BBC's One Planet & Homeboyz Radio's My Block critique-Susan Saina (07-0933)

BBC's One Planet and Homeboyz Radio's My Block critiques
Susan C. Saina (07-0933)

HOMEBOYZ RADIO- 91.5 FM


PROGRAMME: MY BLOCK

Duration: 2 hours

Run time: Monday-Friday (11am-1pm)

Homeboyz Radio is a local station founded by disc jockey brothers, Mike and John Rabar. The two started as disc jockeys (DJs) and later on expanded their business to start a radio station, a media school, an events organizing business among others.

I chose to look at the show My Block, a local programme hosted by Jack Omamo. The programme runs every Monday through Friday from 11 o’clock to 1 o’clock in the afternoon. The radio format is as that of One Planet, a magazine and it is of high energy.

The presenter, Jack has a deep powerful voice that is full of energy, this keeps the audience hooked to the station. He is tall and big in size making him a towering person. As he reports from outside a studio, his shows can be characterised as having a natural, street sound, that is, one can hear the atmosphere around him and can build an image of where he is reporting from, making his show livelier and credible.

The show is done outside the studio, where young people live, work, go to school, or just hang out. In essence, the radio station literally comes to the listener. The show is aired live from the Homeboyz Radio mobile station that has a mini-station inside it where the producers can edit it before it is sent to the main station. The show seeks to capture the world through the eyes of these young people interviewed in the shows and offers a great chance of interaction in a relaxed environment.

In each show, Jack heads to the streets everyday to get word from different parts of Nairobi on various topics. People also get a chance to invite Jack to their homes (blocks) hence the name of the show-‘My Block’. One can invite him through the shows e-mail address-myblock@homeboyzradio.co.ke

The programme’s idea is very original as the other local stations have not applied this format. It is interactive as he interviews the people that he meets on what they do, what they are interested in among others. He also gets to interview local bands, music groups, young entrepreneurs etc. and he provides a platform on which the listener can be entertained and informed. The programme shows good writing skills and the stories are well crafted.

The audio, sound effects and music are applied well throughout the show. Promotions and advertisements are also played in the show. The music genre played in the show is Rap, Rhythm and Blues and Neo-soul music of the 1990s dubbed Old School music.

The worldview that is put forth by the show is that of the secular world. Secular music is played in the show and the topics are of worldly nature. The agenda of the programme sometimes compliments that with people of faith as it deals with the community and looking at the positive aspects of the society and what the youth have to offer. In other circumstances, the show conflicts with that of people of faith as it may focus on parties, concerts and going out thus promoting the secular world.

If I was the producer of the show, I would not only focus on the youth and their hometowns but also on the counties and what the Members of Parliament have done to benefit their constituents. I believe it is important for the people to know what their leaders are up to in ensuring that they have a good future that ensures stable development in their communities that directly benefit them.

Programme critiques

I was able to listen to My Block several times. However, I was only able to note down four instances. The overall atmosphere that the presenter creates is a relaxed one. The interviewee automatically is comfortable around Jack and can easily joke around and have fun-which is the general idea of the show, and ideally Homeboyz Radio.

October 4th, 2010

Jack was in Westlands on this day. He interviewed local hip-hop artist Jahmani. The interview was basically about Jahmani’s music and what the listeners should look out for.

October 22nd , 2010

Today, Jack went to Dandora. He was interviewing random people on the streets on what Dandora has to offer. He did not have any criteria for choosing those he interviewed, it was quite an interactive show.

November 2nd, 2010

Jack was in Kileleshwa on this date. He interviewed local artist Abbas Kubaff on his music, his inspiration and his upcoming album. Abbas also talked about his long lost brother who just disappeared over ten years ago.

November 4th, 2010

This was the last show that I listened to. The presenter, Jack Omamo, was in Lavington area, Nairobi and his main guests were the members of the local afro-fusion, neo-soul band, Elani. Jack got the opportunity to interview the guests on their band, how it was formed, what inspires them as well as talk about their upcoming shows, one being on the 5th of November, 2010.

BBC WORLD RADIO (93.9 FM)

PROGRAMME: ONE PLANET

Duration: 28 minutes

Run Time: Thursdays 9.32-10.00 & 17.32-18.00

BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom since 1927. BBC Radios 1 to 7 are based in London, but programmes are also made in Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester.

I chose to focus on a weekly programme known as One Planet, hosted by Michael Williams. The show follows a magazine radio format as it is designed with a specific target audience in mind, has a tight structure and has a lot of emphasis on structure, as do other programmes on BBC World Radio.

The programme airs every Thursday from 9.32 am to 10 am and a repeat airs from 5.32 pm to 6 o’clock in the afternoon. It is a 28 minute programme followed by BBC News at the top of the hour. The shows source is definitely foreign as it is produced outside the country, at the London studios.

The main character of the programme is Michael Williams, the host of the show. He is a middle-aged male. A British Caucasian of medium build and height. Considering that the show is foreign and I have never seen or heard of him before, I decided to do a bit of research on him. He was born in Liverpool but brought up in Wales. He joined the BBC as a trainee and later on graduated to be the foreign affairs correspondent for BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme. He also presents Newshour, World Today, and other programmes. His main objective of presenting One Planet is to try to make sense of the way we organize our lives on the planet.

