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Douglas Muggeridge (1928 – 26 February 1985)
[''BBC annual report and handbook 1986'', 1985, , p. 160-1] was the controller of
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...
and
BBC Radio 2
BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...
from February 1969 until 1976.
[Martin, Chad Andrew (2003) ''Paradise now: youth politics and the British counterculture, 1958-1974'', Stanford University Press, p. 134]
Biography
Muggeridge was educated at
Shrewsbury School
Shrewsbury School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13 –18) in Shrewsbury.
Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by Royal Charter, it was originally a boarding school for boys; girls have been admitted into the ...
. He first worked as a reporter for the ''
Liverpool Post
The ''Liverpool Post'' was a newspaper published by Reach plc, Trinity Mirror in Liverpool, Merseyside, England. The newspaper and its website ceased publication on 19 December 2013.
Until 13 January 2012 it was a daily morning newspaper, wi ...
'', joining the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in 1956 as a radio producer.
He was appointed as controller of Radio 1 & 2 in February 1969. Following on from
Robin Scott the first Controller for the two networks, Muggeridge tried to up-date the BBC's thinking on pop music radio. Although not a great pop music fan himself, he was responsible for giving both networks their individual identities and for introducing a twice-daily news magazine programme to Radio 1. Entitled ''Newsbeat'', the programme still features on the network today. In 1971, he appointed
Rodney Collins - known as a supporter of pirate radio through his weekly music newspaper columns - as Publicity Officer for the two networks in an attempt to gain more coverage for Radio 1 in music papers such as the ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'', ''
Melody Maker
''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...
'', ''Disc'' and ''
Record Mirror
''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...
''. In 1972, Muggeridge signed up leading BBC broadcasters such as
Tony Blackburn
Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC L ...
,
Jimmy Young and
Pete Murray to long-term contracts in the face of the challenge from the new local commercial radio stations.
[U.K. Radio Figures up, MOR Slant for Network]
, ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'', 1 January 1972, p. 27, retrieved 2010-12-18 He was later the Director of Programmes and Deputy Managing Director of Radio, before becoming Managing Director of External Broadcasting in 1981, overseeing the
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is an international broadcasting, international broadcaster owned and operated by the BBC, with funding from the Government of the United Kingdom, British Government through the Foreign Secretary, Foreign Secretary's o ...
.
[Briggs, Asa (1995) ''The History of Broadcasting in the United Kingdom, vol. 5: Competition'', Oxford University Press, , p. 704] He was
Malcolm Muggeridge
Thomas Malcolm Muggeridge (24 March 1903 – 14 November 1990) was an English journalist and satirist. His father, H. T. Muggeridge, was a socialist politician and one of the early Labour Party (UK), Labour Party Members of Parliament (for Romfo ...
's nephew.
He died on 26 February 1985 in
St Thomas' Hospital
St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. It is one of the institutions that compose the King's Health Partners, an academic health science centre. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foun ...
, London.
[Douglas Muggeridge]
, ''Toledo Blade
''The Blade'', also known as the ''Toledo Blade'', is a newspaper in Toledo, Ohio published daily online and printed Thursday and Sunday by Block Communications. The newspaper was first published on December 19, 1835.
Overview
The first issue o ...
'', 27 February 1985, p. 14, retrieved 2010-12-18
References
1928 births
1985 deaths
BBC radio producers
BBC executives
BBC Radio 1 controllers
BBC Radio 2 controllers
People educated at Shrewsbury School
20th-century British businesspeople
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