The Newsroom blog

News about yesterday's news, and where news may be going

46 posts categorized "Television"

30 August 2022

British Library Television News Programme-Level List

Following on from our recent announcement of a complete title-level downloadable listing of all newspapers catalogued by the British Library, we now have a downloadable listing of all our television news programmes, available from today on our Research Repository.

Broadcast News service

British Library's Broadcast News Service with programmes for 30 August 2022

The British Library Television News Programme-Level List provides a programme-level record of all television news and current affairs programmes recorded by the British Library’s Broadcast News service between March 2010 and May 2022. All of the channels featured were receivable free-to-air in the UK and licensed by Ofcom. All of the programmes listed can be accessed in the British Library’s reading rooms via the Broadcast News service.

There are 114,380 programmes listed, each with record number, programme title, series title, description, publisher/broadcaster, production date and duration. It should be noted that for many of the programmes we only have a generic description (e.g. "The latest national and international news"), though there are plenty of programmes with meaningful descriptions, including some tagged under themes such as Coronavirus, Donald Trump and Ukraine Conflict. The subtitles that we capture with when we record television news programmes are not included in the list.

The channels features, with their dates of recordings held, are:

Channel Recording dates
Al Jazeera English 06/05/2010– ongoing
Arirang TV HD 16/03/2022- ongoing
BBC One London 06/05/2010– ongoing
BBC News 06/05/2010– ongoing
BBC Parliament 01/06 2010– ongoing
BBC Two 06/05/2010– ongoing
BBC Four 04/06/2010– ongoing
BBC Scotland 05/03/2019- ongoing
Bloomberg TV 01/06/2010– 30/06/2016
CGTN 31/12/2016 – 04/02/2021
Channel 4 06/05/2010– ongoing
Channel 5 29/03/2010-17/06/2010, 16/04/2018-07/01/2020
Channels 24 02/11/2015– ongoing
CNN 06/05/2010– ongoing
CCTV News 22/02/2012– 30/12/2016
Euronews 07/05/2010–21/03/2011, 05/06/2017 - ongoing
France 24 English 29/05/2010– ongoing
ITV1 London 06/05/2010– ongoing
GB News 13/06/2021- ongoing
NHK World 21/06/2010– 30/09/2011
NHK World HD 06/10/2011– ongoing
RT (Russia Today) 01/06/2010– 02/03/2022
Sky News 02/06/2010– ongoing
TalkTV HD 25/04/2022- ongoing
TRT World 08/01/2020- ongoing

The listing is available in Excel spreadsheet down and can be downloaded under a CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain licence. The DOI is https://doi.org/10.23636/jcbr-7v17.

This is part of our growing collection of freely-available news datasets, all available under the News Datasets section of the Research Repository. Until now, we have added on newspaper and press directory data to the Repository.In adding television, we are demonstrating the multi-media approach to our collecting of the nation's news. Radio and Web news must follow.

We hope that researchers will find interesting uses for the Television News Programme-Level List and welcome any feedback.

04 May 2022

Encountering the news

One of the special features of the British Library’s Breaking the News exhibition is a large-scale panorama, created by designers Northover&Brown. Objects and graphics have been placed into flowing pictures of networks, places and people, tracing the changing ways in which we have discovered the news over five centuries, from town squares to what Elon Musk calls ‘the digital town square’. This post complements the panorama.

Interior of a London coffee house c1690

Interior of a London coffee-house (c.1690), British Museum

Thence to the Coffee-house … where all the newes is of the Dutch being gone out, and of the plague growing upon us in this towne; and of remedies against it: some saying one thing, some another. 

On 24 May 1665 Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary of his quest for news. Pepys visited one of London coffee houses two or three times a week over 1663-1664, the habit falling away in 1665 as plague took its grip on the city. He seems not to have cared that much for coffee, but yearned for the companionship, good business contacts and information to be found at a coffee house. Here one discovered the world.

The news one gleaned from a 1660s London coffee house came as much from discussion and talks as it did from printed news. Coffee houses had long tables on which the latest newsbooks and newsletters would be laid out. In 1665 there were only two print newsbooks available (from one publisher), both mostly restricted to overseas news: The Intelligencer and The Newes. The news Pepys discovered was an amalgam of publication, rumour and opinion. Such it was then; such it has remained.

The news has to seek us out. Just as much as it is shaped by those who are able to publish it and those who choose to consume it, news is shaped by where it is found. News publications in Britain in the seventeenth-century were found in print shops, coffee houses, taverns, and in the homes of those in business, officialdom and the church served by private news services that provided handwritten newsletters. Tight publication regulations prevented coverage of anything except overseas events, but the Civil War (1642-1651) created an audience hungry for information and opinion. Mostly confined to London, it was circulated, at some risk to publishers and sellers, as newsbooks, newsletters and proto-newspapers, news from the streets that was sold on the streets.

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries newspapers gradually grew in numbers, geographical range, and habit. News was carried across the country by mail coaches along ever-improving roads to homes and public spaces such as taverns and workplaces. Copies passed from hand to many other hands. Such news could be shared verbally, reaching out to the illiterate or those priced out of purchasing a newspaper by taxes designed to suppress radical thought. Working class memoirist Thomas Carter recalled passing on the news in 1815:

I every morning gave them an account of what I had just been reading in the yesterday's newspaper ... My shopmates were much pleased at the extent and variety of the intelligence which I was able to give them about public affairs, and they were the more pleased because I often told them about the contents of Mr. Cobbett's "Political Register", as they were warm admirers of that clever and very intelligible writer. (T. Carter, Memoirs of a Working Man, London, 1845)

In the nineteenth century the newspaper flourished, aided by rapid growth in readers and advertising money that freed newspapers from political control. Coffee houses remained a popular location, but from the 1830s newspaper reading rooms emerged, followed later by newspaper sections of public libraries, greatly widening access to local and international affairs to those who had previously been priced out of such knowledge. The rapid spread of a rail network not only boosted the distribution of newspapers but created a new kind of space for news, the commuting space, private consumption in a public environment. Newspapers could be organised to last for the duration of a rail journey. Truly national newspaper titles came to the fore – The Times, The Morning Chronicle, The Daily Telegraph (few other countries have so dominant a national newspaper culture as the UK). Sunday titles such as The Observer and The Sunday Times fitted into the weekend pattern of lives with greater leisure time. All culminated in the great game-changer, The Daily Mail, launched in 1896, a million-seller by 1901.

In the twentieth century different news forms arose to compete for public attention in both private and public spaces. From the 1910s through to the 1960s cinemas usually featured news in their programmes, in the shape of short newsreels, with dedicated news cinemas proliferating across cities from the 1930s. Radio news started in December 1922, delivering its messages exclusively for domestic consumption, building up its reputation so that for the Second World War it was the essential means by which the general public anchored itself to the daily progression of the conflict. BBC television in the 1930s showed only cinema newsreels, introducing its own newsreel in January 1948. It introduced newsreaders in the format that endures to this day in 1955, just ahead of its new commercial rival, ITV. It proved to be the perfect domestic, communal medium, gradually supplanting radio, pressurising the newspapers and crushing cinema newsreels, which could not compete with so frequent a service.

Newspapers were still read on trains and in libraries, but the contest for news supremacy lay in the domestic space. News was something that came to us, that occupied our homes. It tied us constantly to the turn of events happening outside our protective four walls. Local radio and television arose, following newspapers in serving audiences who understood themselves as much regionally as nationally.

The multi-format, domestic model began to be overturned at the turn of the century. The Internet has become a platform for all established news media (press, television, radio) and has led to the creation of new news media forms. Social media combines personal and general information, serves as a distribution platform for stories from the other news media while delivering original content as well, and supplies content on which all news media now depend.

The Internet has not only broken up traditional news forms, but has changed the relationship between news and space. The news no longer needs to seek us out: it is everywhere. Amy, aged 25-30, in a 2019 Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism report on news habits of the young, describes how she occupies this world:

I’m on Instagram, for example, and there are videos on there, that could send me to a link to somewhere else… It depends what I’m looking for, but if I’m scrolling that could be anything from a post on Facebook to a video on Instagram to an article on BBC News or something. So, it sort of depends where I am and what I’m looking for.

