Charlesworth, Diane (2022) "Thank heavens for little girls! Hidden within the archives: the brief television stardom of Jennifer Gay, senior announcer of junior television.". In: Disrupting Dominance in the Archive conference, 5th -6th December 2022, London College of Communication, Elephant and Castle, London, UK.
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Item Type: | Conference or Workshop contribution (Presentation) |
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Item Status: | Live Archive |
Abstract
The paper analyses the brief star presence of Jennifer Gay as the face of early BBC children’s television and bridge to the child audience as in-vision continuity announcer from 1948-1952. This period of BBC children’s television history is largely a footnote in the standard histories of the department, as scholarly and industry emphases are focused on the stewardship of Freda Lingstrom, who took over the role from the acting Head, Cecil Madden in June 1951. Drawing on material from Left Staff and artist files, internal memoranda, and policy reports from the BBC Written Archives as well as press articles, this paper looks at how Gay was crafted, in particular by Madden, into a television personality; a status that was underpinned by the Corporation putting her under contract. Putting her under contract, and the debate this generated within BBC middle and senior management and administrative ranks indicated the complexities involved, due to the legal and ideological construction of childhood as one defined by schooling rather than by employment. More specifically to internal politics, this debate demonstrated the Corporation’s continuing unease with the linkage of its public service broadcasting duties and remit to notions of fame, particularly when embodied by the female child. The presence of Gay and two other female child in-vision announcers in a lesser capacity, Janette Scott and Elizabeth Cruft, as guides, mediators and representatives of the child-on-screen will be analysed, in what will be argued to be the context of a wider cultural relevance of the ‘girl’ and constructions of girlhood in post-war Britain.
Keywords: | Jennifer Gay, BBC children's television, presentation as performance, Girlhood, Post WWII |
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Subjects: | V Historical and Philosophical studies > V214 English History P Mass Communications and Documentation > P301 Television studies V Historical and Philosophical studies > V146 Modern History 1920-1949 P Mass Communications and Documentation > P132 Archive studies |
Divisions: | College of Arts > Lincoln School of Film, Media & Journalism > Lincoln School of Film, Media & Journalism (Media) |
ID Code: | 52792 |
Deposited On: | 13 Dec 2022 14:36 |
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