Why are there so many fragments of radio programmes in the BBC archive trial?
In the early days of radio whole programmes were very rarely recorded. Instead the archivist would have a look at everything that was broadcast and choose the ‘best bits’ to keep. That means that the Sound Archive is full of fantastic ‘bits’ of radio. We can’t always tell what programmes they came from or how they were presented to the original audience – which means the titles of these programmes in the archive might well not be the same as when they were first broadcast.
