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Kate Murphy
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Behind the Wireless: A History of Early Women at the BBC 1st ed. 2016 Edition

by Kate Murphy (Author)
3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 9 ratings
See all formats and editions
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Behind the Wireless tells the story of women at the BBC in the 1920s and 30s. Broadcasting was brand new in Britain and the BBC developed without many of the overt discriminatory practices commonplace at the time. Women were employed at all levels, except the very top, for instance as secretaries, documentary makers, advertising representatives, and librarians. Three women held Director level posts, Hilda Matheson (Director of Talks), Mary Somerville (Director of School Broadcasting), and Isa Benzie (Foreign Director). Women also produced the programmes aimed at female listeners and brought women broadcasters to the microphone. There was an ethos of equality and the chance to rise through the ranks from accounts clerk to accompanist. But lurking behind the façade of modernity were hidden inequalities in recruitment, pay, and promotion and in 1932 a marriage bar was introduced. Kate Murphy examines how and why the interwar BBC created new opportunities for women.

Previous page
  1. ISBN-10
    1137491728
  2. ISBN-13
    978-1137491725
  3. Edition
    1st ed. 2016
  4. Publisher
    Palgrave Macmillan
  5. Publication date
    May 9, 2016
  6. Language
    English
  7. Dimensions
    5.83 x 0.71 x 8.27 inches
  8. Print length
    308 pages
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“The book will complement the scholarship about the BBC but also add to the current exploration of the participation of women in the workforce in the interwar period. I expect that the book will be of great interest for scholars of media, gender, modern Britain and labor relations. It is a wonderful example of how to bring all these concerns into conversation.” (Tal Zalmanovich, New Books network, newbooksnetwork.com, March, 2017)

“I would recommend the bibliography to students as an up-to-date survey of the history of women’s work in the early twentieth century. … the book is an informative and entertaining read and will doubtless become the go-to resource on women at the interwar BBC.” (Laura Beers, Oxford University Press Journals, December, 2016)

“I was riveted by Kate Murphy’s Behind the Wireless … a brilliantly researched study of the young women who worked at the fledgling BBC in the Twenties and Thirties.” (Juliet Nicolson, Evening Standard, standard.co.uk, November, 2016)

“A meticulously researched exploration of the numerous women who worked at the BBC in its early years, the 1920s and 1930s. … Behind the Wireless portrays well how in recruitment, mobility and pay, unspoken gender inequalities were clearly identifiable in the early BBC, even if some individual women were successful. … This book is, therefore, to be recommended not merely for the history it explores but also for the questions and issues it raises which remain very pertinent today.” (Maggie Andrews, Women's History Review, Vol. 26 (3), November, 2016)

“This book fully explores the role of women at all levels in the BBC from its formation in 1922 up to 1939. … This book is an important work in the history of broadcasting, women’s history and the sociology of work.” (David Harris, radiouser, September, 2016)

About the Author

Kate Murphy is Senior Lecturer at Bournemouth University, UK, where she leads the BA (Hons) History programme. Prior to this, she worked at the BBC for twenty-four years, predominantly as a Senior Producer on Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour. She is the author of Firsts: British Women Achievers.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Palgrave Macmillan; 1st ed. 2016 edition (May 9, 2016)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 308 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1137491728
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1137491725
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.5 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.83 x 0.71 x 8.27 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.8 3.8 out of 5 stars 9 ratings

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Kate Murphy

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Customer reviews

3.8 out of 5 stars
3.8 out of 5
9 global ratings

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Top reviews from other countries

Mole
5.0 out of 5 stars I'm so glad this book has been written - it will help ...
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 12, 2018
Verified Purchase
This book is based on Kate Murphy's doctoral thesis from Goldsmith's College, London. There are many footnotes - but at least they are footnotes rather than disruptive citations that one then has to refer back to in a references section.

It is very well written and enjoyable - bringing to life the early women at the BBC and some of their male counterparts, and the work they carried out. There is a lot of dicussion of salaries but it illustrates what the author is trying to say about the paternalistic nature of the BBC, and inequalities with men, as well as encouragement and rewards.

I'm so glad this book has been written - it will help me enormously with a character in a novel I am writing!
One person found this helpful
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DIJIT
1.0 out of 5 stars Not for the General Reader.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is not for the general reader, it is a thesis for a Doctoral Degree published in book form. There are half-a-dozen references on every page, about 150 references in total are listed in the Index. The text is dense & there are no photographs or illustrations.
I returned my copy to the vendor & am awaiting a refund,
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Peter Watt
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 2, 2016
Verified Purchase
Met all expectations and a good transaction.
2 people found this helpful
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