''BBC History Magazine'' is a British publication devoted to both British and world history and aimed at all levels of knowledge and interest. The publication releases thirteen editions a year, one per month and a Christmas special edition, and is owned by BBC Studios but is published under license by the

Immediate Media Company Immediate Media Company Limited (styled as Immediate Media Co) is a British multinational publishing house that currently publishes a significant range of titles, including ''Radio Times, BBC Top Gear, BBC Good Food'' and a host of others. In ...

. ''BBC History'' is the biggest selling history magazine in the UK and is growing in circulation by nearly 7% every year. The magazine consists of topical features, often aligning with programming currently showing on BBC

Radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...

and

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and written by academic historians, historical analysis of news events and comparison with similar previous events, reviews of new books and media and features into significant locations in history.

History

The ''BBC History Magazine'' was launched in May 2000 by BBC Magazines with Greg Neale, an experienced journalist and history graduate, appointed as editor. In February 2004, parent company BBC Worldwide acquired publishing company Origin Publishing, which had published the rival ''

Living History Magazine ''Living History'' was a monthly history magazine launched in April 2003 by Origin Publishing in the United Kingdom. The magazine was devoted entirely to British history. As the name implied it was intended to encourage readers to get out and see ...

'' since April 2003. ''Living History Magazine'' was then incorporated into ''BBC History Magazine'' by including topics previously covered by Living History Magazine and a pull-out exploring guide, and by appointing Living History editor Dave Musgrove, a journalist and doctor of medieval archaeology. Following the merger, the magazine was more successful with increased sales and subscriptions. The magazine has since expanded abroad: in March 2010 a partnership with Spanish publishers Ediciones Nobel launched the Spanish edition as ''BBC Historia'' and in March 2011, the Hungarian edition (retaining the English name) was launched by Hungarian publisher Kossuth Kiadó, featuring articles from Hungarian historians in addition to some translated from English. Gábor Papp (editor of chief from 2011) died in August 2020. In November 2020 Ignác Romsics, Hungarian historian became the new editor of chief. He decided some changes of the formula of magazine. In May 2022 Kossuth Kiadó annouced the cessation of the magazine. In August 2022 publisher Kocsis Kiadó Zrt. (managed by András Sándor Kocsis, former leader of Kossuth Kiadó) started to publish the magazine with some changes. Greek edition was launched in December 2020.

In the news

''BBC History Magazine'' regularly attracts media attention with its more provocative features. In the January 2006 issue, the magazine's 10 Worst Britons story was widely reported, as was its "Day for Britain" feature in the April issue (when a vote suggested that the day on which

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by t ...

was signed would be a suitable day for a celebration of Britishness, to the ire of some in Scotland), and then in August 2006, its "Best

British Prime Minister The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...

" feature also hit the headlines. In 2008, much media capital was made of the question posed in the magazine in a feature by Dave Musgrove: was it the right time to ask for the Bayeux Tapestry to be brought over from France for an exhibition? In November 2009, Radio 4's ''

Today Programme ''Today'', colloquially known as ''the Today programme'', is a long-running British morning news and current-affairs Radio program, radio programme on BBC Radio 4. Broadcast on Monday to Saturday from 6:00 am to 9:00 am, it is produced by BBC N ...

'' picked up on a story in the magazine about when history ends and current affairs begin.

Advisory board

The magazine once had an advisory board of historians including: *

Simon Schama Sir Simon Michael Schama (; born 13 February 1945) is an English historian specialising in art history, Dutch history, Jewish history, and French history. He is a University Professor of History and Art History at Columbia University. He fi ...

* Richard Evans *

Laurence Rees Laurence Rees (born 1957) is an English historian. He is a BAFTA winning historical documentary filmmaker and a British Book Award winning author of several books about Adolf Hitler, the Nazis and the atrocities committed, especially by them, ...

Kenneth O Morgan Kenneth Owen Morgan, Baron Morgan, (born 16 May 1934) is a Welsh historian and author, known especially for his writings on modern British history and politics and on Welsh history. He is a regular reviewer and broadcaster on radio and televi ...

Ian Kershaw Sir Ian Kershaw (born 29 April 1943) is an English historian whose work has chiefly focused on the social history of 20th-century Germany. He is regarded by many as one of the world's leading experts on Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany, and is pa ...

Podcast

The magazine launched, in June 2007, its very first podcast, which features interviews with leading historians.BBC History Magazine podcast
/ref>

References

External links