Where do we find the news panorama at  Breaking the News exhibition

Part of the ‘Where do we find the news?’ panorama, Breaking the News exhibition, British Library

For 400 years, since the publication of the first newspaper in Britain, the established news media have been defined by regularity. As C. John Sommerville argues, they built an economic model around news as something shaped in a particular form, forever replaced by new content, an idea of news that fed off assured spaces and a regularity of habit. Pepys went to the coffee house when his morning’s office work was done. Newspapers arrived when the mail coach was due, or were read on the daily train commute, or were delivered to the doorstep each day. They called themselves dailies or weeklies, naming themselves after their dependability. News reading rooms were open for when workers had leisure time, a weekly luxury. Newsreels were released twice a week because, in its heyday, that was how often the average person went to the cinema. Radio news established itself around daily bulletins – the six o’clock news, the nine o’clock news. Television followed the same model until it devised 24-hour news, though even that was built around regularity, with headlines on the hour. News has been defined by, indeed has helped shape, the daily round.

The Internet knows no regularity and demands no physical space. It ignores all confines (at least in those societies that permit such freedoms). The Internet is therefore changing the news. We still measure our time in days, but the network through which we communicate across the globe does not. Many, of course, still cling to the daily newspaper, or to the early evening TV news, or a radio report at midnight, signing things off for another day – but these are habits, no longer certainties. What once could be defined by a physical space must now be defined by its absence. The news today is determined not by where we are but by who we are, or who we want to be. This is the unsettling, but exciting, world of news that the twenty-first century is now delivering to us.

Luke McKernan

Lead Curator, News & Moving Image

Further reading:

Richard D. Altick, The English Common Reader: A Social History of the Mass Reading Public, 1800-1900 (Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press, 1957)

Markman Ellis, The Coffee House: A Cultural History (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2004)

Matthew Engel, Tickle the Public: One Hundred Years of the Popular Press (London: Victor Gollancz, 1996)

Andrew Hobbs, A Fleet Street in Every Town: The Provincial Press in England, 1855-1900 (Cambridge: Open Book Publishers, 2018)

Anthony Smith, The Newspaper: An International History (London: Thames & Hudson, 1979)

John Sommerville, The News Revolution in England: Cultural Dynamics of Daily Information (New York/Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996)

 

08 December 2021

Breaking news on Breaking the News

Opening next April, Breaking the News, supported by Newsworks, is a major exhibition from the British Library, spotlighting the role news plays in our society, exploring issues of choice, interpretation, truth and trust in the news.

Smashed hard drives used by The Guardian to store Edward Snowden’s files

Smashed hard drives used by The Guardian to store Edward Snowden’s files © Guardian News & Media Ltd 2021

From the earliest surviving printed news report in Britain on the Battle of Flodden in 1513, to smashed hard drives used by The Guardian to store Edward Snowden’s files and an original BBC radio script announcing the D-Day landings, Breaking the News will go beyond physical newspapers to examine the role news in its many forms plays in our lives. Presenting historical and contemporary reports on war, natural disasters, crime, politics and celebrity scandals, the exhibition will reveal that while the themes that interest us generally do not change, the form and ownership of news does.

Breaking the News will interrogate what makes an event news, what a free press means, the ethics involved in making the news, what objective news is and how the way we encounter news has evolved. Delving into the biggest collection of news heritage in the UK, housed by the British Library, these pressing issues will be set against the backdrop of over five centuries of news publication in Britain through newspapers, newsreels, radio, television, the internet and social media.

Ahead of, and then in tandem with the Breaking the News exhibition, pop-up displays will open at over 30 public libraries across the UK, via the Living Knowledge Network. The displays will draw upon each library’s individual collection and regional connections to celebrate the value of regional news in communities across the UK.

Breaking the News will run 22 April-21 August 2022.

The touring exhibition will run 24 February to August 2022.

 

05 May 2021

The US 2020 election broadcast archive

As Joe Biden has now passed his first 100 days as the 46th President of the United States of America, it is time to reflect on the broadcasts of the US presidential election archived by the British Library. 2020 thrust upon us a global pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, the final months before the UK left the European Union, plus a Presidential election in America like no other. In 2016, the Library’s Broadcast News service archived the election of Donald Trump as the 45th President, continuing to collect broadcasts dealing with his presidency over the following four years. The 2020 US Presidential election was certain to be an interesting one, with an incumbent President with a background outside of politics versus a career politician who was a former Vice President.

Frame still from CNN Final Presidential Debate 22 October 2020

CNN Final Presidential Debate, 23 October 2020

The run-up

The Democratic nomination debates were recorded for the Library’s Broadcast News service with extensive coverage by CNN and the debates covered by many of the world’s broadcasters in their news programmes.  All was going as expected … and then the Coronavirus pandemic hit the world.

This meant that Broadcast News was now being run from a curator’s spare bedroom, rather than from the British Library’s News, Radio and Moving Image area at our St Pancras site. The Coronavirus not only made adapting to new working conditions tricky for Broadcast News, but it also made politicians across the globe develop strategies and legislature to deal with a pandemic.

In the US, President Trump’s handling of the pandemic had attracted much news coverage throughout the year. His press briefings as part of the White House Task Force we captured from CNN coverage, albeit with the problem of no regularly scheduled time and sometimes patchy coverage. A trawl around other news organisations covered by Broadcast News resulted in finding fuller broadcasts of the briefings on Turkey’s TRT World, Sky News and the BBC. On many occasions CNN sometimes only broadcast the questions taken after the speeches were made, whereas TRT World and Russia’s RT would only show the speech itself. Plenty of documentaries were broadcast covering Donald Trump’s four years as President. These were also archived for Broadcast News, originating from stations across the world that that are licensed to broadcast in the UK.

This was all good preparation for the run up to the election itself. First there would be three Presidential debates. The initial one, on 29 September 2020, was a strange one, to put it mildly. CNN had full coverage, so their programming was duly archived. However, the combative manner of the debate, with Trump’s interruptions and responses in particular, triggered worldwide interest in how the debate was conducted. Breakfast news programming from Britain’s main news networks, the BBC, ITV, and Sky were recorded to show the post-debate analysis for each channel, to avoid bias. The major news programmes from China’s CGTN, RT, Al Jazeera, Japan’s NHK World, France 24 and TRT World, also gave their judgement, and that was also recorded.

Then the President caught COVID-19. His rallies had been noticeable for both himself, his aides and most of the crowds not wearing masks and not practicing social distancing. In contrast, his rival, Joe Biden, always wore a mask at his events and reporters and attendees were segregated. The Democratic Party’s convention was held virtually, compared to the Republican Party’s convention being held in large rallies. Both conventions’ highlights were recorded, and the key speeches were captured from live footage.

TV coverage criticized how the President was holding ‘super spreader’ events with his rallies, especially the gathering announcing the appointment of Amy Coney Barrett as an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court.

It was announced that the second presidential debate would be a virtual one, owing to the President’s diagnosis. Donald Trump rejected this idea, however, the two candidates instead taking part in separate ‘Town Hall’ events. It was impossible for CNN to show both Town Halls live, so highlights were broadcast and, again, the news broadcasts of the BBC, ITV, Sky News, Al Jazeera, CGTN and TRT World would also show clips and give their comments.

The final TV debate was held on 22 October. Both candidates attended, and this ended up as a stark contrast to the first one, resembling the civilized debate held prior to this in the debate between Vice President Mike Pence and the Democratic Party’s VP choice, Kamala Harris. Both were archived from CNN’s coverage and a balance of views was also obtained from coverage by the other news organizations.

A mixture of CNN’s coverage and that of TRT World, Sky and the BBC was captured to gain a flavour of the rallies then held in the run up to the election itself.

Frame still from TRT World America Decides 3 November 2020

TRT World, America Decides, 3 November 2020

Election day

And then election day itself came. An election like no other, with all sorts of protestations that mail-in votes would lead to a fraudulent result, and a vicious second wave of the Coronavirus in America leading to many wanting to vote without attending the polling stations on the day.

The views of both President Trump and Joe Biden about voting were made clear in the run up to the election. Late night programmes from CNN were taken in addition to CNN Newsroom (which is recorded daily) to reflect the nature of voting intentions and the candidates’ views on this. CNN had many interviews with local officials in areas that had wildly different views on voting procedures, so this was an important set of programmes to archive in order to provide researchers into this election a chance to see how America was split on this issue. Most Trump supporters would turn up to vote on the day, many rejecting wearing a mask. Most Biden supporters suggested that they would largely vote by mail, also worried that voting on the day might bring intimidatory tactics from right-wing extremist supporters.

Early voting in some states also took place and scenes of day long queueing, and interviews given whilst waiting in line, were also recorded from CNN sources and other broadcasters.

It was decided to take all night coverage of election day itself from several stations to reflect balance in the views of the presenters. CNN, BBC, ITV, and Sky were chosen, and CGTN, Al Jazeera and TRT World were also recorded after polls closed giving their initial reactions to the results. However, there was no clear result and the election coverage continued over the next week.

