''BBC History'' is a British magazine devoted to both British and world history, and aimed at readers of all levels of knowledge and interest. There are thirteen issues a year, one each month and a Christmas special. The magazine is published, under licence from the
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
, by the
Immediate Media Company. ''BBC History'' is the biggest-selling history magazine in the UK.
The magazine contains topical features, often aligned with programmes being broadcast on
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
Radio
Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...
or
Television
Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...
and written by academic historians, as well as historical analysis of news events and comparisons with similar previous events, reviews of new books and media, and features on significant locations in history.
History
''BBC History'' was launched in May 2000 by
BBC Magazines, with Greg Neale, an experienced journalist and history graduate, as editor. In February 2004 its parent company BBC Worldwide acquired Origin Publishing, which had published the rival ''
Living History Magazine'' since April 2003. ''Living History Magazine'' was then incorporated into ''BBC History'' and its former editor Dave Musgrove, a journalist with a doctorate in medieval archaeology, became editor of ''BBC History''. Following the merger the magazine increased its sales and subscriptions.
In March 2010 ''BBC Historia'' was launched through a partnership with the Spanish publishers
Ediciones Nobel. In March 2011 the Hungarian edition, retaining the English title, was launched by the Hungarian publisher
Kossuth Kiadó; it features articles by Hungarian historians in addition to items translated from English. In August 2022, after a four-month hiatus, a different publisher,
Kocsis Kiadó Zrt., managed by
András Sándor Kocsis, formerly at Kossuth Kiadó, started to publish the magazine. A Greek edition was launched in December 2020.
From 2001 through 2012, the main BBC website also included tie-materials, in the form of historical articles and topic summaries, at
BBC.co.uk/history (which was later redirected to an index of BBC's historically themed television offerings).
In the news
In January 2006 the magazine's list of the "ten worst Britons" was widely reported, and in April 2006 its report of a poll in which the day
Magna Carta
(Medieval Latin for "Great Charter"), sometimes spelled Magna Charta, is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Cardin ...
was signed was chosen as a suitable day for a celebration of "Britishness" also attracted unusual attention, to the ire of some in Scotland.
In August 2006 a feature on the "best
British Prime Minister" hit the headlines.
In 2008 some newspapers picked up on a piece by Dave Musgrove asking whether it might be time to have the
Bayeux Tapestry
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidery, embroidered cloth nearly long and tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest, Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy challenging H ...
brought over from France for an exhibition. In November 2009 the ''
Today Programme'' on
BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...
reported on a story in the magazine about when history ends and current affairs begin.
Advisory board
The magazine once had an advisory board of historians including
*
Richard Evans
*
Ian Kershaw
*
Kenneth O Morgan
*
Laurence Rees
*
Simon Schama
Podcast
In June 2007 the magazine launched the first of its podcasts featuring interviews with leading historians.
BBC History Magazine podcast
/ref>
See also
*BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
References
External links
BBC ''History'' Magazine website
Origin Publishing website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bbc History
2000 establishments in the United Kingdom
History
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
History magazines published in the United Kingdom
Magazines established in 2000
Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom