Writing the History of Southern Television: 1958-1982

英国独立电视台自1955年开播以来，一直是英国文化生活中的一支重要力量。它的推出打破了英国广播公司对广播的垄断，并首次将商业资助的公共服务电视引入英国。独立电视台被刻意设立为一系列地区性特许经营权，旨在对抗英国广播公司以伦敦为中心的大都市结构。尽管独立电视台在英国文化史上处于中心地位，但与英国广播公司相比，它被相对忽视了。特别是，独立电视台地区特许经营权的机构历史很少。虽然英国的一些地区性电影档案馆保存着独立电视台特许经营权的视听材料，但很少有档案馆保存能让人深入了解这些公司运作的支持纸质文件。对英国地区电影档案馆的初步调查表明，英国电影学院的南方电视收藏是独立电视台特许经营权唯一完整的纸质档案馆。然而，目前这一独特的收藏尚未编目，因此无法供公众使用。本项目的总体目标是通过南方电视台的具体案例研究(独立电视台在1958至1982年间在英格兰南部的特许经营权)，加深对独立电视台地区特许经营权制度历史的了解。机构历史提供了对决策过程、与其他机构的谈判和政策执行的洞察。南方电视台的案例提供了一个特别的机会，可以探索地区认同问题，审查商业和公共服务需求是如何谈判的，并使人们对电视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认同建设中的作用。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，来审视该公司如何试图在伦敦的阴影下服务于一个多元化的地理区域，而在区域电视和身份认同的历史上，这一点被忽视了。其次，它将研究不同地区特许经营权、监管机构和英国广播公司之间的关系，以加深对独立电视台特许经营权如何平衡商业和公共服务需求的理解。尽管英国电视史上的这段时期经常被称为BBC和ITV之间的双头垄断，但这种历史化未能承认ITV不是一个单一而连贯的机构，这个项目将纠正缺乏对ITV特许经营权的结构和运营方式的研究。第三，这项研究将通过考察商业公共服务广播公司如何谈判技术、法规和政策的变化，以及与工会和其他行业的关系，来增强对电视历史发展的理解。除了使电视历史学家受益外，这项研究还将有助于更广泛地研究英国的地区和国家认同、英国创意产业的运营以及公共服务的商业融资。该项目将展示南方电视台论文收藏对学术的价值，并使这些收藏可用于未来的研究。它还将通过对BFI旨在促进电影和电视作为英国社会和文化记录的获取和欣赏的倡议的贡献，使公众能够传播和参与南方电视台的纸集和以此为基础的研究。该项目还将为博士生提供对BFI工作原理的独特见解，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