UK broadcasting companies and TV channels
MASS MEDIA IN THE UK
The mass media in the UK are represented mainly by the press (newspapers and magazines), TV and radio.
The UK newspapers
In the UK there are no official government newspapers. The government does not exercise any official control over the newspaper industry and most of the English newspapers are very proud of their individual styles.
UK newspapers are generally grouped into three, rather historical, groups – mass markettabloids, or red-tops, middle-market tabloids, and quality broadsheets.
Quality newspapers are serious, national, daily newspapers, appealing mainly to the upper and middle classes. They are usually published in a broadsheet format*. They are “Financial Times”, “The Times”, “The Guardian”, “The Daily Telegraph”. “The Daily Telegraph” contains reports on national and international news, gives a full covering of sports and other topics. “Financial Times” is read mainly by professional and business people as it contains a comprehensive coverage of industry, commerce and public affairs. “The Guardian” gives a wide coverage of news events and reports on social issues, the arts, education, etc. “The Times” is the most famous newspaper. It represents the views of the establishment and is well-known for its correspondence column.
In October 2003, quality broadsheet “The Independent” began producing what it preferred to call a compact edition – tabloid sized** – along with the main broadsheet sized newspaper. This had a stunning effect on circulation – sales went up by 20% year-on-year – and “The Times” followed suit launching its own compact edition. Both newspapers are now exclusively available in compact form.
“The Guardian”, which denounced the original shift to compact, is now thought to be switching to a mid-size format between tabloid and broadsheet, known as the “Berliner”. This format is also possibly to be used by “The Daily Telegraph”, though their ownership changes have caused a delay in their adoption.
The mass-market tabloids. Unlike quality newspapers popular newspapers are not so serious and their stories tend to be sensational. The two most-popular newspapers are “The Sun” and “The Daily Mirror”. Bitter rivals, the papers until recently held very differing political views – “The Sun” being Conservative (right-wing) since the early 70’s, while “The Mirror” was Labour (left-wing). Both now appear to support Labour. Historically, “The Sun” appears to support the current government.
With the mass-market tabloids, just as in other areas of life, sex sells. “The Sun” is home of the famous Page Three girl*** – an idea used by “The Mirror” for a while, but dumped in the 1980’s. “The Daily Star”, a sister paper for the Daily Express (originally launched to use spare capacity in the Express printing presses), gives its readers regular “StarBirds”**** throughout its pages and the advertising catch-phrase “Oooh Ahhh Daily Star” (and is, incidentally, a relative success in comparison to “The Express”).
The middle-market tabloids, “The Daily Mail” and “The Daily Express” are concerned with a very different readership – that of affluent women. Weekend supplements and carefully-placed sponsorship ensure that these titles are a cheap alternative to a magazine, while sports supplements aimed at the husband aim to broaden their readership. “The Daily Mail” has a staunch right-wing agenda, and is lampooned by some for their over alarmist headlines, particularly about political asylum seekers. However, its formula, said by former owner Lord Northcliffe to give his readers a “daily hate”, has made “The Daily Mail” one of the most popular newspapers in the UK.
The broadsheets are probably the most famous to readers overseas. “The Times”, the UK’s oldest national newspaper, is not the most popular – that accolade falls to “The Daily Telegraph”. It’s important to notice, though, that the mass-market tabloids sell up to four times as many copies as the broadsheets.
Many of these daily newspapers have their Sunday counterparts, such as “The Sunday Times”, “The Sunday Telegraph”, “The Observer” (sister paper of “the Guardian”), “Independent on Sunday”, “Sunday Express”, etc. The national Sunday titles usually have a different layout and style to their weekly sister papers, and are produced by separate journalistic and editorial staff. They are often larger in size and thicker, contain a lot of supplementary sections and are more colourful.
All the major UK newspapers currently have websites, which provide mostly free access to the content published in their print editions, as well as additional material.
A relatively recent phenomenon in the newspaper industry has been the free morning papers. Free weekly papers are fairly common, supported by advertising and carrying little in the way of editorial. But now, with the launch of Associated’s “Metro” in London, Birmingham and Leeds, a sister paper called “News” in Manchester, plus Manchester’s own “Metro News” and similar titles in Tyneside, Edinburgh and Glasgow, these newspapers thrive on public transport and in busy cities. Giving editorial almost as good as the paid-for dailies, these are a threat to the established titles.
