'A QUIETENING EFFECT'? The BBC and the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939)

This article examines how the British Government sought to recruit the BBC in its propaganda activities concerning the Spanish Civil War and in particular to 'quieten' domestic public opinion about the conflict. It also considers the extent to which the Corporation acceded to government demands and concludes that, despite areas of cooperation and even complicity, there were also putative signs of editorial innovation and independence in the BBC's news service. In the disquiet this created in official circles, the Spanish Civil War presaged many future conflicts between public broadcasters and governments about the coverage of international crises.