Table of Contents

Introduction; Foreword (John Willis); John McGrath - TV Drama: The Case against Naturalism; Marcel Ophuls - Naturalism in Television; Norman Lear - Taboos in Television; Jeremy Isaacs - Signposting Television in the 1980s: The Fourth Television Channel; John Mortimer - Television Drama, Censorship and Truth; Peter Jay - The Future of 'Electronic Publishing'; Denis Foreman - The Primacy of Programmes in the Future of Broadcasting; John Schlesinger - Reflections on Working in Film and Television; Troy Kennedy Martin - 'Opening Up the Fourth Front': Micro Drama and the Rejection of Naturalism; Philip Whitehead - Power and Pluralism in Broadcasting; Christine Ockrent - Ethics, Broadcasting and Change: The French; Experience; Rupert Murdoch - Freedom in Broadcasting; Verity Lambert - De-regulation and Quality Television; David Elstein - The Future of Television: Market Forces and Social Values; Michael Grade - The Future of the BBC; Dennis Potter - Occupying Powers; Greg Dyke - A Culture of Dependency: Power, Politics and Broadcasters; Janet Street Porter - Talent versus Television; John Birt - A Glorious Future: Quality Broadcasting in the Digital Age; Laurence Marks & Maurice Gran - Rewarding Creative Talent: The Struggle of the Independents; Peter Bazalgette - Television versus the People; Richard Eyre - Public Interest Broadcasting: A New Approach; Greg Dyke - A Time for Change; David Liddiment - The Soul of British Television; Mark Thompson - The Creative Deficit in British Television; Tony Ball - Freedom of Choice, Public Service Broadcasting and the BBC; John Humphrys - First Do No Harm.

About the Author

Bob Franklin is Professor of Media Communications, Department of Journalism Studies, University of Sheffield.

Reviews

This is an excellent collection for anyone interested in the history of British broadcasting and in retracing the development of television as a cultural form. Media International Australia This book will produce as many boos as hurrahs, according to the views and values of individual readers - Murdoch's lecture of 1989 in particular, will either raise hats or hackles - but the worth of the book is enhanced by Franklin's even-handed prefaces to each lecture. The collection of this material between two covers is very welcome. All the MacTaggart lectures are eloquent, individualistic and heartfelt. In addressing the difficult task of editing each text and reducing it to a quarter of its original length, Franklin has succeeded in retaining the strength of the speaker's voice and the ambience of the moment. The result is an eminently readable, thought-provoking collection of arguments by some of the most prominent figures in broadcasting. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of television. In fact, it seems surprising that we have managed without it until now. -- Christine Fanthome Journal of British Cinema and Television This is an excellent collection for anyone interested in the history of British broadcasting and in retracing the development of television as a cultural form. This book will produce as many boos as hurrahs, according to the views and values of individual readers - Murdoch's lecture of 1989 in particular, will either raise hats or hackles - but the worth of the book is enhanced by Franklin's even-handed prefaces to each lecture. The collection of this material between two covers is very welcome. All the MacTaggart lectures are eloquent, individualistic and heartfelt. In addressing the difficult task of editing each text and reducing it to a quarter of its original length, Franklin has succeeded in retaining the strength of the speaker's voice and the ambience of the moment. The result is an eminently readable, thought-provoking collection of arguments by some of the most prominent figures in broadcasting. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the history of television. In fact, it seems surprising that we have managed without it until now.