What Were the Main Goals of the BBC in the 1920s and 1930s - Essay Example

What were the main goals of the BBC in the 1920s and 1930s Introduction This paper will give a through insight into British Broadcasting Corporation's goals and objectives in the early years of its inception. This paper will further give a historic picture of BBC's purpose of existence and how this purpose has changed in its course till now. History of BBC The original British Broadcasting Company was established in 1922 by a group of telecommunications companies (including subsidiaries of General Electric and AT&T) to broadcast experimental radio services. The first transmission was on 14 November of that year, from station 2LO, located at Marconi House, London. [1] [3] [4] John Reith was chosen as general manager and the company later became the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1927 when it was granted a Royal Charter of incorporation and ceased to be privately owned. It started experimental television broadcasting in 1932 and finally in 1936 began commercial operation. [1] [3] [4] Since BBC was doing great, it awarded a second TV channel, BBC2, in 1964, renaming the existing channel BBC1. BBC's monopoly on radio services persisted until the 1970s. Starting in 1964 a series of pirate radio stations came on the air, and forced the UK government to finally deregulate radio services. In response the BBC reorganized and renamed their radio channels. As well as the four national channels, a series of local BBC radio stations was established. [1] [3] [4] Since the deregulation of the UK television and radio market in the 1980s, the BBC started to face greater competition from the commercial sector, especially on satellite television, cable television, and digital television services. [1] The credit of the early success of the company goes to the BBC Research Department which has played a major part in the development of broadcasting and recording techniques. In the early days it carried out essential research into acoustics and programme level and noise measurement. [1] [3] [4] The BBC is a Public Corporation operating as a public service broadcaster incorporated under a Royal Charter that is reviewed every 10 years. Until 2007, the Corporation was run by a board of governors appointed by The Queen or King on the advice of the government for a term of four years, but on 1 January, 2007 the Board of Governors was replaced with the BBC Trust. The BBC is required by its charter to be free from both political and commercial influence and to answer only to its viewers and listeners. [1] [3] [4] Goals in 1920s and 1930s BBC was established in 1922 and its earliest goal (as with most companies) was to survive. BBC started off with its radio service, which was the first of its kind. The national service which BBC provided could only be heard by the few who had radio receivers. Therefore as beginner BBC's objective was to firmly establish itself as a known company and promote the technology to the audiences. As the technology progressed and more people got interested in the entertainment provided by BBC, the goals of the company matured as well. For the purpose of better understanding these goals are broken down into separate headings and the goals specified are presented in a chronological order. Economic goals As mentioned above, as a new company starting in 1922, the aim of BBC was to survive the initial excursion into the unknown world of radio public service. After creating the stirring in the British elite circle (because this service could only be afforded by the elites initially), the economic goal of BBC changed towards enlarging its scope and expanding into bigger markets. By late 1930s BBC's economic goal was to earn through its radio and T.V. broadcasts without interference from commercial pressures. Governmental goals In 1926 the first royal charter was given to BBC to function. This charter was an understanding to promote governmental goals as well as BBC's own goals. The British monarch used the radio to forge a link between the dispersed and disparate listeners and the symbolic heartland of national life. It was these programmes which brought the words of the monarch and the sounds of the ceremonies of state or which celebrated national festivals that came to hold pride of place in the annual cycle of broadcasting in the 1920s and 1930s. The BBC played a key role in popularizing the imperial monarchy and projecting the idea, in the words of its 1935 Empire day programme, "the British Empire is made up of one big family" (cited in Cardiff and Scannell 1987:163) [5] Some other governmental goals that BBC promotes are to reflecting the UK's nations, regions and communities: by enabling the UK's many communities to see what they hold in common and how they differ, the BBC seeks to build social cohesion and tolerance through greater understanding. BBC aims to bring the UK to the world and the world to the UK by supporting the UK's global role by being the world's most trusted provider of international news and information, and by showcasing the best of British culture to a global audience. [1] [2] Industry Goals BBC was the first service of its kind to broadcast for the public. It was the initiator of the broadcasting public service and it created this industry. Thus it was really important to grab hold of the position BBC was in and to stamp its feet further in the industry. This goal BBC achieved and this can be seen from the fact that BBC was the sole company, a monopoly in the industry till 1970. Further more BBC aimed to be the most creative, trusted organisation in the world and to be known as the best source of entertainment and news in the whole industry. Technological Goals (Role of Radio, Role of Television) BBC's goals for radio (in 1922) and for T.V. (in 1932) were a little different. The radio was more focused on the entertainment perspective of the broadcast, the T.V. was bent towards the news and special features in its early days. This was mainly because that the radio had become the accepted norm in the lives of the people and a sudden breakthrough in the form of T.V wasn't welcome. Infact the T.V artists were paid lesser in the early days than those on the radio. From the very start BBC's goal was to deliver the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services through BBC's trusted guide to the digital world for the inexperienced or unsure, a safer place to be for the young, a more reliable and accurate on-air and online source for the information seeker, and a challenging and involving partner for the more advanced user. [1] As the broadcast environment evolved across television, radio and other new and emerging media platforms, the