COMMERCIAL RADIO IN BRITAIN BEFORE THE 1990s: AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PROGRAMMING AND REGULATION EMMA REBECCA WRAY A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of Bournemouth University for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2009 Copyright Statement This copy of the thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that the copyright rests with its author and due acknowledgement must always be made of the use of any material contained in, or derived from, this thesis. 2 Acknowledgements My thesis is inspired by fifteen years working in the commercial radio industry. This is where I developed a passion to tell the story of its contribution to broadcasting history. My move to Bournemouth University in 2002 gave me the opportunity to pursue academic goals and during this time I have fortunate enough to work with and learn from world-leading authors in the field of Radio Studies. I would like to offer my warm thanks to Professor Seán Street who originally inspired me to make the big step into doctoral research and whose own work in the field of ILR opened my mind to a story that relatively little had been written or known about. Dr Hugh Chignell has been an ally, critic and confidant on my three-year journey. His advice and guidance has been invaluable. I hope that through future research I have the opportunity to work with such eminent academics again. A special mention must go to Tony Stoller, the former UK radio regulator who has been more than generous in helping me source key people for this project as well as sharing aspects of his own experience in regulation. I regard him as my mentor for this project. My thanks also to radio colleagues who agreed to take part in the research and share their recollections of the ups and downs of ILR. Their kind cooperation and detailed testimonies enrich the story of British commercial radio. Finally, I dedicate this thesis to Gordon and Isaac, whose patience, love and support during the past three years has never wavered, despite the many late night debates, decisions and deadlines. 3 List of Contents Abstract 5 Chapter One: Introduction and Background 6 Research aims and objectives 7 Methodology and approach 11 Literature summary 14 Chapter Two: The Birth of Commercial Radio: The Early Years, 1967-79 31 A political football 33 Tories take it forward 42 Regulating commercial radio 48 Defining ‘meaningful speech’ 55 Music copyright and needle time 68 Chapter Three: Commercial Radio Midterm: Expansion and Innovation, 1979-83 75 Centre Radio – a failure of regulation? 90 Regulation in action 96 The Programme Sharing Scheme 104 Changes to the media landscape 110 Breaking point 117 Chapter Four: Regulation Reform: 1984-89 120 1984 – Brave New World 121 The ‘Heathrow Conference’ 138 A pivotal moment 161 Peacock, policy and deregulation 168 Demise of the IBA 175 Chapter Five: Conclusion 182 Key research findings 183 Areas for further investigation 200 References 203 Appendices 236 4 Abstract Emma Rebecca Wray Commercial radio in Britain before the 1990s: An investigation of the relationship between programming and regulation. Today’s British commercial radio environment consists of over three hundred local, regional and national radio stations. Many operate a concentrated music format, designed to meet the demands of a defined target audience. This is in contrast to the commercial radio model in existence between 1973 and 1990, where local stations were required, as part of their contract, to broadcast speech-based programming, in addition to music, to a wider audience profile. One reason for speech programming on commercial stations was the strict regulation laid down by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). Regulatory policy coupled with societal and political changes had a major influence on the creation of programme output from 1973, when commercial radio was established, until new broadcast legislation was passed which transformed the business model under the Broadcasting Act 1990. Programme content was constrained by the regulator’s demands for what they referred to as ‘meaningful speech’ and the stations’ desire to be more commercial in line with the demands of the audience. The intention of this research project is to explore the impact of regulation upon the commercial radio programming model between 1983-85, and to uncover why this period was pivotal in bringing about change within the regulatory framework. This examination will be carried out by drawing on IBA policy papers, media reports and personal accounts from interviews with key radio station personnel, such as broadcasters, station producers, managers and regulation staff. The project draws on original sources of both primary and secondary data, including information held in the archives of the current radio regulator, the Office of Communications (Ofcom), who has granted unlimited access to previously unseen confidential archives. This provides an exclusive data source allowing the research to make an original contribution to broadcasting history, which is pertinent given the current debate on deregulation within UK commercial radio. 