Independent Local Radio (ILR) in the West Midlands, 1972-1984: a comparative study of BRMB Radio and Beacon Radio. D. P. Allen A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the University‟s requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy June 2011 University of Worcester Abstract Informed by theory and debate associated with the field of media studies, this thesis presents a comparative analysis of two Independent Local Radio (ILR) stations in the West Midlands between 1972 and the mid 1980s: BRMB Radio in Birmingham and Beacon Radio, which served Wolverhampton and the Black Country. It locates the two stations in the context of the development of British broadcasting policy, which had been shaped from the start by the British model of public service broadcasting. ILR was a public radio service which was funded by the sale of advertising time. Similar to commercial radio elsewhere, the survival of BRMB and Beacon Radio depended on the income they could generate, but the commercial imperative was constrained by the legislative and regulatory framework of British public service broadcasting. The thesis argues that the fortunes of the two stations depended largely on the approaches taken by their respective management teams to these conflicting influences. The success or failure of an ILR station, in terms of profit or programming, was shaped by its management team. BRMB Radio was an example of a station with an appropriate balance of experience and expertise. From the beginning it was headed by a managing director with a commercial background and a programme controller who was experienced in regulated public service broadcasting. In contrast, Beacon Radio was a station with the wrong people in charge. Both the managing director and the programme controller were from a commercial broadcasting background, and their approach brought the station into conflict with the Independent Broadcasting Authority, ILR‟s regulator. Almost every aspect of the Beacon operation was designed to make money. The profit motive took precedence over the fulfilment of its public service obligations. Beacon‟s deficiencies in terms of local coverage and its aggressive sales tactics caused some parts of the local community to reject the station, with some calling on the IBA to remove the Beacon licence. Formulating the correct type of programmes and working with the regulator was a necessity. To generate revenue a station needed to sell an audience to advertisers. To build an audience it had to create programming to which listeners could relate. Music policy, the personality of presenters, and predictability of output were specifically relevant to BRMB and Beacon. Above all, each station had to have access to the airwaves, and with the IBA as gatekeeper to the airwaves it had to abide by its rules and regulations, especially those relating to programming and content. This was exemplified by the case of Beacon Radio: it was only after the IBA had refused to renew its licence that Beacon recognised the importance of having programmes which met the prescribed standard of quality and public service, and working with the regulator and not against it. 2 Contents List of Abbreviations Used Acknowledgements Introduction Page 6 Chapter One The Broadcast Media Page 15 Chapter Two The Origins of Independent Local Radio Page 36 Chapter Three The Independent Broadcasting Authority and the Development and Regulation of Independent Local Radio in the 1980s Page 59 Chapter Four BRMB Radio and Beacon Radio 1972-1979 Page 90 Chapter Five BRMB Radio and Beacon Radio 1980-1984 Programming and Community Provision Page 126 Chapter Six 1980-1985 Business Operations and the Changing Nature of West Midlands ILR Page 162 Conclusion Page 189 Appendices Page 201 Bibliography Page 239 3 List of Abbreviations Used AIRC Association of Independent Radio Contractors ATV Associated Television BBC British Broadcasting Corporation BPM Birmingham Post and Mail Group CBSO City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra EMAP East Midlands Allied Press FCC Federal Communications Commission FRC Federal Radio Commission HTV Harlech Television IBA Independent Broadcasting Authority IBC International Broadcasting Company IEA Institute of Economic Affairs ILR Independent Local Radio IPA Institute of Practitioners in Advertising IRN Independent Radio News ISBC Incorporated Society of British Advertisers ITA Independent Television Authority ITC Independent Television Commission ITV Independent Television JICRAR Joint Industry Committee for Radio Audience Research LAC IBA Local Advisory Committee LBC London Broadcasting Company MNA Midlands News Association MRH Midland Radio Holdings MRS Midland Radio Sales NDBC National Broadcasting Development Committee PPL Phonographic Performance Limited PRS Performing Rights Society RMB Radio Marketing Bureau TSA Total Service Area UBN United Biscuits Network VHF Very High Frequency 4 Acknowledgements I would like to thank a number of people and organisations for their help during the preparation of this thesis. First, many thanks to my supervisory team, Dr. Darren Oldridge, my final Director of Studies, and Drs. Dil Porter and Ben Calvert; with special thanks to Darren and Dil who were a tremendous help during the final writing up stages. Special mention must also be given to Dr. Ronnie Kowalski who sadly passed away during the completion of the thesis. As my former Director of Studies, Ronnie was a huge inspiration and made great effort in keeping me focused on the job in hand. Thanks, too, to a number of organisations. The archives at the British Film Institute and Ofcom each provided great assistance, as did the British Library - both at St. Pancras and the newspaper library at Colindale - and the library at the London School of Economics. The archives at Birmingham Central Library and the Wolverhampton Local History Centre should also receive mention, as should all the staff at the Peirson Library at the University of Worcester. Finally, thanks also go to the university‟s Graduate Research School who were a tremendous help in keeping me up to date with the bureaucracy involved. 5 Introduction This thesis seeks to provide a history of Independent Local Radio (ILR) in Britain from 1972 to 1985. Two ILR stations based in the West Midlands, BRMB Radio (Birmingham) and Beacon Radio (Wolverhampton) lie at the heart of this study, and their operations are analysed in some depth. The fortunes of these stations illustrate the larger history of ILR. The thesis will engage with two major themes. The first theme is how these stations addressed the conflicting imperatives that confronted ILR. As a network of limited companies charged with providing a commercially viable community-based radio service, ILR was expected to make money while also fulfilling a public service remit. The thesis will explore the ways in which the stations dealt with the tensions arising from these two imperatives. It will show that each station developed its own model, and these models exemplified the different approaches available to ILR stations nationally. Secondly, the thesis will examine how the choice of management teams for the respective stations was a critical factor in determining success or failure. In particular, as we shall see, this affected not only the way in which each station addressed ILR‟s regulatory remit, but also its relationship with the regulator, the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Independent Local Radio in Britain after 1972 ILR, Britain‟s first official commercial radio service, was sanctioned by the Sound Broadcasting Act of 1972. This reversed the position taken by parliamentary inquiries in the 1950s and 1960s - notably those undertaken by Beveridge (1949-51) and Pilkington (1960-2) – which had rejected the notion of commercially funded radio. Thus, before 1972, where it existed, it operated offshore. The new service was very similar in some respects to its television counterpart, Independent Television (ITV), which had been established in 1955. Whilst the Conservative government of the time unquestionably wanted an alternative to BBC television, ITV represented a compromise between two schools of thought. On the one hand, there were those committed to the idea of public service broadcasting (PSB) funded and regulated on the same lines as the BBC; on the other, there were those who argued for a purely commercial alternative where programmes would be funded by revenue from advertising. The result was a commercial television service, funded by advertising but heavily regulated by the Independent Television Authority (ITA - renamed Independent 6 Broadcasting Authority in 1972 to accommodate responsibility for ILR). When ILR finally arrived in the 1970s it was subject to similar constraints. As was the case with ITV, the PSB ethic was used to check rampant commercialism. As well as providing entertainment with which to attract and retain audiences, stations were required to educate and inform. The major difference was that, whereas ITV was essentially a network of regional franchises, each ILR station was to be firmly entrenched within its local community. These and other issues created major difficulties for ILR stations over the years that followed. Alongside the PSB and community remit were financial constraints such as station rental and the requirement to build studios to the IBA‟s exacting standards. Another problem was the fact that ILR was seeking to establish itself in the difficult economic climate of the 1970s with inflation running at high levels after