Books, Broadcasters and the BBC: The Conversations Among British Modern Literature, Media and the Law

Abstract

Abstract I argue that the BBC, rather than exacerbating the sensationalism so prevalent in the British press at the turn of the century, worked steadfastly to curtail the rampant affronts to character that became commonplace in media representations of celebrity. The BBC’s efforts to “enculturate” its listeners became an incubator for the literary and legal culture of the age. As such, it blurred boundaries between elites and lower-class cultures. The BBC, founded in 1922, combated loose and sensational reporting, while it struggled with financing and legal identity. In 1927, the company was wound-up and the government established a new entity, under Royal Charter. This was crucial to the legal autonomy of the corporation, and differentiated it from those established under parliamentary statute. It also gave the BBC a monopoly over broadcasting. I will focus on these differences as I argue that while the voice of the new BBC was, by legal mandate, to be “unbiased,” the effects of John Reith’s management curtailed any hope of this goal in program content. I argue that while, pursuant to further government mandate, the BBC “may neither editorialize nor carry advertising,” Reith’s control and attempts to educate became points of contention to the legal mandate of the BBC. In effect, the BBC suffered an identity crisis at its inception, on one hand an unbiased instrument of government, reporting the proceedings of Parliament, for example, and on the other, a protected and autonomous legal entity under Charter. Alongside the Royal Charter and legal precedent surrounding the BBC’s inception and operation, my examination touches on the following primary texts: Ezra Pound’s The Testament of François Villon (1931), The BBC Talks of E.M. Forster, 1929 – 1960 (2008), Shaw’s Radio Plays, and some of the interviews conducted by the BBC with T.S. Eliot.