BBC Portuguese Service during World War II

Abstract

This article analyses the editorial line of the BBC Portuguese Service during World War II, presenting evidence of how the output of the broadcasts was influenced by the need of the Foreign Office to maintain a good relationship with the authoritarian regime led by Oliveira Salazar. Focusing on the internal guidelines that ruled the Service, this history demonstrates how Portuguese language broadcasts never threatened the survival of the regime that ruled in Portugal, despite the fact that towards the end of the war the station was used as a weapon to pressure Salazar to give in to British demands, namely to end exports of tungsten to Germany. A discussion is presented on the difficult task the Portuguese Service had to accomplish throughout the war: to praise a dictatorship while promoting British views on the war.

KEYWORDS:

• broadcasting
• democracy
• propaganda
• Ronald Campbell
• tungsten exports
• World War II diplomacy

Notes

1. Minutes from the Foreign Office, January 1939, The National Archives, Kew, London (subsequently cited as TNA), FO 395/625.

2. Known for his opposition to the Estado Novo, Cortesão was convicted in absentia in 1934 for the attempted overthrow of Salazar. He was among a group of more than one thousand anti-fascist Portuguese of the political and military elites who sought exile in Spain before going to Britain (Oliveira 1996, 263–5).

3. Historical Diplomatic Archive, Lisbon (subsequently cited as AHD), M.97 CP and M.248 CP.

4. Charles Martelli, “Food for Thought—Portugal”, broadcast on the Empire Transmission II, 30 May 1939, AHD, M248 CP and M97 CP.

5. Report from February 1939, TNA, FO 395/625.

6. Letter from Marcus Cheke to the News Department (FO) 11 May 1939, TNA, FO 395/628.

7. Starting the previous year, Marcus Cheke's work had been considered less than satisfactory in London (Cole 1987, 52).

8. Letter from Sir Ronald Campbell to William Strang (F.O.), January 1941, TNA, FO 371/26818.

9. Letter from Sir Ronald Campbell to William Strang, 12 May 1941, TNA, FO 371/26818.

10. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 30 October 1943, BBC Written Archives Centre, Caversham, Reading (subsequently cited as BBC WAC), E2/198.

11. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 9 October 1944, BBC WAC, E2/198.

12. Telegram from Sir Ronald Campbell to the Foreign Office and Ministry of Information, 9 July 1941, TNA, FO 371/26818.

13. Letter from Director of the Foreign Publicity Directorate (Ministry of Information) to Armindo Monteiro, 10 September 1939, AHD, M 97 CP.

14. BBC internal document “Guideline for Broadcasts to Portugal”, 7 November 1941, TNA, FO 371/26819.

15. BBC internal document “Guideline for Broadcasts to Portugal”, 7 November 1941, TNA, FO 371/26819.

16. BBC internal document “Guideline for Broadcasts to Portugal”, 7 November 1941, TNA, FO 371/26819.

17. BBC internal document “Guideline for Broadcasts to Portugal”, 7 November 1941, TNA, FO 371/26819.

18. BBC internal document “Guideline for Broadcasts to Portugal”, 7 November 1941, TNA, FO 371/26819.

19. Telegram from Sir Ronald Campbell to FO, 10 December 1942, TNA, FO 371/31113.

20. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 16 May 1944, BBC WAC, E2/198.

21. Plan of Propaganda for Portugal, 14 January 1943, TNA, FO 371/34691.

22. Plan of Propaganda for Portugal, 14 January 1943, TNA, FO 371/34691.

23. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 30 October 1943, BBC WAC, E2/198.

24. Hansard, 26 January 1944, HC Deb vol. 396 cc.669–70.

25. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 1 August 1944, BBC WAC, E2/198.

26. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 1 August 1944, BBC WAC, E2/198.

27. Monday Chronicle, 31 January 1944, script in Portuguese National Library, Lisbon, Esp E5/366–366A.

28. Monday Chronicle, 14 February 1944, script in Portuguese National Library, Esp E5/366–366A.

29. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 9 October 1944, BBC WAC, E2/198.

30. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 9 October 1944, BBC WAC, E2/198.

31. “BBC Survey of European Audiences—Portugal”, 15 December 1944, BBC WAC, E2/198.

32. “Ecos e Notícias. A Campanha da B.B.C.”, A Voz, 1 October 1944.

33. Monday Chronicle, 18 June 1945, in BBC WAC, L1/112.

34. Memo of a conversation between Grisewood and Pedro, 10 October 1945, BBC WAC, L1/112.

35. Memo of a conversation between Grisewood and Pedro, 10 October 1945, BBC WAC, L1/112.

36. Note by Ogilvie on Macmillan's speech delivered to the Advisory Council of the Ministry of Information, 9 September 1939, quoted in Briggs (1970, 170).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Research Centre for Communication and Culture (CECC) at the Catholic University of Portugal, financed by the National Science Foundation FCT under the project PEst-OE/ELT/UI0126/2013.