'Minorities with a Message': The Beveridge Report on Broadcasting (1949-1951) and Wales

This article explores the significance of the report of theBeveridge Committee on Broadcasting (1949–1951)—whichwas charged with considering all aspects of post-war broadcastingin Britain at a time of political, social, economic and culturalchange—in relation to Wales. It argues that the interactionbetween the committee and the Welsh political and cultural andgroups that submitted evidence to the committee allows for aninsight into the cultural politics of Wales during the earlypost-war period. It also argues that a study of the report throwslight onto issues of broadcasting and nationhood, the significanceof the Welsh language in defining nationhood and a nationalconsciousness and the relationship between a minority languageand the state, at a time of political and cultural change. Astudy of the Welsh dimension of the committee's report alsoprovides a framework for an understanding of the broadcastingpolitics of Wales in the 1950s and 1960s. Finally, the articleexemplifies the tensions that existed between what media historianJames Curran calls the ‘newness and modernity’ ofthe broadcast media and a political and cultural elite whichsought to preserve a ‘traditional’ way of life inthe face of the perceived impact of those media.