The UK magazines
The UK has a large magazine industry with hundreds of magazines serving almost every interest – from accountancy, agriculture and technology to sports and lifestyle.
Consumer magazines make up the bulk of the titles for sale in newsagents. They may be general titles that aim to entertain and inform (such as Loaded, Elle, Radio Times) or consumer specialist titles aimed at a specific interest or hobby (Car, Total Film, Gardeners' World). There are about 2,800 UK consumer magazines. These can also be classified by readership into women’s (Cosmopolitan, Vogue, OK!, Tatler), men’s (FHM, Loaded, Nuts), teen (Mizz Magazine, Sugar) and children’s magazines. An important type of consumer magazines is current affairs magazines, which provide analysis of current political, economical and cultural events and trends (The Spectator, The Economist, The New Statesman, The Private Eye). The Spectator was established in 1828 and claims to be the oldest continuously-published magazine in the English language.
Business magazines, which may also be called trade or B2B (business to business) magazines are for people at work. Examples include Campaign for the advertising industry, General Practitioner, one of several free weekly titles for doctors, and Press Gazette for journalists. There are about 5,100 such titles in the UK. While some business magazines are sold in newsagents or bought on subscription, the main distribution channel is controlled circulation, whereby copies are sent free to qualifying individuals and the publisher makes its money through selling advertising. For example, 96% of Computer Weekly's copies go out as controlled circulation, with 1% subscription and 3% news-stand.
Academic journals aim to encourage university-level discussion of all sorts of arcane topics. Their identifying feature is that their subject matter is controlled by an academic board. Members of the board act as referees to vet all the articles. Authors are not paid; rather, they gain academic credibility. Probably the most famous academic journal is Nature.
Television listings magazines such as What's on TV and Radio Times tend to be the best-selling UK magazines with circulations of about one million to 1.5m copies. Women's weeklies are the next big group, led by million-plus-selling Take a Break, with the likes of Chat, Now and Heat selling about 500,000 copies. The biggest monthlies are Reader's Digest, Glamour and FHM, selling 750,000 down to 300,000.
The UK television
Broadcasting in the United Kingdom is controlled by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA).The IBAis responsible for looking after regional independent TV companies and those they have bought from other regions.
UK broadcasting companies and TV channels
Analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom is made up of two public broadcasting companies, the BBC and Channel 4 and two commercial television companies, ITV and Five. There are five major free-to-air analogue channels: BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Five. Analogue terrestrial transmissions are currently being switched off and giving way to digital terrestrial, cable and satellite television. Although a great number of other channels are now available via these new technologies, the five above-mentioned channels remain the most popular (and are also the oldest).
· The BBC is the world's oldest and biggest broadcaster, and is the country's first and largest public service broadcaster. The BBC is funded by public money accrued from a television licence fee gathered from all UK households with a television set; it does not carry advertising. The BBC channels in the UK are BBC 1, BBC 2 (analogue), BBC 3, BBC 4, CBBC, CBeebies, BBC News 24 and BBC Parliament (digital).
BBC One – the Corporation’s primary network, broadcasting mainstream comedy, drama, documentaries, films, sport, and children’s programmes. BBC One is also the home of the BBC’s main 30-minutes news bulletins, currently shown at 13.00, 18.00, and 22.00 on weekdays (shorter early- and late-evening bulletins are broadcast on Saturdays and Sundays). The main news bulletins are followed by local news. These are provided by production centres in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and a further 14 regional and sub-regional centres in England. Along with the BBC's other domestic television stations, it is funded entirely by the licence fee, and therefore shows uninterrupted programming with no commercial advertising. It is currently the most watched television channel in the United Kingdom, ahead of its traditional rival for ratings leadership, ITV1.
BBC Two – home to more specialist programming, including comedy, documentaries, dramas and minority interest programmes, as well as imported programmes from other countries, particularly the United States. An important feature of the schedule is Newsnight, a 50-minute news analysis programme shown each weeknight at 22.30. There are slight differences in the programming for England, Wales Northern Ireland and Scotland.
