BBC Local Radio 1967-1990
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Connecting with New Asian Communities: BBC local radio 1967-1990 Liam McCarthy School of History, Politics and International Relations University of Leicester Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the University of Leicester for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History September 2019 Connecting with New Asian Communities: BBC local radio 1967-1990 Liam McCarthy Abstract This thesis challenges the existing literature which argues that the BBC displayed an ambivalence towards programming for ethnic communities in the 1970s and 1980s. This previously hidden history of Asian programming on BBC local radio reveals output of significance and weight. It highlights the fact that the BBC was not a monolithic organisation, rather a number of divisions competing for influence and budget, and as Asian programming brought neither it was pushed to the periphery. In this free space Asian programming on BBC local radio grew from ninety minutes a week in 1968 to ninety hours a week by 1990 as innovative and creative station managers expanded and adjusted their programming to meet the changing needs and challenges of the South Asian diaspora in England. Drawing on archive recordings located during this research has allowed a richer understanding of the sound and production of this programming. It is possible to hear the inter-generational friction as programmes both reflect the interests of a young British educated second generation and the importance of cultural reinforcement demanded by first generation immigrants. The crucial role of BBC Radio Leicester from the launch of its daily Asian programmes in 1976 through to the Midlands Asian Network in 1989 is reflected as a case study in this history. The programming in Leicester was demonstrably successful in audience terms and was part of the social glue that bound the new Asian communities to the city. There is a growing literature on how local radio can build social cohesion and BBC Radio Leicester is an early exemplar of this. The development of Asian programming on BBC local radio was driven by the independence of station managers who took radical policy decisions to get programming an air; a creative freedom that has policy implications for BBC local radio today. ii Audio Presentation The attached CD contains a 50 minute audio presentation. It includes some of the ‘on-air’ outreach work carried out during this project, sample clips of BBC local radio Asian programming from the 1970s and 1980s uncovered through this outreach and short excerpts from some of the oral history interviews featured in this thesis. If you are unable to play the audio CD please email [email protected] for a digital file. iii Acknowledgements I’d like to place on record my gratitude for the exceptional support of Associate Professor Sally Horrocks as my main supervisor at the University of Leicester. Sally has steered me from mature undergraduate student, through my masters to this PhD thesis with patience and understanding as I morphed from journalist to historian. Professor Gavin Schaffer at the University of Birmingham has been an outstanding second supervisor, offering challenging critiques of my work and inspiring me to go further and dig deeper into new territory. I’d also like to thank Professor Helen Wood of Lancaster University who was part of the supervision time whilst here at Leicester and made invaluable contributions. This PhD research was supported by funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council through the Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership. The training and support structures of the M4C were an enormous help to this project. I have been struck by how generously former Asian programme presenters and BBC staff have been with their time, commitment and interest in the project. All have my grateful thanks and I hope they feel I have done justice to the important contribution they made to radio history in Britain. However, I must highlight the contribution of Owen Bentley, former manager of BBC Radio Leicester and Head of Radio for BBC in the Midlands who generously gave me his time and access to his private archive. I would also like to put on record my appreciation to Kamlesh Purohit, a former Six O’clock Show presenter and currently Assistant Editor at BBC Radio Leicester. Kamlesh was instrumental in setting up an outreach event featuring a live broadcast of a recreation of the Six O’clock Show in front of a large and appreciative audience which emphasised the feeling of the warmth with which this programme is still regarded. Finally, I’d like to thank my family for having great patience with me during the trials and tribulations of this research and writing of this thesis. I must have seemed to have been living in the 1970s and 1980s, but at least my wife Helen now knows who Lata Mangeshkar is. Liam McCarthy September 2019. iv Contents Abstract ……………………………………………………………………………..ii Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... iii Contents ……………………………………………………………………………..v Table of Tables ................................................................................................................ vii Table of Figures ............................................................................................................. viii Chapter 1 Introduction, Literature Review and Research Methods. ...................... 1 1.1 The existing literature. ............................................................................................ 7 1.2 My positionality in this study. .............................................................................. 19 1.3 Archives Used. ..................................................................................................... 20 1.4 Oral Histories. ...................................................................................................... 22 1.5 Broadcast Dissemination and Outreach. ............................................................... 23 1.6 The Thesis Format. ............................................................................................... 28 1.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 29 Chapter 2 1965 – 1975: A decade of ‘Reithian’ paternalism. ................................. 31 2.1 Existing BBC Policy............................................................................................. 32 2.2 BBC local radio: Assessing the ‘local’ need for Asian programming. ................. 38 2.3 ‘Access Programmes’: The first BBC local radio Asian programmes. ................ 41 2.4 The Pioneer Presenters. ........................................................................................ 51 2.5 BBC Radio Leicester – a Case Study. .................................................................. 59 2.6 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 70 Chapter 3 1976: Kick-starting British Asian Radio in Leicester. .......................... 72 3.1 Existing local media coverage of the changing city. ............................................ 74 3.2 Rapidly increasing Asian immigration to Leicester. ............................................ 77 3.3 The rise of the nationalist right. ............................................................................ 80 3.4 African connections. ............................................................................................. 82 3.5 A New station manager at BBC Radio Leicester ................................................. 85 3.6 The independence of local radio station managers ............................................... 86 3.7 Getting Six Fifteen on air. ..................................................................................... 88 3.8 Reaction to Six Fifteen.......................................................................................... 91 3.9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 97 v Chapter 4 1976 – 1984: Policy, Programmes and Asian communities disconnected. ............................................................................................. 99 4.1 BBC Policy ......................................................................................................... 100 4.2 The Programmes. ................................................................................................ 111 4.3 A Question of Language. .................................................................................... 120 4.4 BBC Radio Leicester – A Case Study ................................................................ 125 4.5 Conclusion. ......................................................................................................... 140 Chapter 5 1985-1990 Technology, Identity and Regional Divergence. ............... 144 5.1 Media Regulation ............................................................................................... 146 5.2 New Technologies embraced by Asian Communities. ....................................... 149 5.3 The Changing South Asian Diaspora. ................................................................ 153 5.4 New Young Voices on Air ................................................................................. 156 5.5 Regional Trends: Different approaches to BBC local radio Asian programming. 165 5.6 Conclusion .........................................................................................................