Writing the History of Southern Television: 1958-1982

自1955年开播以来，ITV一直是英国文化生活中的一支重要力量。它的推出打破了BBC在广播领域的垄断，并首次将商业资助的公共服务电视引入英国。ITV被有意建立为一系列地区特许经营权，旨在对抗BBC以伦敦为中心的大都市结构。尽管ITV在英国文化史上占据着中心地位，但与BBC相比，它相对被忽视了。特别是，ITV地区特许经营的制度历史很少。虽然英国的一些地区电影档案馆保存着ITV特许经营的视听资料，但很少有档案馆保存着能够深入了解这些公司运作情况的支持性纸质文件。一项对英国地区电影档案的初步调查表明，英国电影学院的南方电视收藏是唯一完整的独立电视台特许经营的纸质档案。然而，目前这个独特的收藏是未编目的，因此不可供公众使用。该项目的总体目标是通过对南方电视台（1958年至1982年英格兰南部的独立电视台特许经营权）的具体案例研究，加强对独立电视台（ITV）地区特许经营权的制度历史的理解。制度的历史提供了洞察决策过程，与其他机构的谈判，以及政策的实施。南方电视台的案例提供了一个特别的机会来探索地区认同问题，研究商业和公共服务需求是如何协商的，并使对电视在成为大众媒体期间的历史发展的理解复杂化。因此，本研究有三个具体的目的和目标。首先，它将进一步了解电视在英国地区身份建构中的作用。南方电视台是一个重要的案例研究，因为它提供了一个机会来研究该公司是如何试图在伦敦的阴影下服务于一个在地区电视和身份的历史中被忽视的多元化地理区域的。其次，它将检查不同地区特许经营，监管机构和BBC之间的关系，以增加对ITV特许经营平衡商业和公共服务需求的方式的理解。虽然英国电视史上的这段时期通常被称为BBC和ITV之间的双头垄断，但这种历史化未能承认ITV不是一个单一的、连贯的实体，而本项目将纠正对ITV特许经营的结构和运营方式缺乏研究。第三，本研究将通过考察技术、法规和政策的变化，以及与工会和其他行业的关系是如何通过商业公共服务广播公司进行谈判的，从而增强对电视历史发展的理解。除了有利于电视历史学家，这项研究还将有助于更广泛地研究英国的地区和国家身份、英国创意产业的运作以及公共服务的商业资金。该项目将展示南方电视台论文收藏的学术价值，并为今后的研究提供参考。它还将使公众能够传播和参与南方电视台的论文收藏，并通过对英国电影协会倡议的贡献，促进人们获取和欣赏作为英国社会和文化记录的电影和电视。该项目还将为博士生提供对BFI运作的独特见解，以及培训和经验

ITV has been a significant force in Britain's cultural life since it began broadcasting in 1955. Its introduction broke the BBC's monopoly on broadcasting and brought commercially funded public service television to the UK for the first time. ITV was deliberately established as a series of regional franchises designed to counter the London-centric, metropolitan structure of the BBC. Despite the centrality of ITV to the history of British culture, it has been relatively neglected in comparison with the BBC. In particular, there are very few institutional histories of the ITV regional franchises. While some of the regional film archives in the UK hold audio-visual material from the ITV franchises, it is rare for the archives to hold supporting paper documentation which would give an insight into the workings of these companies. An initial survey of regional film archives in the UK suggests that the British Film Institute's Southern Television collection is the only complete paper archive for an ITV franchise. Yet at present this unique collection is un-catalogued and so not available for public use.The overall aim of this project is to enhance understanding of the institutional history of the Independent Television (ITV) regional franchises through the specific case study of Southern Television (the ITV franchise for the south of England from 1958 to 1982). Institutional histories offer insight into decision-making processes, negotiations with other bodies, and the implementation of policy. The case of Southern Television provides a particular opportunity to explore issues of regional identity, to examine how commercial and public service demands were negotiated, and to complicate understanding of the historical development of television over the period within which it became a mass medium. As such, this research has three specific aims and objectives. First it will further understanding of the role of television in the construction of regional identities in the UK. Southern Television is an important case study because it offers the opportunity to examine how the company attempted to serve a diverse geographical region in the shadow of London that is overlooked in histories of regional television and identity. Second it will examine the relationships between the different regional franchises, the regulator and the BBC in order to increase understanding of the ways in which commercial and public service demands were balanced by the ITV franchises. While this period in British television history is often referred to as a duopoly between the BBC and ITV, such historicisation fails to acknowledge that ITV was not a single and coherent body and this project will correct the lack of research into the ways in which the ITV franchises were structured and operated. Third, this research will enhance understanding of the historical development of television by examining how changes in technology, regulation and policy, and relationships with the unions and other industries were negotiated by a commercial public service broadcaster. As well as benefiting television historians, this research will also contribute to broader research on regional and national identities in the UK, the operation of British creative industries, and the commercial funding of public services. The project will demonstrate the value of the Southern Television paper collection for scholarship and make the collection available for future research. It will also enable public dissemination of and engagement with the Southern Television paper collection and the research based on it through contributions to BFI initiatives designed to promote access to and appreciate of film and television as a record of British society and culture. The project will also provide a doctoral student with unique insight into the workings of the BFI, as well as training and experience