BBC Three – the main digital television network operated by the Corporation, home to mainly youth-oriented programming, particularly new comedy sketch shows and sitcoms.
BBC Four – niche programming for an intellectual audience, including specialist documentaries, occasional “serious” dramas, live theatre, foreign language films and television programmes and “prestige” archive television repeats.
CBBC Channel – for children aged six and above.
CBeebies – for children under six.
BBC News – a dedicated news channel.
BBC Parliament – the Corporation’s dedicated politics channel, covering both the British parliament and international politics.
· ITV (Independent Television) is the network of fifteen regional and three national commercial television franchises, originally founded in 1955 to provide competition to the BBC. ITV was the country's first commercial television provider funded by advertisements, and has been the most popular commercial channel through most of its existence. These companies earn money from advertising. There is a break for advertising about every 15-20 minutes. From the late 1990s, ITV's long-standing commitment to strong current affairs and documentary programming began to diminish with the ending of productions such as World in Action and their replacement with populist shows such as Tonight. Increasingly ITV's primetime schedules are dominated by its soap operas, such as Coronation Street and Emmerdale. Recently, Independent Television faced criticism for including a large amount of "reality TV" programmes in the schedule. In its defence, ITV does continue to show its major strengths in the fields of sports coverage and drama productions, and it continues to schedule national news in primetime. ITV plc also operates digital channels ITV1 HD, ITV2 (entertainment), ITV3(entertainment aimed at the over-35 audience), ITV4(has a male-oriented line-up, including sport, cop shows and US comedies and dramas, as well as classic ITV action series), Men & Motors and the CITV Channel (Children's Independent Television).
· Launched in 1982, Channel 4 is a state-owned national broadcaster which is funded by its commercial activities (including advertising). Channel 4 is a "publisher-broadcaster", meaning that it commissions or "buys" all of its programming from companies independent of itself, it has also had a long record of success in funding the production of films. Apart from the analogue Channel 4, the corporation runs a number of digital channels: FilmFour, E4 (youth entertainment channel), More4 (aimed at middle-aged and older audience), 4Music, etc.
· Channel Five was the final analogue broadcaster to be launched, in March 1997. The channel was re-named "Five" in 2002. Like Channel 4, the channel is a general entertainment channel, with internally commissioned shows such as The Gadget Show and Fifth Gear appearing alongside numerous international programmes such as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The channel has historically had the lowest audience of Britain's five terrestrial television channels, with a viewing share of around 5% although it occasionally outperforms Channel 4 at peak times. The Company’s digital channels include Fiver (providing pre-school shows under the Milkshake! banner as well as drama, films, soaps, popular factual and lifestyle shows) and 5USA (offering drama, films, sport, comedy and youth programming from the USA).
· British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB)operates a digital satellite television service and numerous television channels including Sky1(entertainment channel whose listings include some very popular broadcasts—many imported from North America), Sky2 (programming mostly features sci-fi series, drama shows and documentary strands), Sky3, Sky Movies and Sky Sports, etc.
· UKTVis a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the BBC and Virgin Media. It is one of the United Kingdom's largest television companies. Most programmes on UKTV's channels are repeat broadcasts of BBC productions (although the entertainment channels also feature programmes made by other companies). The network’s channels are Alibi (crime and drama), Blighty (Britain and Britons), Dave (male), Eden (nature), G.O.L.D. (classic British comedy), Good Food, Really (reality, lifestyles), Home, Watch (entertainment), Yesterday (history).
The most watched digital channels are owned by the six broadcasters above. Other broadcasters who have secured a notable place on British television include Virgin Media, Viacom, Discovery NetworksandDisney.
The UK radio
There are many hundreds of radio stations in the United Kingdom, the most prominent of which are the national stations operated by the BBC.
BBC Radio 1 broadcasts current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock or interviews. It is aimed primarily at the 15–29 age group. The station has recorded many live performances and studio sessions, it station also broadcasts some documentaries and interviews. Short news summaries are provided roughly hourly on the half hour during daytime hours with two 15-minute bulletins at 12:45pm and 5:45pm.
