I am currently undertaking research on the BBC Persian Service during the
Iranian Revolution in 1979 and the lead-up to it, particularly looking at
the relationship between the BBC and the British Government. It will
describe the pressures the BBC faced from the British Embassy in Tehran
pressurising the Foreign Office to change the BBC's tone after complaints
from the Shah. It will also assess how the relationship between the BBC and
the British Government had changed, with their boundaries being more
strongly set in stone, despite the informal phone calls and lunches that
occurred. It serves to build on the basis of my undergraduate study on the
BBC during the Rhodesian crisis over the construction of a relay station in
Francistown, Bechuanaland after Ian Smith's illegal Unilateral Declaration
of Independence in 1965 (which I am currently cutting down to enter it into
the Twentieth Century British History competition).
Does anyone have any contacts within the BBC who I can contact about the BBC
PErsian Service? In particular, does anyone know how I can contact Gerard
Mansell who was Managing Director of External Broadcasts at the time?
Finally, if anyone has any general comments and suggestions, it would all be
greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time and effort in reading this.
Best wishes,
Stephen Morris.
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