Pidgin
Pilkington expressed disquiet at the portrayal
of physical violence in TV programmes and
of a ‘comprehensive carelessness about moral
standards generally’.
Most of the Report’s recommendations were
ignored, yet it did have its eff ect, giving the BBC,
staggering from the impact of ITV competi-
tion, a shot in the arm. And it was through
Pilkington that the BBC was the fi rst to receive
a second channel (BBC2, 1964). John Whale in
Th e Politics of the Media (Fontana, 1977) says
Pilkington ‘aimed at large effects and missed
them’. Nevertheless, Pilkington established a
set of judgmental criteria, albeit elitist-cultural,
which have formed a rallying point ever since
for broadcasting reformers. See topic guides
under commissions, committees, legisla-
tion; media institutions.
Pilot study A preliminary testing or ‘experimen-
tal experiment’ in which the researcher seeks
to try out a new idea, system or approach; to
determine whether an intended study is feasible,
to clarify assumptions and improve instruments
of measurement.
Pirate radio Th e monopoly of radio broad-
casting held in the UK by the BBC was
colourfully challenged in the 1960s by ‘pirate’
stations broadcasting from ancient forts and
ships anchored in the North Sea. Th ey played
non-stop popular music, collected advertising
revenues, paid no royalties on the music they
played and thus made substantial profi ts.
In 1964 Radio Caroline, from a ship called the
Caroline, took to the air on 28 March, one of a
long line of pirates. Founder Ronan O’Rahilly
received over 20,000 letters in the fi rst ten days
of broadcasting. Th e Duke of Bedford was the
fi rst advertiser, for Woburn Abbey – his adver-
tisement brought in 4,500 people the next day.
War on the pirates was initially conducted in
the Council of Europe. Th e European Agreement
for the Prevention of Broadcasts transmitted
outside National Territories, signed by member
states in Strasbourg in 1965, sought to outlaw
pirate broadcasting throughout the countries of
the Common Market.
This was followed, in the UK, with the
Labour government’s Marine, etc. Broadcasting
(Off ences) Act, which became law in 1967. Among
sections of the broadcasting and political estab-
lishment there was fear that the pirates might not
only undermine existing systems of broadcasting,
but also have an ‘undesirable’ cultural and even
political impact. Th e 1967 Act made it an off ence
to direct unlicensed broadcasts into the UK and
to buy advertising time on illegal channels.entertainment, comedy, etc. Th e title Mail Art
has been given to a practice widespread in the
late 1970s and 1980s of artists exchanging visual
ideas by postcard.
During the same period the postcard became
popular in a propagandist role, especially
among protest groups of the Left. A classic
piece of photomontage in postcard form is Peter
Kennard’s version of the painting by the nine-
teenth-century British painter, John Constable,
The Haywain. Kennard superimposes cruise
missiles on the horse-drawn wagon as it passes
through a tranquil Suff olk landscape. Such cards
use cartoons, photographs, photograffiti and
quotations.
Inevitably cards of past ages have become
collectors’ items; the word Deltiology (from
the Greek, deltion, small picture) was coined by
American Randall Rhoades for picture-postcard
collecting and study. See cigarette cards:
cultural indicators; posters.
Pidgin See communication: intercultural
communication.
Piggybacking See internet: wireless inter-
net.
PIE chart A model proposed by Randy Bobbitt
and Ruth Sullivan in Developing the Public
Relations Campaign (Pearson, 2005) to outline
the three-step process required for the develop-
ment of a public relations campaign. Th ese are
as follows: ‘Planning. Research and analyse the
problem in order to determine how to most
effectively respond to it. Implementation.
Execute the response. Evaluation. Measure the
effectiveness of the response and determine
what needs to be done next.’
Pilkington Committee Report on Broad-
casting (UK), 1962 Set up under the chair-
manship of Sir Harry Pilkington in 1960, the
Committee’s chief concern in a strongly worded
297-page deposition was the nation’s cultural
and intellectual life, and the eff ect upon these
of broadcasting now that commercial television
had been on the scene since 1954: ‘Our conclu-
sion,’ declared the Committee, ‘is that where it
prevails it operates to lower general standards of
enjoyment and understanding.’
Th e BBC emerged unscathed, and not a little
praised, from the Committee Report: ‘Th e BBC
knows good broadcasting and by and large they
are providing it.’ Th e ‘villain’ of the scenario was
ITV. So dissatisfi ed with ITV programmes were
the Committee that one of their recommenda-
tions (never put into practice) was that the Inde-
pendent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) take on
responsibility for the planning of programmes.