ABSTRACT
The 1930s saw unprecedented changes in the British mass media. The national newspaper industry became more concentrated, with a reduction in the number of titles published, yet also more competitive, notably with the emergence of the popular press, which aimed to exploit the increasing social acceptance of newspaper-reading as a habit among all but the very poorest. The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), formed in the mid-1920s, significantly expanded its radio service as technology developed and manufacturers found ways of producing wireless sets at affordable prices. Towards the end of the decade television, which was eventually to become the primary mass medium, started to reach out to small numbers of households the length and breadth of Britain. Football both contributed to the growing popularisation of the media and was significantly influenced by it, becoming a truly national game for the first time. As football itself became institutionalised as a seemingly ‘natural’ element of British society and culture, so too did its main participants, the managers and, ultimately, the players.