It was decided to take all of CNN’s coverage throughout each day until a winner was declared. CNN had received good press reviews for their coverage (known on social media as ‘The Map Programme’), and this was complemented by coverage of key state declarations and updates from the BBC, Sky, ITV and Broadcast News’ overseas stations in Turkey, China, Japan, the Middle East, France, Nigeria and Russia. There were many documentaries about both President Trump and Joe Biden broadcast across many channels in the run up to, and during, the election. These were also archived.

Our broadcast archive of election day featured radio as well. The coverage from BBC Radio 4, BBC 5 Live, BBC World Service, LBC, TalkRADIO and Monocle 24 was all archived for our National Radio Archive pilot. This also included Siren Radio, a small community station set up in Lincoln University. They apologised for not having live coverage due to the station being closed due to the lockdown. Yet, they were able to record 20-minute interviews with professors in the US, political commentators in Washington and talk to American Studies students, who were watching the election. They returned to get their thoughts in the aftermath of the election one week on.

Bradford Community Broadcasting schedules the current affairs programme ‘Democracy Now!’ each day. This is a syndicated programme based in New York and has proved to be invaluable in covering the pandemic and the lead up to the election. Its coverage of voting and the aftermath of the election is helped by access to big names linked to social commentary and research, and the hour-long programme is a valuable resource into what life is like in America using first-hand accounts.

Frame still from ITV News 6 January 2021 with reporter Robert Moore at the Capitol

ITV News, 6 January 2021, with reporter Robert Moore at the Capitol

Aftermath

Finally, on November 7, Joe Biden was declared the winner. Again, TV coverage of the result was archived from the same sources. At this point the 24-hour coverage from CNN was halted and regular recordings of CNN Newsroom would report on the situation from then on.

Of course, that was not the end of the matter. President Trump issued lawsuits to recount or reject votes where he claimed that the voting had been illegal and refused to concede. His chief lawyer, former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, held a bizarre press conference at the parking lot of the ‘Four Seasons Total Landscaping’ store in Philadelphia, a business located near a sex shop and a crematorium. Coverage of that was not covered live by CNN, but was by Sky News, with an amused Adam Boulton puzzling over the peculiar location.

With President Trump still refusing to accept his defeat, continually claiming that it was a fraudulent election, Georgia had its state runoff in early January. A run-off election was called because no candidate in the Senate election had enough votes to clear the state mandated percentage for a clear win. This meant that with two Senate seats at stake, and the US Senate majority for the Republican Party at risk, more campaigning by the two parties began again. All major rallies and speeches were again captured from CNN, TRT World, BBC, ITV and Sky. The election day itself was captured in full via CNN. With the lead changing hands throughout the night, it was a tense affair. Finally, both seats were won by the Democrats, meaning that they would now hold the majority in the Senate.

But this was not the end of the matter. One month later, America was rocked by an event that shook its democracy to its foundations. With the College Electoral Vote due to be ratified by Congress on the 6 January 2021, President Trump held a rally in Washington, where he and several key speakers once more condemned the validity of the election and its outcome and incited his followers to take action. The speech by President Trump and coverage of the rally was again archived from CNN broadcasts and other news outlets around the world.

What followed next was unprecedented in American history. A large group of Trump supporters forced their way into the Capitol building in Washington DC as the Senate was in session. CNN was covering the Electoral Vote session and this coverage continued as the rioters entered the building. The world’s news networks soon started following the events live. Broadcast News has the coverage of CNN, BBC News, Sky, TRT World and Al Jazeera. ITV’s coverage was particularly enlightening, as their reporter, Robert Moore was able to talk to the protesters as they entered the building and even within it. Euronews covered the event from their studio, but their coverage included up to the minute reaction on social media from world leaders and senior politicians. The subsequent Impeachment of President Trump for a second time was also captured by CNN and all major news stations also covered the session in the Senate in depth.

The Inauguration of the new president happened without the out-going President in attendance. His final message as President was recorded for the archives, and full coverage of the Inauguration of Joe Biden taken from the coverage of CNN, BBC, ITV, Sky, TRT World and Al Jazeera. Kamela Harris becoming the first woman to become Vice President, and the first black person to achieve that office, also allowed some of the stations to reflect on the historic aspect of the day. Amanda Gorman became the youngest poet to perform at a presidential inauguration, reading her poem, ‘The Hill We Climb’. The British Library has a direct connection with Amanda as she is a 2020 Eccles Fellow (one of the awards offered by the Eccles Centre for American Studies).

A huge amount of coverage of this historic chapter in American history is now archived as TV and radio coverage. With 2020 and 2021 being significant for a global pandemic, the US election could have been a sideshow. The material archived by Broadcast News and the National Radio Archive will show researchers in the future, just how extraordinary this moment in history was.

Neil McCowlen, Broadcast Recordings Curator

Broadcast News is available in all British Library reading rooms

06 May 2020

Ten years of Broadcast News

Ten years ago, at 22:00 on 6 May 2010, the polls closed. Five minutes earlier, because that is when the all-night news programmes began, we officially threw open the switches on the British Library’s Broadcast News service. The UK General Election felt like an appropriate start for what was an exciting new venture for the Library. We were going to create an archive of UK television and radio news broadcasts, recorded live.

ITV_electionight_6may2010

ITV's election night coverage, 6-7 May 2010

The reasons for setting up Broadcast News (for that was what we ended up calling the service) were two-fold. Firstly, the British Library wanted to establish a distinctive moving image archive that would fill a gap in existing provision for researchers. News was an ideal choice. Although there were television news collections available to academic researchers, they were limited to selected programmes from the main terrestrial channels, and our goal was to preserve and provide access to a far wider range of news broadcasts.

Secondly, the Library needed to respond to a changing news world. Its vast newspaper collection was a bedrock of British research, but in a digital age the form of news was changing. A more inclusive approach was required, once which encompassed print and web, TV and radio.

We started cautiously. On that first day we recorded four programmes: the BBC One and ITV all-night-election broadcasts, Channel 4’s Alternative Election, and BBC Radio 4’s all-night coverage (radio being part of the Broadcast News plans as well). The following day we recorded 15 programmes, widening coverage to include CNN, Al Jazeera English and BBC World Service.

GreenParty_2015election

The Green Party's 'boy band' party election broadcast from 2015

Ten years on, and we now record from twenty-two channels, taking in around 30 hours of TV and 50 hours of radio each day. The total collection is just over 160,000 recordings, of which 102,000 are TV. We are recording television on a daily basis from Al Jazeera English, BBC One, BBC Scotland, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC News, BBC Parliament, Channel 4, Channels 24 (Nigeria), CGTN (China), CNN (USA), Euronews (European Union), France 24, ITV1, NHK World (Japan), RT (Russia), Sky News, and our most recent addition, TRT World (Turkey). We record news programmes, documentaries, party political broadcasts, satirical news programmes, interviews, debates, news specials – anything that reflects the news in its broadest sense.

NHKWorld_11mar2011

NHK World coverage of the Japanese tsunami, 11 March 2011

With programmes recorded from channels in America, China, France Japan, Nigeria, Qatar, Russia and Turkey, we have good international coverage, but strictly speaking they are all British news, which is why we record from them. Al-Jazeera English, CGTN, CNN, NHK World and the others each have offices in the UK, and are all licensed with Ofcom. That broader sense of what comprises British news is an important part of the Broadcast News mission.

Skynews_9nov2016

Donald Trump is elected President of the United States, Sky News, 9 November 2016

Over those ten years we have built up an archive of extraordinary news events. The UK has had four general elections and three referendums (on changing the voting system, Scottish independence and Brexit). We have seen the ‘Arab Spring’, the UK riots of 2011, the Olympic and Paralympic Games of 2012 and 2016, the Japanese tsunami, the death of Nelson Mandela, the Euro crisis, the rise and fall of Isis, the Syrian conflict, the era of Donald Trump, and now the coronavirus pandemic.

The latter story, ongoing of course, has demonstrated how television still governs our world of news. Newspapers (increasingly in digital form) and social media play their part, of course, but in a crisis we turn to television. It speaks to us individually yet seemingly connects us with everyone else. It is both public and private, live and yet composed. The social experience of television news, as well as its content, is why we archive it.

Coronoavirus_16mar2020

The first daily government update on Coronavirus, BBC One, 16 March 2020

However, these are also remarkable times for radio. Radio, particularly community radio, has come into its own during the coronavirus pandemic, bringing together information, entertainment and a reassuring, local voice. As part of the British Library’s Save our Sounds programme we have established a pilot off-air radio archiving pilot, which greatly extends the number of radio programmes we are able to capture. There will be more news on that particular venture in due course.

