GCSE History | Media, Communications, Leisure and Entertainment

History Quiz - Britain: Media, Communications And Leisure: 1960-1979 - Media And Entertainment (Questions)

From Beatles broadcasts to colour TV, media and entertainment in 1960s and 1970s Britain changed fast, shaping how people spent leisure time and saw the wider world.

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Fascinating Fact:

The launch of ITV in 1955 and BBC2 in 1964 increased choice. Commercial television brought advertising into living rooms.

In GCSE History, this topic explores how media and entertainment in Britain developed between 1960 and 1979. You will look at changing television, radio, cinema and popular music, who had access to new leisure activities, and how programmes were funded, regulated and sometimes criticised for their impact on society and values.

Key Terms

Broadcasting: Sending television or radio programmes out so that they can be received in homes across a region or country.
Commercial television: Television that raises most of its money from selling advertising time to companies, rather than relying only on licence fees.
Licence fee: A payment made by households with a television set to fund public service broadcasting, such as the BBC.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How did television entertainment change in Britain in the 1960s and 1970s?

By the late 1960s most households owned a television, more channels became available and colour broadcasting spread. Viewers could watch a wider range of dramas, comedies, music shows and live sport, which made TV central to family leisure time.

What new types of media and entertainment became popular 1960-1979?

New forms included pop music shows, longer-playing records, teenage magazines, game shows and chat shows. There was also growth in radio aimed at younger listeners and more opportunities to see films and live music, especially in larger towns and cities.

Why do GCSE History courses study media and entertainment 1960-1979?

GCSE History covers this topic to show how everyday life changed in modern Britain. Media and entertainment reveal attitudes to class, gender, youth and consumerism, and help explain wider social and political debates in the later twentieth century.

Try These Related Quizzes

Which broadsheet newspaper, formerly a regional paper, was relaunched in 1959 under a different name and soon became the champion of left/liberal values?

[ ]	The Daily Telegraph
[ ]	The Guardian
[ ]	The Financial Times
[ ]	The Independent

In 1967 the BBC Home Service changed its name. What was it now called?

[ ]	Radio 1
[ ]	Radio 3
[ ]	Radio 4
[ ]	Radio 2

Sir Malcolm Sargent was a well known classical music conductor, who died in 1967. With which annual summer music festival, based at the Royal Albert Hall in London, was he closely associated?

[ ]	The Holland Park Festival
[ ]	The City of London Festival
[ ]	The Proms
[ ]	The Westminster Festival

Which of the following musicals was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber?

[ ]	Oliver
[ ]	Jesus Christ Superstar
[ ]	Fiddler on the Roof
[ ]	Godspell

"Beyond our Ken", "Round the Horne", "Just a Minute" and "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" were all comedy shows of the '60s and '70s. In what medium were they presented?

[ ]	TV
[ ]	Film
[ ]	Theatre
[ ]	Radio

Which was the first James Bond film?

[ ]	Goldfinger
[ ]	Dr. No
[ ]	From Russia with Love
[ ]	You only Live Twice

Which Fleet Street newspaper changed the format of its front page in 1966 by removing advertisements and replacing them with news?

[ ]	The Daily Mail
[ ]	The Daily Express
[ ]	The Times
[ ]	The Daily Herald

Founded in 1964, this tabloid newspaper was relaunched in 1969, and before long it had become the best-selling daily newspaper. Which paper was this?

[ ]	The Daily Mirror
[ ]	The Sun
[ ]	The Daily Sport
[ ]	The Daily Star

Which TV soap opera, first broadcast in 1960, is set in the fictional town of Weatherfield?

[ ]	EastEnders
[ ]	Emmerdale
[ ]	Coronation Street
[ ]	Crossroads

10.

What role did the following people play in broadcasting during the 60s and 70s? - Robert Dougall, Kenneth Kendall and Kenneth Baker.

[ ]	Weather presenters
[ ]	Newsreaders
[ ]	Actors in TV drama
[ ]	Musicians

History Quiz - Britain: Media, Communications And Leisure: 1960-1979 - Media And Entertainment (Answers)

Which broadsheet newspaper, formerly a regional paper, was relaunched in 1959 under a different name and soon became the champion of left/liberal values?

[ ]	The Daily Telegraph
[x]	The Guardian
[ ]	The Financial Times
[ ]	The Independent

The broadsheet press was fiercely competitive, but this paper found a niche

In 1967 the BBC Home Service changed its name. What was it now called?

[ ]	Radio 1
[ ]	Radio 3
[x]	Radio 4
[ ]	Radio 2

BBC Radio still maintained its original mission statement: "to inform, to educate and to entertain"

Sir Malcolm Sargent was a well known classical music conductor, who died in 1967. With which annual summer music festival, based at the Royal Albert Hall in London, was he closely associated?

[ ]	The Holland Park Festival
[ ]	The City of London Festival
[x]	The Proms
[ ]	The Westminster Festival

He was probably the outstanding conductor of choral music of his time

Which of the following musicals was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber?

[ ]	Oliver
[x]	Jesus Christ Superstar
[ ]	Fiddler on the Roof
[ ]	Godspell

Musicals were extremely popular during the 1960s and 1970s, and Lloyd Webber was the most successful writer of musicals in Britain

"Beyond our Ken", "Round the Horne", "Just a Minute" and "I'm sorry I haven't a clue" were all comedy shows of the '60s and '70s. In what medium were they presented?

[ ]	TV
[ ]	Film
[ ]	Theatre
[x]	Radio

All of these shows were very popular and "Just a Minute" is still going today

Which was the first James Bond film?

[ ]	Goldfinger
[x]	Dr. No
[ ]	From Russia with Love
[ ]	You only Live Twice

With their mixture of romance, escapism and fantasy the first Bond films were all popular successes in the 1960s

Which Fleet Street newspaper changed the format of its front page in 1966 by removing advertisements and replacing them with news?

[ ]	The Daily Mail
[ ]	The Daily Express
[x]	The Times
[ ]	The Daily Herald

All newspapers had to adapt to compete in an increasingly tough market environment

Founded in 1964, this tabloid newspaper was relaunched in 1969, and before long it had become the best-selling daily newspaper. Which paper was this?

[ ]	The Daily Mirror
[x]	The Sun
[ ]	The Daily Sport
[ ]	The Daily Star

There was keen competition among the tabloids as well. One way to stay ahead of the pack was to go further downmarket