BBC Radio 2 is the UK's most listened to radio station, with a mix of music from the last thirty years. The station now has adult listeners, mainly aged 25 and above, although in recent years it has attracted more of younger listeners. Its daytime playlist features music from the 1960s to various current chart hits, album and indie music. The station's appeal is broad and deep, with accessible daytime programmes and specialist programmes of particular types or eras of music.
BBC Radio 3 is a serious classical station, broadcasting high-quality concerts and performances. At night, it transmits a wide range of jazz and world music. The station is the world’s most significant commissioner of new music,[2] and its New Generation Artists scheme promotes young musicians of all nationalities. There are regular productions of both classic plays and newly commissioned drama.
BBC Radio 4 is a current affairs and speech station, with news, debate and radio drama. Music and sport are the only fields that largely fall outside the station's remit. It broadcasts the daily radio soap The Archers, as well as flagship news programme Today. Radio 4 is the second most popular British domestic radio station, after Radio 2
BBC Radio Five Live broadcasts live news and sports commentary with phone-in debates and studio guests. It is the principal radio station covering sport in the United Kingdom, broadcasting virtually all major sports events staged in the UK or involving British competitors.
BBC 6 Music is one of the BBC's digital radio stations which transmits predominantly alternative rock, punk, jazz, funk, hip hop with many live sessions.
BBC 1Xtra is a digital radio station in the United Kingdom from the BBC specialising in new black music, sometimes referred to as urban music. Typical music includes largely British and North American hip hop, grime, bassline, garage, dubstep, drum and bass, UK funky, dancehall, soca, reggae, gospel music, bhangra and R&B.
BBC 7 is a British digital radio station broadcasting comedy, drama, and children's programming nationally 24 hours a day. It is the principal broadcasting outlet for the BBC's archive of spoken-word entertainment, and was established primarily to enable the contents of the BBC Sound Archive to be broadcast.
All of these radio stations can be listened to live via the Internet, some of the programmes are available for listening or downloading from the archives, some are also published in the form of podcasts (http://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts).
The BBC also provides 40 local radio services, mainly broadcasting a mix of local news and music aimed at an older audience.
Also available nationally are three national commercial channels, namely Absolute Radio, Classic FM (the UK’s first national commercial radio station, broadcasts a wide range of programming) and talkSPORT.
There are also local commercial stations. Most local commercial stations in the United Kingdom broadcast to a city or group of towns within a radius of 20-50 miles, with a second tier of regional stations covering larger areas such as North West England. The predominant format is pop music, but many other tastes are also catered for, particularly in London and the larger cities, and on digital radio. Rather than operating as independent entities, many local radio stations are owned by large radio groups which broadcast a similar format to many areas.
Kiss 100 FM– the London dance radio station featuring some of the UK’s finest DJ’s.
Glossary
| accolade | tangible symbol signifying approval or distinction |
| affluent | rich |
| alarmist (adj) | spreading unnecessary fear or warnings of danger |
| circulation | dissemination of copies of periodicals (as newspapers or magazines) |
| covering/ coverage | news as presented by reporters for newspapers or radio or television |
| dump (v) | throw away as refuse |
| editorial | article giving opinions or perspectives |
| junk (v) | dispose of (something useless or old) |
| lampoon (v) | ridicule with satire |
| readership | audience reached by written communications (books or magazines or newspapers etc.) |
| sister (adj) | belonging to a group of similar and related things, such as businesses, usually owned or operated by the same person or organization |
| sitcom | situation comedy: humorous television program based on situations that could arise in everyday life |
| sketch show | series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called “sketches”, commonly between one and ten minutes long |
| staunch | firm and dependable especially in loyalty |
| stunning | causing or capable of causing bewilderment or shock or insensibility |
| supplement | textual matter that is added onto a publication; usually at the end |
| thrive | gain in wealth; grow stronger |
Comprehension
Exercise 1. The following words/phrases are all related to the media. Tick (ü) the boxes to show which of them might appear on television (TV), on the radio (R), in a magazine (M), and/or in a newspaper (N)? What could we expect to see/read/hear in each?