Exactly a century ago – an experiment began as the British Broadcasting Company made its first official broadcast from London. By December 1922 the BBC had its first General Manager, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist and broadcaster; he became the first British Broadcasting Corporation Director General in 1927.
So much history then – but 100 years later the principles that John Reith coined for his new charge are still valid – to inform, educate and entertain.
The BBC has become one of the main threads in the tapestry of social, economic and political life in the UK. Even in the 21st century era of streaming, podcasting, social media and fake news – or perhaps especially in that era – the BBC is a prop on which millions, perhaps even billions at times rely. It remains the biggest broadcaster in the world, commanding the biggest audiences for its coverage of global events and is relied upon as a credible source of information and news across the entire globe.
It’s worth looking online for BBC 100 to see the content that has been posted – 100 places, 100 voices, 100 game changes – the history of the BBC is in locked step with the major events and developments of our country in so many ways.
To inform - Go to the BBC website and there you’ll find a huge range of materials, news, analysis, commentary and trivia too. In this respect our BBC – because it is ours through the Licence Fee – is a prop for democracy in the UK. Where would we be if we didn’t have our daily diet of Conservative Party melodrama, courtesy of Chris Mason, Nick Robinson, Vicki Young and Laura K? The world of politics, economics, health and education flows into our homes and smart phones from a source that is pretty unimpeachable – because the BBC is not owned or operated by a mogul, a dictator, a puppet, a billionaire with financial muscle or a politician with an axe to grind. It’s owned by us. That’s important – very important. You need to be confident about your source of information when it costs nothing to tweet, to tiktok, or to post rumours. Even more critically perhaps the BBC is relied upon across the globe as a reliable source, broadcasting information in more than 40 languages. It is a lifeline for people in Iran, in Russia, in Syria and in China – people who otherwise would rely on a diet of news which has been filtered and processed, in an Orwellian fashion to suit the strong man at the top. Information means understanding, understanding means empathy, empathy makes peace more likely – soft power personified.
To educate – Some firsts. The Open University, BBC Bitesize, Children’s programming, BBC online, perhaps the first mass broadcast use of the internet devised by The BBC’s DG John Birt in 1997. Streaming Services since, iPlayer and BBC Sounds, a bewildering array of content designed to help everyone in British Society to engage and understand more. As part of that broader mission to educate, the rights of different sectors of society have loomed large too – the first female announcer in 1933, the first black female producer in 1941, dramas about racially segregated America – dating from the mid 1940’s. Gamechangers, pace setters, pathfinders for future social trends.
To entertain – so much, too much to list but some firsts. The first football commentary dating back to 1927, the first televised Olympics in 1948, the Proms in the Albert Hall from 1947 and the broadcast that changed the way that the world watched television – the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953 with an audience - at that early stage – of tens of millions. Of course, there is another of those coming down the tracks next May; the BBC will have another audience of billions. Let’s face it – where else would you watch it?
The BBC generates debate constantly. That’s a good thing, a healthy thing and it’s necessary too. Ask people abroad and they think it is amazing, the envy of the world. We are used to the BBC just ‘being there’, a part of the sound track to our complicated busyness in the 21st century. But its more than that, much more – and it has a fundamental importance to us all. After a century of depicting feast and famine, peace and war, triumph and disaster and boom and bust, the BBC still stands as the backdrop to our nationhood. Prime Ministers and governments are held to account and we have a window on world events that is second to none. Some people say – and I don’t think it’s true – that the BBC is a generational thing, watched by the old and marginalised by the young. Don’t let it be that way – don’t ignore it, don’t take it for granted. It’s a fundamental part of what puts the Great into Britain.
SDS