Broadcast News is normally available in the British Library’s St Pancras and Boston Spa reading rooms. These are closed for the time being. There is no online access to Broadcast News, for reasons of copyright, but records of the programmes we have recorded up to the middle of 2019 can be found on the Explore catalogue. But the archive continues, hour by hour, day by day, turning live news into permanent record of our extraordinary times.

17 July 2019

Moving from a newspaper collection to a news collection

The world of news is changing, and at the British Library we are responding to that change - in how we collect, preserve, describe and present our news collections. Our goal is to transform what we hope is a world-class newspaper service into a world-class news service. This post outlines the Library's News Content Strategy for 2019-2023 with our plans for the next five years.

British Library's National Newspaper Building, interior

Inside the National Newspaper Building at Boston Spa

The British Library holds many millions of newspaper issues, and thousands of news websites, radio broadcasts and television programmes. Because it is a legal deposit library, it regularly collects thousands of news-related UK websites for its web archive and continues to receive the range of UK newspapers in print, including foreign language news published in the UK. It also subscribes to news services from across the world, providing a first class research experience for its readers. Together these form one of the greatest historical collections in the world, underpinning research into centuries of UK life and events, and to those of further afield.

In the last decade the Library has transformed its preservation of news, building state of the art facilities to store its historical newspapers collection in excellent environmental conditions and putting in place the first key elements of digital storage for ‘born digital’ news. It has greatly upgraded its service offer for news, making its content available in its reading rooms in London and Yorkshire, including a specially dedicated Newsroom at St Pancras. But there is much more to be done for the discovery of news onsite and online.

Medium

Size of collection

Weekly intake

Newspapers

60 million issues

1,200 issues

Web news

500,000 captures

2,000 websites

TV news

90,000 programmes

200 programmes

Radio news

50,000 programmes

170 programmes

Figures for the current news collection at the British Library

The Library works in partnership with other bodies to develop in-depth understanding of news and the events it describes. Working with family history company Findmypast the Library has provided most of the digitised newspapers on the British Newspaper Archive website, helping researchers and the general public to view rare newspapers from the comfort of their home or workplace.  With over 30 million pages digitised, many online readers exploring their family history will already be familiar with the resource. It is proving invaluable for a huge range of academic research topics as well.

That said, there is still so much to do. The digitisation challenge is vast: 93% of our newspaper content remains undigitised

One key to transforming our news offer is through data. News data is of particular value to researchers for its range across so many subjects and time periods, and for the regularity of its published outputs. It has huge potential for furthering our expertise in the data sciences. Our digitised newspaper archives are already being used by several ‘big data’ projects; in particular our historical archives underpin the major UKRI-funded ‘Living with Machines’ collaboration between the British Library and the Alan Turing Institute. Through the Heritage Made Digital programme we are building up a substantial body of out-of-copyright newspaper data which will greatly improve the service we offer to digital scholarship.

Finally, data forms the building blocks by which we will bring together the different news media to deliver an integrated news service that best serves future needs. 

Our commitment is to the news, not to the newspaper. This shift in thinking follows the direction in which the news media themselves have gone, and will trigger great changes in storage, access and use. It will ensure that the British Library continues to offer the best news research service, for researchers now and in the future.

Over the next five years, the Library will concentrate on four areas of its news collections:

Transforming discovery of news 

We will greatly improve the ease with which readers and the wider public can access our news offer, and respond fully to the big data opportunities of our historic news collections.

Collecting contemporary news 

We will collect UK contemporary news digitally as a matter of course and regularly review our selective approach to overseas news.

Protecting at-risk historical news

We will greatly increase our preservation of historical newspapers, digitising to rebalanced priorities, including at-risk titles.

Planning the next major phase of our strategic storage of news

Our large secure digital store will take audiovisual and digital news as business as usual, and save on physical storage space by switching to digital versions for a majority current UK newspapers; but we will still need to plan for new physical storage.

British Library's National Newspaper Building, interior

Masthead for The News and Sunday Globe, 2 July 1837, one of the titles being digitised by the Heritage Made Digital programme

Many activities relevant to the News Content Strategy are already underway. As we approach the 400th anniversary of the first newspaper available in Britain (1620) and the first newspaper published in Britain (1621), the British Library is responding to the profound changes taking place in the world of news today. At the same time we aim to revitalise how researchers may use and understand the news of yesterday. Look out for some significant announcements over the next year. Good news is on its way.

 

 

21 May 2019

Help us make the news

Newspapers at the British Library

In Spring 2021 the British Library will be hosting a major exhibition on the history of news in Britain.

The aim of the exhibition is to explore the history, present and future of news in Britain over 400 years since the first newspaper was published in this country, asking what makes the news what it is, and what this means for us. 

The exhibition will trace how news for the diverse audiences of this country has been produced, distributed and read over four centuries, through news sheets, news books, broadsides, newspapers, newsreels, radio, television, the internet and social media. The exhibition will encourage questions about the role of news in society. It will look at the ways in which news is changing as we ourselves change. It will invite to us to consider vital issues of choice, interpretation, truth and trust.

Planning for the exhibition, provisionally entitled Making the News, has got underway. To help us put it together, we are advertising for a two-year exhibition project curator.

Working with a curatorial team and the Library’s exhibition team, the post-holder will contribute to the development and delivery of the exhibition. They will contribute to the administration of the curatorial content of the exhibition; will prepare external visits and show-and-tells; will promote the exhibition on social media and to visitors; and will apply research expertise in one or more areas of British news history in support of the selection and curation of content for the exhibition.

Details of the vacancy and how to apply can be found on the British Library's careers site. The deadline for applications is 23 June 2019.

21 June 2017

Archiving the general election on TV

The general election that no one was supposed to want turned out to be completely compelling. Many of the apparent certainties on which the UK's snap election of June 2017 was based were overturned, at least in part - from its core themes (it was supposed to be about Brexit but never really was), to demographics (young people don't turn out to vote, except that they did), to the balance of political power (the predicted comprehensive victory by the Conservatives instead resulted in a hung parliament). 

Farron

Tim Farron, then leader of the Liberal Democrats, from BBC News at Ten, 17 May 2017

One certainty that remained in place was the primary position of television as the platform for information and debate. Probably the defining image of modern electioneering is the politician speaking with a grouping of supporters with banners bunched behind them, the supposed audience seeing the back of the speaker while the true target is a remote one. Reality is subverted to televisual reality.

Although subsequent analysis of voting trends has shown that social media may have had a greater influence, in some sectors, than before, while newspapers' influence has not waned as greatly as some have pronounced (again, in particular sectors), television was where the general election was played out.  One of the particular coups of the election campaign was when Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn changed his mind and decided to take part in a BBC party leaders' debate, wrong-footing the Conservative leader Theresa May. Likewise the performances by the various politicians in interviews (Theresa May telling The One Show about who in her household put out the bins), Jeremy Corbyn telling Jeremy Paxman on Channel 4 why he wasn't campaigning to abolish the monarchy) seem to have had a persuasive effect on public perceptions. Other media play their part, but television is the testing ground.

The British Library was recording all this, or at least a good part of it. Between the surprise announcement of the election on 18 April 2017 and election day on June 8 we recorded some 1,500 television news programmes from 15 channels (BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Four, BBC News, BBC Parliament, Channel 4, ITV1, Sky News, Al Jazeera English, CGTN, CNN, France 24, NHK World, RT, Channels 24). This included general news programmes from each of those channels, interviews, speeches, panel debates, party election broadcasts, satirical shows, and of course the through-the-night election results programmes and post-election reporting. Because of the surprise nature of the election, there weren't some of the in-depth documentaries and comedy series that we saw at the 2015 election and the 2016 EU referendum, but the air of improvisation as TV reacted to events only added to the compelling nature of those six weeks.

Because in the middle of the election were breaking news stories that halted the campaigning twice - the suicide bomber at the Manchester Arena on 22 May and the attacks on London Bridge and Borough Market on 3 June. Both events wove their way into the election narrative, and saw the broadcasters adapting to the abrupt shift in the news agenda. Extended recordings of the breaking news reportage on these events, across multiple channels, are also part of we archived.

Itv

George Osborne and Ed Balls, part of ITV's election night commentary team

All of our UK 2017 general election programmes are now on the Explore catalogue, and can be played directly from the I Want This links on the catalogue at either our London or Boston Spa sites. You can access the programme either directly from the catalogue, or you can go to our onsite Broadcast News service, and search in greater depth for programmes by date, channel or subject (to find Broadcast News, following the Sound & Moving Image services link from the front page of any British Library terminal).

We have produced a spreadsheet of all of the news and election programmes we recorded 18 April-11 June, in .xlsx format, which you can download here.

