Journalists in the service of British foreign policy : the BBC German service and Chamberlain’s appeasement policy, 1938-1939

Abstract

Journalists and the media have not only played a role as political actors in Anglo-German relations, which was independent of their governments. Likewise, they have also worked in the service of their states, surrendering more or less consciously their journalistic independence for the ‘national interest’. One such example is the British propaganda campaign directed at the German public during 1938-1939 with the help of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The campaign is an interesting historical case that shows the enormous influence a government could exert on the media even in a democratic society. This article examines the relationship between the journalists of the BBC German Service and the Foreign Office and offers an insight into the mechanisms of British propaganda production between the Munich Agreement and the outbreak of the Second World War.