British Broadcasting Corporation - Coursework Example

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Brief History of BBC BBC started as a British Broadcasting Company Ltd that was a commercial market in Britain established on October 1922 by the American and British electrical companies that were conducting business in UK. The two companies wanted to build sales for their products through radio broadcasts. The established company was licensed by British General Post Office, with its first office in Magnet floor. John Reith became the director in 1922. In 1926, the dissolution of the company took place and the assets transferred to British Broadcasting Corporation (Hilmes 6). Therefore, BBC is a public service statutory corporation for broadcasting aimed at providing the impartial public service in broadcasting in UK, Isle of Man and Channel islands. The corporation is headquartered in Broadcasting House, London, with the major production centres at Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow, Belfast and Salford Quays. BBC is among the oldest national broadcasting in the world with over 23,000 staffs (Hargrave and Colin 24). The institution represents a semi-autonomous public service broadcasting corporation under the Royal Charter with a license and agreement from Home Secretary. The work of the corporation gets funding from annual license fee for television charged to all households in Britain. The fee level is established by the government and is passed by the parliament. Outside UK, BBC world service provides other services through direct transmission and broadcasting contracts by the sound radio since inauguration of BBC Empire Service in 1932 (Sterling 81). Despite sharing the facilities on domestic services for current affairs and news, the Managing Director for the World Service is separate and it obtains grants from British Government. The grants are independently determined by the domestic license fee and are awarded from budget of Commonwealth and Foreign office. As a result, the content of BBC international has been represented traditionally. The main activities of the corporation involve format sales and programmes. The organization also earns income from the sale of programme making services through the Post production ltd and BBC studio (McDougall and Prashant 62). The radio has played a major part in reproduction and creation of national identity. The institutional histories have paved way for more closely observed accounts that include actual broadcasting stuff and radio programmes. More importantly is the work of radio programmes that has been effective in historical writing. Such developments have been influenced greatly by increased availability of the radio archives. For instance, Thomas Hajkowski researched meticulously on early BBC to produce a compelling argument on the role of BBC is enhancing national identity by promotion of empire and monarchy. In his book, he challenged the orthodox view of the period between 1922 and 1939 that was characterized by stifling where BBC promoted multinational Britishness (McDougall and Prashant 65). Until development of popularization as well as domination of radio, the broadcast media in UK was relied on by many people reaching every home in land and united the nation. This was especially critical during the Second World War. BBC introduced 405-line television network in 1936 which remained as the only radio broadcaster in UK. The monopoly of BBC was broken in 1955 after the introduction of the Independent Television that heralded transformation of the television to a popular medium. However, radio in 1950s remained significant source of the broadcast comedy (Smith 16). The Extent to which BBC has Preserved Culture in UK BBC has played a critical role since its establishment, and has been admired and recognized in the country. Governments have expressed the role of BBC in British life. According to studies, people know what they need from BBC, and they believe that the expansion of the people’s choices enhances the importance of BBC. BBC is considered by most people as secure foundation for most of other broadcasting media in UK. Most people have perceived BBC as a trusted and secure environment that delivers programmes of high quality that can be depended on, especially by their families. Therefore, BBC is considered to have clear purposes to serve the society in a very unique way. They support the move by the government of advocating for informing, educating and entertaining people (McIntosh and Ruth 82). BBC plays a unique role in promotion of culture and creative life in UK. This entails enriching the cultural life of the people in UK through use of creative excellence in original and distinctive programming as well as promoting creativity. The corporation has been effective in enhancing engagement, participation and interest of the culture among audiences. Broadcasting is considered as a civic art that is intrinsically public in effect and ambition. This can be experienced individually though it never a pure private transaction. Entering a radio is equivalent to entering a communal space and it represents significant public value and the communal glue, normally referred as social capital (McDougall