AUDIO CRITIQUE FOR 361 AUDIO PRODUCTIONS

BY BERYL OYWER 08-1493

critique

93.9 FM BBC AFRICA.

The show is called African Perspective. It is a Feature as it comes as an insert in the news during the BBC News Bulletin at nine o clock. It airs on Sundays at 10:15 to 10:45 this approximates thirty minutes of airing. The name of the presenter is Anne Mawathe who is the reporter of the feature she goes to the field and carries out the interviews. Her voice is the only one that can be heard throughout the feature. She is a female and from her voice one can approximate that she is in her mid 20s. she sounds like someone who is very sympathetic to the plight of women and maybe that’s why she was given that segment.

The theme of the programme for this edition was on Rape in DRC Congo. The Feature seeks to analyse in depth reasons why Rape cases in the DRC are rampant than in any other part in Africa. She gets interviews from both the ones who carry out the act who are mainly soldiers and their victims. Some of the reasons they gave for carrying out this hideous crime is that they are first of all segregated in the jungle away from other people. Secondly it is a show of power and lastly to get attention from the Government. The negative stereotype of the feature is that the interviews done especially in remote areas usually depict the interviewees as semi-illiterate if not illiterate. The programme idea is not original because so many journalist especially international ones for major stations and are based in Africa are the pioneers of such features where one goes into the interiors or remote areas and try and propagate their plight. The programme source focuses on African issues and therefore its regional it is produced by BBC.The producer of the programme is putting forth the theme of humanism where they are trying to make the rest of Africa aware of what is happening around them and at the same time call for action to be taken. The values being set by the feature actually compliment with those of faith as they are exposing some of the atrocities occurring in Africa in a bid to help curb them by sending a message to fellow Africans and their governments.If I was the producer of the show first of all I would make the show a bit longer so as to have a more detailed account of what is happening. Secondly the promotion of the show will be in such a way that I will ensure my target audience in this case the older youths and working class are enticed to tune into the show and listen to it. The other thing would be to advice the presenter not to be Subjective by being emotionally involved this lowers credibility of the feature.

WORLD FOCUS

CHINA RADIO INTERNATIONAL

This propagated through KBC ENGLISH SERVICE. 95.6 fm

The name of the show is World Focus and it airs between 8.00 and 8.30pm every weekday. It is approximately thirty minutes. The format of the show is a feature on some of the social issues that are faced in the world over. It is reported by a young female who goes by the name Gaungzhou who is Chinese and by the sound of her voice her age range is between 20 and 25. She has a heavy accent which identifies her area of origin. It being a Chinese show but for the rest of the world it is broadcasted in English. The theme of the programme on today’s edition is on eye surgery in India. The Feature focuses on the development of the Laser eye surgery technique and how safe it has become. It focuses on the procedure of Eye Surgery and how it has helped the patients who have undergone it. The stereotype in this episode is negative as India is portrayed as a country of dense population and that’s why they started the surgeries there because they have the largest number of people suffering from eye problems. This is not necessarily the case. The positive stereotype is that the best surgeons come from India so if they are going to do a feature on Operations they would definitely go to where it is done best. The programme idea is not original as there are many other Radio Shows that target the world and over especially from BBC. The show is imported from CRI which stands for China Radio International who are buying airtime in KBC English Service.The sound levels are quite good, there is no much use of sound effects as mainly it’s the reporter and then maybe they have one or two interviews and then the reporter continues talking on the issue. There is no music at the background and the mood is just subtle. It is basically presented the way news is presented. The story line is well crafted and demonstrates good writing as the theme of the feature is brought out in an comprehendible manner. The worldview put forth by programme producer is also on humanism and mainly touches on issues that deal with people and their lives in general. The values being put out by the programme are good as they are concerned about human welfare which is paramount in Christian values. If I was the producer of this show what I would do differently would be first of all have some some background music to show that one actually went to the cite and did the feature as compared to the silence which does not bring the accept of actuality. The other thing I would address is to avoid the stereotype created as this may offend the listeners and consequently losing ones target audience. If I was the reporter I would try and tone down the feature to a friendlier interactive one with simple English as the feature is intimidating with the use of Jargon.

