London calling Italy is a book about Radio Londra, as the BBC Italian Service was known in Italy, and the companys development as a global leader in the broadcasting industry, starting from the Second World War. Drawing on unexplored archive material collected in Italy and the United Kingdom, it aims to understand how the BBC programmes engaged with ordinary Italians, while concurrently conducting political warfare against fascist Italy. The book also focuses on the relationship between the BBC Italian anti-fascist broadcasters, the British Foreign Office, and Labour Party. Key sources analysed in the book are, among others, the Foreign Offices records, the programmes broadcast by the BBC Italian Service during the Allied campaign, the memoirs of Italian anti-fascist broadcasters, the BBC surveys on the audience and the letters sent by listeners of the Italian Service.GB
Ester Lo Biundois a transnational modern historian, specialising in media history, popular culture and public engagement. She has extensively published on the BBC Italian Service and worked at cultural institutions both in the United Kingdom and Italy.
London calling Italyis a book about the BBC Italian Service during the Second World War. It examines the role of the Italian broadcasters, the programmes and their reception.
'London Calling Italyoffers an expertly researched, thought-provoking analysis of BBC propaganda for Italy during the Second World War, exploring how programmes were put together and what listeners made of them. It will surely become the key work on this topic.'
Simon Potter, Professor of Modern History at the University of Bristol
Have you ever wondered how a national corporation like the BBC became a leading global radio service? By examining the case ofRadio Londra, as the Italian Service was known,London calling Italyexplains how the Second World War contributed to the BBCs development as an internationally recognised brolC%