and Prashant 63). BBC believes that the public value potential has never been so great. Creation of a digital Britain is a major challenge and BBC must act as the lead. BBC must therefore ensure that all the people are involved and support talent investment. BBC enriches the cultural life in UK by bringing audiences and talent together in order to break new ground, broaden the national conversation and celebrate the cultural heritage (McDougall and Prashant 64). Some recordings of the 1939 still exist written by famous people like J.B Priestly and Churchill that are still considered precious. The BBC has been able to preserve the subjects as the primary source. From the BBC programmes, Hajkowski argues with conviction that empire theme remained dominant during the pre-war BBC and the repeated attention to empire helped in reinforcing and expressing the British National Identity through praising the imperial values as well as telling the imperial tales. In his programme, he acknowledged the imperial history arguing that that the empire played a major role in influencing the culture and domestic institutions in Britain (Great Britain 35). The eight part serialization of the Four Feathers by A.E.W presented imperialist’s courageous, perseverance and heroism values. Imperial men were the ones who spearheaded such radio programmes. The imperial programmes enhanced the celebration of the exotic. The other programme is Gordon of Khartoum that emphasized the survey of Gordon of the river Nile with a defiant purpose. This man was praise for his heroism and superiority. Normally, empire during the war supported the people during the war. Such a discussion about monarchy in BBC was crucial as it contributed to the vital symbol of the British identity. Various programmes were used during celebrations of the events (Smith 17). Ever since its advent as a commercial television and radio, BBC has maintained its position as among the major element in the culture of Britons in its obligation of producing radio and TV programmes for the mass audiences. The arrival of the BBC2 gave the BBC opportunity of making programmes for the interests of minority in documentaries, entertainment, current affairs, sports and drama. Examples include the Civilization, Monty Pythona Flying Circua, Claudius and Tonight as shown in BBC Film Institute in the list of 100 greatest television programmes in Britain (McIntosh and Ruth 81). Export of the BBC programmes in BBC World News and through other channels that were operated by the BBC worldwide meant that the BBC productions were being experienced worldwide. The BBC English was used as alternative name for the Received Pronunciation as well as in English Pronouncing Dictionary that used the BBC pronunciation in its recommendations. As a result, the organization can use the regional accents to reflect the UK diversity through fluency and clarity of the presented. The BBC, since its starchy beginnings, has been more inclusive in an attempt to accommodate interest of strata of the entire society and for the minorities as they take part in paying the license fee. The competition of other independent channels such as Sky, Channel 4 and Independent Television, as well as other upcoming broadcast television stations have decreased the influence of BBC making public broadcasting to remain a major influence on the British Popular Culture (Great Britain 37). Popular Culture BBC is referred by audiences as Beeb, a nickname that was originally coined by the Peter Sellers during the goon show in 1950s as he refereed BBC as ‘Beeb Beeb Ceeb’. Thereafter, it was shortened, borrowed and popularized by Everett Kenny that came up with a nickname though less coined ‘Auntie’ which originated from ‘Auntie knows best’ old-fashioned attitude. The programmes referred to uncles and unties that presented the children programmes during the early days when John Reith who was the first direct of BBC was in charge. However, the two nicknames have been constantly uses as ‘Auntie Beeb’ where Auntie has been used in the out-take programmes like the Auntie’s Bloomers (Crook 217). Extent to which BBC has changed the culture in UK There have been several criticisms that BBC has faced on various topics such as ethics, religion and politics, as well as the staffing and funding processes. The numerous controversies arise especially after broadcasting controversial news in its coverage and programming. For instance in 2012, BBC was faced with the crisis over the scandals in child abuse. The director general of BBC was compelled to appear before the culture, media and sport parliamentary committee to answer the questions on allegations of the abuse of children by Jimmy Whittingdale who was the chairman of the committee (Smith 161). This jeopardized the trust and integrity reputation of BBC. The Entwistle stated that the allegations on child abuse presented a grave matter. In the panorama investigations, the team believed that they were a paedophile ring which operated for over 20 years. During the programme, the foreign affairs editor, John Simpson referred the panorama programme as the biggest crisis of 50 years (Nakamura and Koichiro 45). Thereafter, investigations of Jimmy Savile Scandal prompted the