BBC's aim was to continue to support how they work and how they play delivering public value across the range of its content and services. [2] Audience Target Goals According to BBC's purpose statement, "Audiences are at the heart of everything we do". From this tagline it can be derived that the audience is the most important part of a broadcasting service. When BBC started its operations on radio and on T.V, BBC goal was to enrich the life of every person in the UK with programmes that inform, educate and entertain. BBC wanted to ensure quality of life for its society as a whole. So in order to do this successfully, BBC looks to be inclusive in that society and also strives to consistently offer value for people as individuals. It seeks to touch people's lives in ways that contribute fundamentally to their individual enjoyment, self-fulfilment and ability to participate in the society. [2] For the society and its people BBC's goal was to sustain citizenship and a civil society through its support for civic life and national debate by providing trusted and impartial news and information that helps citizens make sense of the world and encourages them to engage with it. BBC also promoted education and learning by offering audiences of every age a formal and informal educational opportunity in every medium and to help build a society strong in knowledge and skills. [1] [2] To promote the cultural values in the society, BBC stimulated creativity and cultural excellence by enriching the UK's cultural life by bringing talent and audiences together to break new ground, to celebrate their cultural heritage, and to broaden the national conversation. Company's Goals Since the inception of BBC, it has based all of its goals on these values: [1] to inform, educate and entertain to serve everyone and enrich people's lives BBC aim was to be an independent, impartial and an honest source of information for the people. By following these, the company furthered its own goodwill as people agreed to what was being said on the broadcasts in terms of information and news. [2] The important points that BBC catered to and adhered to was that BBC took pride in delivering quality and value for money. It infused creativity in to the lifeblood of the organization to present challenging programmes and styles of presenting information. The respect created for each other was celebrated to honour the diversity so that everyone can give their best. By aiming to promote a group or team work, BBC wanted to get great things done rather than just good things. [2] Government's Intervention Throughout its life (even currently), BBC has been working under the influence of the government or the monarchy. BBC's goals to present unbiased and impartial information have come under attacks by the politicians time and again. The government has intervened to hamper the enforcement of BBC's goals and its objectives. BBC's general manager John Reith's goal was to portray the political scenario in the UK to the public in clear light. He thought that this was only possible through the 'brute force of monopoly'. He thought that the people of the nation deserved to know the inside story of politics and the crude world that it was. But he was mistaken. BBC on receiving the first charter in 1926 saw a betrayal at the hands of the first chairman of the board of governors, who submitted in to a government for a ban on the broadcasting of controversial matters like politics and social issues on the basis that it can cause a social uproar among the people. Even after the lifting of ban in 1928, the BBC had to face continuing interference in the broadcasting of political and social issues, the bulk of which political output took on the character of an education for the citizenship, offering elucidation of the issues at an abstract level which transcended current controversy. There was a shift away from the early concept of public service primarily as an instrument of access which would stimulate participation in the democratic process. [6] Second World War BBC wanted to air special programmes related to the issues of the Second World War which started in 1939. However any such plans of BBC were cut short as on 1 September 1939, two days before war broke out, a Mickey Mouse cartoon was being shown when the television service was suddenly blacked out for defence reasons. Even the radio programmes were halted and special programmes were put in place of the normal ones. It was feared that the transmitters could have provided navigational aid for enemy aircraft. That same Mickey Mouse cartoon was shown on June 7 1946 when BBC television re-opened. [4] Conclusion BBC's goals from the time it started its operation have remained technically the same. It still aims to give the best public service and entertainment as it used to do in the 1920s and 1930s. The only change that has occurred is the involvement of technology in the lives of people these days. Just like in the early days, BBC is committed to explore the new technology such as the internet as it explored with the radio and the T.V. It now aims to help deliver to the public the benefit of emerging communications technologies and services, and taking a leading role in the switchover to digital television. The scope of BBC's goals have also evolved and grown with the changing time. In the 1920s and 1930s BBC was restricted to give the best to its audiences in the UK only. But now thanks to technology, information from BBC can touch any part of the world to any person in access of technology. [1] BBC's term has been under controversy and debate about the government's involvement in its functioning. As of January 1, 2007 the establishment of 'The Trust' will try to solve this issue that has been a restricting force for the company. BBC still works to promote its country and its motto "Nation Shall Speak Peace Unto Nation" enforces this message. BBC will continue to do what it has been doing best for the last 80 years i.e. providing unbiased and impartial information and entertainment to its audiences all over the world. And will stick to its slogan "This is what we do". Works Cited 1. "Policies, guidelines and reports" [Internet], BBC, Available at , Accessed on July 13, 2007. 2. "Purpose and values" [Internet], BBC, Available at , Accessed on July 13, 2007. 3. "History of BBC 1920s" [Internet], BBC, Available at , Accessed on July 13, 2007. 4. "History of BBC 1930s" [Internet], BBC, Available at , Accessed on July 13, 2007. 5. James Curran, "Media and Power" [Book], pp. Routledge (Aug 2002), ISBN-13: 978-0415077408 6. James Curran, Pauline Wingate, Anthony Smith, "Impacts and Influences: Essays on Media Power in the Twentieth Century" [Book], New York: Methuen. Read More