Research into production techniques

Running order

Every radio station has different radio presenters, for different shows . In order for their shows to run smoothly each DJ needs their own running order , so they know when to speak , when to play a song, when to play a feature, what topics they need to talk about , and when guests and interviews are played. When producing our radio show for children in need, we will make sure that we have a running order and a schedule so that we can allow ourselves to keep on track. The running order needs to list all the timings for each topic of conversation , each song and each feature , so that the presenter can see how long the radio show lasts and make sure that it doesnt over run.

Transmission

We are transmitting our radio show , live on our college internet , www.stratcast.co.uk , via Ustream . For children in need , we have decided that the radio will be broadcasted online before the actually television programme .

Playlists

A playlist in radio is set between 3 lists, these being the A list , B list and C lists. The reason for the different type of lists is because the radio station play out the mainstream songs , in the a list, which means that the songs within the A list are played up to 25-35 times a week . The mainstream songs , mean that the songs are the most popular songs at that present time and are usually found on the charts on itunes or even on the official chart show on radio 1.
The B List are songs which have been in the charts for a few weeks and are then over taken by new artists or new songs that are recently come out. The B list plays the songs on the playlist about 10-20 plays a week.
The C list is the list of songs which aren't particuarly popular , or artists which aren't yet popular with the audience but are hoping to climb the charts. This way , artists are discovered, however , the songs which lie within the C playlist are only played about 5 times a week and they choose between 10 songs.
Radio stations have music producers to come in and promote their artists songs to get them on atleast any of the playlist , however they need to get a yes from the radio station in order for them to get on any of the playlists or at least a chance to .

Schedule

The schedule is a bit like the running order , however it basically has the schedule of the entire day , showing the different shows at different times . For example , on radio 1 ; they have a schedule throughout the whole day , from early to morning to afternoon to evening to the late show and what times each of those are broadcasted on air. When we start to broadcast our show , we need to produce a schedule to show the order of shows being played throughtout the thursday before Children in need.