Life on Air

Radio Four has been described as the greatest broadcasting channel in the world, the heartbeat of the BBC, a cultural icon of Britishness, and the voice of Middle England. Defined by its rich mix, encompassing everything from journalism and drama to comedy, quizzes, and short-stories. Many of its programs- such as Today, The Archers, Woman's Hour, The Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy, Gardeners' Question Time, and The Shipping Forecast--have been part of British life for decades. Others, less successful, have caused offence and prompted derision. Born as it was in the Swinging Sixties, Radio Four's central challenge has been to change with the times, while trying not to lose faith with those who see it as a standard-bearer for quality, authoritativeness, or simply old-fashioned BBC values.

In this first major behind-the-scenes account of the station's history, David Hendy--a former producer for Radio Four--draws on privileged access to the BBC's own archives and new interviews with key personnel to illuminate the arguments and controversies behind the creation of some of its most popular programmes. He reveals the station's struggle to justify itself in a television age, favouring clear branding and tightly-targeted audiences, with bitter disputes between the BBC and its fiercely loyal listeners. The story of these struggles is about more than the survival of one radio network: Radio Four has been a lightning rod for all sorts of wider social anxieties over the past forty years. A kaleidoscopic view of the changing nature of the BBC, this book provides a gripping insight into the very nature of British life and culture in the last decades of the twentieth century.

About the Author:
David Hendy studied history at St Andrews and Oxford, before joining the BBC in 1987. For the next six years he worked in current affairs, producing series such as The World Tonight and Analysis on Radio Four. During his time at the BBC he worked on programs covering the first Gulf War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, as well as a range of domestic British political events. Since 1993, he has been teaching about broadcasting and media history at the University of Westminster in London, where he is currently Reader in Media and Communication. He continues to contribute to--and occasionally produce--radio programs in Britain and overseas.