A timeline of notable events relating to BBC Radio News.
1920s 1922 18 October – The British Broadcasting Company is formed. 14 November – First BBC broadcasts from London (station 2LO) and the opening day saw the broadcast of the very first BBC News bulletin. Wishing to avoid competition, newspaper publishers persuaded the government to ban the BBC from broadcasting news before 7pm and to force it to use wire service copy instead of reporting on its own.
1923 No events.
1924 No events.
1925 No events.
1926 4 May – The General strike begins and the BBC broadcasts five news bulletins a day as no newspapers are published.
1927 No events.
1928 No events.
1929 6 March – Week in Westminster is broadcast for the first time.BBC History
1930s 1930 No events.
1931 No events.
1932 No events.
1933 No events.
1934 Following it gaining the right to edit its own bulletins, the BBC creates its own news operation.
1935 No events.
1936 No events.
1937 No events.
1938 3 January – The BBC begins broadcasting its first foreign-language radio service, in Arabic.
1939 Creation of BBC Monitoring.
1940s 1940 11 May – The BBC starts a news service in Hindi.
1941 No events.
1942 No events.
1943 No events.
1944 No events.
1945 9 October – The first edition of Today in Parliament is broadcast.
1946 BBC Radio bulletins began to be began simulcast on television with a still picture of Big Ben.
1947 No events.
1948 12 October – The first edition of Any Questions? is broadcast, initially broadcast as a six-week fortnightly series, a six-programme series on West of England Home Service.
1949 September – Any Questions? becomes a weekly programme, still broadcast for the West Country but with a national repeat six days later.
1950s 1950 September – Any Questions? starts being broadcast live across the UK on the BBC Light Programme with the repeat on the Home Service.
1951 No events.
1952 No events.
1953 2 June – The coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey is broadcast by the BBC and is broadcast on both the Home Service and on The Light Programme.
1954 October – Any Answers? a feedback spin-off from Any Questions?, is broadcast on the Home Service for the first time.
1955 The first edition of From Our Own Correspondent is broadcast.
1956 No events.
1957 28 October – The Today programme is broadcast on the Home Service for the first time. It is intended as an alternative series of “topical talks”, broadcast as an alternative to light music. It is broadcast in two 20-minute slots.BBC Genome Project - BBC Home Service listings 28 October 1957
1958 No events.
1959 No events.
1960s 1960 19 September – A new evening news and comment programme called Ten O’Clock debuts on the Home Service.
1961 No events.
1962 No events.
1963 31 August – The Today programme becomes part of the BBC's current affairs department and starts to adopt a more newsier format.
1964 No events.
1965 4 October – The World at One is broadcast on the Home Service for the first time.
1966 No events.
1967 17 September – The World This Weekend is broadcast on the Home Service for the first time. 30 September – BBC Radio 1 is launched and a news service of bulletins on the half-hour, as opposed to on the hour is created for the new station. At the same time, the Light Programme, the third network (Network Three / the Third Programme) and the Home Service are renamed Radios 2, 3 and 4 respectively.
1968 No events.
1969 10 July – The BBC publishes a report called "Broadcasting in the Seventies" proposing the reorganisation of programmes on the national networks and replacing regional broadcasting on BBC Radio 4 with BBC Local Radio.
1970s 1970 3 April – For the first time, both airings of Any Questions are broadcast on Radio 4. Previously, the station had only broadcast the Saturday repeat as the Friday night debut broadcast had been on BBC Radio 2. 6 April – The first editions of PM and The World Tonight are broadcast on Radio 4. 10 April – The first broadcast of a new news and current affairs programme Analysis.
1971 No events.
1972 No events.
1973 10 September – Newsbeat bulletins air on BBC Radio 1 for the first time.
1974 No events.
1975 9 June – Proceedings in the Parliament of the United Kingdom are broadcast on radio for the first time.
1976 No events.
1977 2 May – BBC Radio 4 launches a new breakfast programme Up to the Hour. Consequently, The Today Programme is reduced from a continuous two-hour programme to two 25-minute slots. 1 July – The BBC launches its first ever 30-minute news bulletin when schedule changes to BBC Radio 4 see the 15-minute 6pm bulletin on weekdays doubled in length, a change which sees the bulletin's name changed from the generic News title, used for all news bulletins, to The Six O'Clock News. The weekend 6pm news bulletin remains as a 15-minute broadcast and continues to be listed as News. 2 October – The first edition of personal finance programme Money Box is broadcast.
1978 3 April – Permanent radio broadcasts of proceedings in the House of Commons begin. Radio 4 marks the first day with an afternoon of live coverage. The station goes on to broadcast Prime Minister's Questions for the next year. 3 July – After just over a year on air, Up to the Hour is cancelled. Consequently, Today once again becomes a continuous two-hour programme. Also, a new weekday 6am News Briefing is introduced.
1979 No events.
1980s 1980 Summer – Due to the continued expansion of BBC Local Radio, regional news bulletins on Radio 4 end, apart from in the south west as this is now the only part of England still without any BBC local station.
1981 No events.
1982 31 December – The last regional opt-out programming on Radio 4 ends when the final edition of Morning Sou'West is broadcast ahead of the forthcoming launch of BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall.
1983 1 February – In Business is broadcast on Radio 4 for the first time.
