The new Reithians: Pararchive and citizen animateurs in the BBC digital archive

The ongoing Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Pararchive project seeks to build new interactive environments that explore issues of ownership, public and institutional relationships and provide tools for collaborative community research and creative expression using digital heritage resources. It was motivated by recognition that communities are encountering real barriers to organizing and connecting to resources and with each other. In the field of cultural heritage it is often difficult to access archival materials from public institutions and overcome barriers to what could and should be mutually enriching relationships. In this context, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has traditionally been seen as a problematic institution – publicly funded and immeasurably rich – yet distant and patrician. Working with Head of BBC Archive Development Tony Ageh, the project team is focusing on issues such as copyright and institutional voice as a means of facilitating a more open and collaborative audience relationship. As part of our current dialogue, we have also been examining the traditions within the BBC that might act as a block to these activities. Our initial conclusion is that a major part of the problem lies in the lack of partnership between the BBC and its licence paying audience, and we have made that a key focus of our study. This article outlines the background to the Pararchive project and the specific focus within it on the relationship between the BBC and its audiences.