The document provides guidance for a student preparing for an exam on media studies. It discusses several topics that should be covered in the exam, including discussing audience theories like uses and gratifications theory and Dyer's Utopian solutions theory. It also lists several key terms that must be included in exam answers such as watershed, inheritance, stripping, channel ethos, and others. Finally, it provides guidance on how to achieve high marks, including discussing how two programs were scheduled on channels and comparing the audience pleasures of two comedy programs by giving examples.

1. Section B
Exam Preparation: Mock exam Friday 28th PM

2. Assessment Feedback
 You need to discuss audience theories and make
sure you name check them (you should definitely
be referring to the uses and gratifications theory
and Dyer’s Utopian solutions theory)
 In your opening paragraph you need to explain
which channel the sitcoms are aired on and who
the target audience are
 You need to be able to discuss how the profiles
of BBC1 and BB3 are different every though they
are produced by the same institution

3.  You need to discuss the implications of both
channels being part of a public service
broadcasting company
 Use should explain how BBC3 is planned to switch
to digital only and how this shows us who the
target audience are and how they ‘use’ the
media
 You must refer to specific textual analysis
examples when discussing both programmes as
evidence for your points
 Star appeal- Dyer’s theory of star persona is
important for both sitcoms, you need to explain
how the stars who both write and act in both
sitcoms appeal to a specific target audience

4. Key media terminology! You
must include the following
terms:
 Watershed
 Inheritance
 Stripping
 Channel ethos
 PSB
 Scheduling
 Niche
 Mass
 Stereotypes
 Representation
 PRIME TIME
 ZONING
 STRIPPING

5. Task- Your Guide to Getting
an A Grade in the Exam
You are going to look at the mark
scheme for the exam and write a
guide to what you need to do to
get full marks in this section of the
paper.

6. Question 1
 Discuss in detail how and why two programmes
you have studied were scheduled on one or
more channels. State the day, time and channel
on which the programme was scheduled.

7. Institutional Information
Public service broadcasting
 The UK has 5 public service television broadcasters. These broadcasters receive benefits
like the licence fee (in the case of the BBC), guaranteed access to the spectrum (or
section of the airwaves) they need for broadcasting, and prominence on TV electronic
programme guides. In return they commit to providing services that give a benefit to the
public, like news, local programming or cultural content. The public service television
broadcasters in the UK are:
The BBC, a public corporation, funded mainly by the television licence fee
Channel 4, a public corporation self-funded by advertising
S4C, a public corporation broadcasting in Wales and funded by a combination of BBC
funding, government grant and advertising
Channels 3 and 5, whose licences are held by commercial television companies funded by
advertising (currently for Channel 3, ITV in England and Wales, STV in Scotland and UTV in
Northern Ireland)
 The BBC’s Royal Charter sets up their independence and defines what it does. The charter
is reviewed every 10 years, with the current charter running out at the end of 2016. The
BBC Trust regulates the BBC on behalf of the licence-fee payers. The chair of the Trust is
appointed by the government. The current BBC Royal Charter says that the BBC should be
funded by the fees paid for TV licences. If you watch or record TV programmes as they’re
broadcast you need to buy a TV Licence.
 Explain how BBC1 and BBC3 are funded and
regulated

8. Channel Ethos
 What is the channel ethos for BBC1 and BBC3,
find examples of programmes which fit the remit
of the channel
 Who are the target audience for BBC1 and
BBC3?
 What needs do these audiences have which are
met by these channels?
 How is BBC3 changing next year? How does this
fit the needs of its target audience?

9. How have the two texts
which you have studied
been scheduled?
 targeting audiences
 placement between texts
 scheduling strategies (e.g. stripping schedules)
 competition between institutions
 repeating texts on related channels/stations.

10. Question 2
 Compare the audience pleasures offered by two
comedy programmes. Give examples from the
programmes.
 Brain storm your initial response to this question

11. Audience Pleasures
Big school & Bad Education. Compare and
contrast the following:
 Target audience (who are they and what would
be their main aim for watching the programme)
 Uses and Gratifications
 Dyer’s Utopian Solutions
 Maslow’s Hierarchy