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The battle for the BBC

As he prepares for charter renewal, Director General Tony Hall could learn a lot from two new histories of the national broadcaster

By John Tusa  
May 21, 2015
June 2015

The BBC clashed with Thatcher Ministers over its Northern Ireland coverage. © Peter Marlow/Magnum

Pinkoes and Traitors: the BBC and the Nation, 1974-87, by Jean Seaton (Profile, £30)

The New Noise: the Extraordinary Birth and Troubled Life of the BBC, by Charlotte Higgins (Guardian Books/Faber & Faber, £12.99)

When the BBC’s charter—the document that sets out its public role—comes up for renewal next year, its managers will have to define the purpose of a national broadcaster to a…

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John Tusa

John Tusa is director of the Barbican Centre. His essay is adapted from a lecture given at the Museum of Ulster in November.

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