Open Door (TV programme)

Last updated

Open Door
Genre
Created byDavid Attenborough
Starring
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons18
No. of episodes253
Original release
Network BBC
Release2 April 1973 (1973-04-02) –
2 September 1983 (1983-09-02)

Open Door was a programme produced by the BBC's Community Programme Unit. It was first broadcast on 2 April 1973 and ran for a decade until September 1983. The programme gave people brief control of transmission and was a platform for the public to talk about its own issues and give their own views without editorial input from the BBC. [1] The programme was later replaced by Open Space .

Contents

Production

Community Programme Unit (CPU)

The Community Programme Unit was initiated by David Attenborough, the BBC Director of Programmes from 1969 to 1973, [2] in collaboration with television producer Rowan Ayers. The two were interested in promoting public television as a space for participatory democracy. [3] [4] Ayers was appointed to run the Community Programme Unit (CPU).

The CPU had a base, deliberately distanced from the BBC Television Centre, in a terraced house owned by the BBC on Hammersmith Grove. William Fowler and Matthew Harle write that this was to ensure the Unit was visible to the community and that it was a less intimidating space for people to enter without having to go through security checks, for instance. [5]

The CPU broadcast programmes both live with a studio audience and with pre-recorded elements. Programmes were styled on the format of popular talks shows and news reports of the day, but with a focus on social activism because community groups would be given editorial control over content. [6] In a research article discussing the creation and legacy of the CPU, Jo Henderson argues: [7]

The CPU's importance is threefold. Firstly, it created the broadcaster-as-publisher model in the UK, subsequently adopted by Channel 4, and now by streaming sites such as YouTube and post-mediated social media platforms such as Twitter. Secondly, it created innovative content that extended the topics and subjects on British television. Finally, it used the new technology of video to develop and refine techniques that have now become familiar elements in the television grammar of reality television and in first-person documentary

— Jo Henderson, Let the people speak – The Community Programmes Unit 1972–2002, Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies (2022)

Open Door, the first programme for the CPU, was initially brought to the attention of Robin Scott, who had been controller of the Light Programme and then BBC2, after reading about the idea from Frank Gillard, former director of BBC Radio, who had written about an American "people's radio show" in Boston. [8] Attenborough appointed Scott and Ayers to create a BBC television version. [8] [9] In a Board of Management Meeting on 7 December 1972, Attenborough presented Community Programmes, [10] a five-page report that proposed an experimental series, overseen by the CPU, to start in April 1973 (this would become known as Open Door). Attenborough argued that the network could benefit from community programmes by bringing "unheard voices to a mainstream audience" and by also challenging traditional ways of creating content. Thereby "new editorial attitudes that do not derive from the assumptions of the university-educated elite who are commonly believed to dominate television production." [10] However, Attenborough also addressed the possible concerns of broadcasting such programmes, and he outlined these as including: (1) the potential to disrupt BBC impartiality, (2) the risk of programmes leaning too heavily in one political or social direction, (3) content may be boring and bring in low viewership, (4) programmes may be deliberately controversial, and (5) the potential for the BBC to be liable in libel proceedings or contempt of court. [10] To counter this, Attenborough argued that the CPU should investigate applications "and make formal recommendations supported with a summary of their research and reasons for commendation to a Selection Committee".

Mike Phillips, interviewed by David Hendy for the University of Sussex - BBC Centenary Collection recalls that, at the time, there was a problem within and outside the Corporation for self-representation. [11] Phillips describes his colleagues as being "all nice people" but criticises the lack of black and working-class representation not just on screen but behind it as producers and broadcasters, saying "the sense of who was entitled to speak and who was not entitled to speak was stifling." [11] [9]

Broadcast

Originally titled 'Open House', Open Door was approved and commissioned in April 1973 by Director-General of the BBC, from 1969 to 1977, Charles Curran. By February 1973, more than fifty community groups had applied and as part of the application process they pitched their premises to the CPU staff team who voted on the ideas they liked the most. [7] The CPU decided they had enough content for 6 initial programmes. Of the groups that were successful, they were assigned their own producer who assisted them with formatting, styling and editing their programme.

