Radio Package: DSA Cuts To Higher Education

My finished radio package is just under 4 minutes long in length. It looks at the UK governments recent decision to make funding cuts to the Disabled Student Allowance in Higher Education. 

The package focuses on the view points of university students with and without disabilities. This gives the package a varied view point from the same demographic as they have encountered different life experiences. Also an interview from an MP for the Liberal Democratic's, Norman Lamb shared his views to from a political perspective without trying to make the package biased. 

The interviews were recorded over the phone, Skype and in person so it was hard to keep the clarity and the level consistent, but the variety of voices has done it some justice. With the use of editing I tried to normalise and reduce the amount of background noise for the package. 

In my personal opi
nion, the use of music or sound effects didn't seem to fit in well with the radio package so it is verbally focused. The break up of my voice pieces help shape the structure of the package. 

News Bulletin

For the news bulletin part of the course the requirements was to write four news stories, with at least two containing audio clips and a weather report. The total length was approximately 3 minutes, which I have fallen just under. Websites used included IRN and the Met Office.

I performed in Studio B using audition to record on the burli computer in the same studio. I pressed three different hotkeys for the intro, transition to weather and the ending feature. As well as operate the microphone and burli, while I was presenting the news.

In evaluation,  I stuttered a couple of times even though I had practiced. The pitch in my voice, however, did change with the news presentation which I think gave it a bit of a vocal boost and made it less dull. My operation of the studio keys and the various equipment is clearly recognised within the sound cloud clip, due to it's smoothness in transition.

Raw Audio: Narrative

Below is an addition to the raw audio used for the radio package, but are focused on my vocal address in the package.

Raw Audio For Package

Below are the raw audio clips from the short student interviews I got for my Radio Package, as well as the raw full clip of the Norman Lamb interview.

Phonecall Interview with Norman Lamb MP

I managed to get a phone call interview with Lib Dem MP Norman Lamb for my radio package segment. This took place Thursday 7th January 2015. I had also contacted several Conservative MP's but none of them responded to my emails except Mr Lamb. 

I asked Mr Lamb 4 Questions: 

1) What is your opinion on the governments recent decision to make cuts to the funds of disabled students in higher education?

2) Do you feel those who benefit from the DSA funds will be discouraged to further their education and in some cases feel victimized by the government?

3) University is a very important time for young people. Students are moving away from home and learning to live independently. With the cuts made mostly to physical learning support, could this potentially mean mental and emotional support service could be threatened with cuts in the future.

4) Playing devil advocate, universities do get given a lot of money and support from the government and other industries. Can you see the reasoning behind their decision?

"...As Health Minister, Norman has worked to reform our broken care system, introducing a cap on care costs and ensuring that carers get the support they need.  Norman is leading the drive to join-up our health and care system, with a greater focus on preventing ill-health. He is also challenging the NHS to ensure that mental health gets treated with the same priority as physical health, with access waiting standards being introduced next year.  In January 2015 Norman was appointed to the Liberal Democrat General Election Cabinet as the party's Health spokesperson" -  http://www.normanlamb.org.uk/about

Radio Package Background:

As part of the radio assessment, each student has to conduct a factual radio package on a topic of their choice. I have decided to choose the recent decision by the conservative government to cut funding to disabled students in higher reduction. This means Universities will have to pay out of their own pocket for taking on students who require additional help. From next September, universities will have to pay for: non-medical support staff, including note-takers, and readers, and funding for computer equipment and specialist accommodation will be reduced.

Research: Guardian Article (03/12/2015) - http://www.theguardian.com/education/2015/dec/02/government-to-cut-funding-disabled-university-students-jo-johnson

The Independent Article (24/11/2015) - http://www.independent.co.uk/student/istudents/disabled-students-allowances-cuts-britain-needs-to-ensure-disabled-students-have-the-same-chances-as-a6746421.html

Official Government Document (Consultation on targeting funding for disabled students in High Education from 2016/17 onwards - https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/439947/bis-15-81-consultation-on-targeting-funding-for-disabled_students-in-higher-education-from-2016-17.pdf

National Union of Students: Cuts Briefing Document - https://uclu.org/sites/uclu.org/files/u84290/documents/dsa_cuts_briefing1.pdf

Radio Assessment Breakdown

A set plan has been created by the lecturer to what will occur each week for the radio assessment. The breakdown below has been taken from the Seminar Handbook, for online reference.