early years of the bbc-- 8/23/24

23 Aug 2024

early years of the bbc-- 8/23/24

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Today's selection--from The Early Years of Television and the BBC by Jamie Medhurst. In the 1930s, the earliest years of the BBC’s entry into television broadcasting, it was a challenge to come up with appropriate suggestions for content. One idea? Laundry work, in particular ironing

“In an article published in 2004 exploring the pre-war television service, Neil Robson argued that 'the short-lived experiment, lasting less than three years up to 1939, completely failed to achieve its potential ... the broadcast fare stayed solidly middle-brow and numbingly worthy.’ I hope to show over the following pages that this was not the case and that the range of programming during the 1936-9 period was extensive, both within the confines of the studio and in terms of outside broadcasts. Although none of the pre-war programmes exist —all were broadcast live with no technology to record them at the time —there is some evidence of the type and form of programming. Desmond Campbell, of the engineering staff at Alexandra Palace, recorded behind-the-scenes footage in 1938, which gives an insight into programmes and programme-making in the early years. Although Robson acknowledged the contribution of the early television producers in establishing production techniques that provided a foundation for the post-war television service, he contended that by mid-1939 the service was 'virtually dead in the water ... and cold shouldered by an indifferent public with its mind on other matters. Its sudden closure turned what should have been the success of the age into a passing curiosity.’ Again, I aim to show that this was not the case and that there were calls from the public and politicians during this period for the television service to be extended beyond London and that the plans that were in place to do this would have been realised had war not broken out in September 1939.

The BBC's radio studio in Birmingham, from the BBC Hand Book 1928, which described it as "Europe's largest studio"

“The defining characteristics of the 1936-9 television service were the emergence of a variety of programme formats or genres, the development and adoption of a television 'language', the establishment of television as a domestic and therefore intimate medium, and a pioneering spirit that allowed producers and artists the creative freedom to experiment and test the boundaries of the medium. Early critical reactions to television can be found in The Listener, the BBC's weekly magazine. In November 1936, the psychologist Professor T. H. Pear considered what television might offer the public and came to the conclusion that immediacy and actuality were two its strengths, as were friendliness and intimacy. The following month, Ernest H. Robinson wrote about television's past and present and suggested that television's greatest potential was in programmes which combined both entertainment and education, citing programmes on zoo animals and ballet as examples. In June 1937, the broadcasting critic of the magazine, Grace Wyndham Goldie, welcomed television not only as a medium for 'day-to-day entertainment', but as a medium which provided a direct relationship with the person in front of the camera — an intimacy not felt in the cinema. Television during this period also developed a clearer sense of purpose. By August 1937, The Listener pointed to one of the key strengths of television, 'its ability to present viewers with a picture of current events while they actually take place', pointing to the Coronation, the Wimbledon Tennis Championships and the Davis Cup as recent examples.

“Television staff were also becoming more aware of what ( or who) would, and would not, work on the small screen in visual terms particularly. A series of memoranda in September 1936 prior to the official launch highlight this. Cecil Lewis, the producer responsible for talks on television, had asked colleagues for recommendations for potential speakers on the new service. Lewis was looking for speakers who were already radio personalities, who could be trusted in front of the microphone, and would talk fluently. He also stressed that while he would welcome suggestions for those who could talk on 'serious' topics, he wanted to keep them 'on the more popular human side' at the outset. Among the suggestions received were: a social psychologist who looked 'about as black and sinister as the devil himself'; a Romanian-born man with a bushy red beard and lots of personality; an attractive speaker who was 'pleasant to look at'; an excellent speaker on economics, although the memo noted that 'his appearance is against him'; and an ex-miner who, despite having 'a very slight Welsh intonation', had 'a satisfying "British workman" appearance'. Janet Quigley, the radio producer with responsibility for talks for women, had two suggestions: Mrs Daisy Pain, the laundress, whom Quigley considered would be ideal for television. Being 'buxom and comely she would look so entirely convincing and attractive if televised', and laundry work, in particular ironing, was 'obviously one of the subjects calling for illustration'. The second suggestion was Mrs Rama Rau, who 'would look extremely effective sitting telling one of the Indian legends that she says Indian mothers tell their children'. What is clear from these articles and from these internal memoranda is that television in the 1936–9 period was creating for itself a clear sense of identity and was laying a firm foundation for the future.”