Open Door was to be the final transmission on Monday night on BBC Channel Two, a decision that was partly made because it was felt this late-slot would minimise the risk of offending a large audience. [7] Each programme would aim to follow the same format where four contributors would present information about the episode's topic. Every fourth programme in the series was initially planned to be a response programme where both a studio and home audience could respond to the previous transmissions.

Viewership for the first series of Open Door was not large, however, it was recommissioned for a second series in the same late Monday night slot. One of the earliest episodes to receive larger audience figures was 'The U & I Club' with a combined audience of 396,000 (from the original transmission and repeat), and 12,000 audience members wrote to the organisation regarding the episode. [12]

Open Door was last broadcast in September 1983, after a decade on the television. It was succeeded by Open Space, and furthermore Video Diaries and Video Nation when there was increased availability to quality domestic video equipment. Budget cuts led to the end of the CPU in 2002.

Episodes

Series overview

SeriesEpisodesOriginally aired
1 13Monday 2 April 1973
2 12Monday 24 September 1973
3 12Sunday 27 January 1974
4 6Monday 13 May 1974
5 12Monday 23 September 1974
6 17Monday 27 January 1975
7 20Monday 8 September 1975
8 16Saturday 31 January 1976
9 18Monday 20 September 1976
10 14Monday 31 January 1977
11 14Monday 19 September 1977
12 13Monday 30 January 1978
13 26Monday 18 September 1978
14 20Saturday 22 September 1979
15 6Thursday 11 September 1980
16 8Wednesday 25 February 1981
17 18Saturday 30 January 1982
18 8Thursday 2 September 1982

List of episodes [13]

Series 1 (1973)

This is a caption
No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleOriginal air date
11"Saint Mungo Community Trust"2 April 1973 (1973-04-02)
Features the Saint Mungo Community Trust, a charity trust concerned with homelessness. The episode explains how the Trust sets up houses that offer refuge to those who would have no alternative. Insight from Jim Horne, who runs the Trust, and shows how the Trust operates a nightly hot soup service at different locations in London.
22"Liberation of Lifestyle and the Responsible Society"9 April 1973 (1973-04-09)
Features 'The Responsible Society', a non-religious organisation believing that society has a right and role in defending certain principles of social responsibility. The group presents their view by discussing arguments on medical and social issues.
33"Black Teachers"16 April 1973 (1973-04-16)
Demonstrates the minority of black people represented within the education sector at the time, presented by Mike Phillips. The episode was made by a group of black teachers who discuss the poor level of achievement amongst black students.
44"Teachers in Dentistry"30 April 1973 (1973-04-30)
Teachers in dentistry show that prevention is better than the cure. Trees for People also explain why trees are precious.
55"Feedback"7 May 1973 (1973-05-07)
Episode in front a live audience, where space for feedback and discussion is provided regarding previous topics on Open Door.
66"East End Channel One"14 May 1973 (1973-05-14)
This episode is presented by The Basement Project Film Group where they satirize news reports on social security and they examine the issues facing the East of London. Themes include the benefits system, lack of social housing in the area, immigration and changing culture of the area.
77"How to Stop Ring Roads"21 May 1973 (1973-05-21)
88"Transex Liberation Group"4 June 1973 (1973-06-04)
Featured trans women from the Transex Liberation Group. Four group members held a discussion about their experiences as trans women in the 1960s and 1970s, commenting on daily challenges, employment and their transitions.
99"Where is poetry? What is poetry?"11 June 1973 (1973-06-11)
Birmingham Poets ask: Where is poetry? What is poetry?. The Association of British Investigators explains the true role of the much aligned 'private eye.'
1010"Spring is here and the time is right for planting the streets"18 June 1973 (1973-06-18)
Street Farmers: 'Soring is here and the time is right for planting in the street.' The Council for Academic Freedom and Democracy also dsicusss the growing threat to freedom in universities, technical colleges and schools.
1111"RAFT: Recidivists Anonymous Fellowship Trust"25 June 1973 (1973-06-25)
RAFT: Recidivists Anonymous Fellowship Trust (a group of prisoners and ex-convicts) discuss how they look at the world and how the world sees them.
1212"Bogside Community Association"2 July 1973 (1973-07-02)
The Bogside Community Association presents its own view of the community of 'Bogside' to address stereotypes that it is violent.
1313"Cleaners Action"9 June 1973 (1973-06-09)
Cleaners Action discuss the domestic and working problems of night cleaners and about their attempts to organise workers.

