The digital archive of the acclaimed BBC publication

“The Listener was where the British did their thinking.

Literate and engaged, it had the mild irony of all the best of

British culture... The online archive is a seam of pure gold

for researchers, politics, writing, theatre and social

observation, but it offers many delights for browsers as well.”

JEAN SEATONProfessor of Media History and Official Historian of the

BBC. The University of Westminster

Thursday, January 3 1991, Issue 3197

Wednesday, January 16 1929, Issue 1

CONTENT

WHAT IS THE LISTENER?

•The Listener was a weekly publication, established by the BBC in 1929 as the medium for reproducing radio - and later, television - programmes in print.

• At the heart of The Listener was the BBC’s cultural mission to inform, educate and entertain the general public.

• The very first edition of The Listener expressed its intention “to preserve the text of certain broadcast talks in a regular and more or less permanent form”.

KEY FEATURES OF THE LISTENER HISTORICAL ARCHIVE

• The complete run from 1929 to 1991 - 130,000 pages

• Digitally captured in full colour from print copies

• Full text and keyword searchable

• Multiple search paths and limiters to pinpoint results quickly

• Browse an index of contributors

• Cross-searchable with other Gale productsThursday, September 7 1939, Issue 556

SUBJECTS COVERED INCLUDE:

• History

• Politics

• Science

• Literature

• Poetry

• Media & Journalism

• Arts & Entertainment

• Music

• Sports

• Advertising

Thursday, November 10 1988, Issue 3088

Thursday, April 15 1971, Issue 2194

A RESOURCE FOR LITERATURE:

• The Listener built a reputation for discovering new literary talent and provided a platform for major 20th century writers.

• The magazine was frequently the first national weekly publication to publish a new poem by a major modern writer.

• Transcripts of writers’ broadcasts and interviews help capture the ‘writer’s voice’ and chart the ongoing relationship between writers and the medium of broadcasting.

Thursday, July 21 1960, Issue 1634

Wednesday, July 12 1933, Issue 235

A RESOURCE FOR THE ARTS:

• The journal dedicated pages to major literary and musical programmes by the BBC (which remains the largest commissioner of music and drama in Britain)

• 10% of its content was not connected to broadcasting at all, but featured in-depth reviews of books, films and art exhibitions.

• Invaluable resource for those researching the critical reception of the visual arts and how the wider public responded to popular culture in the 20th century.

Thursday, July 12 1973, Issue 2311

Thursday, December 1 1988, Issue 3091

CONTRIBUTORS:

Dylan ThomasAlan Bennett T. S. EliotJohn CleeseDavid AttenboroughAnthony BurgessSebastian FaulksGermaine GreerE. M. Forster Ian HislopJohn PeelGeorge OrwellPhilip PullmanJeremy PaxmanSylvia PankhurstVirginia Woolf

Thursday, January 11 1979, Issue 2593Wednesday, November 27 1929, Issue 46

Thursday, August 11, 1988, Issue 3075

A RESOURCE FOR HISTORY:

• For over 60 years, the magazine reproduced broadcast talks on radio and television, thereby extending the ‘life’ of a programme.

• Provides researchers with means of accessing the transcripts of early BBC broadcast recordings as well as the rich commentary that surrounded them.

• Through the online archive, researchers can trace the journey of publishing and broadcasting in the 20th century and the profound impact it had on shaping events and society.

Thursday, April 15 1943, Issue 744

Thursday, November 26 1987, Issue 3039

TRANSCRIPTS:

The archive provides a wealth of transcripts frombroadcasts including:

• King George VI’s message to the British public at the outbreak of WWII (1939)

• Prime Minister Atlee announcing the launch of theNational Health Service (NHS) (1948)

• Panorama, BBC’s flagship current affairs programme (1950s – 1980s) • British Historian AJP Taylor’s series of TV lectures(1957 – 1967)

• Royal Institute Christmas lectures including Sir David Attenborough (1973), astronomer Carl Sagan (1977) and Ian Stewart (1997)

Wednesday, January 3 1934, Issue 260

A RESOURCE FOR POLITICS & SOCIETY:

•The Listener provided a balanced political overview, allowing researchers to explore an issue from multiple perspectives.

• Reflects the BBC’s proximity to power, acting as an eyewitness to the major issues of the day and providing an informed critique of the 20th century as it happened.

• Broad range of content, from Anthony Burgess writing on the assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963, to Alistair Cooke’s much-loved ‘letters’ on post-war American culture, to the columns of the BBC’s political editor, John Cole, in the 1980s.

