Culture Wars

The BBC and ‘Britain’

Leighton Andrews

This book by a former BBC insider and now active politician provides new insights into the Corporation’s role in contemporary Britain. The BBC is at the heart of debates over the nature of ‘national culture’ in the UK, perhaps never more so than in the period from the review of the BBC’s last Charter, beginning with the Conservative Green Paper on the future of the BBC in 1992 and John Birt’s reign as Director General, up to the publication of the Hutton Report and Greg Dyke’s resignation in January 2004. The debate on the future of the BBC coincided with increasing tensions concerning the nature of the British state and its national culture or cultures. Following Hutton, the relationship of the BBC to the state is now under question in a more ferocious way than ever before. The book provides new insights into the BBC’s role in contemporary Britain.

Leighton Andrews is a member of the National Assembly for Wales. He was formerly a lecturer at Cardiff University School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, and is currently visiting professor at Westminster University. He has acted as consultant to the BBC, S4C and a wide range of media organizations, and was Head of Public Affairs at the BBC between 1993-96.