About the event
Nowadays we consider radio a familiar old companion, but in the 1920s and 1930s it was the radical new technology. This story is almost always told from the broadcasters' point of view.
When Beaty Rubens began to research the experience of listeners, she knew that evidence was scant, not least because the early BBC did not believe in audience research. Then she made an exciting discovery: in the Bodleian Library’s Winifred Gill Archive, she found two entirely forgotten handwritten notebooks containing extensive first-person testimony gathered in 1938 from listeners in Bristol.
Beaty shares the story of this discovery and how it expands our understanding of the impact of radio on the lives of the first-ever listeners, including our own parents and grandparents.
Speaker
Beaty Rubens was a producer for BBC Radio for 35 years. Now a freelance producer and writer, she is the author of a book and curator of a Bodleian exhibition called Listen In: How Radio Changed the Home.
Booking information
The event is free and open to all but booking is required. You can attend this event in person at the Weston Library or online via Zoom.
When you have booked your place, the ticketing system will send you an automated confirmation. If you book to attend this event online, you will receive details for joining the Zoom webinar by email. If you have not received these 3 hours before the event, please contact fob@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.
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Friends of the Bodleian
This talk is supported by the Friends of the Bodleian. To enjoy closer access to the Bodleian, including exclusive events and priority access to online content, join the Friends today.
For more information email fob@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Location
This lecture will be held in person in the Sir Victor Blank Lecture Theatre at the Weston Library and online via Zoom.
Weston Library, Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BG
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Wheelchair access
The Weston Library is wheelchair accessible.
