A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service,
"And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?"
One bright little girl replied, "Because people are sleeping."
Sir John ReithBorn 20 Jul 1889; died 16 Jun 1971 at age 81.(1st Baron) John Charles Walsham Reith was the first Director-General (1927-38) of the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation. Although educated as a civil engineer, he became its founding father. He rejected the American model of unregulated, commercial radio in the 1920s and the fledgling Soviet Union's rigidly controlled state system. Instead, Reith's vision was of an independent British broadcaster able to educate, inform and entertain the whole nation. Newscasts and programming were zealously maintained free from political interference and commercial pressure. Under his direction, broadcasting technology was rapidly developed, program schedules were enlarged, and the BBC enriched the nation's intellectual and cultural life. The reputation for reliability thus gained by the BBC endured long after Reith left the corporation. Remembering his spirit, an annual series of Reith lectures are delivered by invited leading figures using the radio medium to advance greater public understanding of their field. The lecture series celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2008.« |