Our news collections go back to the 1620s, but they are as much about today as yesterday. It is not possible to archive the whole of the world of news as it impacts on the UK. The range of publications and platforms is too vast, and in an increasingly personalised news world, everyone is seeing different news. But we capture the best that we can - comprehensively for newspapers (thanks to Legal Deposit), reasonably comprehensively for web news sites (thanks to Non-Print Legal Deposit) and selectively for television and radio. It is instant history, turning what is live and uncertain into that which has become fixed and a subject for study and contemplation. And it is compelling.

 

 

04 January 2017

Trump on TV

The incoming US president, Donald Trump, is rewriting the book on the political process. However, despite the apparent creation of policy via social media, the real impact Trump has made since the presidential election process began has been through the more traditional media, particularly television.  His statements made through Twitter have been picked up by newspapers, television and radio, and it is here that the seismic realignment of American political priorities is being digested and disseminated. Twitter has been used to ignite a media process. Social media remains for Donald Trump a means of being on TV, where his mass audience lies (Trump has 18.6m Twitter followers, but there are 114m television sets in the USA alone).

Trump

From the Sky News coverage of the US presidential election result, 09/11/2016

Trump's impact on television in Britain can be traced through the news and current affairs programmes recorded for the British Library's Broadcast News service. As well as recording regular television and radio news programmes each day from 22 UK and international channels, we have recorded numerous special programmes on Trump and the US election. On 8/9 November we recorded the election night programmes of BBC One, ITV1, Sky News, Al Jazeera English, CNN, RT (Russia Today), Channels 24 (Nigerian television) and CCTV (China). All of these can be found on our Explore catalogue with links to the playable programmes, which for copyright reasons can only be played on terminals at our London or Yorkshire sites. For ease of searching it is best, if you are onsite and using a British Library terminal, to go to the Broadcast News service itself (http://videoserver.bl.uk) and use the Advanced Search facility to select all recordings for 8/9 November 2016.

We also have many individual television programmes produced through 2016. of which the titles below are only a selection. They document not only the events of recent history, but the struggle that the often incredulous traditional media have had in trying to come to terms with the Trump phenomenon. The links are to our catalogue records, but again please note the programmes will only be playable on a British Library terminal. Descriptions in inverted commas are those provided for the programmes as part of the EPG (Electronic Programme Guide).

  • The Mad World of Donald Trump (Channel 4, tx. 26/01/2016): "Matt Frei enters the colourful and mad world of presidential hopeful Donald Trump, whose meteoric political rise comes amid one of the most controversial political campaigns America's seen."
  • Piers: The Trump Interview (ITV1, tx. 23/03/2016): "Piers Morgan's full, uncensored interview with controversial US Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump."
  • President Trump: Can He Really Win? (Channel 4, tx. 30/03/2016): "Donald Trump has emerged as the clear front runner for the Republican Presidential nomination. Matt Frei investigates whether 'the Donald' could make it to the White House."
  • Republican Presidential Town Hall (CNN, tx. 30/03/2016): Anderson Cooper hosts a Republican Presidential Town Hall with Ted Cruz, John Kasich and Donald Trump.
  • Listening Post (Al Jazeera English, tx. 23/04/2016): "Trump and Clinton win the New York Primaries but what part have the media played in their victories?"
  • United States of Hate: Muslims Under Attack (BBC One, tx. 05/07/2016): "Examining America's recent upsurge in Islamophobia and the reasons it has come about."
  • Panorama: Trump's Angry America (BBC One, tx. 18/07/2016): "Hilary Andersson visits the racially divided town of Bakersfield to meet Donald Trump supporters as well as those who fear Trump becoming president."
  • Republican National Convention 2016 (BBC Parliament, tx. 22/07/2016): Recorded coverage of the 2016 Republican National Convention, from Thursday 21 July. Including speeches from Reince Priebus, Peter Thiel, Ivanka Trump and Donald Trump.
  • Republican National Convention 2016 (CNN, tx. 22/07/2016): Live coverage of Republican National Convention for 21 July 2016, including acceptance speech by Donald Trump.
  • President Trump: Can He Really Win? (Channel 4, tx. 23/08/2016): "Matt Frei explores how the US presidential contest is shaping up to be one of the most brutal in living memory, and asks if Donald Trump can make it all the way to the White House."
  • Trump vs Clinton Live (Channel 4, tx. 27/09/2016): "US Presidential Debate: Channel 4 presents live coverage of the first of three US presidential debates, as Donald Trump goes head to head with Hillary Clinton."
  • Tonight: Trump's America - Will It Happen? (ITV1, tx. 06/10/2016): "Robert Moore explores why many Americans feel so angry ahead of one of the most bitterly-fought and divisive presidential campaigns in history."
  • Clinton v Trump: The Second Debate (Sky News, tx. 10/10/2016): "We join Sky News for coverage of the second presidential debate of the 2016 US Election between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump."
  • Paxman on Trump v Clinton: Divided America (BBC One, tx. 17/10/2016): "Jeremy Paxman travels to Washington and beyond to understand how Americans came to face such unpopular choices in its candidates for the presidency."
  • US Presidential Debate (BBC News, tx. 20/1/2016): "Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump face each other in the final 2016 presidential debate at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas." 
  • This World: Conspiracy Files - The Trump Dossier (BBC Two, tx. 03/11/2016): "Investigative documentary looking into how Donald Trump has used conspiracy theories to further his bid for the presidency."
  • Trump's Unlikely Superfans (BBC One, tx. 07/11/2016): "Angela Scanlon meets with the passionate and unlikely people stumping for Donald Trump to find out why they support his controversial campaign."
  • Rich Hall's Presidential Grudge Match (BBC Four, tx. 07/11/2016): "An examination of the sordid machinations involved in becoming US president."
  • Newsnight: Trump's America - A Newsnight Special (BBC Two, tx. 11/11/2016): "With reporting from across the United States, Newsnight explores the ramifications of the election of Donald Trump as president."
  • The World According to President Trump (Channel 4, tx. 12/11/2016): "What will a President Trump really do? Will he really ban all Muslims? Build a wall? Pal up to Putin? Smash Isis? Matt Frei speaks to the people who know."
  • Panorama: Trump's New America (BBC One, tx. 14/11/2-16): "Hilary Andersson meets angry Americans on both sides of the electoral race who feel disillusioned and disenfranchised by the electoral process."
  • Listening Post (Al Jazeera English, tx. 19/11/2016): "How the US media begins the process of 'normalising' Donald Trump"
  • Frankie Boyle's American Autopsy (BBC Two, tx. 20/11/2016): "Frankie attempts to make sense of the US election through stand-up and debate."

We will of course continue to record the television news throughout 2017 and beyond. For discussion of the impact of Donald Trump's tweets on the news agenda, see What really happens when Donald Trump goes on a Twitter rampage (Quartz, 11/12/2016), If Trump Tweets It, Is It News? A Quandary for the News Media (New York Times, 29 November 2016), How Trump Took Over the Media By Fighting It (Politico, 5/11/2016), or Why the establishment was blindsided by Donald Trump (Washington Post, 28 October 2016).

Or you can check every Trump tweet, the deleted and the active, with telling categorisation, at the admirable Trump Twitter Archive.

 

05 July 2016

Brexit - the broadcast archive

The most tumultuous British news story since the British Library began recording television and radio news programmes in 2010 has undoubtedly been the EU referendum. The result of the vote made on 23 June 2016 is still causing shockwaves, and has generated a compelling archive. It is hard to calculate just how many hours of broadcasting we have archived since the date of the referendum was announced on 20 February 2016 that relate to the subject, but it will be somewhere between 2,500 and 3,000 hours of TV and radio. On June 24 alone, the day the result was announced, we recorded 135 hours. 

EUTV

The archive  comprises regular and specialist news and current affairs programmes broadcast over February-June 2016, plus comedy programmes, broadcasts by the Vote Leave and Britain Stronger in Europe campaigns, interviews, live speeches, parliamentary debates, public debates and through-the-night coverage of the result of the vote. There are programmes from the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Sky News, but also CNN, Al Jazeera English, RT (Russia Today), France 24, NHK World (Japan), CCTV (China), BBC national radio channels, LBC and more. In general the referendum saw the traditional news media providing the chief platform for the national discussion. There was considerable activity on the web and via social media, but print (often thought to be waning in influence at general elections) and particularly television were where the mass audience came for its information, and to see the arguments played out. 

