Just Finished Reading: This New Noise – The Extraordinary Birth and Troubled Life of the BBC by Charlotte Higgins (FP: 2015) [240pp] 

The BBC was born, originally as a Company before it became a Corporation, in October 1922. Over the subsequent 100 years of its life, it grew from a small and limited reach endeavour to a world class orgainsation much beloved (if often criticised) by millions of its listeners and viewers. Its original remit was threefold – to inform, educate and (lastly) to entertain. But from the very start under the direction of its first head Lord Reith it was determined to give its audience what they should have and not what they wanted or thought they needed. The BBC would not cater to the lowest denominator not pander to popular taste. It would enrich, uplift and enlighten – at least to begin with. After a somewhat shaky, and a typically British ‘muddling through’ approach, the BBC really hit its stride during WW2 (of which more later) reporting on the Blitz and reporting to America, the Empire and Occupied Europe. It was at the centre of the TV revolution after the war ended and, for some considerable time, was the only TV broadcaster in the country. Later, of course, came the increasing commercialisation of the airwaves, both on radio and television, that the BBC struggled with. Along with recurring arguments about its status as an independent entity (dependent on the government to operate as well as being paid for by the controversial licence fee) and a fair few scandals in recent years – all too often self-inflicted – the BBC has, generally, weathered the various storms reasonably well all things considered. As an institution it holds, for many, the same regard and respect that they ascribe to the NHS and even the Royal Family. Britain without the BBC, whilst not unthinkable, would be a very strange place indeed. 

I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this book. I certainly learnt a lot, and an interesting lot at that, about the BBC’s early days when, for obvious reasons, people employed by it were essentially flying by the seat of their pants (and knew so) because no one had done anything quite like this before. That, as you might imagine, excited many but worried some, especially those in positions of power and influence. It wasn’t only governments but newspapers, long standing interests and the very bastions of the Establishment who were not sure exactly how to deal with or control this ‘new noise’. The book's subtitle is reflected in the structure of the book with it roughly being split between birth and troubled history. I had hoped for more on the iconic programming that I grew up with and which influenced me (and my generation) so much. There were hints of this throughout the book but I was always left wanting more. I don’t regard this as a fault of this well-written look at the organisation but, rather, the fact that this wasn’t really the book I was looking for on the subject. But saying that, this was an interesting insight into the BBC which clearly recognised, beloved or not, that there have been and continue to be problems at the very heart of things. The BBC is far from perfect but is also far from broken. There are those who would love to see it go, to see it privatised, to see it neutered. I am certainly not averse to seeing it ‘fixed’ as much as possible but personally I don’t want the BBC to be just another media conglomerate that we either ‘consume’ or ignore. The BBC needs to be better than that. An interesting read if you’ve ever wondered what the fuss around the BBC was about. More to come in recognition of ‘Aunties’ 100th birthday this month.