The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

To form a basis of comparison, I listened to two BBC news programs, ôPMö on Radio 4 and ôNewsbeatö on Radio 1. These programs differed greatly in terms of style, content, and technique. Radio 4Æs button on the BBC web site is labeled ôIntelligent speech,ö a label I found very fitting. Radio 1Æs button is labeled ôThe best new music,ö which was also a propos. The difference between them was like the difference between Peter Jennings and Madonna. Although prevalent thought on the concept of multi-channel broadcasting originally held that it ôwould erode audiences andàthreaten the security of its advertising revenue,ö (McNair, 2003) this appears not to be the case; instead, the multiple channels answer a diversity of listening needs by providing content and style that each segment of the disparate listening public prefers.

Radio 4Æs FM ôPMö news program is sophisticated and well-

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then ends the story with just the manÆs name: ôVictor Bates.ö The same story covered on Radio 1Æs ôNewsbeatö sounds entirely different, even though it too includes an interview with the dead womanÆs husband. In this much shorter segment, Bates makes no mention of missing his wife but blames the police for their handling of criminals. This time there is no timing, no calculated commentary, and virtually no impact. It is straight news, delivered as though its only relevant property is the facts behind it. The difference between ôPMö and ôNewsbeatö is characterized by the difference between the listening preferences of the public. Those who like ôPMö want a fully developed news story, almost a vignette. They want to savor the story as it is delivered to them in little bites with impactful moments of silence in between. ôNewsbeatö aficionados just want the news fast. They want to know what happened; they donÆt want a long, drawn-out story on it. The contrast is similar to that between straight local news and national news commentary, each of which has its fans. At the bottom of this disparity is a fundamental difference in what people find entertaining. Although the news is primarily intended to be informative, it is u
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1919
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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