What use is a public inquiry? Labour and the 1977 Annan Committee on the Future of Broadcasting

Abstract

In the light of increasing concern today about the uncertain future of British television, this article investigates the effectiveness of the public inquiry as a means of broadcasting reform. In particular, it focuses on the 1977 Annan Committee on the Future of Broadcasting and assesses the extent to which the committee was a victory for those who wished to open up broadcasting structures. Pressure for a full-scale review of British broadcasting had been building up since the late 1960s and the case for broadcasting democratization was, by 1974, clearly identified with the left. The article examines both the contributions made by those on the left of the Labour Party to the committee together with the motivations of the Labour government in agreeing to an inquiry, and suggests that the final report was a model example of a compromise between different visions of broadcasting.