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Back
in November, 1922 the BBC Broadcasting Company made the first public
radio broadcast with just a staff of four!Today
the BBC has more than seven radio networks and 39 local radio stations
as well as dedicated broadcasting for Scotland, Wales and Northern
Ireland. Across the country tens of thousands of people work in
broadcasting!
It
was not long before the BBC was transmitting from stations around
the country, including here in West
Yorkshire. The craze for "listening-in" was born.
Although
many were sceptical about the new medium BBC boss Sir John Reith
declared: "Here is an instrument of almost incalculable importance
in the social and political life of the community, in affairs national
and international."
He
only had to wait until 1926 when the General Strike meant there
were no newspapers for a short period and the BBC responded by providing
five news bulletins throughout the day instead of the usual single
evening bulletin.
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| Edward
VIII: Now history could be heard in the making... |
When
the King abdicated in 1936 he was able to talk directly to the nation.
However, it was in Bradford that the abdication story originally
broke because of some words from the Bishop during an interview
with the local newspaper.
But
broadcasting most certainly had its lighter moments. The nightly
broadcasts from the dance bands at the Savoy Hotel were popular.
Very
soon children were also being catered for. Just take a listen to
Toytown. It's hard to believe this was the beginnings of what was
to come to "CBBC."
When
war broke out in September 1939 the BBC found itself with a new
role as the country's voice to the outside world.
It
was now that two West Yorkshire men were to become household names.
Suddenly it was important that announcers voices were easily recognised
and Halifax-born actor Wilfred Pickles became the first newsreader
with a regional
accent.
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| Wilfred
Pickles presents Have A Go |
During
the dark days of 1940 millions tuned in to listen to Bradford novelist
and playwright J.B. Priestley who, perhaps, seemed to express their
own hopes and fears. His programme Postscripts was a regular part
of the Sunday evening news bulletin.
However,
it was not just Priestley's wartime broadcasts that got good audiences
and very often he went back to the West Riding of his youth to get
his material.
Later,
Wilfred Pickles hit-show Have
A Go, produced in Leeds, attracted audiences of 20 million, well
above the average audience an episode of Eastenders or Coronation
Street would get today.
But
the sound of radio was changing once again. The age of the hit parade
had arrived with the launch of Radio One in 1967 with its disc jockeys
and focus on a younger audience. At the same time BBC local radio
started to make inroads close to home with the launch of Radio Leeds
in 1968 and is, of course, still going strong.
Fast-forward
to the present day and just compare how different things are to
those first stilted broadcasts. And if you don't believe us, just
take a listen to this...
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| Patst
and present: Joyce Grenfell (left) advised people on "how
to listen" to radio while Bob Walmesley (right) presents
the Good Afternoon programme from the new BBC studio in Bradford. |
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