YORK . . . THROUGH THE OPEN DOOR
The B.B.C. started "access television" in Britain with the recent series called "Open Door", which explained itself with its introductory slogan "Your own say in your own way". Last April the B.B.C. invited the committee of York 2000, the society formed in December, 1971, to oppose the present plans for a York inner ring road, to put on a programme in "Open Door". We had attracted the attention of the B.B.C. because our method of protest had become interesting and relevant to many other towns with planning problems. It was not our intention to re-state the case against the proposed York inner ring road, but to show how we had roused public opinion and raised money to present a valid and expert objection at the public inquiry into the proposal. The process of putting on such a programme was bound to be interesting. What comes over on the screen will almost certainly appear simple and unpolished, but it will have behind it many hours of work and thought which will only end at the end of the programme itself. B.B.C. producers started to come to York some weeks before the programme, which was on 21st May, and some members of the York 2000 committee went to the T.V. centre to discuss the general plan. The York 2000 programme was done for the most part "live", but it included two pre-recorded films. One of these was made in the streets of York by the T.V. unit of St. John's College in co-operation with the B.B.C.; this film was a series of interviews with York people, and it took nearly ten hours for one of our committee to cut it. The other film was made in the B.B.C. studio in Newcastle, and in it several members of York 2000 who had given evidence at the public inquiry gave very brief summaries of their evidence and answered questions about the inquiry. The programme on 21st May was presented live from the B.B.C. T.V. Centre in London, a huge and complex building, seemingly purpose built for 1984. Here five of us went to have our "own say in our own way". We were well entertained by the producers in the B.B.C. cafeteria where it was interesting to see many "household" faces queuing for their meals. After a recorded rehearsal of our programme we saw bits of it, and had quite a lot of argument about how it should be altered and which bits were to be left out; then suddenly it was 11-25 p.m. and we were in our places for the live programme to start at 11-30. Faintly we heard a voice in the background: "This is B.B.C. 2. Open Door. Your own say in your own way . . . ." One of the production staff stood by to bring each of us in, but we were well enough versed in what we wanted to say to take a cue from each other. It is not easy to talk to the grim and somehow searching "face" of a T.V. camera, but it soon became less important, and less formidable. There is, however, always a feeling of relief when one of your own bits is over and the camera turns its attention elsewhere. We had been offered one of the distinguished B.B.C. personalities to chair our programme; but we decided to do it ourselves, not through 50
