January 17, 2025

If you're remotely interested in the development of broadcasting, this is a must watch. Yes, much of it is dry as a bone but somehow it rather effectively sums up the BBC I recall as a child. A formal and stuffy place populated by folks in suits or frocks with plummy South Eastern England voices behind the microphone and some 'Arry and Fred types doing the leg work. It was an organisation producing content for domestic consumption around the UK, … read the rest.

If you're remotely interested in the development of broadcasting, this is a must watch. Yes, much of it is dry as a bone but somehow it rather effectively sums up the BBC I recall as a child. A formal and stuffy place populated by folks in suits or frocks with plummy South Eastern England voices behind the microphone and some 'Arry and Fred types doing the leg work. It was an organisation producing content for domestic consumption around the UK, but also provided content around the world that was relied upon as an impartial interpretation of global news by many national broadcasters elsewhere. It starts off at the BBC External service where stories are transmitted in the native languages of many countries amidst an array of complex dials and valves. What follows now takes in a range of jobs across the whole gamut of production, engineering, cleaning, writing, lighting - you name it, as this organisation gets to grips with the events of the day. Pop music radio was still a long way away, but there was still some big-band toe-tapping to get us out of bed in the morning. Television light entertainment and drama was also in full swing and there's quite an interesting look at just what had our parents (or grandparents) entertained and informed as the 1960s got under way. It encapsulates attitudes that do make you cringe a little - can you imagine calling a show "Housewife's Choice" nowadays? They even discuss the ground breaking idea of "anonymous music" (i.e. not announcing who it is). Might that stimulate the audience's imagination or is merely it a gimmick? Could today's evening play be a little too racy? What's the likelihood of the horse racing making the air from Lincoln? This entire documentary is presented with an obvious deference not just to this institution, but to institutions of the state generally - which probably contributed to it's public trustworthiness at the time, and it takes a distinctly and patriotic British slant. Maybe a bit jingoistic, but that's what makes it worth watching. It's unashamedly proud of what it is and what it stands for. There's no "cotton-wooling" here, you know! It's completely unrecognisable to the media environment now, but it's regimen of standards, verification and variety might make some people nostalgic for a time when the news on television was gospel not gossip.

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