Club Meeting - 100 years of Auntie BBC (postponed)

Wed, Mar 8th 2023 at 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm

Speaker Dave Andrews Radio Leicester was unable to attend due to illness.
President gave a explanation as to why there are salad shortages,,,,,,

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BBC ‘firsts’, listed in the BBC’s Programme Index, include:

In the early days of broadcasting, there were few rules or standards to follow, and the listings show BBC radio pioneers innovating, experimenting and organising their output into what would become the established language of broadcasting. One example of this is, in the early days, news bulletins were read twice - once quickly and once slowly - and listeners were asked to write in with their preferences.

The first sport commentary: Mr E. S. King, secretary of the West Ham United Football Club (that year's English Cup finalists with Bolton Wanderers), gave the first sports talk on, "Our prospects Wembley", on 20 April 1923.

The first example of election coverage: On election day, 15th Nov 1922, every effort was made not to interfere with the newspapers, with no broadcasting before 5pm or beyond 1am, and Sir William Noble, Chairman of the BBCo (British Broadcasting Company) was quoted in a newspaper saying: “We hope that many people will take up broadcasting who otherwise might not take a great interest in the world's news, and that, by giving them a brief synopsis of events, we shall whet their appetite for news and thus induce them to buy more newspapers.”

A more detailed account of the election day broadcast on 2ZY is provided by the Liverpool Echo: “At 8pm a musical programme (from gramophone records) was given interspersed with election results, both of which were still coming through at midnight. The first result sent out from London was timed 10 o'clock and was heard in this manner by those listening in: - "Hullo, hullo! 2 L.O. London Broadcasting Station calling.' Stand by for the first election result. The first result is from the Wallasey Division. Sir R. R . Chadwick, Conservative, 17,108; Morris, Liberal. 9,984, Conservative majority, 7,524”.”

The first outside broadcast: An operatic programme (excerpts from the British National Opera production of The Magic Flute from Covent Garden) broadcast on 2LO on 8 January 1923.

First weather report: The first regular daily weather forecast was broadcast as early as 14th January 1923 on 2ZY from Manchester.

BBC Press Office

BBC Programme Index can be accessed at www.bbc.co.uk/programmeindex  

A simulation of the first ever radio announcement: “2LO calling” by Arthur Burrows, the first Director of BBC
Programmes can be downloaded and used with media reports here: https://www.dropbox.com/t/7R5sMEK0Q6f8e3TI