Handbook, 1966

The British Broadcasting Company became the British Broadcasting Corporation on 1 January 1927. This institution quickly became an iconic part of British culture. The BBC established its reputation as an indispensable broadcaster and pioneered an influential role in global broadcasting, becoming the oldest and largest major broadcaster. Funding for the BBC comes primarily from taxation, which has led to increased public scrutiny concerning its objectives and spending. In response, the BBC has deemed it necessary to publish an annual report explaining what it does and why. These handbooks are included in this fascinating collection, thereby providing key insights into the internal workings of the BBC.

This collection contains the annual reports, as well as accounts, that were published by the BBC between 1927 and 2002. In addition, the collection includes a review of each year’s public service broadcasting, with detailed schedules, audience research, performance and objective tables, commentaries, and editorials. Together, these sources provide students, educators, and researchers with a unique opportunity to explore the social and cultural forces that shaped the BBC, as well as Britain and the wider world, throughout much of the twentieth century.  

(The BBC word mark and logo are trade marks of the British Broadcasting Corporation and are used under licence. BBC Logo © BBC 1996.)

The BBC's handbooks were published yearly from 1928 to 1987, apart from a two-year break in 1953-1954. Alongside the Annual Report and Accounts, which the BBC is required to submit to Parliament, these handbooks were intended to be a publicly available report of what it did and why. The handbooks' aims have been summarised thus by Sir Ian Jacob, former Director-General (BBC handbook, 1955): "To provide a clear and reliable guide to the workings of the BBC, to survey the year's work in British broadcasting, and to bring together as much information about the BBC as can be assembled within the covers of a small book."With occasional changes of title (from 'Handbook' to 'Yearbook' to 'Annual' and back), but generally following the same format (a review of the year; information on notable programmes; basic factual material, including the names of senior staff and governors; engineering developments; audience trends; accounts; a copy of the BBC's charter), for its last seven years of publication (1981-1987), the handbooks also incorporated the Corporation's statutory annual report and accounts. A useful introduction to this particular reference series is The BBC handbooks : some observations for broadcasting historians by Hugh Chignell, Media School, Bournemouth University.