Sometimes we get nerdy. Sometimes we get very nerdy.
This episode is one of those where media meets politics meets history - and we're giving you all the nit-picking details, because if we don't, who will?! We only pass this way once...
...And by 'this way', I mean April 16th-24th 1923.
On our previous episode, the five-month-old BBC was almost on its last legs, facing battles from the press (the Express) and the government (a feisty Postmaster General who doesn't feel generous with the licence fee).
Now episode 71 sees the BBC discussed in the House of Commons, as two debates introduce the Sykes Inquiry, and see MPs debate, debase, defend and potentially defund the BBC. (A reminder: this was 1923, not 2023.)
To bring this to life, we've revisited the Hansard parliamentary record of precisely what was said, and reunited (or recruited) our Podcast Parliamentary Players.
So you'll hear:
Neil Jackson - Mr Ammon
Alexander Perkins - Lt Col Moore-Brabazon
Lou Sutcliffe, David Monteath, Paul Hayes, Fay Roberts, Tom Chivers - Postmaster General Sir William Joynson-Hicks (aka Jix)
Shaun Jacques - Sir William Bull, Mr Pringle
Gordon Bathgate - Ramsay Macdonald, Sir Douglas Newton
Steve Smallwood - Captain Benn
Jamie Medhurst - Captain Berkeley
Carol Carman - Mr Jones
Andrew Barker - Mystery Speaker
Wayne Clarke - Mr Speaker, J.H. Whitley
...and apologies if I've missed anyone out! It's quite possible.
If you'd like to follow along (why would you?), the text of the two debates are here:
April 19th 1923:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/bbcentury/posts/624629565774834/ (Join our Facebook group!)
This episode contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v.3.0
Oh and we're nothing to do with the BBC. We're talking about the old BBCompany, and not made by the present-day BBCorporation.
Thanks for listening, if you do. This one's a bit heavy!
NEXT TIME:
The first radio dramatist - The Truth about Phyllis Twigg
paulkerensa.com/oldradio
#085 The Earliest BBC Recording and The First Monarch On Air
#084 Women's Hour on the BBC: 1923-24
#083 The Launch of Savoy Hill: The BBC's New Home, 1 May 1923
#082 The BBC at Marconi House: 14-11-1922 to 30-04-1923
#081 The Pips at 100! A Brief History of Time at the BBC
#080 SPECIAL: The First Religious Broadcast: Re-enacted
#079 Three More Authors: Doctor Who | R4 Sunday | Radio 1+2
#078 Three Authors on Broadcasting History: Love | Films | Education
#077 Loose Ends 2: 1920’s SS Victorian to 1980’s Tardis via Frank Milligan
#076 Radio Times at 100 - Part 2
#075 (The) Radio Times at 100 - Part 1
#074 The BBC and Music: from Percy Pitt to Johnny Beerling
#073 Comedy on Air: Hysterical History from The Co-Optimists to Bottom
#072 The First Radio Dramatist: The Truth about Phyllis Twigg
#070 The Press vs the BBC vs the Govt: 1923 + 2023
#069 Children’s Hour to Bedtime Hour: Uncles, Aunts and Iggle Piggle
#068 Major Arthur Corbett-Smith: Reith’s Rival
#067 SPECIAL: A Brief History of Coronation Broadcasts
#066 The BBC’s News, Weather and SOS Broadcasts of March 1923
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