London Calling

Mauritius Times – 60 Years

Apart from cricket, the BBC is the only institution that Englishmen take seriously

By Bhisma Dev Seebaluck

It is very interesting to note the way and speed at which news is received and transmitted by a radio station. Seated comfortably at home and hearing the BBC saying, “This is London Calling. Here is the news,” we do not in the least try to consider the amount of hard work done by those responsible to deliver this news in English and in thirty-five other languages.

Twenty-five teleprinter machines spend their time ticking and chatting away day and night to receive messages from news agencies such as the Press Association and Exchange Telegraph, which focus on news within the United Kingdom, as well as Reuters, Associated Press, and United Press, which report news from around the world. Some other teleprinters are kept busy reporting what foreign radio stations happen to be saying. Thus, they perform a very valuable piece of work, as many important events from foreign countries are first revealed to the world by the local radio. As these machines print out the information, attendants carry away the paper and deliver it to the copytaster in the Newsroom.

A copytaster is one who makes the first scrutiny of every piece of news that comes into the office. About four hundred thousand words pass under his eyes every twenty-four hours. Since a radio bulletin is approximately two thousand words long, the copytaster has to strike off information he deems trivial. From that stage, the information passes to the Sub-editor, who in turn presents the facts in a way easily understood by the listener.

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The British Broadcasting Corporation was established in 1927 by Royal Charter. Its aim is to ensure a public broadcasting service for general reception in the UK and overseas. The Corporation is overseen by a body of nine governors appointed by Her Majesty in Council. These governors do not dedicate their whole time to the BBC; governorships are part-time appointments over a limited term, typically five years.

For a few years before 1926, this service had been provided by the British Broadcasting Company, a private monopoly under a special government charter, which was controlled by radio set manufacturers. This was admittedly a temporary and unsatisfactory arrangement. The Crawford Committee, reviewing the entire subject on behalf of the government in 1926, recommended that the broadcasting service should be conducted by a public corporation acting as Trustee for the national interest, with status and duties akin to those of a public service. It is this recommendation that brought the BBC into existence under a Royal Charter. The charter provides fundamental and extremely important instructions to the BBC.

First and foremost, the BBC must broadcast news that is objective and without political bias. It must ensure there is no political leaning across its entire range of programs. The BBC must not broadcast any opinions of its own on matters of public policy, and it cannot receive any money from advertisements or sponsorship.

Since its inception, the BBC has operated on public service lines, with a growing emphasis on education, information, entertainment, and the interests of cultural minorities. The Corporation’s popular school broadcasts, the integrity of its news services, its impartial handling of controversial talks and discussions, and the cultural value of the Third Programme, which started in September 1946, are just a few examples of how the Corporation fulfills its duties to the public. The BBC enjoys a worldwide reputation for reliability. However, initially conceived to promote radio sets, a significant amount of purely popular entertainment is broadcast, reflecting public demand for entertainment in Britain, which relies on private radio set purchases.

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One of the most popular BBC programs is “English by Radio”. This program is broadcast daily from London and eighty-eight broadcasting stations in forty-seven countries, with explanations provided in thirty-two languages.

“English by Radio” is a remarkable success story in broadcasting. The service began in 1943 with a five-minute program broadcast daily to a small audience in Belgium, France, and Holland. It has since expanded into a global service reaching millions of people.

The BBC has its own personnel recruitment system, which generally parallels civil service arrangements but operates independently of general civil service rules.

Except for the Second World War, when the BBC was financed by parliamentary grants-in-aid, operations have been financed entirely through the license fee on radio receiving sets. A significant change in the 1947 license meant that the BBC’s external services were thereafter funded not from license revenue but from parliamentary grant-in-aid.

Advisory committees, a listener research organization, and the Board of Governors itself serve as channels for public influence on BBC activities.

Apart from cricket, the BBC is the only institution that Englishmen take seriously. They react vehemently to things they see or hear. At the slightest provocation, an Englishman will phone or write to the BBC in far more emotional terms than he would use when speaking to his own wife in a moment of anger.

6th Year – No 281
Friday 8th January, 1960

Mauritius Times ePaper Friday 26 July 2024