Background
“Pinkoes and Traitors: The BBC and the nation, 1974 – 1987”
Jean Seaton
Amazon: “…Jean Seaton examines the turbulent controversies and the magnificent triumphs of an institution that Britain loved and hated, and in many ways is still defined by…”
Bernard Newnham
A couple of reviews for “Pinkoes and Traitors” by Jean Seaton. Just read it, and it has the feel of weeks at Caversham reading Programme Review notes and the like, and very little time researching "…every PA has a story…", which is what she said at a BBCPA AGM a couple of years ago. Even when I worked on the stuff I don’t really recognise it – the book never ever gives a feel of what it was like at any level except for a few senior managers. Anyone want to start writing the real stuff?
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/pinkoes-and-traitors-by-jean-seaton-book-review-history-of-the-bbc-examines-its-uneasy-relations-with-the-establishment-10072421.htmlhttp://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/01/pinkoes-and-traitors-bbc-and-nation-1974-1987-jean-seaton-review
“Littered with egregious howlers that wouldn’t last more than half an hour on Wikipedia."
David Brunt
When she can’t get the nationality of Canadian Sydney Newman correct or get his name spelled right (he was the American Sidney Newman, apparently. Who knew?), then how reliable can some of the other content be?
Peter Neill
Or get the name of his previous employer right? (ABC, not ATV)
She seems to have conflated Jimmy Savile and Jimmy Young when referring to Margaret Thatcher.
In fact the book is littered with errors like this.
To counter the favourable reviews referred to by Bernie above – reviews by people who weren’t there – Louis Barfe has written a scathing one for “Private Eye”: it’s worth buying for the review alone.
I’m tempted to write to "Ariel" about the book. I shall read the whole thing when it’s down to 1p + postage. But Ms Seaton must not be allowed to write the next volume.
Bernie Newnham
Louis tells the truth with considerable strength. Whatever happened to the rest of the BBC?
Albert Barber
Similar criticisms levied at the meeting she had at BH the other week. In her defence she said that several more books could have been written but her view of the BBC was the perception of the BBC under Thatcher and the politics behind it. She said the sacking and bullying of Alasdair Milne was shocking and the subsequent DGs were of lesser stuff.
Roger Bunce
She also said that Marmaduke Hussey was a good Chairman! Why am I not convinced?
The only bit of the book I’ve dipped into so far was called ‘The Unions’, in which the ‘getting sacked for working on Crackerjack’ incident is mentioned, but entirely misrepresented!
You realise that, old miser that I am, I have not only splashed out to buy a copy of the book – but now I’ve had to buy a copy of “Private Eye”!
Louis Barfe
You could have borrowed mine. It’s only slightly damaged from being thrown across the room repeatedly.
Somewhat annoyingly, it appears that I’ve made a couple of mistakes of my own in the review, apart from "having being", which is giving me toothache.
I say that Sydney Newman created “Armchair Theatre”. Actually he took it over, but he was the one who turned it into what we all think of as “Armchair Theatre”. I also say that Thatcher appeared on “Jim’ll Fix It” only once, but it seems she was on twice. I checked this against Dan Davies’ biography of Savile, and that gave the distinct impression it was a one-off, which chimed with my memory. I hope these don’t undermine my argument too grievously. It’s a bloody awful book, and if she’s allowed to continue as the Official Historian of the BBC with Brass Candle-Holders, it’s bordering on a national disgrace.
Bernie Newnham
Roger (Bunce) and I were invited by David Allen of the BBCPA to a book signing by Professor Seaton in the Council Chamber at BH. I couldn’t go, but it prompted me to look up David in the book. If you don’t know who he is – you have him to thank for the BBC Micro, a game changer in British schools of the 1980s, and part of the reason that the UK is such a big player in the computer games industry.
It’s on page 51 – one paragraph with no name check for David or the Micro. I was glad I had a legitimate excuse because I know I would have got even more annoyed than I already was.
See also: The BBC Micro
