Ethics and Regulations

Radio stations have to be careful to adhere to regulations set out by independent regulators, and also to laws and other guidelines set out by the station controller. They also need to be ethical in their programming in that they should not invade people's privacy, report on rumors or incorrect information. Radio stations, especially BBC radio, need to check their sources on all information, and they usually try to get it from two or three sources just to be sure. This is so they do not report on something that turns out not to be correct, disappointing their listeners and affecting their reputation. Radio stations also need to think about stereotypes and representation in their programmes. This means that they should be representative of the people they are talking about and they have to be careful not to offend anybody by using stereotypes and being racist, sexist, etc. as this, again, would affect the station's reputation.

Speech-Based Packages

There are two main types of radio programming - factual and news. Factual can be anything from music shows to cooking shows to documentaries, and news programmes can be anything from short bulletins to longer news programmes to current affairs. The types of radio programmes range from channel to channel, and change depending on the time of day and the audience expected to be listening. For example, a short news bulletin will usually play several times a day on public radio, such as Radio 1, as well as commercial radio stations, and they will usually be shortest on commercial radio at peak times. Longer news programmes will usually be played on stations such as Radio 4 because their audience will be more interested in the news, whereas other stations have to focus on the general public and trying to attract as many viewers as possible, and longer news could be seen as boring to their audience, who probably are more interested in the music on the station.