Anthony Charles Whitby(19 November 1929 – 25 February 1975)[3][4]was a BritishBBCRadio producerand television current affairs editor who was Controller ofBBC Radio 4from 1970 to 1975.[5]
Tony Whitby | |
|---|---|
| Born | Anthony Charles Whitby 19 November 1929[1] Mere, Wiltshire,England |
| Died | 25 February 1975 (aged 45) Kensington,Greater London, England |
| Other names | Tony Lesser |
| Education | Bristol Cathedral School |
| Alma mater | St Edmund Hall, Oxford |
| Spouse | [2] |
Early life and education
editWhitby was born inMere, Wiltshireand was educated atBristol Cathedral School,where he won a scholarship toSt Edmund Hall, Oxford.[5]There he wrote a thesis onMatthew Arnold.[6][7]
Career
editWhitby began his career as acivil servantin theCivil Servicefrom 1954 to 1959, working in theColonial Office.[5][8]
Whitby joined theBBCas aradio produceronAt Home and Abroadin the 1950s.[8]In 1961, Whitby transferred to television as a studio director ofPanorama,and later an editor onGallery,[6]Tonightand24 Hours.Whitby was Secretary of the BBC,[8]before his appointment as Controller ofRadio 4in 1969, taking up the post in January 1970.[6]In this post, he gained a reputation for shrewdly picking out the ideas of others and embellishing them by adding his own thoughts and suggestions. He had no intention of creating a new schedule from scratch, but he wanted a more topical and a more varied flavour - to make Radio 4, in his words, like a "well-labelled library that has a few surprises in it". So, in 1970, along came the unashamedly seriousAnalysisand the magisterialWorld Tonight,the bright and breezy 'commuter magazine'PM Reportsand a phone-in calledIt's Your Line,the satirical sketch-showWeek Ending,and the consumer magazineYou and Yours.[9]In 1972, Whitby commissioned the first series ofI’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue[10]and in 1973Kaleidoscope.[7]In 2010,David Hendy,lecturer in broadcasting history at theUniversity of Westminster,said:
"Looking back, what's most striking about Whitby's revolution of 1970 is how genuinely eclectic it made Radio 4, with programmes stretching across a suddenly wider spectrum, from the intellectually demanding or disturbing at one end to the faintly scurrilous or comforting at the other. The changes 40 years ago set Radio 4 on its long-term trajectory: away from the dusty tones of the somewhat middlebrow oldHome Service,to the tougher, livelier, more authoritative, network we have today ".[9]
Whitby also wrote several plays under the pseudonymTony Lesser.[5]
His wife wasJoy Whitby,known for her work in children's television.[11]
He died at age 45, after a long illness.[5]
References
edit- ^England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007
- ^England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916-2005
- ^David HendyLife on Air,Oxford University Press, 2008 [2007]
- ^Simon ElmesAnd Now on Radio 4: A Celebration of the World's Best Radio Station,Arrow (pb), 2008 [2007], p.32
- ^abcde"Anthony Whitby – Controller of Radio 4".The Times.27 February 1975. p. 16.
- ^abcThe Birth of BBC Radio 4’sAnalysis,Hugh Chignell
- ^abMainly fair, moderate, or good, Stefan Collini,The Guardian,22 September 2007
- ^abcBournemouth University BBC Radio 4 Analysis Archive ProjectArchived2011-09-29 at theWayback Machine
- ^abA year of anniversaries on Radio 4, David Hendy, 6 October 2010
- ^I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue,
- ^Samira Ahmed"Joy Whitby: a life spent telling children's stories on TV",The Daily Telegraph1 February 2013