Brexit

Programmes on Broadcast News

The archive is available already at the British Library, and continues to be added to each day. Every programme recorded up to the end of June can be found via Explore, or on our Sound and Moving Image catalogue (SAMI), though the programmes themselves can only be played onsite, at either our St Pancras or Boston Spa locations. Researchers onsite may find it easier to explore the archive via the Broadcast News service, which offers word-searching for subtitled programmes and filtering by date, date range, channel or medium (TV and radio). If you are using Explore, you should search by a programme title or terms such as 'referendum', 'Brexit', 'EU' etc, and filter the results by Moving Image or Audio. Clicking on the Details tab of any record will give you the description plus the link to the playable programme (which will only play onsite).

Below is a list of some of the key special programmes broadcast (the list mostly does not include programmes such as Newsnight, Question Time, Peston on Sunday, The Andrew Marr Show, Murnaghan, Pienaar's Politics, Today and Daily Politics, which we record on a regular basis in any case). The descriptions mostly come from EPG (Electronic Programme Guide).

2016 EU Referendum - selected special programmes, February-June 2016

Channel Title Date Description
BBC News BBC News 20/02/2016 Prime minister announces date of referendum
BBC 1 BBC News at Ten  20/02/2016 Includes news that EU agreement has been made, triggering UK referendum
BBC Parliament Live EU referendum statement 22/02/2016 Live coverage of the statement in the House of Commons by prime minister David Cameron on the deal reached with EU leaders on reforms to the terms of the UK's membership
BBC1 Panorama Special: In or Out - The EU Referendum 22/02/2016 How much do you know about the EU? Nick Robinson debates immigration, jobs and sovereignty.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum - George Osborne 23/03/2016 The speech by George Osborne in Bristol on the importance of staying in the EU alongside fellow cabinet ministers Liz Truss, Amber Rudd and Stephen Crabb, from Monday 18 April.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum - Gordon Brown 23/03/2016 The speech on the reasons for Britain to remain in the EU made by former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown at a conference on the economic consequences of "Brexit", from 21 April.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum - Michael Gove 23/03/2016 Recorded coverage of the speech by justice secretary Michael Gove on the case for leaving the European Union, from Tuesday 19 April.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum - Nigel Farage 23/03/2016 The GO movement rally in favour of leaving the EU with speeches from UKIP leader Nigel Farage and Conservative cabinet minister Chris Grayling, from Monday 18 April.
ITV Tonight: is Britain Really full? 31/03/2016 Ranvir Singh travels to London, Lincolnshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester to find out whether public perception of immigration is borne out by the facts.
BBC Parliament Live House of Commons coverage 11/04/2016 Government statement on EU referendum leaflet
BBC2 Europe: Them or Us - part 1 12/04/2016 1/2. An Island Apart: Nick Robinson explores the troubled history of the UK's relationship with Europe.
BBC News Victoria Derbyshire 14/04/2016 Includes Jeremy Corbyn speech on EU referendum
BBC Parliament Alastair Darling EU Speech 18/04/2016 Recorded coverage of former Labour chancellor Alistair Darling making a speech setting out the economic argument for the UK to remain in the European Union, from Friday 15 April.
BBC Parliament Boris Johnson EU Speech 18/04/2016 Recorded coverage of London mayor Boris Johnson making a speech at a Vote Leave event in Manchester calling on the UK to leave the European Union, from Friday 15 April.
BBC2 Newsnight 18/04/2016 Referendum special on the economy
BBC Parliament Vote Leave Event 18/04/2016 Recorded coverage of Labour MP and Vote Leave Chair, Gisela Stuart, making a speech entitled The Risks of Staying in the European Union, from Wednesday 13 April.
BBC2 Europe: Them or Us - part 2 19/04/2016 2/2. Voice of the People: The troubled history of the UK's relationship with Europe. Episode two goes behind the closed doors of Whitehall and Brussels.
BBC News HARDtalk  19/04/2016 The battle for Britain's future, in or out of the EU, will be settled in June. Stephen Sackur's guest is Tim Martin, founder of JD Wetherspoon. Could Brexit make economic sense?
BBC Parliament EU Referendum - Boris Johnson 10/05/2016 Recorded coverage of the speech by Conservative MP and leave campaigner Boris Johnson on the 'liberal cosmopolitan' case for Britain leaving the European Union, from Monday 9 May
BBC Parliament EU Referendum - David Cameron 10/05/2016 Recorded coverage of David Cameron's speech on the forthcoming EU referendum, warning that peace in Europe could be at risk if Britain votes to leave the EU. From Monday 9 May
BBC2 Newsnight 16/05/2016 An EU referendum special with Evan Davis
Channel 4 Channel 4 News 17/05/2016 Includes EU referendum debate with members of UK minority communities
BBC1 Paxman in Brussels: Who Really Rules Us? 19/05/2016 As the EU referendum debate approaches its climax, Jeremy Paxman takes viewers on a journey to the heart of Europe, meeting the movers, shakers and anonymous faces who run the EU.
Channel 4 Referendum Campaign Broadcast 23/05/2016 A referendum campaign broadcast by the Vote Leave campaign
Channel 4 Referendum Campaign Broadcast 24/05/2016 A referendum campaign broadcast by the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign
Channel 4 Boris v Dave: The Battle for Europe 25/05/2016 Michael Crick examines how the EU referendum campaign has become a personal battle between David Cameron and Boris Johnson; a battle that will define the future of the country
BBC1 How Should I Vote? The EU Debate 26/05/2016 Live from Glasgow, Victoria Derbyshire hosts a debate on the issues that matter to younger voters ahead of the June referendum on whether or not Britain should remain in the EU.
BBC Parliament Business Views on EU Referendum Committee 27/05/2016 Recorded coverage of the Business, Innovation and Skills committee on the views of businesses on the EU referendum, from Tuesday 24 May.
BBC Parliament EU Polls Debate 28/05/2016 Recorded coverage of an event with pollsters and commentators asking whether the EU referendum polls can be relied on. From Wednesday 25 May.
BBC Parliament Scotland and the EU Referendum Committee 28/05/2016 The Scottish Affairs Committee's session on the impact of the EU referendum on Scotland, from Wednesday 25 May.
BBC Parliament Speaker's EU Debate 28/05/2016 Recorded coverage of the House of Commons speaker hosting a debate on the UK's membership of the European Union. From Monday 23 May.
BBC1 Countryfile 29/05/2016 Snowdonia: John Craven races a hill runner to the summit of Snowdon and meets the volunteers protecting the area's ospreys. Includes David Cameron and Boris Johnson speaking on EU referendum and the countryside.
Channel 4 An Immigrant's Guide to Britain 30/05/2016 Comedian Henning Wehn and his gang of first-generation immigrants provide an irreverent guide to life in Britain. This episode explores caravans, rugby, the weather and more. (Ep1/3)
BBC 2 Britain & Europe: For Richer or Poorer? 31/05/2016 Laura Kuenssberg examines the economic costs and benefits of EU membership.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum - Chris Grayling 31/05/2016 Recorded coverage of Vote Leave campaigner Chris Grayling MP making a speech in London, from Tuesday 31 May.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum - Sajid Javid 31/05/2016 Recorded coverage of business secretary Sajid Javid taking part in a panel discussion for the Britain Stronger IN Europe campaign group, from Tuesday 31 May.
Channel 4 Referendum Campaign Broadcast 31/05/2016 A referendum campaign broadcast by the Vote Leave campaign.
Channel 4 Referendum Campaign Broadcast 01/06/2016 A referendum campaign broadcast by the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign.
Sky News EU: In or Out? 02/06/2016 Adam Boulton presents build-up to the first big TV event of the EU referendum in which David Cameron will answer questions from Sky News's political editor and a live audience
Sky News EU: In or Out? 03/06/2016 Adam Boulton presents build-up to the second big TV event of the EU Referendum in which 'Leave' campaigner Michael Gove will answer questions from Faisal Islam and a live studio audience.
BBC1 Countryfile 05/06/2016 Montrose: Matt Baker and Anita Rani are at the Montrose Basin in Scotland, while Tom Heap looks at the EU referendum and Britain's fisheries.
BBC Radio 5 Live Pienaar's Politics 05/06/2016 John Pienaar is joined by the former deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg, and energy minister Andrea Leadsom. He also speaks to a panel of young voters about the EU referendum.
Channel 4 An Immigrant's Guide to Britain 06/06/2016 Comedian Henning Wehn leads the irreverent guide to life in Britain. This episode explores work, dating, the British sense of humour, and breakfast in a can. (Ep2/3)
Channel 4 Channel 4 News 06/06/2016 Includes live youth debate on EU Referendum
BBC Parliament EU Referendum Campaign: Jeremy Corbyn 06/06/2016 Recorded coverage of a referendum campaign event with Jeremy Corbyn MP in favour of the UK remaining in the European Union, from Thursday 2 June.
