how the BBC became an integral part of British identity

It may sound inappropriate, but for the BBC, Queen Elizabeth’s death was the best birthday present imaginable. A month before its 100th anniversary, the British Broadcasting Corporation got the chance to show the world what the broadcaster is capable of. The ten long days of splendor were portrayed almost flawlessly, under the guidance of the tireless anchorman Huw Edwards. Even BBC critics were proud of what ‘Auntie Beeb’ had shown. The best of British.

There’s something poetic about it, because the coronation of the young Elizabeth, more than seventy years ago, was the first mass-watched television broadcast in British history. used to be. In fact, worldwide 85 million people watched. For the BBC, this was an opportunity to establish itself as a Gold Standard among the visual media. Three years later there was competition from ITV and today the channels are much busier, but as a public service broadcaster the BBC has managed to maintain its special character over the decades.

After all, the BBC is more than a television broadcaster. Like the royal family and the National Health Service, the ‘Beeb’ is an integral part of British identity, reinforced by the fact that every citizen with a television set has to pay a television license fee. General civilized English becomes BBC English called, or the Queen’s English. Informing, entertaining and teaching is the holy trinity in the royal charter of the BBC which was put in writing in 1927.

Cricket reports and Big Ben playing

However British the BBC is, five years earlier it was founded by the famous Italian Guglielmo Marconi. The inventor of wireless telephony, with his company English Electric, was on the seventh floor of the Marconi House, in the heart of London. The first radio program was broadcast from this place a hundred years ago. It was the six o’clock news, followed by the weather forecast. The host, Arthur Burrows, read it slowly twice so that the listeners could co-write. The BBC’s father, however, was not Marconi but John Reith, the Scot who became broadcasting director in 1922, without significant experience. Marconi went looking for other challenges.

In the early years, the BBC’s programming consisted mainly of news, radio plays, cricket reports and the clamor of Big Ben. The studio had the character of a traditional English gentlemen’s club, where writers such as George Bernard Shaw and HG Wells sat down to talk about current affairs. The first big news story was about the general strike of 1926, the first report of a football match was in 1927. A year later the BBC took over the Proms, the annual music festival at the Royal Albert Hall. In 1930, the broadcaster made its television debut with The Man With the Flower in His Mouth, a drama by Luigi Pirandello, became the first of many programs about gardening. The first open-air program was around the 1937 coronation of King George VI, Elizabeth’s father.

Two years after leaving the BBC, Reith was appointed Minister of Information at the start of World War II. In wartime, the broadcaster played an indispensable role as a provider of information and propaganda. A well-known employee at the time was George Orwell, whose work at Broadcasting House inspired him for his classic 1984. His experience was not entirely positive. Orwell later wrote that the BBC was somewhere between ‘a girls’ boarding school and an insane asylum’. It was his first and last ‘desk job’. Orwell would have preferred to have fought at the front.

Jimmy Savile and Princess Diana

In the post-war era, the BBC continued to shape the island nation. The young David Attenborough traveled in the 1950s to make his acclaimed wildlife documentaries and in the 1960s, when the British lost their sacred awe of politicians, there was that other great David, David Frost, in the satirical That Was the Week That Was. Later in that decade, after some hesitation, the BBC gave free rein to six skyrocketing alumni from Oxford and Cambridge, who Monty Python’s Flying Circus radically new meaning to the concept of comedy.

The BBC has entertained successive generations with series like The Archers, Dr Who, EastEnders, The Antiques Roadshow and The Office, but the great strength has always been the news coverage. Reporters and presenters such as John Simpson, David Dimbleby and Jeremy Paxman have become educators and celebrities far beyond the borders. In countries without a free press, BBC Worldwide became not only a reliable provider of news, but also of hope for better times.