The show adopts an environmental theme. The presenter, Michael Williams often reports from the field. He has a small mixer which he uses to edit his story before he sends it to the main studio for further editing. As he reports from outside a studio, his shows can be characterised as having a natural sound, that is, one can hear the atmosphere around him and can build an image of where he is reporting from, making his show livelier and credible.

The production values of audio, sound effects and music are of high quality and are used appropriately throughout the show. This makes the show very comprehensible. The stories are well crafted and demonstrate good writing.

The presenter is very good at what he does. He always has interviewees in the show who are experts in the area being discussed thus showing the listener that the views presented in the show are not only his own. This further makes him a credible source of environmental information. To further prove that his stories are true, one can view the video clips and photos which he posts on the BBC World Radio website as well as the One Planet Facebook page.

As the name suggests, the programme is about the planet, the environment and how we as humans affect our world. Main topics on the show have to do with biodiversity, climate change, genetically modified foods among others. The worldview being presented therefore has to do with caring for our environment as our actions affect our planet positively as well as negatively. The values of the show compliment with those of people of faith. Those who believe in God know that the Creator wants us not only to fill the world but also care for it and protect it from destruction.

If I was the presenter of the show, I would add music to the programme to provide variety and break the monotony of voice and sound effects. I would probably use songs that talk about the environment or any other spiritual song that deals with caring for the world, preferably music from the area being covered.

I would also add a small section to the show dubbed ‘How I have saved the World.’ It would feature environmental friendly people who have done something with the aim of saving the earth from pollution, energy wastage, destruction etc. I think this would be important as it would make the audience participate more thus making the show interactive.

Programme critiques

Climate change- 30th September

The show was focusing on climate change, more specifically on abandoning costly carbon markets. The programmes main guest interviewee was Professor in atmospheric physics Richard Linzen, an expert on climate change. The show was basically in how humans have a marginal impact in global warming. The show also looked at office plants and their importance. Lastly, the show featured on the world’s smallest frog found on Malaysia.

Genetically Modified foods- 7th October

The shows first feature was on genetically modified foods. The interviewee was Dr. Roger Beachy, the creator of genetically modified foods. The feature focused on his work and the world's attitudes to his creation. Scientific ignorance is a major obstacle according to Dr Beachy, who argued that the public's understanding of cutting edge science has deteriorated over the past 50 years - and this is leading to misunderstandings when it comes to GM crops. He also passionately urges nations to share their knowledge and research to help the world's growing population feed itself; with GM crops central to that goal.

Also in the show, another genetic engineer with a different view from was interviewed. Dr Michael Antoniou uses the same methods for genetic engineering as those who produce GM crops; however, he focuses on producing GM bacteria to tackle viruses.

Mining metals – 14th October, 2010

This week’s show was on the 33 miners rescued in Chile. They were there of course because of our thirst for metals. The feature was on the human obsession of metals and the developmental and environmental implications of mining them.

Michael goes on location to a windswept hillside overlooking a quarry to chat with mining expert Andrew Bloodworth, who explains why finding a rich supply of metals is not always a path to riches for a country.

Also in the show was a report on an update on the toxic sludge spill in Hungary and how toxic waste is dealt with in the United Kingdom.

The Population Debate -21st October, 2010

Three guests from around the world joined Micheal to discuss the issue of growing population. John Guillebaud from the Optimum Population Trust from London; Matthew Connelly, author of Fatal Misconception from New York; and the social demographer Alaka Basu from Calcutta. In addition, the show had reports from Uganda - a country with one of the fastest birth rates in the world - and from Japan, a country that is suffering a decline in its population.

Urban biodiversity- October 28th, 2010

The main guest on this week’s One Planet was Achim Steiner, the UN's environmental chief and the main topic was on tackling the rapid loss of biodiversity that the world is currently experiencing. Also in the programme, Mike looked at biodiversity in cities. Over half the world's population now live in urban areas. The show also looked at how long it takes for a species to evolve and whether some animals would evolve faster than others.

Air Tax- November 4th, 2010

The show focused on the proposed air tax that would be imposed on countries and people’s view on the issue. Unfortunately I was not able to catch the interviewee’s name. Michael reported from London’s Heathrow Airport. The feature also looked at how the tax would affect countries negatively especially those that rely heavily on tourism as their main source of revenue e.g the Caribbean and Africa.



COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

I chose to compare the aforementioned programmes as they share a similar format: that is, they are both recorded outside the studio, both record on location, both have interviewees and topics of the day.

Both shows also have signature tunes that run in between the shows that give them breaks between two segments. In One Planet, the signature tunes break stories and let the listener know that the feature is over and a new one is going to follow. On My Block, the signature tunes act as an introduction before the presenter speaks and when a song is over.

The main difference between the two shows is the fact that their content differ majorly. One Planet deals with the environment while My Block looks at the youth and their hometowns, as well as artists and the entertainment industry in Kenya. The former is also an international show and therefore, content needs to address a worldwide environment-friendly audience. The latter is of a local nature and content can easily address the local youth in the urban areas.

Another difference is that My Block has music, promotions and advertisements running throughout the two-hour show. However, on One Planet, the show runs uninterrupted for a full twenty-eight minutes.

Both shows are able to deliver the appropriate content to their respective target audiences. They each blend well with their stations’ other shows in regard to their presenting styles. They both deliver suitable content for their resepctive target audiences.