'Hermes' Business College

Petroşani

British Broadcasting Company

Coordinating teacher, Student,

Elena Kiss Baran Cosmin
 CONTENT

Introduction

Chapter I: Where it all started

1.1 The birth of British broadcasting.
1.2 From private company towards public service.

Chapter II: Pre-War BBC

2.1 Welcomed developments
2.2 War of the World

Chapter III: BBC during World War II

3.1 Source of support for the war effort.
3.2 Lord Haw Haw
3.3 The Battle of the Beams

Conclusion:

Bibliography:
 INTRODUCTION

• The theme of the present paper deals with the British Broadcasting
Company, the way their business and community evolved and how
their help and interest for the UK has shaped up their praised
establishment and also them as a nation.

• I have chosen this theme not just because “THE BBC” awakes
curiosity in me but also because of the fact that it is fascinating how
they helped UK in a horrible and frightful time of war.
In the first chapter general notions about “THE BBC” are presented. How
the company first came to life, their debut to broadcasting. Their first
sponsor which was very important to them because that broadcast
caught the people’s imagination and marked a turning point in the
British attitude towards radio. However, public enthusiasm was not
shared in official circles where such broadcasts were interfering with the
military communications.
The British Broadcasting Company, as the BBC was originally called, was
formed on 18 October 1922 by a group of leading wireless manufacturers
including Marconi.
Britain's first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford
took place in 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mail's Lord Northcliffe and
featured the famous Australian soprano Dame Nellie Melba. The Melba
broadcast caught the people's imagination and marked a turning point in the
British public's attitude to radio.
Ltd. John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in
December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official
broadcast. There were no rules, standards or established purpose to guide
him. He immediately began innovating, experimenting and organising, and
with the help of his newly appointed chief engineer, Peter Eckersley, the
service began to expand.
A special importance is also given to chapter II and III due to the amount
of the specific aspects of Pre-War and during the War are presented. The
second chapter focuses on Pre-War BBC developments such as an
increased attention to the role of radio and television in the creation and
reproduction of national identity. It also focuses on George Orwell and
his prose which was considered radiophonic. There was a style of
documentary vision in his prose writing that evoked the sound
perspective of radio broadcasting. As well as we focus on the BBC vs.
other media. The success of broadcasting provoked animosities between
the BBC and well established media such as theatres, concert halls and
the recording industry. Most importance is given to the third chapter in
which the focus is on how the BBC helped in the war against nazis and
had much success.
There is an argument for saying that there have been two particularly
welcome developments in recent works of broadcasting history. The
first of these is an increased attention to the role of radio and television
in the creation and reproduction of national identity.
The detailed description of programmes and policies produce a
compelling argument for the BBC’s role in forging a sense of national
identity through the promotion of the monarchy and the empire.
Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on 25 June 1903 in eastern
India. He wrote two of the most famous novels of the 20th century
“Animal Farm” and “Nineteen Eighty-Four”. Between 1941 and
1943, Orwell worked on propaganda for the BBC. In 1943, he
became literary editor of the Tribune, a weekly left-wing
magazine. Orwell was radiophonic in his writing.There was a style
of documentary vision in his prose writing that evoked the sound
perspective of radio broadcasting. The success of broadcasting
provoked animosities between the BBC and well established media
such as theatres, concert halls and the recording industry. Radio
plays were so popular that the BBC had received 6,000 manuscripts
by 1929, most of them written for stage and of little value for
broadcasting.
During the war the empire was an important source of support for the
war effort. Programmes like “In It Together” praised the part played by
“commonwealth” troops and used Australian presenters among
others. The BBC reinvented itself during the Second World War and
public perception of the institution changed dramatically.
Alongside its own programming activity the BBC provided a vital
information service, monitoring the broadcasts of other nations,
identifying foreign propaganda stations, and using its technology in
innovative ways to assist the nation in the long struggle for victory.
William Joyce was a UK citizen who, at the height of his popularity as a
Hamburg Radio announcer, drew audiences of six million with his
entertaining commentary on British life each evening after the 9 o'clock
news. But there was a sinister side to his broadcasts, which sought to
undermine the allied war effort, and which were worryingly well-
informed. His brother worked at the BBC until he was persuaded by
events to join the army; and the Germans bombed the family home in
London during the blitz. After the Nazi surrender Joyce was tried and
hanged for treason.
During World War 2 BBC engineers were engaged in a secret and highly
technical battle with the Luftwaffe. The Nazis introduced their 'Knickebein'
(crooked leg) navigation system, which used two radio signals,
transmitted from two different sites in occupied Europe, to guide bombers
to their targets in Britain. But the British thwarted these assaults by
putting out spoiler signals from UK transmitters on the same frequencies,
the Germans devised the X-Gerat system.
When the British worked out how to jam that system, the Nazis introduced
even more sophisticated technology, the Y-Gerat system. But by now,
thanks to information gleaned from German PoWs, the British were ahead
of the game, and BBC engineers based at Alexandra Palace deployed their
London transmitters - idle since the closure of the television service on the
day war was declared - to beam Y-Gerat signals back at the advancing
aircraft, and thus confuse their instruments.
 Conclusion

In conclusion BBC was the conduit for dialogue as never before. Along
side its own activity BBC provided a vital information service by
monitoring the broadcasts of other nations. BBC suffered directly from
the war due to “Lord Haw Haw” and his Nazi propaganda. But BBC was
an important source of support as it bringed hope and motivation to
people hearts by their programmes. It is also a landmark in the
development of instant communication which is such a banality today
but in those times it was a wonder and it shifted people’s perspective
on information. They realized that getting quickly informed can save
lives but it can also thow lives off the track. Leaders quickly realized
that mass media can be a means of educating people but it can also be
a means of manipulating people. It is still the case today.
 Bibliography

• https://www.bbc.com/timelines/zxqc4wx
• https://www.history.ac.uk/reviews/review/1079
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/general/censorship-
propaganda
• https://www.bbc.co.uk/historyofthebbc/research/general/bbc-at-war
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orwell_Award
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orwell_Prize
• http://research.gold.ac.uk/11328/