TV and radio

Watching television is one of the great British pastimes! Broadcasting in the United Kingdom is controlled by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA). The BBC receives its income from the government, but the private companies controlled by the IBA earn money from advertising.

National radio is controlled by the BBC, and listeners can choose between four stations. Radio 1 is a pop-music station with news and magazine-style programmes. Radio 2 plays light music and reports on sport. Radio 3 plays classical music whilst Radio 4 has news programmes, drama and general interest programmes. There are many local stations, some private and some run by the BBC. Their programmes consist mainly of music and local news.

The BBC has two TV channels. BBC 2 has more serious programmes and news features. The IBA is responsible for looking after the regional independent TV companies who broadcast their own programmes and those they have bought from other regions. There is a break for advertisements about every 15 - 20 minutes. The most recent independent channel is called Channel 4 and it has more specialized programmes than the main channels. In general, people think the programmes offered on British television are of a very high standard. Some people, however, are becoming worried about the amount of violence on TV, and the effect this may have on young people.

TV and radio are also two of the main teaching channels used by the Open University. This 'university of the air' allows many thousands of students to study at home for degrees they never would have obtained in the main educational system. They also have to do without sleep as most of their programmes are broadcast early in the morning or late at night!

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops is a programme that has been shown every week on BBC TV for many years. Each week computers in a number of record-shops throughout the United Kingdom show how many copies of a record have been sold that week. The new chart, issued each Tuesday evening, shows which singles have sold the most copies during the previous week. With this information, the show's producers decide which songs will be played. Usually it will be those moving up the charts, or the new releases which the disc-jockeys (usually called DJs) think will be 'hits'. Of course, each week the show finishes with the number one single. Bands either appear live in the studio, or in a video recording made especially to sell the record. These videos have become so important in the last few years that they can help to make a record a hit.

Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White: Spotlight on Britain; Oxford University Press, 1985, page 114 f.

What is your attitude to violence on television? Does it influence people and how should it be controlled?