Empire and broadcasting in the interwar years: towards a consideration of public broadcasting in the British dominions

The article identifies the ambivalent, contradictory identities of those English-speaking listeners in the far-flung outreaches of the Empire in the period between the two world wars who forged complex identities supporting aspects of the British Empire, while nurturing notions of independence with a rapidly changing political, economic and cultural dispensation that made up the 'British world' in the interwar years. The focus remains on the establishment of national public service broadcasters in three of the four original British 'dominions' - Canada, Australia and South Africa - and specifically their interaction with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) during the founding years of public broadcasting in those countries. The research delves into the policies and circumstances that drove this cooperation, and situates these in the context of the larger collaboration between fledging broadcasters within the interwar period of the British Empire.