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Radio Session 5 - Planning part 1 - The Concept, The Intended Station


Imagine you were going to a radio station or even a bank manager with an idea for a radio show you want them to back. Obviously they’re going to want to see

- that you’ve got a good concept for a show
- that you’ve planned for what it’s going to contain
- they’ll want to hear a snippet/sample of what your show would be like.

That last bit will come when you've actually finished PRODUCING the show (recording, editing it) but before then, as you should be used to by now, you need to ensure your PRE-PRODUCTION stuff is in place i.e your planning.

As ever, when these units go beyond the analytical into the creative you get more opportunities to get merit/distinction grades. Here's the criteria in the Radio unit associated with planning. As you can see there's a LOT of things to do & the more detail you can go into in your planning, the better your chances of hitting the merit criteria.


In your first planning post I want you to deal with P3 part (a), i.e what the basic  concept behind your show is and what station/platform it would be best suited for. Do this as follows. 

1. OPEN UP A NEW POST. CALL IT 'RADIO PLANNING -THE CONCEPT AND THE STATION' 


2. OPEN UP A SUBHEADING 'THE CONCEPT' 

Tell me in a few lines the basic concept behind your show. What kind of music is it going to feature? What kind of talk? What is the NAME of your show going to be (don't worry if you can't think of a good one yet, you can always go back and add it in later, the sooner you get one though the more focussed your planning can become) 


3. ADD THE HEADING 'INTENDED STATION' 

[If you've forgotten about the range of stations available in the UK then remind yourself here - http://www.internetradiouk.com] 

Give me a few possibilities of stations/platforms that would be suitable to carry your show. These can be local, national, community stations like Hillz or online stations like Resonance, Reprazent, Rinse etc. What station would suit the kind of music and chat you've outlined in your 'Concept' ? 

If you're doing quite a specialist music show that wouldn't fit with ANY station you know about do you think it might be better to podcast your show and host it on soundcloud/mixcloud etc? 

Have a look at the stations you’re thinking about – look at their schedules and what kind of shows they carry. Which station would fit the concept of your show the best? Give me at least a couple of possible stations (and say WHY they're possibilities), then DECIDE on one station and JUSTIFY that decision (say WHY you've gone for that one). 

I basically want for this part a paragraph of possibilities and then a paragraph of DECISION. 

WHAT YOU SHOULD END UP WITH 

A post that outlines the basic concept behind your show, as well as the station/platform you consider ideal to carry it. 
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