"This is not censorship": The BBC and the Broadcasting Ban (1988-1994)

The broadcasting ban was in force between 1988 and 1994 in the United Kingdom. It is an example of direct censorship that affected the television and radio coverage of the situation in Northern Ireland. It was introduced when violence was escalating in Northern Ireland and when the broadcasting indu...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Élodie Gallet
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Université de Poitiers 2022-01-01
Series:Cahiers du MIMMOC
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/mimmoc/10215
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849424225818902528
author Élodie Gallet
author_facet Élodie Gallet
author_sort Élodie Gallet
collection DOAJ
description The broadcasting ban was in force between 1988 and 1994 in the United Kingdom. It is an example of direct censorship that affected the television and radio coverage of the situation in Northern Ireland. It was introduced when violence was escalating in Northern Ireland and when the broadcasting industry sought to assert its independence from the State by protecting its sources and giving a voice to those identified as the enemies. The notices issued on 19 October 1988 aimed both at calming the violence and at impeding directly the communication operated by the Republicans, in particular by Sinn Féin and the IRA. Thus, the Government used broadcasting, and TV in particular, in an attempt to stifle the voice of its enemies and to legitimise the government’s policy in Northern Ireland in the eyes of the public.While these measures did not radically change the representation of the IRA on TV, they did, however, have the effect of reinforcing the journalists, and the BBC’s self-censorship. They also had the unintended consequence of diverting media attention to other issues such as the links between loyalist paramilitaries and British security forces, or the daily lives of people in Northern Ireland.
format Article
id doaj-art-e33e83aa98604a0790afbd7f87a2ab14
institution Kabale University
issn 1951-6789
language English
publishDate 2022-01-01
publisher Université de Poitiers
record_format Article
series Cahiers du MIMMOC
spelling doaj-art-e33e83aa98604a0790afbd7f87a2ab142025-08-20T03:30:18ZengUniversité de PoitiersCahiers du MIMMOC1951-67892022-01-012710.4000/mimmoc.10215"This is not censorship": The BBC and the Broadcasting Ban (1988-1994)Élodie GalletThe broadcasting ban was in force between 1988 and 1994 in the United Kingdom. It is an example of direct censorship that affected the television and radio coverage of the situation in Northern Ireland. It was introduced when violence was escalating in Northern Ireland and when the broadcasting industry sought to assert its independence from the State by protecting its sources and giving a voice to those identified as the enemies. The notices issued on 19 October 1988 aimed both at calming the violence and at impeding directly the communication operated by the Republicans, in particular by Sinn Féin and the IRA. Thus, the Government used broadcasting, and TV in particular, in an attempt to stifle the voice of its enemies and to legitimise the government’s policy in Northern Ireland in the eyes of the public.While these measures did not radically change the representation of the IRA on TV, they did, however, have the effect of reinforcing the journalists, and the BBC’s self-censorship. They also had the unintended consequence of diverting media attention to other issues such as the links between loyalist paramilitaries and British security forces, or the daily lives of people in Northern Ireland.https://journals.openedition.org/mimmoc/10215Irlande du NordtélévisionmédiasBBCcensure
spellingShingle Élodie Gallet
"This is not censorship": The BBC and the Broadcasting Ban (1988-1994)
Cahiers du MIMMOC
Irlande du Nord
télévision
médias
BBC
censure
title "This is not censorship": The BBC and the Broadcasting Ban (1988-1994)
title_full "This is not censorship": The BBC and the Broadcasting Ban (1988-1994)
title_fullStr "This is not censorship": The BBC and the Broadcasting Ban (1988-1994)
title_full_unstemmed "This is not censorship": The BBC and the Broadcasting Ban (1988-1994)
title_short "This is not censorship": The BBC and the Broadcasting Ban (1988-1994)
title_sort this is not censorship the bbc and the broadcasting ban 1988 1994
topic Irlande du Nord
télévision
médias
BBC
censure
url https://journals.openedition.org/mimmoc/10215
work_keys_str_mv AT elodiegallet thisisnotcensorshipthebbcandthebroadcastingban19881994