Don’t Log Off (BBC Radio 4) Analysis

Don’t Log Off is a BBC Radio 4 segment in which Alan Dein rings up random people from Skype in order to talk to them and find out about their lives and sometimes finds interesting people. Others not so much. ‘The result is fascinating radio that’s as goosebumpy at times as Don’t Hang Up, with random respondents spilling the intimate details of their lives to Dein’ (Elisabeth Mahoney – The guardian, 2012)

In this particular episode, Dein called up people from Tanzania, Nepal and Panama City. It is interesting for the listener to hear due to the differential stories that each had to say and people always love being nosey into peoples lives. The man from Tanzania explained how he was going to be a new father for the first time which would bring uplift and happiness to the listeners place due to the fact that a new human is being born into this world and the fact that he is nervous about it perhaps would make parents laugh and relate to his feelings. It also had it’s lows, as there was a student in Nepal that explained he had been involved in the earthquake. The music to accompany these stories was done cleverly as it had dull music followed by happy music to give the listener emotion and to uplift them after dark moments.

‘The remit of Radio 4 is to be a mixed speech service, offering in-depth news and current affairs and a wide range of other speech output including drama, readings, comedy, factual and magazine programmes.’ (Radio 4 Remit). Judging by the BBC Radio 4 remit, the audience is targeted at people who like to listen to intellectual shows. However, this show can be enjoyed by anyone who likes to listen to stories, from young adults like myself, to the older generation.

References:

BBC. (n/a). BBC Radio 4 . Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/our_work/services/radio/service_licences/bbc_radio_4.html. Last accessed 14 Oct 2017.

Elisabeth Mahoney. (2012). Radio review: Don’t Log Off. Available: https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2012/jan/02/radio-review-dont-log-off. Last accessed 14 Oct 2017.