a joyful tone to introduce Adam to tell the audience about the latest news. Adam is also a young man who also used quite a jolly tone and wasn't extremely serious. There was little interaction between the news reporter and radio presenter however the use of different sexes is something that appeals to me as i want to ensure that my radio station is representative. Furthermore the radio aims to target people who lead busy lives and play upbeat songs to get people in a good mood; this is reflected in the tone of the presenters not speaking to seriously and being quite upbeat and young.

News presenter on BBC Radio 2

The second radio stations which I listened to was BBC Radio 2, the news was presented in a much more serious and sophisticated manner than that of Magic, suggesting that it's target audience was a more maturer group. The lady who presented the news began by specifying the time and date and proceeded with good morning however Adam Dowling cut straight to the chase and said 'the top stories this morning'. the lady who presented the news on BBC Radio 2 also sounded older and spoke with a serious, deeper tone. The music used whilst the presenter was introducing the news on BBC Radio 2 was also much more serious and was similar to that used on the tv show BBC news whereas that in magic was up-lifting.

Having analysed the different presenters for different radios I have realised that representation is very important, as shown above it is evident that BBC Radio 2 is targeted at a older demographic due to the presenters tone and language as well as other factors such as background music. whereas magic is targeted at a slighter younger audience for similar reasons. I will therefore I ensure that when I create my script I will be specific about tones and language used depending on what genre of radio I select.