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This article is about the media in the city of Birmingham, England.

Broadcasting

The Wireless Age

Birmingham was the first city outside London to have a radio service from the newly-formed British Broadcasting Company, with the Birmingham station 5IT starting regular broadcasting from its Witton base at 17:00 on 15 November 1922,[1] the day after 2LO started daily BBC broadcasting from London[2] and one hour before the 18:00 launch of Manchester's 2ZY.[3] 5IT pioneered many innovations in early broadcasting, launching Children's Hour in 1922,[4] developing sophisticated methods of programme control and employing the first full time announcers in 1923.[5] The station's first announcer on its opening night was its general manager Percy Edgar,[6] who was to be the dominant figure in Birmingham broadcasting and the BBC's most influential regional director until his retirement in 1948.[7]

5IT moved its studios from Witton to a former cinema in New Street in 1923, moving again in 1926 to a completely new building in Broad Street with two studios – one the largest the country.[8] 1927 saw the low-powered city station 5IT replaced by the BBC Midland Region – the first of the BBC's regional services[9] – broadcast from the new Borough Hill high powered transmitter near Daventry.[10] The Broad Street studios now controlled and made programmes for a region stretching across central England from The Potteries to Norfolk.

As Director of the Midland Region Percy Edgar fought against the efforts of Lord Reith to increase control over the BBC from London, writing to Reith in 1929 that "the ever growing policy of centralisation in London has clearly gone a good deal further and more rapidly than public opinion here is prepared to accept"[11] and positioning himself almost as an independent entrepreneur within the wider organisation.[12] By 1935 the Midland Region was producing 40% of its broadcast material locally, more than either of the other English regions or even the national regions of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.[13] With 14 producers it was largest BBC department outside London.[14] Notable programmes included the detective series Paul Temple which was produced in Birmingham and broadcast nationally from 1938 until 1968.[15] and Midland Parliament, which broke new ground in allowing the on-air discussion of controversial topics by members of the public.[16]

Television

The area was one of the first to receive programming from the new ITV network in 1956. The networks' original representatives were Associated TeleVision (ATV) who served the area during the week and ABC Weekend TV who broadcast at the weekends. In 1968 ATV won the contract to serve the area seven days a week and built new studios off Broad Street at the heart of the city featuring the landmark Alpha Tower. In 1982 ATV was reorganised and became Central Independent Television, which was rebranded as Carlton Central in 1999 and again as ITV Central in 2004. ITV's Birmingham studios are famous for many shows, including Tiswas, Crossroads and Bullseye.

Current stations and programmes

The Mailbox, the BBC's current Birmingham headquarters

Today the BBC has two facilities in the city. The Mailbox in the city centre houses 740 BBC staff,[17] including the national headquarters of BBC English Regions, which oversees all regional television and local radio in England and produces over 70% of the BBC's domestic broadcast hours;[18] the regional headquarters and television centre for BBC West Midlands, which produces Midlands Today and local editions of Inside Out and The Politics Show; and the BBC Local Radio service BBC WM.

The BBC Birmingham network production centre, also based at The Mailbox, is one of only three in England outside London producing programmes for national broadcast. It produces a wide range of programmes including the long-running Countryfile, Gardeners' World, The Sky at Night and Points of View; the BAFTA Award-winning Coast and Trawlermen, and mainstream programming such as To Buy or Not to Buy,[19]

The BBC Drama Village, based in Selly Oak, is a production facility specialising in television drama and is the home of nationally networked programmes such as Dalziel & Pascoe, Doctors and The Afternoon Play.[20] In 2009 it was announced that production of the drama series Hustle[21] and Survivors[22] was also to move to Birmingham.

Birmingham remains the largest source of nationally networked programmes to BBC One outside London, contributing 8.8% of the channel's first-run originated network hours in 2007, with its 3.6% share making it the fourth largest contributor outside London to BBC Two.[23] Independent television production companies in Birmingham include Maverick Television (Embarrassing Bodies, How to Look Good Naked) and North One Television (Fifth Gear, The Gadget Show).

BSkyB have a base at the University of Birmingham's campus in Edgbaston, including a news bureau and a studio with broadcast, editing and production facilities, covering an area from Mid-Wales to Norfolk and from Sheffield to Oxford.[24] The Sikh Channel, which broadcasts across Europe, Africa and Asia, is based in the city's Aston area.

Local commercial radio stations include BRMB, Galaxy Birmingham, Gold, Heart West Midlands, Smooth Radio (which replaced Saga 105.7 FM), and Kerrang! 105.2, Birmingham's first dedicated rock station. The city has several community radio stations, such as Big City Radio, New Style Radio, Rhubarb Radio, South Birmingham Community Radio, and Switch Radio. BurnFM.com operates from the University of Birmingham Guild of Students, and Scratch Radio serves both Birmingham City University students and members of the local community.

Film

History

Albert Austin (born 13 December 1881 or 1885) was an actor, film star, director and script writer, primarily in the days of silent movies. He was born in Birmingham. He worked for Charlie Chaplin's Stock Company and played supporting roles in many of Chaplin's films, and working as his assistant director.

