ABSTRACT
For most of the BBC’s existence, the principle of ‘public service’ embodied in the 1926 Charter had not been the special preserve of the Corporation. Indeed, the idea that some organizations should operate for the public good and at the public expense was shared by all political parties, as well as the leaders of private industry and commerce, and ordinary voters. In the 1980s, however, the idea was strongly challenged for the first time. For broadcasters who had taken ‘public service’ for granted, life suddenly became uncomfortable.