News night to investigate the abuse scandal of the North Wales Child, and in November 2012, the resident of Bryn Estyn children home claimed that a former conservative politician had abused him sexually in 1970s. There were rumours on social media that the case was a mistaken identity. He strongly denied his involvement in such an act and argued that the allegations were seriously defamatory and false. As a result, the accuser apologized unreservedly arguing that he mistook the photograph of the assailant. The BBC had also compelled to apologize (Hargrave and Colin 23). The decision of broadcasting news right report without obtaining the consent from a person also raised criticisms. Resignation of the director general in BBC was accompanied by allegations that the Entwistle severance package was in excess of £1.3 million. The secretary of state for culture argued that that was a payment for the ‘failure’ of Entwistle. As a result, the chairman called for structural, radical and thorough overhaul of the corporation. During this time, the chairman of the BBC trust, Lord Patten referred to the crisis as catastrophic and feared that recovery of the institution could take years. However, in 2013, report s indicates that police were investigating the paedophile ring between 1980s and 1990s in East Enders. The allegations, nevertheless, turned to be untrue. Similar allegations were made by Richard Marson where it claimed that the producer doctor, Nathan-Turner used his position in inappropriate sexual behaviours and assaulted adolescent male fans of the 1980s series (Hargrave and Colin 24). The respect at work report of May 2013 contained 37 alleged cases by Dinah Rose Human Rights barrister GC team for the sexual harassment that happened between 2006 and 2012. The document argued on a climate of fear and anxiety that was created by the senior staff that was accused of sexual harassment. The superiors bullied their juniors, and they dealt erratically with them. In the publication Rose had blamed the broadcasting industry for the reported incidents of bullying. However, the BBC director announced the new measures that were taken by the corporation to handle the current issues that prevented the affected employees from speaking out as well as stopping the prevalence of the senior management in handling such issues (Fortner 34). Conclusion In conclusion, it can be said that the BBC founders believed in broadcasting as a process through which they can make world become a better place. Indeed, the corporation was critical in promotion of knowledge, information and culture. This encouraged more cohesiveness between the communities as well as engaging the people in UK in new conversations on their identity. BBC has been able to preserve the culture through airing programs for families, and can therefore be said to have clear purposes in the service to the society. The programs inform and educate on the morals of the society and the need to uphold the beliefs and traditions for the success of both the individual and society at large. This has enhanced engagements, participation and interest of the culture among audiences. BBC believes that the public value potential has never been so great. Creation of a digital Britain is a major challenge and BBC must act as the lead (Crook 218) On the other hand, BBC has contributed to changes in culture. There has been criticism that some programs remain ethically unacceptable. The numerous controversies arise especially after broadcasting controversial news in its coverage and programming, and this has made it to appear before culture, media and sport parliamentary committee to answer the questions on allegations of the abuse of the culture and human dignity. Works Cited Crook, David. "School Broadcasting in the United Kingdom: An Exploratory History." Journal of Educational Administration and History 39.3 (2007): 217-26. Print. Fortner, Robert S. Radio, Morality, and Culture: Britain, Canada, and the United States, 1919-1945. Carbondale: Southern Illinois UP, 2005. Print. Great Britain. A Public Bbc. London: The Stationery Office Ltd, 2004. Print. Hargrave, Andrea Millwood., and Colin Shaw. Accountability and the Public Interest in Broadcasting. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2009. Print. Hilmes, M. "Front Line Family: 'Women's Culture' Comes to the BBC." Media, Culture & Society 29.1 (2007): 5-29. Print. McDougall, Arundel, and Prashant Popat. International Product Law Manual. Austin: Wolters Kluwer Law & Business, 2011. Print. McIntosh, Malcolm, and Ruth Thomas. BBC. London: Routledge, 2001. Print. Nakamura, Kiyoshi, and Koichiro Agata. Convergence of Telecommunications and Broadcasting in Japan, United Kingdom and Germany: Technological Change, Public Policy and Market Structure. Richmond: Curzon, 2001. Print. Smith, Cathy. "Building an Internet Archive System for the British Broadcasting Corporation." Library Trends 54.1 (2005): 16-32. Print. Sterling, Christopher H. "1. CBQ REVIEW ESSAY: British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) History (Part I)." Communication Booknotes Quarterly 39.2 (2008): 81. Print. Smith, M. K. (2006). Tourism, culture, and regeneration. Wallingford, Oxfordshire, UK: CABI Pub. Read More