THE BRITISH MEDIA

During the Twentieth Century

 Division of Media
• The TERM ‘MEDIA’ MAY INCLUDE any
communication system by which people are
informed, educated or entertained.

• In Britain it generally refers to

broadcasting (terrestrial or earth-based

the print industries (the press or
television, cable and satellite television,
newspapers and magazines)
radio and video).
• Over the years, the British media have evolved
from simple methods of production,
distribution and communication to their
present sophisticated technologies.

• Media growth and variety have greatly

influenced people’s daily life and improved
information dispersal, news availability and
entertainment opportunities
BROADCASTING MEDIA
 Broadcasting
Media

Public Commercial
/Independent
(BBCompany) (ITC)

Cable/ Satellite
Radio Terristrial TV
TV

Supervised by the British Boadcasting Company

(BBC), the Independent Television Commission
(ITC), and Radio Authority (RA)
For Public broadcasting media
• BBC -British Broadcasting Company (1922)
-British Broadcasting Corperation (1927)
For Commercial broadcasting media
• ITA Independent Television Authority (1954)
Created under the 1954 TV Act
• IBA Independent Broadcasting Authority(1979)
formed under the Sound Broadcasting Act 1972)
• ITC Independent Television Commission
(1990) replaced the IBA, formed under the
Broadcasting Act 1990
• OFCOM Radio Authority, established by the
Office of Communications Act 2002
• Broadcasting in Britain effectively began in
1922 when the General Post Office set up the
British Broadcasting Company (BBC).
• This company began as a cooperative
company engaged in the manufacture and sell
of radio sets.
• The company was financed by a small fee to
those who owned a wireless.
• In 1926, the concept of public service broadcasting
was founded and John Reith was appointed the
company’s first managing director.
• Out of this organization sprung the BBC (British
Broadcasting Corporation) which was set up under a
Royal Charter in 1927.
• Rieth insisted that the corporation should be
• 1. independent of Government and commercial
interests.
• 2. strive for quality
• 3. be a public service broadcaster with a duty to
inform, educate, and entertain.
• THE BBC BUILT A REPUTATION FOR IMPARTIAL NEWS
REPORTING AND EXCELLENT PROGRAMMES BOTH
DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY.
 RADIO
• It was the first broadcasting medium to appear in
Britain.
• Early radio receivers, or wireless sets began in the
1920s. (By the BBC)
• By the 1930, radio was the principal organ of mass
communication taking the spoken word directly
into people’s homes. (by national BBC radio
stations)
• By 1927, only two and a quarter million
(2,250,000) licences had been issued. Thus, radio
remained something of a luxuary until 1940s.
• During the WWII, radio was established as the
most powerful form of communication.
• After the war the radio services were reorganized
into 3 categories:
• - the Light programme.
• - the Home Service.
• - the Third programme.
• In 1970, independent radio stations (which began
to appear in the 60s) were firmly established
throughout the country, dependent on advertising
for their financing, ending the BBC’s broadcasting
monopoly.
• Years later, the Radio Authority was created.
• The BBC Radio
• There are 5 radio networks that broadcast
throughout Britain with 39 other local stations
serving many districts in England, regional and
community services in Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland.
• Radio 1: for pop music
• Radio 2: for light music/ news/ comedy
• Radio 3: for classic music/ serious talks/ discussions/
and plays
• Radio 4: news reports/ analysis/ talks/ and plays
• Radio 5 LIVE: sport/ news programmes.
 INDEPENDENT RADIO
• The Radio Authority controls independent
radio (three national stations and 150
local and regional stations throughout the
country).
• Independent radios are Funded by
advertising.
• Their revenue figures suggest that radio is
the fastest-growing medium in Britain.
• The first licence was awarded in 1991 to
Classic FM (popular classical music and news
bulletins);
• the second in 1992 to Virgin 1215 (rock
music);
• and the third in 1995 to Talk Radio UK
(speech-based service).
• Local commercial radio once seemed to
provide mainly pop music, news flashes and
some programmes of local interest
 TELEVISION
Terristrial TV
• Television grow slowly and steadily in the 1930s
• By 1950s it became the principal means of
communication.
• Television was limit to a few hours a day so as not
to distract adults from work and children from
their studies.
• The BBC’s broadcasting monopoly in television led
to pressure from commercial and political
interests to widen the scope of broadcasting.
• So commercial television financed by
advertising and under the supervision of the
Independent Television Authority (ITA) was
created in 1954 and the first programmes
were shown in 1955.
• This led the BBC to review its output in order
to match the increasing popularity of the ITA
network (the BBC came under increasing
pressure from the British government to
reform itself)
• Cable Satellite TV
• Television broadcasting by satellite through
subscription was established in Britain in 1989.
• The biggest UK satellite programmer is BSkyB
(British Sky Broadcasting) with 7.8 million (4
million domestic) subscribers.
• Its channels provide news, light entertainment,
sport and feature films.
• Cable and satellite have a 15 % share of television
viewing. This suggests that, while they are
increasing their market share, they still lag behind
ITV (30 per cent) and BBC1 (28 per cent).
 BBC
• The BBC is based at Broadcasting House in
London.
• There are other stations throughout the country,
which provide regional networks for radio and
television.
• The BBC was created by Royal Charter and has a
board of governors, who are responsible for
supervising its programmes and their suitability.
• These governors are appointed by the Crown on
the advice of government ministers and are
supposed to constitute an independent element
in the organization of the BBC.
• Daily operations of the BBC are controlled by
the Director-General, chosen by the board of
governors.
• The BBC is financed by a grant from
Parliament, which comes from the sale of
television licences.
• The BBC generates considerable income from
selling its programmes abroad.
• The BBC’s external services, which consist of
radio broadcasts in English (the World Service)
and 42 other languages abroad, were founded
in 1932 and are funded by the Foreign Office.
• The BBC also began commercially funded
television programmes in 1991 by cable to Europe
and by satellite links to Africa and Asia; BBC World
(news) – now merged with the World Service –
and BBC Prime (entertainment).
• Because of its charter which has to be renewed by
Parliament, the British government can, and does,
intervene in the showing of programmes of the
BBC.
• Governments exert pressure upon the BBC when
the licence fee comes up for renewal by
Parliament. Thus, The BBC does try to be neutral
in political matters
 BBC has 2
channels

