Jemblog

Lord Tebbit

'I'm a great supporter of the BBC and public service broadcasting and its been a great privilege to be here'

Lord Tebbit at the end of today's Today prog. He is this week's 2nd guest editor.
UPDATE: Today have now added a permanent (?) Tebbit page (with clips) to their site.

Watching TV...in 1946

"Viewing television is a very different activity from listening to sound broadcasts. The radio set can remain on for hours at a time; you can enjoy it as background to reading, writing, homework, housework (some people can even enjoy it as background to conversation, darts, or bridge). The television set demands your attention; you cannot enjoy television from the next room.
You must sit facing the set, with the lights down or shaded, and if you are a normal viewer you will find yourself very reluctant to be disturbed during a programme that you enjoy. This puts a limit on the hours that the ordinary viewer can give to his viewing. Broadcasting must go on from morning till midnight, but television is quite another matter, as most viewers will soon find."

From the BBC Year book 1946 via a new (to me) media history site, Transdiffusion.org.. Also contains various other fascinating pre 1950s broadcasting docs.