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BBC Corporate

FORMATION

Early Beginnings

As many of you will know to exploit the new medium of radio a number of manufacturers and the Post Office decided to form a single broadcasting organisation, independent of government,. A license fee of 10shillings was agreed to ensure this independence and on 18th October 1922 the British Broadcasting Company started using the call sign 2LO from Marconi’s radio station in The Strand, London. Only weeks later John Reith, a Scottish Engineer, was selected for the post of Managing Director bolstering the number of staff to 4. He believed that this medium could be a great power of good in the home lives of everyone in Britain. Crystal radio receivers in those days were very cheap and didn’t need batteries !


As all of us know this company grew into the giant “aspidistra” that we know and love today. I don’t believe this had anything to do with George Orwell’s book Keep The Aspidistra Flying which happens to fit in with the Reithian Values of equal consideration of all viewpoints, probity, universality and commitment to public service. However without his foresight I think HG Wells prediction in 1920  “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe” might have seen Britain less rounded than it is today. So thank you, John.


The company became a corporation on 1st January 1927.

SIGNIFICANT EVENTS

1920’s

1922  -start of radio broadcasting

1923  -BBC round the corner to Savoy Hill

1925  -BBC starts using Bush House


1930’s

1932  -Opening of Broadcasting House

1934  -BBC leaves Savoy Hill

1934  -BBC puts its orchestra into Maida Vale

1935  -BBC rents eastern end of to Alexandra Palace

1936  -Television broadcasts start

1939  -Woodnorton purchased in case of London emergency


1940’s

1948  -BBC starts research at Kingswood Warren

1949  -moves into Lime Grove



1950’s

1954  -first TV News broadcasts from Alexandra Palace


1960’s

1960  -opening of Television Centre -world’s first for television.

1969  -TV News moved from Alexandra Palace to TV Centre.


1970’s


1980’s

1981  -BBC (Open University) leaves Alexandra Palace

1983  -BBC starts using Elstree Studios


1990’s

1990  -White City opened.

1992  -BBC closes Lime Grove



2000’s

2007  -BBC Scotland moved from Queen’s Drive to Pacific Quay


2010’s

2010  -Research leaves Kingswood Warren and moves to Centre House

DIRECTOR GENERALS

1920’s

1922  -John Reith (1889-1971)


1930’s

1938  -Sir Frederick Ogilvie (1893-1949). Eventually resigned.


1940’s

1942  -Cecil Graves (1892-1957) & Robert Foot (1889-1973)

1944  -William Haley (1901-1987)


1950’s

1952  -Ian Jacob (1889-1993)


1960’s

1960 -Hugh Carleton-Green (1910-1987). Well liked. Resigned due to marital problems.

1969  -Charles Curran (1921-1980)


1970’s

1977  -Ian Trethowan (1922-1990)


1980’s

1982  -Alasdair Milne (1930-present) Sacked on 29.01.87 by Marmaduke Hussey newly appointed Chairman of the Governors.

1987  -Michael Checkland was Senior Accountant.


1990’s

1992  -John Birt (1944-present). Went to sit in House Of Lords.


2000’s

2000  -Greg Dyke (1947-present). Well liked. Resigned.

2004  -Mark Byford -acting (1958-present)

2004  -Mark Thompson (1957-present). Moved to New York Times.


2010’s

2012  -George Entwistle (1962 -present) Resigned.

2012  -Tim Davie -acting (1967-present)

2013  -Tony Hall (1951-present).

FAMILY TREE TODAY

Royal Charter               BBC Trust                Executive Board             Media Regulators DCMS

Subsidiaries

BBC Studios & Post Production

2010’s

This is not guaranteed to be perfectly accurate but is my surmise of many webpages. It’s my attempt at the BBC for beginners.

Played out by Red Bee Media

2000’s

This is the published structure in 2001 and for me is a much more helpful way of showing it.

2010’s -Post Jimmy Saville Crisis

Several bloggers and newspapers tried to probe the writhing body of the BBC.  Here CriticalDistance and The Guardian published their thoughts:

The Guardian

The Guardian

CriticalDistance

To be changed during 2016