The Early Years of Television and the BBC

Jamie Medhurst is Professor of Media and Communication at Aberystwyth University

The British journalist, C. P. Scott, once said of television, 'Not a nice word. Greek and Latin mixed. Clumsy.' From its earliest days, when people began to discover ways of 'seeing at a distance' through to the multi-platform media environment of today, television has shown itself to be a resilient and adaptable method of communication. Based on detailed archival research, The Early Years of Television and the BBC explores the relationship between the BBC and television from the mid-1920s through to the outbreak of the Second World War. Medhurst provides an account of the oft-forgotten 30-line television service (1932-35), and re-evaluates the belief that Sir John Reith, the Corporation's Director-General until 1938, would have nothing to do with television. Dr Jamie Medhurst is Reader in Film, Television and Media at Aberystwyth University. Previous publications include A History of Independent Television in Wales (2010), as well as a number of chapters and articles on broadcasting history. He is also co-editor of Broadcasting in the UK and US in the 1950s: historical perspectives (2016), and editor-in-chief of Media History.