PROGRAMME CRITIQUE FOR 361 AUDIO PRODUCTIONS

BY BERYL OYWER 08-1493

critique

93.9 FM BBC AFRICA.

The show is called African Perspective. It is a Feature as it comes as an insert in the news during the BBC News Bulletin at nine o clock. It airs on Sundays at 10:15 to 10:45 this approximates thirty minutes of airing. The name of the presenter is Anne Mawathe who is the reporter of the feature she goes to the field and carries out the interviews. Her voice is the only one that can be heard throughout the feature. She is a female and from her voice one can approximate that she is in her mid 20s. she sounds like someone who is very sympathetic to the plight of women and maybe that’s why she was given that segment. The theme of this edition was on Prisoners Plight in Kamiti Maximium Prison. The reporter went to the prison because as it starts one can hear noises from the prisoners who are heckling at the background. There main concern in the Prison is the terrible level of Sanitation. This touches on the food, the drinking water, and the conditions in which they sleep in and so on. Apart from that there is also the concern of some of the inmates dying due to torture by the wardens or officers in the prison. Also they highlighted the ease with which diseases spread in the institution due to overpopulation creating congestion. The stereotype depicted here is a positive one that most of the prisoners are actually concerned with their well being and hence they speak out of their plights in the Prison despite the consequences that they may face as has been seen in the world over not only in Kenya. The Prisoners also know their rights. The audio sound is clear but there is a lot of popping sounds though but the sound levels are broadcast quality. There is use of sound effects especially in the beginning of the feature the signature tune used has sound effects and one can hear someone talking about African perspective. The tonal variation is not so much mostly it is a flat voice of the presenter. Use of less music. the storyline is well crafted and shows continuity. The world view being put across is of Humanism focusing mostly on Human welfare. The agenda is of concern of human welfare which are similar to Christian values. If I was the producer I would incorporate more music for the show to bring out the mood of the show especially when the prisoner was explaining how they some of the inmates died due to the poor sanitary levels in the place. It will help one identify with the inmate and even sympathize with them it will put one in the moment. If I was the presenter I would avoid bias in my reporting because when she was interviewing an inmate she was more sympathetic but when she was interviewing the warden it was like she was condemning him not considering that they also have plights in their lines of duty.

   WORLD FOCUS

CHINA RADIO INTERNATIONAL

This propagated through KBC ENGLISH SERVICE. 95.6 fm

The name of the show is World Focus and it airs between 8.00 and 8.30pm every weekday. It is approximately thirty minutes. The format of the show is a feature on some of the social issues that are faced in the world over. It is reported by a young female who goes by the name Gaungzhou who is Chinese and by the sound of her voice her age range is between 20 and 25. She has a heavy accent which identifies her area of origin. It being a Chinese show but for the rest of the world it is broadcasted in English.

The theme depicted in the programme this week is the Spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The reporter went to South Africa which is regarded as an area where the Virus is quite prevalent. The feature focused on both the affected and infected and what impact it has had on their lives. Some of the impacts were Segregation by other people which created Stigma. The Labor force in the country has reduced as a result of many deaths caused by the virus and many more. The negative Stereotype is that of Africa having the most people infected by the virus and also how fast it spreads in Africa than the rest of the world. Showing that in Africa is where people are dying of the virus as compared to other continents. This first of all shows bias and also it depicts the other continents as superior which is intimidating and yet the virus is everywhere. The programme idea is not original as most of the issues tackled have already been tackled by other journalists in the past and therefore, the element of fresh ideas is not there as there is no new information. The programme is imported from CRI China Radio International who buy airtime at KBC. The sound levels are of quality but there is no tonal variation the tone is the same throughout the feature. The mood is somber but there is no music to back that up.

The worldview is of Humanism and the health and welfare of people which is similar to the Christian values. If I was the producer of the programme I would first have a signature tune for the Feature as it starts rather abruptly just by the introduction from the news anchor. Use of sound effects during production to show that the interviews are real and hence helps in credibility. If I was the presenter I would have tonal variations to make the production lively and break monotony of narration.

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Both shows are Features that come immediately after a prime time news bulletin. They are both approximately thirty minutes each. They are produced on stations that take Broadcast quality seriously and have a fixed structured format. Their themes and world views revolve around social issues which deal with Human Welfare. They are both presented by women who are regarded to have a soft spot when it comes to human issues. They are roughly in the same age bracket together and also with their target audience who are the youths and adults. In both there is use of interviews and Vox pox as required for a feature format .The use of serious tones to depict the importance of the issues they talk about.The BBC show on African Perspective has a greater impact as compared to its counterpart World Focus. This is because of the following reasons. Firstly the BBC show is on Africa by Africans therefore there is that familiarity appeal as one can identify with a fellow African reporting on African issues. The World Focus yes has a worldwide appeal but not everyone will tune into it because it does not touch on them personally. Secondly the BBC show there is a considerable amount of use of Sound effects and music at the background to break the monotony of narration and also create a mood similar to the story. The use of background noise also boosts credibility as one is sure that the reporter actually went to the field and also helps one to visualize the area and what is happening as the reporter tells the story.  While the CRI show the background is mostly quiet and one can mistake it for news and not a feature.In conclusion, in both features there is a tight structure and format that is followed every week. They should learn to include music and sound effects firstly to engage the audience by acting as a link so that they do not go away and stay tuned and also to break monotony of the show. Lastly both shows should be advertised as people do not know about them and yet they touch on important issues.