April 15, 2023

#066 The BBC’s News, Weather and SOS Broadcasts of March 1923

31 minutes

Here is the news. And the weather. And the SOS messages...

Our timeline continues into late March 1923 - which means that as well as news, we now have daily weather forecasts on the early BBC. It's just in time for the end of the Ideal Home Exhibition - selling radio to the masses, and oh look how useful it is.

Also that month, SOS messages began in Birmingham: brief broadcasts trying to reach relatives of those critically ill, or missing persons, or even missing pelicans.

Joining us to talk about yesterday's news is former news editor at Pebble Mill, Breakfast News and many more BBC news programmes MAURICE BLISSON. To talk about today's BBC news, and the war against it, we have Prof PATRICK BARWISE and Peter York (see their book below - and hear more of them in 3 episodes' time), and on the SOS origins of broadcasting, Prof GABRIELE BALBI.

Plus other on-air quirks and remnants from March 1923, such as the first broadcast from a church, the first educational broadcasts, and Peter Eckersley telling us not to oscillate.

Episode 66 is packed as ever then... Next time: meet Arthur Corbett-Smith, the unorthodox Cardiff station director.

SHOWNOTES:

Listen to Radio 4 documentary 'And Now An Urgent SOS Message' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRI8DO8QAwg

Buy Patrick Barwise and Peter York's book The War Against the BBC - https://amzn.to/40axAp8

Read Patrick Barwise and Peter York's article in Prospect Magazine - https://www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/60479/we-have-bad-news-for-the-right-wing-bbc-haters-most-of-the-public-just-dont-agree-with-you

Original music is by Will Farmer.

A reminder that this podcast is nothing to do with the BBC. We're talking about them, not via them.

Broadcasts more than 50 years old are generally out of copyright. Any BBC content is used with kind permission, BBC copyright content reproduced courtesy of the British Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.

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