News
Summer 1940
Image: After the resumption of the BBC Television Service in 1946, the outside broadcasting unit visited Biggin Hill, the RAF station in Kent which was the corner-stone of London's defence during the Battle of Britain in 1940.
During the Battle of Britain (10 July - 31 October) - when listeners could often see for themselves the effect of enemy action - BBC news had to strike a balance between truthful reporting of events and revealing specific information that would tell the Germans that they had found their target.
Outside broadcasts were possible with the use of mobile recording cars, but as only one disc recording machine would fit in each car, there was a limit of 4 minutes for each recording. Charles Gardner was able to report from Dover on an attack on a British convoy which was repulsed by fighter planes. The report of the dog-fight, which proved very popular, was nevertheless criticised as treating a deadly engagement "as if it were a cricket match or a horse race".
As the war progressed it became clear that there was a need for a consistently high standard of news reporting. Thus the War Reporting Unit was set up, which consolidated the notion, enduring to this day, that the story should be presented without unnecessary dramatisation. Further, the development of the Riverside Portable recorder - dubbed the Midget despite its 42lb weight - transformed reporting in the field, and enabled BBC reporters to file from the battlefields of Africa and Europe.
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