Series 2 (1973)

  1. ↑ O’Hagan, Sean (24 January 2023). "Black teachers, trans women, cleaners and cons: how the BBC's Open Door allowed 'real people' to let rip". The Guardian . Retrieved 24 January 2023.
  2. ↑ Price, Jo (2016). "Sir David Attenborough – key moments in his career so far". Discover Wildlife. BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  3. ↑ Appleton, Mike (23 January 2008). "Rowan Ayers". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  4. ↑ Dayan, Daniel (2009). "Sharing and Showing: Television as Monstration". The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 625 (1): 19–31. doi:10.1177/0002716209338364. ISSN   0002-7162 . Retrieved 15 June 2024– via Research Gate.
  5. 1 2 3 Fowler; Harle, William; Matthew (2023). "The Furthest Edge of the BBC: Watching Open Door". Raven Row. Retrieved 15 June 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. 1 2 3 Jones, Ellen E (25 May 2024). "Watching Us, Watching You". BBC Archive on 4. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  7. 1 2 3 Henderson, Jo (2022). "Let the people speak – The Community Programmes Unit 1972–2002". Critical Studies in Television: The International Journal of Television Studies. 17 (1): 46–62. doi:10.1177/17496020211063092. ISSN   1749-6020 . Retrieved 15 June 2024– via Sage Journals.
  8. 1 2 Gillard, Frank (28 March 2022). "Robin Scott interviewed by Frank Gillard, 1985". BBC - History of the BBC. BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  9. 1 2 3 Jolly, Margaretta (2 January 2024). "Listening Projects: The BBC, Oral History, and the Nation in Fractured Times". The Oral History Review. 51 (1): 108–135. doi:10.1080/00940798.2024.2324062. ISSN   0094-0798.
  10. 1 2 3 Attenborough, David (7 December 1972). "Community Programme Unit" (PDF). BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  11. 1 2 Hendy, David (30 May 2019). "Interview with Mike Phillips". Connected History of the BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  12. ↑ BBC (1973). "Programme Proposal R78/2, 807/1". Access Programmes. BBC Written Archive Centre.
  13. ↑ "Programme Index". BBC Programme Index. BBC Genome. 2012. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  14. ↑ "BBC Programme Index". 28 February 1976.
  15. ↑ Campbell, D (24 July 1983). "Open Door". Sunday Times Supplement.
  16. ↑ "Open Door: Transex Liberation Group, BBC Two, Monday 4 June 1973". History of the BBC. BBC. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  17. 1 2 Smith, Lydia (6 May 2024). "Trans women discussed trans rights on TV over 50 years ago: here's what it looked like". PinkNews. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  18. ↑ Ayers, Rowan (27 February 1973). "R78-2807-1 Open Door Memo". BBC - History of the BBC. BBC. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  19. 1 2 Hendy, David (2022). "One of us? Opening Doors". BBC. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  20. ↑ "One of us? Opening Doors". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  21. 1 2 Aspden, Peter (28 January 2023). "When the BBC put cameras into viewers' hands". The Financial Times. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  22. ↑ Birmingham City Institute of Media and English. "Transcript: It Ain't Half Racist, Mum". Birmingham City University. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
  23. ↑ Schaffer, G. (2014) What's Behind the Open Door? Talking Back on Race in Public-Access Broadcasting. In: The Vision of a Nation. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137314888_5
  24. ↑ "People Make Television". Raven Row. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  25. ↑ Charlesworth, J.J. (1 March 2023). "'Open Door': The Quiet Revolution Inside the BBC". ArtReview. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  26. ↑ "The Connected Histories of the BBC". Connected Histories of the BBC. University of Sussex. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  27. ↑ "People, Nation, Empire". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 June 2024.

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season		TitleOriginal air date