Press & media
Number of items in collection: 88
Short description:
Oral History of the British Press (C638) was a National Life Stories project that began in 1994 and was revived in 2006 thanks to support from the British Library as part of the popular 'Front Page' exhibition. The project collected the life stories of key press and newspaper figures.
Oral History of the British Press (C638) was a National Life Stories project that began in 1994 and was revived in 2006 thanks to support from the British Library as part of the popular 'Front Page' exhibition. The project collected the life stories of key press and newspaper figures. Interviewees include Dennis Griffiths (former editor of the Daily Express and the Evening Standard); Frank Barlow (Managing Director of the Financial Times); Robert Edwards (former editor of the Daily Express, Sunday Mirror, The People and deputy chairman of the Mirror Group under Robert Maxwell); Vic Giles (art director at the Daily Mirror and launch art director for The Sun); Ken Morgan (former General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists, and former Director of the Press Complaints Commission) and Andreas Whittam-Smith (proprietor and launch editor of The Independent); Brenda Dean (who, as General Secretary of the print union SOGAT during the News International crisis, was the first woman to lead a major industrial trade union); Brian MacArthur (The Times, The Sunday Times and launch editor of Today); Donald Trelford (who edited The Observer between 1975 and 1993); Bill Hagerty (deputy editor of the Daily Mirror and editor of The People); and Roy Greenslade (whose 40-year career embraced the Daily Mirror, The Sunday Times, The Sun, and who, since 1992, has had a further career as a media commentator).
Oral history recordings provide valuable first-hand testimony of the past. The views and opinions expressed in oral history interviews are those of the interviewees, who describe events from their own perspective. The interviews are historical documents and their language, tone and content might in some cases reflect attitudes that could cause offence in today’s society.
Long description:
Recordings in this collection can be played by anyone.
Oral History of the British Press (C638) was a National Life Stories project that began in 1994 and was revived in 2006 thanks to support from the British Library as part of the popular 'Front Page' exhibition. The project collected the life stories of key press and newspaper figures. Interviewees include Dennis Griffiths (former editor of the Daily Express and the Evening Standard); Frank Barlow (Managing Director of the Financial Times); Robert Edwards (former editor of the Daily Express, Sunday Mirror, The People and deputy chairman of the Mirror Group under Robert Maxwell); Vic Giles (art director at the Daily Mirror and launch art director for The Sun); Ken Morgan (former General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists, and former Director of the Press Complaints Commission) and Andreas Whittam-Smith (proprietor and launch editor of The Independent); Brenda Dean (who, as General Secretary of the print union SOGAT during the News International crisis, was the first woman to lead a major industrial trade union); Brian MacArthur (The Times, The Sunday Times and launch editor of Today); Donald Trelford (who edited The Observer between 1975 and 1993); Bill Hagerty (deputy editor of the Daily Mirror and editor of The People); and Roy Greenslade (whose 40-year career embraced the Daily Mirror, The Sunday Times, The Sun, and who, since 1992, has had a further career as a media commentator).
Oral history recordings provide valuable first-hand testimony of the past. The views and opinions expressed in oral history interviews are those of the interviewees, who describe events from their own perspective. The interviews are historical documents and their language, tone and content might in some cases reflect attitudes that could cause offence in today’s society.
To explore the collection in detail, please search the Sound and Moving Image catalogue. The catalogue reference used for all the recordings in the project is C638.
What the interviews tell us
One-to-one oral history interviews explore memories and recount narratives rarely found elsewhere. Personal testimony fills knowledge gaps, provides new insights, challenges stereotypical views, and overturns orthodoxies. These recordings reveal collective memory, individual agency, gender, skill, influence and intentionality.
Ethical use of oral history
The interviewees have been generous in sharing their memories - often traumatic, confidential and intimate - and listeners are asked to treat this material with respect and sensitivity. Recordings should be analysed and presented in context, so that the interviewee’s meaning is not misconstrued. Quotations and audio clips should be referenced as, for example: “Interview with Geoffrey Goodman by Louise Brodie, February – July 2008, Oral History of the British Press, reference C638/16 part x, © The British Library”. Each interviewee whose recording appears on this site has assigned copyright to The British Library Board and given their consent for the recording to be used for educational study. We have made every effort to contact all the interviewees and inform them about this project. However should any participant wish to discuss their involvement they should contact the Lead Curator, Oral History at the British Library (oralhistory@bl.uk)Oral history at the British Library
The interviews on this site are a small selection from the many thousands held in the Oral History section of the British Library. These recordings go back over 100 years and cover many facets of life in Britain. Many interviews were gathered through National Life Stories, an externally-funded unit within the Library established in 1987 to “record first-hand experiences of as wide a cross-section of present-day society as possible”.All recordings on this site are governed by licence agreements.