Pearson Edexcel · A-Level · History
Course version: 9HI0 · Version from Sept 2015
Mass media and social change in Britain, 1882–2004 - 2 Wireless and the…
Full specification wording
Paper 3, Option 39.2: Mass media and social change in Britain, 1882–2004 - 2 Wireless and the war: propaganda, information and entertainment, 1939-45: Broadcasting to the home front: advice and information; popular light entertainment; the role of government ministries; relationship between entertainment and morale; public attitudes to the BBC.
This topic studies what wartime radio offered people at home.
Checked against the Pearson Edexcel 9HI0 specification (opens in a new tab) on .
- Point 2 of 3
- 4 key terms
Study notes
From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.
The idea
This topic studies what wartime radio offered people at home. Advice and information covered air raids, rationing, evacuation and health through news bulletins and talks. Popular light entertainment included comedy, music and variety such as ITMA, which drew large audiences. Government ministries, especially the Ministry of Information, shaped output by commissioning, advising and sometimes restricting programmes. Entertainment mattered because it sustained morale, offering routine, humour and shared experience during disruption. Public attitudes to the BBC were mixed: listeners valued familiar voices and reliable news, yet resented dull or patronising talks and the licence fee. Study these strands together, asking how far the BBC balanced official purposes with popular taste.
What earns the marks
- Explains how broadcasts gave practical advice and information on air raids, rationing, evacuation and health, and assesses how useful listeners found them.
- Analyses popular light entertainment, including comedy, music and variety, and why it attracted large audiences during the war.
- Examines the role of government ministries, especially the Ministry of Information, in commissioning, guiding and restricting broadcasts.
- Evaluates the relationship between entertainment and morale, and the range of public attitudes to the BBC, including appreciation and criticism.
Common mistakes and how to put them right
Treating entertainment as trivial.
Put it right: Explain how comedy, music and routine programmes supported morale and gave listeners shared experience.
Assuming government ministries wrote and controlled every programme.
Put it right: Show that ministries advised, commissioned and censored while the BBC retained much production and scheduling.
Presenting public opinion as uniformly positive or negative.
Put it right: Distinguish responses to news, talks, entertainment and the licence fee, and note change over time.
Exam tips
- Connect advice, entertainment and ministry activity to the option’s theme of media and social change.
- Use named programmes, presenters or campaigns as evidence and explain their significance for morale or attitudes.
- Balance official aims with listener experience when judging the BBC’s wartime role.
Try the lesson
The start of the Paper 3, Option 39.2: Mass media and social change in Britain, 1882–2004 - 2 Wireless and the war: propaganda, information and entertainment, 1939-45: Broadcasting to the home front: advice and information; popular light entertainment; the role of government ministries; relationship between entertainment and morale; public attitudes to the BBC. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.
Have a go first
What was the primary purpose of the BBC radio programme 'The Kitchen Front' during the Second World War?
Listen
This topic studies what wartime radio offered people at home. Advice and information covered air raids, rationing, evacuation and health through news bulletins and talks. Popular light entertainment included comedy, music and variety such as ITMA, which drew large audiences. Government ministries, especially the Ministry of Information, shaped output by commissioning, advising and sometimes restricting programmes. Entertainment mattered because it sustained morale, offering routine, humour and shared experience during disruption. Public attitudes to the BBC were mixed: listeners valued familiar voices and reliable news, yet resented dull or patronising talks and the licence fee. Study these strands together, asking how far the BBC balanced official purposes with popular taste. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Explains how broadcasts gave practical advice and information on air raids, rationing, evacuation and health, and assesses how useful listeners found them. Analyses popular light entertainment, including comedy, music and variety, and why it attracted large audiences during the war. Examines the role of government ministries, especially the Ministry of Information, in commissioning, guiding and restricting broadcasts. Evaluates the relationship between entertainment and morale, and the range of public attitudes to the BBC, including appreciation and criticism. A common slip: Treating entertainment as trivial. Instead, explain how comedy, music and routine programmes supported morale and gave listeners shared experience. Exam tip: Connect advice, entertainment and ministry activity to the option’s theme of media and social change.
Key words
Say what each word means before you turn the card.
Radio as a source of practical information
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Popular entertainment and national shared experience
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Government influence over broadcasting
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Morale, public opinion and the BBC’s reputation
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See every definition
- Radio as a source of practical information
- Wartime broadcasts gave advice and information on air raids, rationing, evacuation and health through news bulletins and talks.
- Popular entertainment and national shared experience
- Comedy, music and variety such as ITMA drew large audiences and offered routine, humour and shared experience during disruption.
- Government influence over broadcasting
- Ministries, especially the Ministry of Information, shaped output by commissioning, advising and sometimes restricting programmes.
- Morale, public opinion and the BBC’s reputation
- Entertainment sustained morale, while listeners valued familiar voices and reliable news yet resented dull or patronising talks and the licence fee.
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