THE HISTORY OF MASS MEDIA IN THE UK

The History of Mass Media in the UK



Table of content

Chapter One: Introduction4

Chapter Two: History of the press (newspapers & magazines)6

Chapter Four: History of radio & television8

1.Television8

2.Radio10

Chapter Five: History of the internet & digital media12

Chapter Six: Ownership of the mass media15

Chapter Seven: Margin of freedom of the press16

Chapter Eight: Name, date, publisher or broadcaster & circulation for the first appeared newspaper, magazine, radio station, and TV station.18

i.Chapter Nine: Roles & functions & effects of each medium19

ii.Conclusion21

Appreciation

I am highly Thankful to my teacher for giving me support and ideas on the topic.

The History of Mass Media in the UK

Chapter One: Introduction

Analogue terrestrial television in the United Kingdom is made up of two chartered public broadcasting companies, the BBC and Channel 4 and two franchised commercial television companies, (ITV and Five). There are five major free-to-air analogue channels: BBC One, BBC Two, ITV, Channel 4 and Five.

The BBC is funded by public money accrued from a television licence fee gathered from all UK households with a television set. This fee is legally compulsory and failure to pay it is punishable by prosecution, resulting in a fine or imprisonment. There are exceptions to paying, for homes with a pensioner (person over 65 years old). It is cheaper for those with a black & white TV or eyesight that is impaired. It is currently set at £135.50 , but is not set in stone. The fee chargeable is limited by the government and regulatory authorities. The BBC provides two analogue channels, BBC One (consisting of a network of local BBC stations) and BBC Two.

Channel 4 is similarly chartered to the BBC, with a remit to provide public service broadcasting and schools programs, however it runs commercial advertisements to provide a revenue stream. It produces a single analogue channel, currently branded as Channel 4.

The commercial operators rely on advertising for their revenue, and are run as commercial ventures, in contrast to the public service operators. The ITV franchise transmits one analogue channel known as ITV (consisting of a network of local ITV stations) and Five transmits one analogue channel also.

All the major analogue broadcasters provide additional channels on the free-to-air Freeview digital television service, and all of these channels can be accessed via a cable or satellite provider, such as Virgin Media or BSkyB.

Freesat, a satellite-based free-to-air service similar to Freeview, has been reported to be planned by a consortium led by the BBC.

Chapter Two: History of the press (newspapers & magazines)

The press in the UK has been subject to self-regulation for over fifty years. The self-regulatory era began with the creation of a voluntary Press Council in 1953, which aimed to maintain high ethical standards of journalism and to promote press freedom. However, during the 1980s, a small number of publications failed in the view of many to observe the basic ethics of journalism. This in turn reinforced a belief among many members of Parliament that the Press Council, which had lost the confidence of some in ...