393 394

SECRET
POLICY COMMITTEE
Thursday, 13th February, 1941.

Present:

Minister

D.G.

D.D.G.

Parliamentary Secretary

Sir Maurice Peterson

Sir Kenneth Clark

Mr. Radcliffe

Mr. Bamford

Mr. Macadam

Mr. Wellington

Mr. Leigh Ashton

Mr. Gates

Mr. Ogilvie

Mr. Valentine Williams

Lord Davidson

Mr. Herbert

Mr. Waddell(Secretary)

1. Subject to the substitution of “only to be referred to when” for the words “to be permitted whenever” in the second paragraph on page 3 the minutes of the meeting on 30th January were taken as read and approved.

2. JOINT BROADCASTING COMMITTEE

The D.G. explained that a paper had been prepared by the B.B.C. suggesting that the J.B.C. should be absorbed into the organisation of the B.B.C. subject to the financial support provided by the Ministry to the J.B.C. being continued in respect of the same services to be provided by the B.B.C. and subject to adequate staff being available to the B.B.C. for the purpose. It was explained further that the Joint Broadcasting Committee had originated in a small group of people under the inspiration of Miss Hilda Matheson, using Foreign Office funds to produce records for inclusion in broadcasts from foreign countries. It was understood that the name had been adopted because many of the recordings were made with the assistance of nationals of the countries in which they were to be broadcast.

[B/44]

Mr. Wellington had summarised the arguments made by the J.B.C. for retaining their separate identity as follows:-

(a) It was said that neutral countries would not accept programmes officially sponsored by the B.B.C. The answer to this was that while it might have been so at an early stage of the Committee's operations the situation had now altered and there was little value in the fiction of an independent agency free from official inspiration.

Mr. Leigh Ashton mentioned that to the best of his information most neutrals already identified the J.B.C. with the B.B.C.

(b) It was said that the J.B.C. programmes were so warmly welcome in neutral countries today that it would be a mistake to lose this goodwill. The answer to this was that the B.B.C. could do the work even more satisfactorily and it was felt to be important that direct and indirect broadcasting should be under a unified control so that experience gained on one side could be used to advantage on the other.

(c) It was said that the “sound pictures” in which the J.B.C. had specialised were a new development of great importance which might die with the Committee. This was not accepted since “sound pictures” was only another name for what was now a fairly familiar conception.

Reference was made to the necessity of securing adequate control of the finance (estimated at £30,000 a year) and of the activities of the Committee and it was agreed that subject to the concurrence of the Treasury and the Foreign Office Mr. Bamford should make the necessary arrangements for putting into effect the absorption of the Committee into the B.B.C.

3. USE OF REGULAR CHANNELS IN SUBMITTING TO THE MINISTER

The Minister said that he still found minutes were being sent to him directly and not through the regular channels. This might be with a laudable desire for speed, but in fact it lead to inconvenience and delay because he had to refer back to obtain the advice to which he was entitled. There was an official circular on the matter which should be observed. He asked Controllers to impress this on their divisions, so that minutes should come to him only in the proper manner.

[A/568]

B.B.C. ACCOMODATION

[B/12/9]

Reference was made to three points connected with B.B.C. accommodation: (a) Mr. Ogilvie explained that work on Bush House was now progressing as rapidly as possible. The first part of the work had been completed according to programme by the end of January, but the second part, necessitated by expansion approved by the Ministry, would not be completed until the middle of March. (b) Examination of additional premises for the B.B.C. in London was proceeding. A meeting had been held the previous day to settle whether any of the premises examined would be suitable. Mr. Herbert remarked that for Postal and Telegraph Censorship purposes a large floor space was required which (he had been informed by the Ministry of Works) would not be obtainable in London. The space he required would be clear of partitions and as he understood that the B.B.C. required a large floor space which they would wish to partition for their own purposes he suggested the B.B.C. might be able to 395 -3-[illegible] by bringing to his notice accommodation which would not be suitable for their purposes but might be for his. (c) It was understood that offices were gradually being re-established in Broadcasting House although for operational purposes the only accommodation available was the basement.

5. Two points arose concerning the Radio Times: (a) the D.D.G. referred to advertisements which had been appearing in The Times calling upon advertisers to use the Radio Times. He suggested that in view of the Government's s decision at the beginning of the war to ration its own advertising space this encouragement to advertisers, particularly of patent medicines, to use space and paper in a publication under Government auspices might be resented by the newspapers. Mr. Ogilvie agreed to look into this question. (b) The Minister referred to a decision by the Planning Committee that the Radio Times should be assisted by the Ministry to reprint the Prime Minister's speech. Sir Kenneth Clark explained that the large circulation of the Radio Times made it a suitable medium for bringing the speech to the notice of a large number of people who would not read it in pamphlet form. It was intended that it should be printed as a “spread” in the middle so that it could be readily detached. Mr. Ogilvie mentioned the value of the Radio Times as an advertising medium, since each issue generally rested on the table for a week or ten days at a time; he added that frequent review had shown that the features interested the listening public to a very considerable extent.

[B/40]