In the 1920s Oscar Deutsch opened his first Odeon cinema in the UK in Perry Barr. By 1930 the Odeon was a household name and still thrives today.

In 1930 the Birmingham Film Society was set up.

Contemporary

The Electric Cinema on Station Street is still open and is said to be the oldest working cinema in the UK. Screen West Midlands, the regional screen agency for the West Midlands, is based in the city's Jewellery Quarter.

Publishing

Birmingham's oldest known newspaper: the Birmingham Journal of 21 May 1733

History

The first known Birmingham newspaper was the Birmingham Journal, which was published by Thomas Warren from 1732 and whose early contributors included Samuel Johnson.[25] The most notable of the town's early newspapers however was Aris's Birmingham Gazette, which was founded in 1741 and continued publishing until 1956.[26]

Contemporary

Birmingham now has two local daily newspapers - the Birmingham Post and the Birmingham Mail - as well as the Sunday Mercury, all owned by the Trinity Mirror, who also produce The Birmingham News, a weekly freesheet distributed to homes in the suburbs along with Forward (formerly Birmingham Voice), the Birmingham City Council's free newspaper distributed to homes and via community centres and public buildings. Several local newspapers serve Birmingham including the Sutton Coldfield Observer and Sutton Coldfield News for the area of Sutton Coldfield.

Birmingham is also the hub for various national ethnic media, including The Voice, The Sikh Times, Desi Xpress, The Asian Today[27] and Raj TV (based in The Mailbox[28]). National showbiz magazine Ikonz is based in Birmingham, one of the few outside of London.

Education

See also: Education in Birmingham

The provision for media education and training in Birmingham has been acknowledged by Skillset, the sector skills council for the creative media industries.[29] Birmingham City University received accreditation as a Skillset Media Academy in 2007, and its courses at Millennium Point (TEE), Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD) and the Birmingham School of Media offer theoretical, practical and vocational studies in areas such as television and film, music and audio production, and interactive media. Further education institutions such as South Birmingham College and Birmingham Metropolitan College house extensive media production facilities and maintain close industry links. Established in 2003, the CSV Media Clubhouse's portfolio of courses comprises industry-standard multimedia production training.

The University of Birmingham's Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies, founded in 1964 and closed in 2002, produced several key theorists and studies in media and cultural studies. The university still provides undergraduate and postgraduate education in this field as of 2010.

References

  1. ^ Hennessy & Hennessy 2005, p. 207
  2. ^ Hennessy & Hennessy 2005, p. 157
  3. ^ Hennessy & Hennessy 2005, p. 161
  4. ^ Crisell, Andrew (2002), An Introductory History of British Broadcasting, Routledge, p. 20, ISBN 0415247926, retrieved 2009-12-31
  5. ^ Briggs 1961, p. 190
  6. ^ Briggs 1961, p. 190
  7. ^ Briggs 1965, p. 311
  8. ^ Hudson, Kenneth (1981), The archaeology of the consumer society: the second industrial revolution in Britain (illustrated ed.), London: Heinemann (published 1983), p. 100, ISBN 0435329596, retrieved 2010-01-01
  9. ^ Briggs 1978, p. 80
  10. ^ Briggs 1965, p. 282
  11. ^ Briggs 1965, p. 300
  12. ^ Briggs 1965, p. 293
  13. ^ Briggs 1965, p. 305
  14. ^ Briggs 1965, p. 453
  15. ^ Briggs 1965, p. 158
  16. ^ Briggs 1965, pp. 141, 313
  17. ^ "BBC defends changes as 16 Mailbox jobs 'relocated'", Birmingham Post, Trinity Mirror Midlands Limited, p. 2, 2007-12-12, retrieved 2010-01-01
  18. ^ About Us - Information about BBC English Regions, BBC {{citation}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  19. ^ Blackaby, Anna (2009-03-29), "BBC's factual unit flourishing in the Mailbox", Birmingham Post, Trinity Mirror Midlands Limited, retrieved 2010-01-01
  20. ^ Lights, campus, action for BBC Birmingham's Television Drama VillageBBC Press Release
  21. ^ Laws, Roz (2009-04-01), "Hit TV series Hustle to be filmed in Birmingham", Birmingham Post, Trinity Mirror Midlands Limited, retrieved 2010-01-01
  22. ^ Blackaby, Anna (2009-03-15), "Top TV sci-fi drama Survivors relocates to Birmingham", Birmingham Post, Trinity Mirror Midlands Limited, retrieved 2010-01-01
  23. ^ Production Trend Report 2007 (pdf), PACT - Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television, 2008-11-24, pp. 21–22, retrieved 2010-01-01
  24. ^ BBC and Sky News at Birmingham, University of Birmingham, 2008-11-29, retrieved 2010-01-01
  25. ^ "Johnson in Birmingham". Revolutionary Players of Industry and Innovation. Museums, Libraries and Archives - West Midlands. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
  26. ^ "Newspaper history in the West Midlands region". NEWSPLAN West Midlands. 2005. Retrieved 2008-05-26.
  27. ^ Newspapers in Birmingham Birmingham.gov.uk
  28. ^ Raj TV contact
  29. ^ http://www.skillset.org/uk/westmids/further/

Bibliography

External links

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