BBC2
BBC1
Serious items: news analysis,
News, plays, drama series,
discussions, documentaries,
comedy, quiz shows, sport,
operas, concerts, sport, along
documentaries.
with Open University courses
- An audience share of 28%
- An audience share of 11%

By 2001, the labour government approved the creation of BBC 4 channel

(culture and art).
 ITC
• Its government-appointed board which regulates
the independent television companies.
• It grants licences (renewable every ten years) to
the transmitting companies and independent
producers who actually make many of the
programmes shown on three advertising-financed
television channels (ITV/Channel 3, Channel 4 and
Channel 5).
• The grant provided depends on past performance,
financial standing and commitment to provide
quality and regional programmes.
• There are 15 ITV production companies at
present, such as Granada (north-west
England), Central (the midland counties of
England) and Anglia (East Anglia).
• London has two companies holding one
licence, with one providing programmes
during the week (Thames), the other at
weekends (London Weekend).
• The companies are dependent on advertising
money, the sales of programmes, videos,
books, records and other publications
 Companies
• ITV/Channel 3 (with 30 % of audience share)
is the oldest independent channel and once
seemed only to provide popular programmes
of light entertainment. But its quality has
improved and it now has a high standard of
news reports, drama productions and
documentaries.
• Channel 4 (with 10 % of audience share) was
established in 1982 to create a commercial
alternative to BBC2.
• It is a public corporation, which is funded by
selling its own advertising time.
• It was intended to offer something different and
challenging in an appeal to minority tastes, and
provides programmes in Welsh in Wales.
• It initially had serious problems with advertising
and the quality of its programmes, but has now
developed a considerable reputation.
• Channel 5 (with 6 % of audience share)
became operative in 1997 after a ten-year
licence was awarded to Channel 5
Broadcasting.
• It is funded by advertising, subscription and
sponsorship;
• It had a shaky start in terms of the attraction
of its programmes.
• Its programmes still have a dubious reputation
but it has increased its financial base.
 CRITICISM
• It is argued that the ITC does not always keep
a close watch on independent broadcasting
developments and lacks clear regulatory
powers and consistent policies.
• There has been controversy over its system of
awarding ITV licences, which have often gone
to the highest bidder with little apparent
regard to quality and production efficiency.
 THE ROLE AND INFLUENCE OF
Television
• In the space of 30 years, television has
become the most powerful and pervasive
medium of communication in society.
• A large number of the programmes shown on
television are made in Britain, although there
are also many imported American series and
few programmes from Australia, New Zealand
and Canada.
• Many critics feel that television broadcasters
Do not reflect the true consensus of views in
society but instead reflect the opinions of the
ruling elite.
Eg: Falklands war: pictures from the war zone
were withheld until the conflict was almost
over. Reporters had to undergo strict
censorship and controls.
Eg: during Miners’ strike and other industrial
disputes: television did not fully report scenes
of violence or police intimidation.
• During the 1970s, the Labour Party continually
attacked the BBC and the ITV for its lack of
objectivity.
• Voices have been raised about the alleged
levels of sex, violence and the use of bad
language on British television, particularly
before the ‘watershed’ of 9 p.m. when young
children may be watching.
• The public can be morally harmed by the
content of some television programmes.
• The Conservative government considered that
violence, sex and the use of bad language on
television do affect viewers and was
concerned to ‘clean up’ television.
• A Broadcasting Standards Complaints
Commission monitors programmes, examines
complaints, establishes codes of conduct for
the broadcasting organizations and has
tightened its rules concerning invasion of
privacy by broadcasters.
 MEDIA OWNERSHIP
• The financial and ownership structures of the
British media industry are complex.
• Sometimes an individual company will own a
number of print products, such as newspapers and
magazines, and will specialize in this area.
• But this kind of ownership is declining. Today it is
more common for newspapers to be owned and
controlled by corporations which are concerned
with wide media interests, such as films, radio,
television, magazines, and satellite and cable
companies
• This involvment of large enterprises in the media,
and the resulting concentration of ownership in a
few hands, such as newspapers controlled by News
International and Trinity Mirror (newspaper groups),
has caused concern.

