Prize Lectureship

Prize Lecturer 2005 - Joan Bakewell

Television and Culture - Was there ever a Golden Age?

The Foundation's 2005 Prize Lectures were delivered on Monday, 17 October at The Royal Museum, Lothian Street, Edinburgh and again on Wednesday, 19 October at The Bute Hall, Unversity of Glasgow, by journalist and broadcaster Joan Bakewell.

It is easily said nowadays that "television has dumbed down". The sentiment is one of regret and nostalgia for a so-called "golden age". But how golden was it? Joan Bakewell's television career spanned those golden decades and in her Prize Lectures she examined what television was really like then, and why and how our perceptions of television's value have shifted. An edited version of the text of the lecture is available for download in pdf format. [Download file]

Previous Prize Lectures have been delivered by many distinguished individuals; to view the most recent lectures, please click on the links below:

Prize Lecture 2004 : Prize Lecture 2003 : Prize Lecture 2002 : There was no Prize Lecture in 2001 : Prize Lecture 2000 : Prize Lecture 1999