Thursday, October 6 1960, Issue 1645

Thursday, December 2 1982, Issue 2789

INTERNATIONAL COVERAGE:

• Although a British newspaper, The Listener was always internationalist in its world-view. Just like the BBC itself, it aimed to educate and enlighten its readers about events beyond their shores.

• The magazine’s reach was global with detailed coverage of revolutions in the Middle East including Egypt (1952), Libya (1967) and Iran (1979).

Thursday, July 31 1952, Issue 1222

Thursday, January 8 1976, Issue 2439

Thursday, February 25 1960, Issue 1613

Thursday, April 23 1987, Issue 3008

ARTICLES OF NOTE:

Users will find a diverse range of essays, interviews and reviews including:

• ‘The Frontiers of Art and Propaganda’ by George Orwell (1941)

• Alistair Cooke’s famous Letter from America series (1946-2004) and From Our Own Correspondent

• Wyndham Lewis, art critic for The Listener, wrote a series of articles on young British artists including Francis Bacon (1946-1951)

• ‘E.M. Forster on his life and books’, recorded by David Jones (1959)

• Essays to accompany Sir Kenneth Clark’s landmark art history series Civilisation (1969)

• ‘Unemployment in the Seventies’ by Dorothy Wedderburn (1971)

• ‘Watergate and the Editors’ (1972)

• ‘The Eye’ by David Wilson, the first of several articles based on the Horizon popular science series (1969) Thursday, January 1 1959, Issue 1553

Thursday, August 12 1971, Issue 2211

PRODUCT FEATURES

PRODUCT DESIGN AND FUNCTIONALITY:

• Homepage with basic search

• Advanced Search

• Results Page

• Page Display with specifically designed viewer

• Print, download, mark list, email documents

• Browse Editions and Contributors

HOMEPAGE:SPOTLIGHT ARTICLES

Shortcut to pre-selected highlight

content

BASIC SEARCHKeyword/Entire

Document and limit by date

NAVIGATION

ADVANCED SEARCH:

LIMIT the search section and/or article

typeLIMIT by

illustration type

Keyword or phrase search in

Article Title, Keyword, Entire Document,

Caption, Contributor and Document

Number

Set FUZZY none-high

RESULTS:

Results can be SORTED by ascending and descending order

Results can be LIMITED by publication section

and article type

SEARCH within results or start a new search and also mark items

From each THUMBNAIL

choose between

Article, View Page and

Browse Issue

PAGE DISLPAY:

Selecting ‘PAGE’ from the results

displays the entire page of

the issue in which the

article appears. The article can be viewed as a

clipped image as well. Other articles from the page can

also be selected

Search within ISSUE or new search

ZOOM and Page Navigation

Browse issue and see RESULTS contained

within the same issue

Mark item, print, email, bookmark and use the citation TOOL

BROWSE BY DATE:

All the front pages of the ISSUES for the selected year will display from Jan-Dec. Click on the thumbnail to browse the whole

issue

ISSUE DISPLAY/RESULTS:

The ‘Results for this issue’

displays a LIST VIEW of the pages in the edition for an

overview of the content

Selecting the front cover thumbnail image from the BROWSE ISSUE

displays the front page and all clipped articles on that page

BROWSE CONTRIBUTOR:

Browse contributors to The Listener

alphabetically

Select BROWSE CONTRIBUTOR from the Browse drop down menu

Type in the first few letters of the name or use alphabet LINKS to select a

name

Once the name has been selected the

corresponding articles and pages display in a

RESULTS list

CONTRIBUTOR RESULTS:

The results from selecting a contributor displays in the same way as a normal search RESULTS page –

the pages/articles can then be viewed in more detail by selecting ‘Article’ ‘View Page’ or ‘Browse

Issue’

SEARCH HISTORY:

Search History Enables the

user to revisit and REVISE

previous searches

MARKED ITEMS:

Add items to the list to REVISIT at a later point.

Users can also save, email and print a list of results

or an article

CONCLUSION

SUMMARY OF BENEFITS:

• Offering nearly 130,000 pages across six decades.

• “Makes the inaccessible accessible” - Complete print run - Archive is all in one place and is convenient to use as well as saving valuable shelf space.

• An essential resource across a range of disciplines including History, Politics, Science, Literature, Arts and more.

• National and International content.

• Multiple search and limit options.

• Browse editions week by week, cover to cover.

Thursday, January 26 1989, Issue 3098

To register for your free trial or request further information please contact us:

Email: emea.customerservices@cengage.comVisit: www.gale.cengage.co.uk/thelistenerCall us: +44 (0)1264 332424