M2 - Technologies in producing a radio broadcast

Explain the process and technologies involved in producing a radio broadcast.

In order to develop a good radio broadcast to engage an audience to, you'll need the right assets and equipment to help bring it all together. This content is useful for both live and pre-recorded airings, however it's important to know that post-producing a live recording isn't possible as it's already released wile recorded. 

Equipment

When producing a radio show there's both optional and required equipment to choose from. The most obvious would be a microphone as having a clear way to record your voice and any otter sounds while broadcasting is fundamental for making a sound based show. An audio processor is also vital for processing sound recordings, although this can also be done on the average computer, which is also vital, weather live or pre-recorded. In order to listen to the audio, headphones or a pair of speakers will be needed; it would be better to use headphones over speakers as to prevent echoes while recording.

More optional equipment may include a mixer to play specific sounds on command, a CD player to play sounds from CDs, an ON-AIR light to indicate when you're recording to other people and studio foam to block off outside noise and prevent reverb in a room.

Creating a high-quality radio show requires more complicated software technology such as digital cartwalls and playout systems. A digital playout system is used to render media, in this case audio, to be played on air, which is useful for making clean sounding audio. A digital cartwall is a grid of assets, also in this case audio, that can be played at an instant and ordered in whatever way needs. These can all be found on audio recording software such as Adobe Audition and Audacity.

Pre- Production

Pre-production is vital for all radio productions as having a main premise on its own wont be enough. The most important pre-production document needed for preparing a radio show is a script. It's vital for planning out how a radio show will play out, when and who will speak at what time, what will be said and discussed and whether there will be talking, music or advertisements playing in a segment. Scripts are necessary for both live and pre-recorded broadcastings since not having a plan for your radio show will result in listeners tuning out. 

Another pre-production asset to be included would be the creation of a jingle or tagline that indicates the radio show that's playing. Having different jingles for different segments can also be useful, weather its a few seconds of sound or a short song. Having a memorable tagline is also important for making a radio advert recognizable and interesting.

Production

The recording stage of a radio show is the most important part of the whole production. Unlike TV and Film, where numerous factors such as editing and acting is included, the only thing to be focused on while recording a radio show will be the content provided by the speaker. Said content is a huge factor in how your audience will engage with the radio show, so it's important to keep it entertaining throughout the runtime, which must also be considered before and while recording.

Post Production

If creating a pre-recorded radio show instead of a live one, editing can be used to piece audio together, remove mistakes or pauses, inserting radio adverts or sound effects and mute out unwanted noise. Post production can also be used to release on certain dates and times, for festivities like Christmas or Valentines themed events.

Programming

What's currently going on, usually around the region where the radio station is or world wide discussions. Examples of this would be during Covid 19 where it was the most discussed topic at the time. These are often done on radios with news categories or timed and managed carefully as to treat serious topics seriously.

Music:

Songs and artists that appeal to the genre of the radio station. Programs like BBC 1 play popular songs that appeal to the mainstream audience, while stations like BBC 2 plays more distinct or independent music like country or jazz. 

Dramatizations:

Also known as radio dramas or audio plays,  these are purely acoustic performances that are played through radio or other means of audio like streaming. These depend on music, dialogue and sound effects to draw the listener into the story and characters. These aren't as popular as they once were in to 1920's which was when its popularity became widespread. These can be of already existing plays like Its A Wonderful Life, or be radio drama exclusive like War Of the Worlds.

Lifestyle:

Radio shows that focus on lifestyle and more general topics such as health, money or relationships. These are useful for having subjects that appeal to everyone. They're often done with hosts talking to one another or to a professional, depending on the topic of the day, which can make them informal. Blog Talk Radio is a great example of general lifestyle radio, with a schedule on what's discussed at what time.

Chat Shows:

Chat shows (also known as talk shows or podcasts) are radio shows that include multiple people talking to each other about a certain topic. Unlike lifestyle these don't have to be as informal or generalized as it can be based on the presenters life and experiences. Depending on the radio station, these can also be based on certain topics, however they're more specified for  a certain audience. Examples of this are talkSPORT (sport) and Queerly radio (LGBTQ+).

Purpose

Educational: A category which educates the viewer on a specific topic or series of topics in a genre. These often show the facts and go into detail about any events or processes. This is less instructional than an informal station and can merge into the entertainment purpose to be more engaging.

Entertainment: A category which solely amuses an audience  and keeps them entertained. These could include interesting concepts, stories or characters. They are often fiction but can have non-fictional information which merges into edutainment. This is what appeals to the mainstream audience the most, as the majority of people go to media in order to be entertained.

Inform: A category that inspires to show someone how something happens or is done. These can go through step-by-step directions and describe how something is done. This is different from educate because it shows the process rather than the facts.

Promote: A category with the main purpose of selling a product in any way possible. These advertisements can also be entertaining or informative in order to promote the product and engage an audience.

Staff and Recourses

• Presenters
• Producers
• News Readers
• Other team members (technicians)

These are examples of the staff needed to produce and run a radio station. Although it's not as much as a TV production, it's still important to consider who and what is needed to create a production. A team can include any amount of people ranging from one producer to a whole production crew. The same goes for equipment in which it could be only a microphone and playlist of music, or a full editing software with a talk set.