The BBC and European Integration, c.1957-1975

1975年6月，超过800万人收看了英国广播公司（BBC）对内阁大臣罗伊·詹金斯（Roy Jenkins）和托尼·本恩（Tony Benn）就欧洲经济共同体（EEC）成员资格全民公决的报道。关于英国是否应该加入欧共体的激烈辩论，从欧共体成立到1957年的《罗马条约》（Treaty of Rome），一直持续到1975年的全民公决，其背景是去殖民化和国家衰落。它分裂了这个国家和它的政治角色，造成了党内和党内的冲突，以及政府政策的定期变化。英国广播公司的广播向英国公众介绍了欧洲一体化的问题，该公司一直存在于绝大多数英国家庭中。它作为一个由公众资助的面向外部的国家机构的地位，使它在关于欧洲一体化、“英国性”等思想的日常话语中发挥了至关重要的作用，尤其是随着电视的兴起。它的影响力超过了任何一家报纸或其他广播公司。此外，英国对外事务部向全世界广播英国的言论。然而，对于BBC内部关于如何处理有关欧洲一体化的节目的讨论，以及观众对BBC有关该问题的节目的接受情况，一直没有持续的调查。该项目将提供这项研究，并将其置于更广泛的史学辩论中，涉及：英国境内国家和地区身份的本质；广播在塑造和反映大众和精英态度方面的作用；英国政治和媒体文化的发展；以及当代对英国在世界上不断变化的地位的看法，包括与英联邦的关系。英国广播公司（BBC）将被用来调查英国与欧洲关系的变化，以及欧洲一体化进程的起伏。这一历史背景将使我们更深入地了解英国关于欧洲一体化的论述是如何形成的。本研究将解决的主要问题是：BBC是如何与围绕欧洲一体化问题的当代话语互动的？

In June 1975 over eight million people tuned into BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) coverage of Cabinet ministers Roy Jenkins and Tony Benn doing battle on Panorama over the referendum on EEC (European Economic Community) membership. The intense debate about whether Britain should join the EEC rumbled on from its establishment through the 1957 Treaty of Rome until the 1975 referendum, set against a backdrop of decolonisation and a narrative of national decline. It divided the nation and its political actors, causing both inter- and intra-party conflicts, and regular changes in government policy. BBC broadcasts presented the issue of European integration to the British public and the corporation was a constant presence in the overwhelming majority of British homes. Its status as an outward-facing national institution, funded by the public, gave it a crucial role in everyday discourses on European integration, ideas of 'Britishness' and more, especially with the rise of television. Its reach exceeded that of any single newspaper or other broadcaster. Furthermore, its External Services saw it broadcast British discourses to the world. Yet there has been no sustained examination of internal BBC discussions about handling programming on European integration, or of audience reception to BBC programming on the issue. This project will provide this study and situate itself within wider historiographical debates concerning: the nature of national and regional identities within Britain; the role of broadcasting in shaping and reflecting popular & elite attitudes; the development of British political and media cultures; and contemporary perceptions of Britain's changing place in the world, including Commonwealth relations. The BBC will be used to investigate Britain's changing relationship with Europe and the fluctuating salience of European integration. This historical background will enable a deeper understanding of how discourse in Britain on European integration was shaped.The primary question this research will address is: How did the BBC interact with contemporary discourses surrounding the issue of European integration?