• Some critics argue that the state should provide

public financial support to the media industries in
order to prevent them being taken over by
big-business groups. But this suggestion has not
been adopted, and it is felt that there are potential
dangers in allowing the state to gain any direct or
indirect financial influence over the media.
• Today the law is supposed to guard against
the risks inherent in greatly concentrated
ownership of the means of communication.
• The purchase of further newspapers by an
existing owner is controlled by law and
newspaper owners’ shareholdings in
independent radio and television stations are
restricted.
• These arrangements are intended to prevent
monopolies and illegal influence by owners.
 FREE EXPRESSION
• The question of free expression in the media
continues to be of concern.
• Critics argue that the media do not have sufficient
freedom to comment on matters of public interest.
• The freedom of the media is not absolute.
• Regulations are placed upon the general freedom in
order to safeguard the legitimate interests of other
individuals, organizations and the state, so that a
balance between competing interests may be
achieved.
• There are several legal restraints upon media freedom
of expression.
• The sub judice rule means that the media may not comment
on court proceedings and must restrict themselves to the
court facts. The rule is intended to protect the individuals
concerned, and if a media organization breaks the rule it may
be found guilty of contempt of court and fined.
• The obtaining and publishing of state and official information
is controlled tightly by the Official Secrets Act and by
D-notices.
• The media are also liable to court proceedings for libel and
obscenity offences. (Libel is the making of accusations which
are proved to be false or harmful to a person’s reputation.
Obscenity covers any action that offends against public
morality).
• In such cases, the media organization and all the individuals
involved may be held responsible.
• These restrictions prevent absolute media
freedom of expression.
• But the media can often act irresponsibly,
invade individual privacy, behave in unethical
ways and sensationalize events for their own
purposes.
• Some media practices do cause concern and
the government may impose statutory
restrictions on invasions of privacy unless the
media reform themselves
• A restraining media institution, the Press
Complaints Commission (PCC), was created in
1990. It is financed by newspaper owners and
is supposed to guard the freedom and
independence of the press; maintain
standards of journalism; and judge complaints
by the public against newspapers.
 ATTITUDE S TO THE MEDIA
• It is difficult to evaluate absolutely whether
the media play a dominant part in influencing
public opinion on a range of political and
other matters.
• Since the 1960s, television and radio have
played a more decisive role in the electoral
process, affecting the public opinion and
shaping the public beliefs.
• On certain occasions and for specific events (such as
general elections), the media may have an important
effect on public opinion. But it is also likely that the
media may merely follow popular trends.
• Many people learn to read between the lines of
newspapers and broadcasts and are conditioned early
in life not to believe everything they read in the
papers, or hear on TV.
• Since television in particular is often accused of being
either right-wing or left-wing, depending on which
government is in power, it would seem that the British
people are receiving enough information from all sides
of the political spectrum
THANK YOU