The Reinvention of Radio — The 1960s

Abstract

Both inside and outside the BBC, the 1960s was a decade of quite intense change. That change can, of course, be viewed in very different ways – for some a golden age but for others a time of moral disintegration.¹ In this chapter I will briefly acknowledge the social and cultural highlights of the decade and then identify some of the key figures in the BBC who promoted what might be called the ‘reinvention of radio’. As so much happened in current affairs and news at this time, the focus will be mainly on the production and organisation of factual radio programming and in particular three influential programmes: The World at One, Today andWoman’s Hour. Appropriately for such a turbulent time, the 1960s in radio ended with a major reorganisation and a row that pitted the progressives and the reactionaries against each other; a discussion of the furore overBroadcasting in the Seventies will provide a convenient end to the chapter.