What should a state broadcaster do in a major crisis?
BBC radio provided both comfort and hard facts during the Second World War. It must do so again, says
In a national disaster, what happens when you turn on the radio? Will you turn the dial to Radio 4, and hear silence? Will you switch on the TV, and find a blank screen? The BBC director-general, Lord Hall, was asked exactly this by Adam Fleming on the corporation’s Coronavirus Newscast podcast this week. “I really, really hope not,” said Lord Hall.
“But there’s a possibility?” asked Fleming.
Lord Hall hesitated. “I don’t think that’s going to happen,” he said. “What is possible is that you may have more restricted access to television or radio than the cornucopia we’ve got at the moment.
“But a blank screen? No. I just know that won’t happen.”
We have to trust him. Because this is the moment to prove exactly what a state broadcaster is for.
When the news itself is dreamlike and surreal, it’s reassuring to hear familiar voices provide updates and guidance.
If there were nothing – no news, no advice, no voice and no company – well, then it would be time to worry.
There has long been a rumour that nuclear submarines tune in to Radio 4 to check that Britain is still functioning, and if they couldn’t get hold of it, that would be the cue to launch the missiles.
We’re not quite there yet. But how does a state broadcaster prepare for a moment of state crisis?
During the Second World War, the BBC Home Service began broadcasting in 1939, merging the former BBC National Programme and BBC Regional Programme, every day from 7am until quarter past midnight. People tuned in for news, and the famous speeches from Winston Churchill and King George VI, and the network kept broadcasting even as bombs fell on the cities.
In 1940, an alternative network, the Forces Programme, launched. Aimed at boosting morale for troops but also available to civilians, it was a spirit-lifting mix of drama, comedy, music, quizzes and variety shows. So far, the BBC’s strategy for this crisis is to adopt a similar dual approach: hard news and updates on the one hand, and cheer and succour on the other, with an additional focus on education for children. There’s the new daily Coronavirus Newscast presented by Fleming on BBC Sounds, for starters.
Every local radio station is linking to local volunteer groups to coordinate support for people who need it.
BBC radio stations are to play the same news bulletins so that information is consistent and economical to produce.
And during the school closures, BBC Four, CBBC and BBC Sounds are launching an education service for children to continue learning at home.
In my favourite development,
Radio 4 is going to broadcast vintage series of classic dramas and comedies, including the best episodes of Just a Minute and I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue. This is a great idea, because radio is particularly good at providing consoling company.
Fleming asked Hall about the possibility of a blank screen, but the prospect of a silent radio would be far more sobering.
Thankfully, it’s much less likely. Radio is more resilient to a crisis than TV because it’s simpler to produce, requires less equipment and fewer people, and can be made rapidly from pretty much anywhere. Understandably, the specific ways radio prepares for more extreme circumstances – basically, the complete breakdown of society – is kept largely under wraps to avoid alarm. But it’s safe to say that a skeleton crew of key broadcasters will be on standby to be called up in emergencies, probably those with a combination of a reassuring manner and the greatest experience of live news broadcasting, such as Evan Davis, Mishal Husain or Jane Garvey. A familiar voice is essential, as someone that listeners had never heard before would only lead to fears that everything we know is gone forever. During the Cold War, the BBC newsreader Peter Donaldson was recorded reading out a script which would have been played in the event of a nuclear
Charlotte Runcie
From a bunker near Worcester, newsreader Peter Donaldson once recorded a script which would have been played in the event of a nuclear attack
and on Radio 4, Sarah Montague and Chris Mason have been presenting The World at One and Any Questions live from their own homes.
If the BBC’s workforce and broadcasting capacity are significantly depleted by the pandemic, we could be anticipating a slimmed-down state service that feels even more along wartime lines.
No commercial network has the infrastructure and planning in place to provide the same consistent service, and when an economic crisis is looming alongside the disaster for public health, commercial viability of radio and TV networks could be in doubt. The BBC is about to learn that you’re either a public service broadcaster or you’re not – and right now, the public needs it.