5 1. Introduction and Background British Commercial Radio is a network of licensed local, regional and national radio stations which broadcast on FM, AM and DAB frequencies. Following the parliamentary approval of the Sound Broadcasting Act in 1972, it was introduced in October 1973, establishing its position as the only alternative service to the BBC. Today there are over three hundred commercial local, regional and national radio stations (not counting community and internet stations). A main focus of today’s commercial model is to achieve profits, using sophisticated advertising, marketing and branding concepts linked to on-air (and online) content. The stations are managed strategically, mostly by large companies, focusing on sales and marketing objectives, with equal or more value being placed on the importance of revenue targets as well as listener ratings. This is in contrast to the structure, sound and production of local commercial radio (there was no national station until after 1990) in the period 1973-90 which was heavily regulated by the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The IBA had clear policies dictating every aspect of radio station business. These included ownership and licensing rules that meant that each individual station was franchised to a stand-alone company. The IBA implemented limitations to advertising and sponsorship, engineering specifications, and programme content, notably limits on the amount of music that could be played due to copyright restrictions and a high stipulation for local news. The new service was referred to as Independent Local Radio (ILR). When new legislation, the Broadcasting Act 1990, was passed, it changed the nature of programme regulation to a less restrictive, free market model, referred to by Hendy as ‘open market’ regulation (2000: 41). The actions and events of the regulator and the radio stations, leading up to the change in legislation, were most prominent during the mid-1980s, a period Street (2002) and Stoller (2006) regard as highly significant. These events not only changed the business model at the beginning of the 1990s, but their legacy continues to effect regulatory change. 6 Defining 1984 as the pivotal moment In personal interviews conducted during the initial phase of the research, both Stoller and Street strongly suggested that 1984 was the pivotal moment in the history of commercial radio 1, which confirms anecdotal evidence from this author, based on their own experiences working within the industry. Research for this thesis confirms that 1984 appears to be a unique and important date because it was during this time that a significant event occurred. The event was a secret meeting of commercial radio station directors, without the involvement of the IBA, at which the traditional form of radio programme regulation that had been in existence for ten years was challenged. The actions of this meeting had major repercussions for the future of the radio industry and the thesis shall demonstrate the extent of the changes incurred. Moreover, when researching this period to test the validity of Street and Stoller’s claim, it is clear that one cannot separate it from the turbulent events occurring within the UK economy. These appear to have exacerbated the strain on the model of regulation practiced by the IBA, given the influence of economic turmoil, social change and media fragmentation. In addition, the influence of the Conservative Government, under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher from 1979-90, and the findings of the 1986 Peacock Report, instigated new legislation. The Broadcasting Act 1990, as the thesis shall demonstrate, revealed key characteristics of Thatcherism. This is because it focused on the removal of restrictions upon commercial operators (radio and television) thus supporting the ideology of the free market. As the thesis shall confirm from qualitative research, 1984 appears to have not only been a definitive point on the commercial radio continuum from the radio stations’ perspective, but also to have changed the role of the regulator from interventionist to ‘light-touch’. This can be analysed further by applying mass communication theory (McQuail, 2005). The IBA’s regulatory approach moved from a hypodermic model, to a uses and gratifications model thus creating a shift in the balance within the public sphere, where listeners, in addition, became consumers. Research aims and objectives The aim of the thesis is to examine commercial radio programming regulation, from its genesis in 1973, to the legislative changes which took place in 1990, focusing on the mid-1980s. The research project is designed, at a simplistic level, to document 1 In personal interviews conducted in 2006 prior to the commencement of the thesis, both Stoller and Street outlined 1984 as a critical stage in ILR’s development. 7 commercial radio’s contribution to the broadcasting sector, while affording the opportunity to provide detailed discussion and analysis of its manifestations during the first ten years.