BBC1 The Andrew Neil Interviews: Leave or Remain? 06/06/2016 In this first programme Andrew speaks to the shadow foreign secretary, Hilary Benn MP. Then BBC News.
BBC News Victoria Derbyshire: The EU Debate 06/06/2016 Victoria Derbyshire hosts an EU referendum debate live from Manchester with an audience of 150 voters and senior politicians.
ITV Cameron and Farage Live: The EU Referendum 07/06/2016 Julie Etchingham presents a live hour-long programme in which David Cameron and Nigel Farage will in turn answer questions from a studio audience in London.
BBC2 Jack Dee's Referendum Help Desk 07/06/2016 1/3. Jack Dee helps a live studio audience dispel their problems regarding the EU referendum. Jack's guests include Romesh Ranganathan and Katherine Ryan.
Channel 4 Power Monkeys 08/06/2016 New comedy spin-off from Ballot Monkeys with Jack Dee, Claire Skinner, Kevin McNally, Andy Nyman, Archie Panjabi and Amelia Bullmore following both sides of the EU referendum. (Ep1/6)
Channel 4 Referendum Campaign Broadcast 08/06/2016 A European referendum campaign broadcast from the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign. Featuring Stephen Hawking
BBC1 The Andrew Neil Interviews: Leave or Remain? 08/06/2016 Andrew Neil speaks to the chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne MP. Then BBC News.
Channel 4 Referendum Campaign Broadcast 09/06/2016 A European referendum campaign broadcast by the Vote Leave campaign.
ITV The ITV Referendum Debate 09/06/2016 Two-hour live debate ahead of the most significant UK referendum in recent history. Three senior political figures from each side answer questions from members of the audience. Nicola Sturgeon, Angela Eagle and Amber Rudd speak for Remain; Boris Johnson, Gisela Stuart and Andrea Leadsom speak for Leave.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum Campaign - Blair and Major 10/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the EU referendum campaign event in Northern Ireland, with former prime ministers John Major and Tony Blair backing the UK to remain in the European Union.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum Campaign - Gove and Raab 10/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the EU referendum campaign event with Michael Gove and Dominic Raab on why the UK should leave the European Union, from Wednesday 8 June.
BBC1 The Andrew Neil Interviews: Leave or Remain? 10/06/2016 Andrew Neil talks to leading campaigners on both sides of the EU referendum debate. In this programme he speaks to Ukip leader, Nigel Farage MEP. Then BBC News.
Channel 4 The Last Leg 10/06/2016 The award-winning satirical comedy show returns. Hosted by Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe. The first guests are Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn and Russell Crowe. (S8 Ep1/6)
BBC Parliament EU Referendum Campaign - Stronger in Europe Event 11/06/2016 Recorded coverage of a Stronger in Europe referendum campaign event with speeches from David Cameron, Harriet Harman, Tim Farron and Natalie Bennett, from Monday 6 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum Campaign - Vote Leave Event 11/06/2016 Recorded coverage of a Vote Leave referendum campaign in Stratford-Upon-Avon, with speeches from Boris Johnson, Michael Gove, Gisela Stuart and John Longworth, from Monday 6 June.
Al-Jazeera English Listening Post 11/06/2016 As Britain's EU future hangs in the balance, is the media helping or hindering voters? Plus, the challenges of covering Australia's refugee policy.
BBC1 Better In or Out? A BBC Referendum Special 12/06/2016  Politicians and business leaders debate what London's future holds after the EU referendum.
Channel 4 An Immigrant's Guide to Britain 13/06/2016 The irreverent guide to life in Britain continues. Henning's laugh exasperates an etiquette expert, Obosei tries a pie in a tin, and Veronika investigates personal space. (Ep3/3)
Channel 4 Referendum Campaign Broadcast 13/06/2016 A European referendum campaign broadcast from the Britain Stronger in Europe campaign.
BBC2 Britain & Europe: The Immigration Question 14/06/2016 Mishal Husain investigates migration within the EU, including the impact of immigration on the UK as well as the advantages for Brits living abroad.
BBC2 Jack Dee's Referendum Help Desk 14/06/2016 2/3. Jack Dee helps a live studio audience dispel their problems regarding the EU referendum. Jack's guests include Romesh Ranganathan and Katherine Ryan.
BBC2 Referendum Campaign Broadcast 14/06/2016 Referendum campaign broadcast by the Vote Leave campaign.
Channel 4 Power Monkeys 15/06/2016 Topical satire. In the Unity Unit the PM is coming to visit and Ruby's making cheesecake, Oleg reminisces about Angela Merkel, and the Trump team attempt to woo women. (Ep2/6)
BBC1 Question Time EU Special: The Case for Leave 15/06/2016 Justice secretary Michael Gove MP answers questions on the case for leaving the EU.
BBC1 Referendum Broadcast 15/06/2016 Referendum campaign broadcast by the Stronger IN Europe campaign.
Channel 4 Eurotrash 17/06/2016 Antoine de Caunes and Jean Paul Gaultier present a new edition of the legendary show about the many, varied and occasionally alarming cultural delights enjoyed by our European cousins.
Channel 4 The Last Leg 17/06/2016 Hosts Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe are joined by US playwright and actor Jesse Eisenberg and Kunal Nayyar to take a fresh look at the week's events. (S8 Ep2/6)
BBC Radio 5 Live Pienaar's Politics 19/06/2016 John Pienaar presents a special EU referendum edition of Pienaar's Politics. He speaks to politicians and pundits on boths sides, including David Miliband and Nigel Farage.
BBC1 Question Time EU Special: The Case for Remain 19/06/2016 An audience in Milton Keynes quizzes David Cameron on the case for remaining in the EU.
Sky News EU: In or Out? 20/06/2016 Jeremy Corbyn - live television debate of the Referendum campaign, exclusive to Sky News.
BBC1 The Big EU Reality Check 20/06/2016 The Big EU Reality Check gets to the facts behind the claims in the EU referendum campaign.Then BBC News.
BBC1 EU Referendum: The Great Debate 21/06/2016 David Dimbleby, Mishal Husain and Emily Maitlis present the biggest debate of the EU referendum campaign live from the SSE Arena in Wembley, London.
LBC 97.3 Iain Dale 21/06/2016 Includes EU debate between Nigel Farage and Lord Heseltine
BBC2 Jack Dee's Referendum Help Desk 21/06/2016 3/3. Jack Dee helps a live studio audience dispel their problems regarding the EU referendum. Jack's guests include Katherine Ryan, Jeremy Hardy, Nina Wadia and Nish Kumar.
BBC R5L Phil Williams 21/06/2016 Phil Williams presents reaction to the evening's debate on the EU referendum at Wembley Arena.
BBC News The Great Debate Countdown 21/06/2016 A special programme building up to the start of the BBC's EU Referendum Great Debate - with behind the scenes access to the audience, the experts and the BBC's presenting team.
BBC Parliament BBC Wales EU Referendum Debate 22/06/2016 On the eve of the EU referendum, leading figures from the two campaigns face questions from a studio audience in a debate presented by Bethan Rhys Roberts. 
Sky News EU: In or Out? Time to Decide 22/06/2016 Dermot Murnaghan hosts a special night of coverage in the hours before EU Referendum polls open, with reports and analysis from Sky News' Editors and leading contributors from the UK and abroad.
Channel 4 Europe: The Final Debate with Jeremy Paxman 22/06/2016 Jeremy Paxman hosts the final debate before the EU Referendum, with politicians, celebrities and figures from business, science, sport, the military and security services.
Channel 4 Power Monkeys 22/06/2016 There's one day left for the EU referendum camps to sway the waverers. In the Unity Unit, Sara is trying her best to manage conflict, while Jackie wants to be eaten by eagles. (Ep3/6)
BBC Radio 4 The Moral Maze 22/06/2016 The EU Referendum: Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Edward Stourton. With Mona Siddiqui, Matthew Taylor, Claire Fox and Giles Fraser.
LBC 97.3 Britain Decides 23/06/2016 Britain Decides with Iain Dale & Shelagh Fogarty. 
Sky News Decision Time: In or Out? 23/06/2016 Adam Boulton hosts a momentous night on the referendum result from 50 live locations. Is the UK really about to leave the EU?
CCTV Dialogue 23/06/2016 Discussion of UK referendum on EU membership
BBC1 EU Referendum: The Result 23/06/2016 David Dimbleby is your guide as the votes are counted around the UK. Joining him in the BBC's Referendum Centre are Jeremy Vine, Emily Maitlis, Kamal Ahmed and Laura Kuenssberg. 
France 24 News & Magazines 23/06/2016 Coverage and analysis of the results of the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union.
RT News UK 23/06/2016 Live coverage of the UK's EU Referendum result.
BBC Radio 4 Referendum 2016 23/06/2016 Coverage and analysis of the results of the referendum on the UK's membership of the European Union.
ITV Referendum Result Live: ITV News Special 23/06/2016 Tom Bradby presents live coverage of the biggest decision facing the British public in a generation. With Julie Etchingham, Robert Peston, Allegra Stratton and James Mates. 
BBC R5L Stephen Nolan 23/06/2016 Stephen Nolan and Chris Mason with initial reaction from campaigners and 5 live listeners following the close of the polls for the EU referendum.
CNN UK Decides: In or Out? 23/06/2016 Live coverage of the UK's EU Referendum result.
BBC1 BBC News Special EU Referendum 24/06/2016 Huw Edwards presents live coverage from Westminster on the EU referendum result, with reaction from BBC teams across the UK and around the world.
