R2- Arts award: Wk 1 Intro to radio

Arts award (silver)

I seized and amazing opportunity to work alongside producers, presenters and managers of a local radio station- Reprezent 107.3 FM. Reprezent is a local radio station aimed at the youth of East London, allowing them easy access to a wide range of music whilst on their way to school, in the car or even at home with family.

The project I am involved in is an arts award credited course, which runs every Wednesday/Thursday in the 3 Mills studio for young people willing to discover more of the radio industry. This is a rare occasion as not many radio studios provide such service. Over the few months, I will be working in a group producing, editing, and hosting parts of the radio show. Also independently in research. 

On Monday- which was the introductory lesson I had the opportunity to explore the different equipment used in a radio studio and find out what they do and how they function- which was pretty cool. Also how to change volumes, change music songs (and even cough on air) without the audience knowing the changes taking place. Technology eh? 

After meeting and greeting my group I partnered up with a lovely girl who I learned a lot about and had to do my own 60 second introduction about the girl I just met in the studio using the fancy microphones which was broadcasting on the show.

Unfortunately, I let the excitement and thrill get the best of me and forgot to take pictures whilst in the studio with an awesome bunch of people. I am looking forward to this experience and creating a network with a cool radio station ‘representing’ a part of my identity.

The adventure must go on! 

 

Logo of the radio studio I visited on the 22nd September

This will help me develop my skills in radio and how the technology in radio works, moreover I will learn various interview skills which will be useful for my work as a group as well as individually.

R1- Exploring different radio stations

I found that there are many interesting radio stations, which I've never known or heard of before. Due to the multicultural society in the UK there is a wide range of radio stations airing things about religion, ethnicities and different genres of music, most importantly the radio stations appeal to all ages allowing everyone to access and learn about these cultures. Each radio station has its own target audience because of this there are various ways of promoting.   

Radio & I

Radio and I...

I am not a frequent listener of the radio because I use other forms of media, such as Facebook, Tumblr and mainly the T.V. I also read local and national newspapers regarding international affairs. The possible reason to not listening to the radio may be due to the easy access of the latest gossip and current affairs on social media. Moreover, my mobile phone has made easy to view apps that are able to educate me of current news- for example the BBC sport app. In addition, due to personal struggles of trying to find my own identity in the 21st century means that because my friends are not huge fans of radio I'm likely to not listen to it either. Listening to radio broadcast is not very common in a young teen’s life due to the glamorisation of technology.

On very rare occasions I find myself listening to certain radio stations. I listen to the radio when influential people on social media are talking live for example a humanitarian activist- Majid Freeman had an hour to talk about the humanitarian work he has been involved in over the years, which I excitedly listened to on Inspire Youth 105.1 FM.

 My dual identity- British Muslim has enabled me to listen to the radio for several reasons. Moreover, a radio station such as MCR that plays throughout Ramadan is very popular in my household during that time, because being a Muslim they are likely to discuss Islam and the dos and don’ts of Ramadan. I tend not to follow celebrities or latest trends, mainly because I have no interest in it however, if I do chose to follow a certain public figure my desires of wanting to find out more about them is met through social media.

Majority of the time I listen to certain radio stations on my mobile phone, only because I have good  and clear access to the broadcast, also depending on the content of what I am listening to my setting varies. For example- when I am with friends I am likely to listen to music and the latest gossip on the radio (simply because it is what the majority are interested in) this however is very rare. When I am alone or with people who enjoy learning about the world (often my friends who are a lot older) I tend to listen to political chat shows (again occasionally).

I follow local news- a newspaper comes to my front door often every Sundays which I gain pleasure from reading. I watch the news sometimes, but I often read on-line articles more frequently because I am always linked to the internet regardless of where I am.

In the future, I do hope to listen to the radio more often because it is another source of gaining information.