The BBC has a digital radio station ‘BBC Radio 4 Extra’ which broadcasts some of the most notable comedy series from the 1950-1970 era (the Goons, Hancock’s Half-Hour, Round The Horne) and, while they’re not that funny to modern ears, they’re often rather cleverly amusing and I do wonder whether some of these old BBC rules ended up driving the creative pace rather than holding things back.I suppose that today we would call it censorship but here is a booklet in PDF for BBC writers. It covers subjects like vulgarity, libel & slander, Americanisation (oh my!), references to physical infirmities as, they say, much, much more.
Quite right.The BBC has a digital radio station ‘BBC Radio 4 Extra’ which broadcasts some of the most notable comedy series from the 1950-1970 era (the Goons, Hancock’s Half-Hour, Round The Horne) and, while they’re not that funny to modern ears, they’re often rather cleverly amusing and I do wonder whether some of these old BBC rules ended up driving the creative pace rather than holding things back.
Perhaps it’s time for a new handbook?
That was from the days when the BBC cared about the fact that their organisation was in a position of responsibility. Or at least, it gave that impression. Unfortunately, maybe even now, some people might think the BBC’s views are worth listening to, as somehow representing a majority, but this representation is far from note-worthy, and if anything, to say of the BBC that they are consistently ‘trivial’, would be an understatement; then again, I don’t listen to Radio 4, knowing that it would grate on some level if I did.I suppose that today we would call it censorship but here is a booklet in PDF for BBC writers. It covers subjects like vulgarity, libel & slander, Americanisation (oh my!), references to physical infirmities as, they say, much, much more.
Since when is “majority” a useful measure of the quality of news, editorials, or commentary?That was from the days when the BBC cared about the fact that their organisation was in a position of responsibility. Or at least, it gave that impression. Unfortunately, maybe even now, some people might think the BBC’s views are worth listening to, as somehow representing a majority, but this representation is far from note-worthy, and if anything, to say of the BBC that they are consistently ‘trivial’, would be an understatement; then again, I don’t listen to Radio 4, knowing that it would grate on some level if I did.