BBC News BBC News Special: EU Referendum 24/06/2016 Huw Edwards presents live coverage from Westminster on the EU referendum result, with reaction from BBC teams across the UK and around the world. 
BBC News BBC News Special: EU Referendum 24/06/2016 BBC News presents live coverage from Westminster on the EU referendum result - with reaction from BBC teams across the UK and around the world.
CCTV Dialogue 24/06/2016 Discussion of UK's decision to leave the EU
Sky News EU Referendum Result 24/06/2016 Dermot Murnaghan with reaction and analysis of the referendum result. So what happens now?
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Arlene Foster 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the speech by Northern Ireland's first minister Arlene Foster in response to the Leave result on the UK's membership of the EU, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Boris Johnson 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the news conference held by Vote Leave with speeches from Boris Johnson, Michael Gove and Gisela Stuart, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Carwyn Jones 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the news conference held by Welsh first minister Carwyn Jones in response to the Leave result in the UK's referendum on EU membership, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: David Cameron 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the Downing Street news conference held by prime minister David Cameron announcing he will step down in October, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Enda Kenny 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the news conference held by the Irish taoiseach, Enda Kenny, in response to the Leave result in the UK's referendum on EU membership, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: European Reaction 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of reactions to the Leave result from Angela Merkel, Donald Tusk, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Mark Carney 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the news conference held by the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, in response to the Leave result in the EU referendum, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Nicola Sturgeon 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the news conference held by Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon in response to the Leave result in the EU referendum, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Nigel Farage 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the speech by Ukip leader Nigel Farage in response to the Leave result in the UK's referendum on the European Union, from Friday 24 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Ruth Davidson 24/06/2016 Recorded coverage of the speech by Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson in response to the Leave result in the UK's membership of the European Union, from Friday 24 June.
France 24 News & Magazines 24/06/2016 Live coverage of results of UK EU Referendum
BBC World Sv. Newsday 24/06/2016 Coverage of the EU referendum results.
BBC World Sv. Newshour Extra Special 24/06/2016 A special edition covering the results of the EU referendum.
BBC 2 Newsnight 24/06/2016 With Evan Davis. So... now what?
Channel 4 Power Monkeys 24/06/2016 Topical satire. The results are in, the UK's fate has been decided. Tony is keen to begin the healing process, while the David Cameron fudge has morphed into a sad metaphor. 
BBC R5L Referendum 2016 24/06/2016 James Naughtie and Carolyn Quinn present overnight coverage and reaction to the results of the EU Referendum.
BBC World Sv. Referendum Extra 24/06/2016 Coverage of the EU referendum results.
ITV Referendum Result Live: ITV News 24/06/2016 Alastair Stewart presents live coverage of all the latest news following last night's historic EU referendum result. 
Sky News Sunrise Special: EU Referendum Result 24/06/2016 Dermot Murnaghan with the crucial result of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU. Did we stay or did we go?
BBC1 The Big Decision with Nick Robinson 24/06/2016 Nick Robinson examines what the results of the EU referendum will mean for the UK.
Channel 4 The Last Leg In, The Last Leg Out 24/06/2016 Adam Hills, Alex Brooker and Josh Widdicombe are joined by Stephen Mangan to examine the EU referendum result and the most entertaining news stories of the week.
Al-Jazeera English Listening Post 25/06/2016 After an EU referendum campaign full of racism and fear, we examine the UK media's influence on the result. Plus, how ad blockers are costing the news business.
BBC2 Newsnight Special: Life After Brexit 25/06/2016 In-depth investigation and analysis of the stories behind the day's headlines.
RT Sophie & Co. 25/06/2016 Bright, straightforward, honest, respectful. Questions that stick. Answers that matter. 
CNN Connect the World with Becky Anderson 26/06/2016 CNN's Becky Anderson joins the dots of stories and events by exploring how an event or circumstance in one part of the world can have a significant impact elsewhere.
BBC1 Question Time: A EU Special 26/06/2016 A special live edition discussing the implications of the UK's vote to leave the European Union. The Leave and Remain camps are evenly represented in the audience and on the panel.
Channel 4 Channel 4 News 27/06/2016 Extended EU referendum news special.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: George Osborne 27/06/2016 Recorded coverage of a speech by the chancellor of the exchequer in response to the Leave result in the UK's referendum on the European Union, from Monday 27 June.
BBC Parliament EU Referendum: Jeremy Corbyn 27/06/2016 EU Referendum statement by Jeremy Corbyn, Leader, Labour Party, from June 25
BBC Parliament Prime Minister's Statement 27/06/2016 David Cameron's statement to Parliament on the outcome of the EU referendum
BBC Parliament Gibraltar Newswatch 28/06/2016 GBC Television Gibraltar present coverage of the EU Referendum vote, with local reaction, analysis and discussion on implications for Gibraltarians. Recorded Friday 24 June.
BBC News HARDtalk  28/06/2016 Radek Sikorski, former Polish foreign minister: HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur talks to former Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski about Britain's Brexit vote
BBC Parliament Live European Parliament 28/06/2016 Live coverage of proceedings in the European Parliament in Brussels on the outcome of the UK referendum on membership of the European Union.
BBC Parliament Scottish Parliament - EU Referendum 28/06/2016 Coverage of the statement in the Scottish Parliament by first minister Nicola Sturgeon on the outcome of the referendum on the UK's membership of the EU, from Tuesday 28 June.
BBC4 Power Monkeys 29/06/2016 The dust has settled in both EU referendum camps. Spencer is now scolding the Premier League and zigzag haircuts, while Tony endeavours to save his marriage... to the Tory party. (Ep5/6)
BBC Radio 4 The Moral Maze 29/06/2016 Debate on the outcome of the EU Referendum. Combative, provocative and engaging debate chaired by Michael Buerk. With Mona Siddiqui, Giles Fraser, Melanie Phillips and Anne McElvoy.
BBC Parliament Conservative Leadership - Boris Johnson 30/06/2016 Recorded coverage of Boris Johnson announcing that he will not stand in the election to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, from Thursday 30 June.
BBC Parliament Conservative Leadership - Stephen Crabb 30/06/2016 Recorded coverage of work and pensions secretary Stephen Crabb launching his campaign to be the next leader of the Conservative Party, from Wednesday 29 June.
BBC Parliament Conservative Leadership - Theresa May 30/06/2016 Recorded coverage of home secretary Theresa May launching her campaign to be the next leader of the Conservative Party, from Thursday 30 June.
BBC News HARDtalk  30/06/2016 Stephen Sackur talks to Segolene Royal, French environment minister and former socialist candidate for the French presidency about the British Brexit.
BBC 1 Question Time 30/06/2016 Topical debate in which guests from the worlds of politics and the media answer questions posed by members of the public
BBC R5L Question Time Extra Time 30/06/2016 John Pienaar introduces coverage of Question Time, with the chance to continue the debate after the simulcast.
Sky News The Pledge: Brexit 30/06/2016 This week on The Pledge it's a Brexit special. There will be straight talking debate on the UK's historic vote to leave the EU.

As said, we continue to record programmes relating to the aftermath of the referendum, as well as our regular news programming - some 40 hours per day. We will aim to upload new programmes to SAMI and Explore at the end of each month, but those who want up-to-the-minute recordings can always go direct to the Broadcast News service, which makes most of the programmes it records available an hour or so after broadcast. To access Broadcast News onsite, go to any British Library terminal, and click on the front page link for Sound and Moving Image services.

The British Library has also been archiving websites on the EU Referendum, as outlined in this blog from our Web Archiving team: Capturing and Preserving the EU Referendum Debate (Brexit). And of course we have been taking in most British newspapers as part of our standard Legal Deposit intake.

Meanwhile, the recording goes on ....

RT

Recording today's news

 

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