BBC Radio 5Live – Breakfast: Social Media at its height?

BBC Radio 5 Live is a station that embraces social media. 5 Live Breakfast uses 4 types of social media to connect with its audience.

Besides the regular Breakfast show, the daily Breakfast phone is dedicated to listener conversation and comment.  According to Steve Bowbrick, editor of the 5 live blog, the success the programme is largely down to the interaction with the listeners.  Social media allows the programme to stay in contact with its audience, whilst also monitoring popular themes and topics which can become programme content.  Listeners become part of the show, and when the programme goes off air, listeners can continue to debate.  No longer is a show’s content limited to the its broadcast time slot.

Social media is actually crucial to 5 Live a lot. Being a talk radio station, presenters are constantly repeating ‘call 0500 909 693. Text 85050. Email via the website: bbc.co.uk/5live’. The station depends through out its schedule on conversation and comment with its listeners. Regular debates and discussion programmes are a key feature of the station’s programming and therefore demonstrates the importance though the phone-lines, emails, blogs and Facebook groups (Listening to Livesey as an example) can play.

Jason