This week’s lecture looked at television and
public service broadcasting, looking closely at industries, institutions and
history. The lecture looked at the creation of the BBC as well as looking at
the views of the audience towards commercial television.
The Long and Wall reading talks about how media histories are
described and made, considering the factors that influence how a historiography
can be made.
The first key reading entitled 'The origins of public service
broadcasting' by Glen Creeber discusses how the BBC was created and how it
developed after the Second World War. Creeber explores the difference of
funding, from sponsorship to advertising. Public service broadcasting came
around in 1922 when John Reith founded the BBC. (Creeber 2003) The BBC was said
to feed the interests of all audience members, however the reading discusses
how the interests of the elite were being catered for. 'Indeed, 'Radio Reith'
had been shaped in his image, an authoritarian, paternalistic and innately
highbrow institution that tended to promote the interests and tastes of the
English upper middle class.' (Creeber 2003, 24) Although the BBC's aim was said
to 'entertain, but also to inform and educate as well.' (Creeber 2003, 23) Post
war television was described as 'radio with images' and did not instantly take
off.
The reading I have acquired this week is titled, 'Shaping the
early development of television' written by J, Van Den Ende. Ende talks about
the creation of the mechanical aspects of television and how it has changed the
way that we consume TV now. 'In the case of television, according to this view
mechanical television may well have enjoyed some success, but did not stand a
chance against the newer, and therefore better, electronic television.' (Van
Den Ende 1997, 14) When looking at it in terms of today electronic television
provides diversity for the audience as there are a range of channels and
programmes to choose from in comparison to when the BBC first started out and
could only offer a minority of channels and television shows. However, the
article also discusses how at one point mechanical and electronic television
were both doing well and it wasn't clear to see which was doing better as
audiences were interacting with both.
Bibliography
Creeber, Glen (2003) The Origins of Public Service
Broadcasting (British Television Before the War) in Michele Hilmes (ed.) (2003) The Television
History Book. London: BFI. pp.22-26
Long, P and Wall, T (2012) ‘Media Histories’ IN Media Studies:
Texts, Production, Context (2nd Edition), London: Pearson. pp 448 – 481
Van Den Ende, J (1997) Shaping
the early development of television’ Volume 16, Issue 4 Unknown: unknown. pp.
13 - 26
