NOTHERN CARIBBEAN UNIVERSITY College of Humanities, Behavioural and Social Sciences Department of Communication Studies

Assignment: Compare and Contrast

Submitted to Ms R. Tomlinson COMM245: Radio Broadcasting I Section A

Submitted by Cheree Morris ID#: 33100013

Date January 9, 2013

Compare and Contrast 2 Radio Stations with Different Niches

The radio stations that will be compared and analyzed are RJR 94FM and NCU Radio. There are many differences and similarity which can be identified between the two stations such as the genre of music, presenters and the target audience of each. NCU radio is a smaller organization set in the parish of Manchester. It is fairly new in comparison to RJR which has been around since 1950. With that being said it is somewhat expected that RJR will have a bigger share of the market. However there are elements associated with NCU Radio that sets them apart from RJR. Unlike RJR that has a niche of general public at its hands; NCU caters to those who seek spiritually uplifting programs. NCU FM provides for a specific segment of the market and as such sets itself apart from the RJR FM. With that being said RJR however has the ability to cater to the needs of every sub-group within the wider market. It deals with news and current affairs, music, history and even at times some gospel programs. Different days, on different programs have different themes which keeps the programs interesting. The presenters for both stations are however very different as, each presenters personality on RJR is based on the program they host. So there are many different visions and goals within the on radio station1 the presenters are very diverse which attracts a diverse audience which automatically attracts a wider range audience increasing their reach target. They have different presenters who are appropriate for segments depending on the segment. But this is not the case at NCU FM, though programs may have a slight difference in terms of context and quality, all programs are focused around one central theme and so it is quite evident that this

theme of Christianity and Christ-centeredness is the main focus. However the presenters for each segment is majority of the time suitable The quality in music is also very different as NCU, keeping within its theme, plays no secular music. However at RJR based on the program any genre of music is played to compliment the aired program and the variety of different wide mixture of music provided encourages more people to listen. Despite the fact that both radio stations have different niches both share the common vision of generating income and growing.