Over the past decade, the BBC has come under pressure. In a time of polarization, broadcasting is increasingly accused of partiality, both from the conservative right and the radical left. The BBC is also regularly accused of ‘dumbing down’, setting aside too much airtime for home, garden and kitchen programmes. The questions at a popular quiz like mastermind would get easier by the year. Actor and television host Stephen Fry is among those who accused the broadcaster of “infantilization.”

The image of the BBC has also been tarnished by scandals. With presenter Jimmy Savile, the broadcaster turned out to have employed a pedophile and rapist for years. Relations with the royal family came under pressure when it turned out that the controversial interview of Princess Diana in 1995 was the result of fraud by the interviewer. But in this anniversary year, the BBC has proven to be there for the big moments, not only with Elizabeth’s death, but also with the poignant war reports from Ukraine.

There’s still life in ‘Auntie’.

Lacey-Mae Panetta (26, sales associate): Addicted to Call the Midwife

‘EastEnders with my mother was my first viewing experience, every night around dinner time. I was very young and constantly asked questions about what was going on. I’m addicted to the series now Call the Midwife. From the beginning, ten years ago, I’ve seen every episode. First in the family home with my mother and grandmother, and now I live on my own I watch on my own, including the Christmas specials. I can’t quite put into words what the BBC means to me. I just enjoy the series.’

Omar Nyako (35, financial planner): need to learn

‘As a child I liked Tomorrow’s World inspiring and fantastic, half-hour program on future products and technologies. I also loved The Ascent of Man, a series about the cultural, philosophical and technological development of man, from prehistoric times to the present. Hosted by the masterful Jacob Bronowski, the series met my need to learn. For young people today, the BBC is much less important, but for my generation, the BBC is still part of the British identity. The broadcaster has always had an enormous influence, also far beyond Great Britain.’

Nola Barker (52, researcher): raised with scarecrow Worzel Gummidge

‘I grew up with Worzel Gummidge, a fantasy series about the adventures of a scarecrow on a farm. As a child I had to laugh a lot at his badly shaved face, his walk and his motor skills. Now I find Life on Earth, Blue Planet and other programs by David Attenborough the most beautiful. The images of the earthly wonders are special and instructive. I learned so many things that I would never have learned otherwise. The BBC is a source of impartial and reliable information, with reports and documentaries. And the broadcaster offers entertainment, for both children and adults, with shows and series.’

Andrew Thorp (52, architect): beacon of freedom of expression

‘When I was young I watched Watch With Mother, a series of children’s programs. Those were the days of a rented television set, black and white and only three television channels. Nature programmes, major sporting events and dramas are now the staples of my BBC diet, but nothing beats Have I Got News For You and the hilarious radio quiz just a minute, in which panelists have to speak for a minute about any topic presented to them. The BBC is an anchor of entertainment, music and a window to the world, but above all a beacon of freedom of expression and reliable reporting. That has never been more important than in this age of fake news.’

Nicky Garsten (60, assistant professor): Diana’s death and Brexit

‘My earliest memory is the radio show Listen With Mother, a lunchtime program for small children with rhymes, stories and music. For me, the BBC’s most impressive broadcasts are inextricably linked to major events such as the moon landing, the death of Diana, the London Olympics and the Brexit referendum. The BBC is part of the fabric of my life, it is essential to the feeling of being part of society. The broadcaster enriches me with great series like bodyguardbut also with podcasts like This Cultural Life and Private Passions.’

Denis Cutter (77, semi-retired insurance advisor): big in sports broadcasting

“As a kid in the fifties, I listened to every Sunday at lunchtime Forces Favorites, a music program where listeners could request request songs for soldiers serving abroad. Then I listened to Billy Cotton’s Band Show, a music show. Thinking about that I still smell the Sunday roast from my mother. The BBC is still big when it comes to sports broadcasting: football, rugby, tennis and the Olympics. In light entertainment, news and political analysis, the broadcaster has deteriorated and is no longer different from other broadcasters. But as an institution, the BBC remains an important part of our identity.’