'Nation shall speak peace unto nation'? The BBC and the nations. (March 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Medhurst, Jamie
• Is Part Of: Critical studies in television. Volume 17:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 8
• Page End: 23
• Publication Date: 2022-03
• Subjects: BBC -- Wales -- television -- nationhood -- national identity -- S4C; Television -- Periodicals; Television criticism -- Periodicals; 384.5505
• DOI: 10.1177/17496020211061295
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1749-6020

Abstract

This article will take an historical view on the BBC's relationship with the nations, beginning with a discussion of the pre-television era, and then considering how the Corporation introduced television to the 'national regions' in the post-war period before focussing on Wales as a case study, ending with the establishment of the Welsh Fourth Channel, S4C. The aim is to underline the often complex historical relationship between the BBC as a UK-wide broadcaster and its role as a means of reflecting the life of a small nation such as Wales both to itself and to the rest of the United Kingdom.