1984 No events.
1985 No events. 1986 No events.
1987 3 January – The Today programme is extended to six days a week when it launches a Saturday edition. 9 February – The 9am and 5pm news bulletins on BBC Radio 3 are replaced by a ten-minute bulletin from the BBC World Service. The bulletins are titled World Service News.
1988 15 January – After less than a year, the World Service news bulletins broadcast on Radio 3 are axed. June – After 66 years at Broadcasting House, the BBC Radio News operation moves to BBC Television Centre.
1989 No events.
1990s 1990 8 January – A new 30-minute news programme News 90 replaces the teatime edition of Newsbeat on Radio 1.
1991 17 January–2 March – Radio 4 News FM, the first rolling BBC Radio news service is on air during the first Gulf War. It broadcasts on BBC Radio 4’s FM frequencies with the regular scheduled service continuing on long wave. refers Sheena McDonald, "Scud-FM goes critical—BBC gears up for round-the-clock news service", page 25, The Guardian 17 August 1992 16 September – The main BBC Radio 4 service moves from long wave to FM as FM coverage has now been extended to cover almost all of the UK. Opt-outs, which include live news coverage aired outside of the regularly scheduled news programmes, such as live coverage of Prime Ministers Questions, are transferred to long wave.
1992 late March-7 April – Radio 4 long wave opts out of the main Radio 4 schedule to provide additional coverage of the latest developments in the general election campaign. Called Campaign Report, the coverage runs for around four hours each weekday, as three separate programmes airing mid-morning, early afternoon and early evening.BBC Programme Index 15 October – The BBC announces plans to launch a continuous news service on BBC Radio 4’s long wave frequency. The date of 5 April 1994 is set as the launch date.Rolling News, Radio Style The plan would result in Radio 4 broadcasting exclusively on FM.
1993 There is widespread opposition to the BBC's plans to launch a rolling news service on Radio 4’s long wave frequency, not least due to Radio 4 still not being universally available on FM. The proposals to launch the service on long wave are dropped.
1994 10 January – The teatime edition of Newsbeat returns to Radio 1 after four years away. The bulletin airs in its old slot, 5:30pm to 5:45pm. 25 March – The Financial World Tonight is broadcast on Radio 4 for the final time, ahead of its move to the new news and sport station BBC Radio 5 Live. 28 March – At 5am, BBC Radio 5 Live launches. The new 24-hour station replaces the old service's educational and children's programmes with a new rolling news service, whilst retaining the sports programmes from the old Radio 5.
1995 27 September – The BBC begins regular Digital Audio Broadcasting, from the Crystal Palace transmitting station. Among the channels offered is a relay of events in Parliament.
1996 No events.
1997 31 August – Regular programming on the BBC's radio and television stations is abandoned to provide ongoing news coverage of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. Radio 4 airs a special programme from BBC Radio News which is also carried on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and BBC Radio 5 Live. 6 September – Live coverage of the funeral of Princess Diana is broadcast on all of the BBC national radio networks, as well as on all BBC Local and National radio stations.
1998 22 March – 5 Live's late night news bulletin News Extra and phone-in/talk show After Hours are broadcast for the final time. The next day a new three hour late show called Late Night Live launches and Up All Night is extended to become a four-hour show. 6 April – As part of an extensive shake-up to BBC Radio 4's schedules, the weekday editions of The Today programme are extended by 30 minutes to three hours., a Saturday edition of PM is launched and The Week in Westminster is replaced by a new programme, broadcast on Sunday late evenings called The Westminster Hour. 19 April – A new Sunday morning current affairs programme Broadcasting House launches.BBC Genome Project - BBC Radio 4 listings 19 April 1998
1999 3 April – The first edition of a weekend world news programme Global is broadcast on Radio 5 Live. 4 April – Radio 5 Live launches a new "Sunday Service of morning political news".
2000s 2000 14 November – The audio relay on DAB of BBC Parliament closes.
2001 No events.
2002 6 April – The Weekend News debuts on Radio 5 Live. The new programme replaces Global. 29 April – Wake Up to Money which had previously been part of Morning Reports, becomes a programme in its own right and is extended from 15 to 30 minutes. Consequently, Morning Reports now broadcasts for 30 minutes. 2002 sees the launch of four new digital spin-off stations, two of which carry news. BBC Radio 1Xtra habits own specific news service called 1Xtra News and BBC Radio 6 Music broadcasts news bulletins at half past the hour.
2003 No events.
2004 No events.
2005 No events.
2006 23 April – The Radio 4 UK Theme is used for the last time, amid controversy over its axing by Radio 4 controller Mark Damazer. It is axed to make way for a 'pacy news briefing'.
2007 29 July – Long-running obituary programme Brief Lives is broadcast on Radio 5 Live for the final time. 12 October – iPM is broadcast for the first time. It airs after the Saturday edition of the main programme.
2008 No events.
2009 9 January – The Midday News is broadcast on Radio 5 Live for the final time.
2010s 2010 5 September – Long running evening news programme The Weekend News ends and is replaced by hour-long programmes, including 5 Live Investigates, Pienaar's Politics and a new business show On the Money.Radio 5 Live launches new look to Sunday evenings featuring cream of business, politics and current affairs BBC Press Office, 10 August 2010
2011 7 November – The World at One is extended from 30 to 45 minutes.
2012