‘Nation shall speak peace unto nation’? The BBC and the nations

Abstract

This article will take an historical view on the BBC’s relationship with the nations, beginning with a discussion of the pre-television era, and then considering how the Corporation introduced television to the ‘national regions’ in the post-war period before focussing on Wales as a case study, ending with the establishment of the Welsh Fourth Channel, S4C. The aim is to underline the often complex historical relationship between the BBC as a UK-wide broadcaster and its role as a means of reflecting the life of a small nation such as Wales both to itself and to the rest of the United Kingdom.