Broadcasting britishness, strategic challenges and the ecology of overseas broadcasting by the BBC

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Acknowledgements

This special research is based on a project funded by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council's Programme of work on Diasporas, Migration and Identities (Grant Award Reference: AH/ES58693/1). The project is based at The Open University in Milton Keynes, UK and led by Professor Marie Gillespie. For further information see http://www.open.ac.uk/socialsciences/diasporas/

We would like to thank the BBC World Service for their generous support and assistance, especially Jess Macfarlane. Our gratitude, too, goes to staff at the BBC Written Archives in Caversham, particularly Jacquie Kavanagh and James Codd. Their patience, expertise and knowledge have been invaluable. Last but not least, many thanks to the editor of HJFRT, David Culbert, for his kind support of our research.

Notes

Notes

1 On the eve of the Second World War, the BBC was broadcasting in eight languages including English. By 1943, it was transmitting programmes around the world in 45 languages. After the war, the number fluctuated around 40 until the end of 2005 when 10 language services were cut, reducing the number to 33.

2 Bush House was first occupied by the BBC when the European Services took up residence in January 1941. It was another 16 years, however, before the whole of the External Services’ operation was housed at Bush House with the General Overseas Services moving there from 200 Oxford Street in 1957.

3 Philip Taylor, Global Communications, International Affairs and the Media Since 1945 (London, Routledge, 1997), 4.

4 Joseph Nye, Soft Power: the means to success in world politics (New York, Public Affairs, 2004). See also, Jan Meilissen (ed.) The New Public Diplomacy: soft power in international relations (Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan, 2005).

5 Edward Pawley, BBC Engineering 1922–1972 (London, BBC, 1972).

6 Open Government, Cm 2290, HMSO, July 1993; Code of Practice on Access to Government Information, Cabinet Office, OPSS, April 1994.

7 William Haley, The next five years in broadcasting, BBC Yearbook 1948 (London, BBC, 1948), 7.

8 Broadcasting Policy, Cmd 6852 (London, HMSO, July 1946), para. 58.