Author Description
Asa Briggs, one of Britain's foremost historians and the author of a widely acclaimed four-volume history of British broadcasting, here provides a concise account of the BBC's first fifty years (1922-72). This work is not an abridgement of the four larger volumes, which were based mainly on BBC archives, but, like them, draws on many previously unpublished primary sources, while adding material from a wide variety of sources outside the BBC.Briggs puts the history of the BBC as an institution in national and international perspective, and relates it to changes in British society, culture, and politics. He is concerned with programs and presonalties as well as with structures and procedures, and has designed the book for everyone interested both in broadcasting and in twentieth-century British history.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This work investigates the institutional development and societal impact of the British Broadcasting Corporation during its formative half-century from 1922 to 1972. Asa Briggs, a distinguished historian and author of a comprehensive four-volume history of British broadcasting, utilizes this text to synthesize the BBC's evolution within the broader context of national politics and cultural change. By incorporating both internal archival data and external primary sources, the author provides a structured analysis of how the organization navigated its role in twentieth-century Britain.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- A chronological overview of the BBC from 1922 to 1972.
- Analysis of the interplay between broadcasting structures and British social history.
- Examination of key programs and influential personalities within the corporation.
- Integration of previously unpublished primary source materials.
Scope Limits
- This volume is not an abridgement of the author's larger four-volume history.
- The text focuses primarily on the first fifty years and does not cover subsequent developments in the late twentieth century.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Experts recognize this work as a foundational text for understanding the intersection of media history and British social development. Readers frequently note that the prose is accessible to both academic researchers and those with a general interest in twentieth-century history.
Page Count:
439
Publication Date:
1986-04-20
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
0192129716
ISBN-13:
9780192129710
Non-Fiction
History
Media Studies
Broadcasting
British Broadcasting Corporation
British History
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