BBC redux

Alan Allport wrote:

 > "Martha Bridegam" <bridegam.DeleteThis@pacbell.net> wrote in message
 > news:3F42A2F8.E678FEA1@pacbell.net...
 >
  > > Wild stuff. Wonder if similar conversations took place in those Room 101
  > > Eastern Service meetings.
 >
 > The minutes are as you might expect pretty anodyne, but judging by the
 > bitchy memos that were going back and forth, who knows? (The imperial
 > administration going on in Portland Place seems to have been more of a focus
 > of discussion than the Raj, however).
 >
 > Alan.

Are there signs in the minutes of what I gather was the tension between staff
who quietly supported Indian independence after the war, and upper-level MOI
officials, who didn't?

/M<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
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"Martha Bridegam" <bridegam.DeleteThis@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:3F42A590.BF7196A2@pacbell.net...

 > Are there signs in the minutes of what I gather was the tension between
staff
 > who quietly supported Indian independence after the war, and upper-level
MOI
 > officials, who didn't?

More complicated than that. For one thing, the MOI didn't really come into
it. Bracken's folks sent down 'advisory' notices, but the BBC was pretty
much self-regulating and self-censoring. The politics of the staff ran from
no-surrender Blimp to staunch Congress, with plenty of variations inbetween,
but the crucial factor was that many of the Indians were Muslims and hence
no more friendly towards Nehru than they were towards the British. Principal
conflicts were between:

- Sir Malcolm Darling, who ran the vernacular news service, and everyone
else (a straightforward power-struggle with lots of bruised egos);

- The BBC in London and AIR (All-India Radio) based in South Asia, who
accused the Corporation of poaching their staff (and who were accused in
turn of sabotaging Eastern Service efforts on the ground in India);

- producers like Orwell and the mysterious "powers" higher up in the BBC who
mucked around with the schedule and content at the last minute, often
without any clear rationale.

The BBC staff didn't care much for American journalists either, who (so it
was claimed) kept up an anti-British line based on a superficial
understanding of the Indian problem.

Alan.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: BBC redux 

Alan Allport wrote:

 > "Martha Bridegam" <bridegam RemoveThis @pacbell.net> wrote in message
 > news:3F42A590.BF7196A2@pacbell.net...
 >
  > > Are there signs in the minutes of what I gather was the tension between
 > staff
  > > who quietly supported Indian independence after the war, and upper-level
 > MOI
  > > officials, who didn't?
 >
 > More complicated than that. For one thing, the MOI didn't really come into
 > it. Bracken's folks sent down 'advisory' notices, but the BBC was pretty
 > much self-regulating and self-censoring. The politics of the staff ran from
 > no-surrender Blimp to staunch Congress, with plenty of variations inbetween,
 > but the crucial factor was that many of the Indians were Muslims and hence
 > no more friendly towards Nehru than they were towards the British. Principal
 > conflicts were between:
 >
 > - Sir Malcolm Darling, who ran the vernacular news service, and everyone
 > else (a straightforward power-struggle with lots of bruised egos);
 >
 > - The BBC in London and AIR (All-India Radio) based in South Asia, who
 > accused the Corporation of poaching their staff (and who were accused in
 > turn of sabotaging Eastern Service efforts on the ground in India);
 >
 > - producers like Orwell and the mysterious "powers" higher up in the BBC who
 > mucked around with the schedule and content at the last minute, often
 > without any clear rationale.
 >
 > The BBC staff didn't care much for American journalists either, who (so it
 > was claimed) kept up an anti-British line based on a superficial
 > understanding of the Indian problem.
 >
 > Alan.

Fascinating last item. Tell more?

/M<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: BBC redux 

"Martha Bridegam" <bridegam.RemoveThis@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:3F42B260.7D5DCA59@pacbell.net...

 > Fascinating last item. Tell more?

I didn't really follow this up much when I was researching the Indian
Section, except to note the occasional memoed snipe about Yank reporters
deciding that they could solve the Indian problem five minutes after getting
off the boat in Bombay. I expect Orwell shared this antipathy.

Alan.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: BBC redux