The pressure was created by the success of these stations. Controversy spilled over into the press when the British government attempted to censor the printing of their programme information. John Reith, who had been given powers to dictate the cultural output of the BBC, retaliated by leading the opposition to these commercial stations. 1930s: Commercial radio controversy īecause the BBC had become both a monopoly and a non-commercial entity, it soon faced controversial competition from British subjects who were operating leased transmitters on the continent of Europe before World War II, to broadcast commercial radio programmes into the United Kingdom. The personnel records of anyone suspicious were stamped with a distinctively shaped green tag, or "Christmas tree " only a handful of BBC personnel staff knew what the 'Christmas trees' meant. During World War II 'subversives', particularly suspected communists such as the folk singer Ewan MacColl, were banned from the BBC. 1930s to Cold War: MI5 vetting įrom the late 1930s until the end of the Cold War, MI5 had an officer at the BBC vetting editorial applicants. At the time of the Munich Agreement of 1938, Churchill "complained that he had been very badly treated.and that he was always muzzled by the BBC". Prior to World War II, Sir John Reith excluded Winston Churchill from the BBC airwaves. In 1927, under a Royal Charter, the BBC became a public entity for the first time – with requirements including the need for impartiality and for staff not to express opinions on controversial subject matters. Since 1927, there have been arguments over impartiality at the BBC. Ī post-strike analysis carried out by the BBC's Programme Correspondence Department reported that of those polled, 3,696 commended the BBC's coverage, whilst 176 were critical. Reith wrote in his diary that the government "know they can trust us not to be really impartial". Churchill wanted to use the BBC as a government tool during the strike. Reith denied his request because he believed such a speech would be used by Winston Churchill to take over the BBC. Randall Davidson, Archbishop of Canterbury, wished to broadcast a "peace appeal" to call for an immediate end to the strike, renewal of government subsidies to the coal industry and no cuts in miners' wages. When Philip Snowden, the former Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer, wrote to the Radio Times to complain about the BBC's treatment of the unions, Reith wrote that the BBC was not totally independent from the government, which had imposed some constraints on what the BBC could do. īaldwin's government blocked the BBC from broadcasting statements about the strike by the Labour Party and TUC leaders. However, Baldwin was "quite against MacDonald broadcasting" and Reith refused the request. When Ramsay MacDonald asked to make a broadcast in reply, Reith supported the request. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin was coached by John Reith during a national broadcast about the strike which he made from Reith's house. Labour Party politicians such as party leader Ramsay MacDonald and Philip Snowden criticised the BBC for being "biased" and "misleading the public" during the strike. In 1926, the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) called a General Strike to prevent wage reductions and worsening conditions for 1.2 million locked-out coal miners. JSTOR ( March 2021) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message).Please improve this section by adding secondary or tertiary sources.įind sources: "BBC controversies" – news This section relies excessively on references to primary sources.
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