AN A.B.C. OF THE B.B. C.

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 113, 6 February 1937, Page 22

AN A.B.C. OF THE B.B. C.

How The Revenue Is Spent

JpVERY year you arid nearly 8,000,000 ■ LJ other wireless licence-holders each pay a 10/- fee, and when the Post Office has had its share this leaves the not-to-be-despised sum of £2,038,262, with which the British Broadcasting Corporation plans, builds and caters generally for your entertainment, says W. L. Greig in the “Daily Mail.” This was the total at the end of 1935. When the 1936 figures are issued the sum is expected to be much larger. Did you Mr., Mrs. and Miss Listener ever wonder what happens to this money, who are the men who spend it, and how they do it? Well, here are the facts. It takes just 2000 people to do the the spending—which figure includes announcers you hear every day, the programme builders of. whom you seldom hear, the mandarins in thickly carpeted offices, to say nothing of lift boys, electricians and typists. Right at the top, of course, are the governors. Mr. R. GJ Norman, the chairman (who is a brother of the much more widely known Governor of the Bank of England), receives from you £3OOO a year. His vice-chairman, Mr. Harold G. Brown, is allowed £lOOO a year, while the others—at £7OO a year each —are Mrs. M. A. Hamilton, th e Rt. Hon. H. A. L. Fisher, one-time president of the Board of Education, and Lady Bridgeman. To these governors falls the task of settling matters of high policy. By the new charter which comes into force on January 1 their number is increased to 7, each governor receiving £lOOO. Next to them —and most in the public eye—comes Sir John Reith, the director-general. He is the working chief of the B.B.C.—the man at the wheel who steers this costly ship along the course roughly charted by the governors. Reference books are.silent on wbat you pay him. Unlike the Public Service, the 8.8. C. keeps individual salaries a stern secret. The whole of the administration side, however, cost £94,459 in the last year for which figures are available. Sir John’s is the voice you may hear on momentous occasions. A deep voice,

■ very different from that of the usua* announcer, is carried over the air in a few brief words. His name is never given, but the touch of accent which betrays his Scottish ancestry is there. It is definitely a voice which tells of the strong, dour character of its owner. He is 47 now, this son of the manse who has controlled the 8.8. C. since its official birth. He came’ from Glasgow in 1922, when the Government of the day decided that it must at last take notice —somewhat sceptical notice, too —of this new-fangled invention. Mr. Reith, as he was then, had been trained as an engineer. The war saw’ him at the front, wounded onee, finishing as a major in the Royal Engineers. Then to the Ministry of Munitions, and, the war over, back to an engineering post in Glasgow. But young Reith had impressed the powers-th,at-be in Whitehall. So he was called to London to be the first general manager of the British Broadcasting Company. The rest is history. He found IS,OOO people with licences and 18,000.000 ready to jeer. There was just enough money for 33 hours of programme each week. Today it is approaching the 100 hours mark.

Recent events have put the staff administration side of the 8.8. C. much in the limelight. You might'work in Broadcasting House for years without meeting Sir John, but you certainly would not be overlooked by ViceAdmiral Sir C. Carpendale, the deputy-director-general, or Mr. B. E. Nicolls, the administration controller. i These men are as gods to those who help to spend your £2,000,000. The admiral brought naval discipline with him to Broadcasting House. There is a quarterdeck atmosphere about when he visits a department—and it lasts long after he has gone. His value to the 8.8. C. is deemed to be such that, although he should have retired under the age limit of 60, he is still in office. »

Mr. Nicolls came from posts in India. He is a man of whom the public hears little, but he has grown up with the 8.8. C.

But perhaps you may want to send bouquets (or throw brickbats) at the men who arrange your programme for you.

Then address them: Charles Siepmann, the director of programme planning, or Cecil Graves, programme con-

(roller. Anyhow, tbej are the men who spend most of your money, and they deserve much of your notice. Let me summarise them for you: Graves, Cecil. —Mention his name to some band conductors and try not to hear what they say. Arch-enemy of song-plugging. Forty-live years old. Held several administrative posts after joining 8.8. C. Became empire director in 1932, took over prOeFftinnies in 1935.

Siepinanu, Charles, forceful, energetic personality. Vigorous opponent of '•too much London” for the regions. Thinks the provinces ean do pretty well on their own in many ways. Spent a year seeing the wheels go round in the regions. Used to be director of talks. Between them Graves and Siepmann have a lot of your money to spend. In 1935, £1,110,572 was applied to programmes, and this is how they spent it: £ . Artists, speakers, etc 401,380 Permanent orchestras 201,080 Performing rights, copyright fees, and news royalties .. 187,361 Programme telephones 54,225 Salaries (staff) 227,200 Travelling, etc 39,326 Revenue has been going up by fairsized bounds in recent years. But so have fees, although not in the regions. It is said in hushed voices in entertainment circles that a famous comedian was paid £5OO for a short broadcast. But Messrs. Graves just smile. Even this £1,110,572 still leaves a little of your money to be spent. The engineers take £386,529 —quite a big slice of the balance. Their salaries account for most of this sum, but £93,976 is required for power and plant maintenance and research.

Their travelling expenses are quite a little budget in themselves. .And no wonder. A list of 8.8. C. transmitters these days look like a page taken from a gazetteer of the British Isles. There are ten centres, and many of them have several transmitters, a far cry since the days of solitary 2LO. If you are still able to bear with and digest further statistics it is worth noting that it takes 5/2 of each licence fee to give this service. Because after the Treasury’ has had its first bite (via the Post Office) it comes back again for a second in the. guise of an income tax collector. ‘ This needed £120,108 last year.